It's all your fault......

[Lostmiles]

Life used to be simple. I got up. Showered. Did the household chores. Talked to Delia in the kitchen, when she wasn't there. Read my books. Went walking. Made dinner. Had a night-cap and wandered off to bed about midnight when I had found the stairs. That was until yesterday.
Then I came across this Cycle Chat site. I was looking for solutions to my "cherry" problems and I stumbled across you lot writing about rides and adventures and sundry other things.
Today I get up and shower. Then chaos. Chores. What chores? Up in to the loft.
That was an adventure in itself. By the time I had scrambled up the ladder I had forgotten why I was up there in the first place. So I came down and had tea and cake. I made a return journey and came back to the kitchen with a photograph album and a map that cost me F20.00 in 1995. (.......? I have no idea but that is what it says on the front).
Since then I have worn holes in my trousers clambering in and out of the loft and there is now more wood in my hands (splinters) than is left in the loft floor.
The house is a shambles of guides, photographs, receipts, tickets, tents and my trusty(?) compass. I think the only bit of kit from that trip that isn't scattered around the floor is my Raleigh bike.
But I now have a route plan or two for the Spring and Summer.......if you know what they are will you please let me know.........

 

[Wobblers]

Sorry...

But I hope you'll get a few photos you can share, and a story to tell

 

[fossyant]

Photos are the payment !!!

 

[Pat "5mph"]

Hi @Lostmiles and welcome!
You're not the only one! I was only wanting to cycle the 10 mile round trip to work on my car boot sale bike, then I fell on ice, then I googled "how not to fall on ice on a bike", so I found Cycle Chat.
I can't fathom how this happened next, but I find myself with 4 bikes plus 2 heaps of bits 'n pieces, 2 sets of studded ice tyres, a toolbox full of bike tools, 15 spare chains and night terrors of being on top of a massive hill in the Lakes last summer without having the skills to come back down.
My books are sadly neglected, in my cupboards more bottles of GT85 than bottles of olive oil ....

 

[Lostmiles]

Sorry...

But I hope you'll get a few photos you can share, and a story to tell

Of course. Adventures are for sharing..........

 

[fossyant]

@Pat "5mph" the Ice tyres are probably my fault. I'm still using mine.

 

[Pat "5mph"]

@Pat "5mph" the Ice tyres are probably my fault. I'm still using mine.

Yes
They are still going strong after all those years, but then there was a "found a bargain" post last summer, they were gong cheap at Planet X ... so I bought another pair just in case

 

[steveindenmark]

If you are in the Scottish borders, you have some lovely places to ride. Photos are a must.

 

[Lostmiles]

If you are in the Scottish borders, you have some lovely places to ride. Photos are a must.

You are obviously a connoisseur of fine countryside sir.
The Borders are beautiful and there are some excellent rides. There are lots of quiet roads and lanes for a chap to trundle round. We have the flattish areas of The Merse, (sort that out for yourselves) a stunning coastline on the east, fabulous open moorlands in The Lammermuirs, the steeper more spectacular Moorfoot Hills to test aching muscles against or not as the case may be and not forgetting Dumfries and and Galloway to the west and bounded by The Pentlands to the north.

I have re-read my posting from yesterday, "It's all your fault...." and now that a glorious new day has dawned and sanity has returned to the household I recall that I never revealed the relevance of the map and album from the loft. A trip my wife and I did from Dieppe to Cherbourg in a two man tent and two bikes in the 90s when I was a youn.........grey haired middle aged bloke that hadn't grown up. Yesterday turned in to a day of memories and nostalgia with a yearning for the open road once more. ( This is very brave stuff and is easily written as .........................................................my wife is away in London for the week.) I now have some new routes for the spring including a trial trundle; Home to Brampton, Chollerford, Bellingham to home. Basically A Hadrian's Wall run to see if the "Old frame" is up to the job of hurtling around at 5-6mph any more for 3 or 4 weeks. No! Not the Raleigh frame. My frame. Two or three days in the Borders is do able with a bit of anesthetic from the local pub to help sleep at nights but and a big but IS the frame flexible enough anymore to do the maneuvering required for dressing in a confined space of a small tent etc? Followed later in the summer by a trip back in time to my original county of Derbyshire. (also great for outdoor activities and scenery.)

The large map of France recovered from the loft yesterday enabled me to very roughly plot three possible routes to the Med ( and back?)
Do I aim to do this in this already busy and hectic scheduled summer and autumn of 2017 or 2018 after getting some sort of fitness back.
Perhaps I should get on with all the belated jobs and put things back in the loft and book a table for two tomorrow night when she returns..............perhaps leave the photo album and map lying...............

Any thoughts and ideas/ information on any of the above route/ideas will be greatly appreciated. If you read the original article you already know it's your fault!

 

[Lostmiles]

As requested a couple of Scottish Borders pics.

 

[Lostmiles]

This is Coldingham Bay. The one above is a track in The Cheviots.
I seem to have lost/deleted my previous post about routes/maps and albums from this morning. May be it's back in the loft along with all the other gear I got out yesterday!

 

[Lostmiles]

Dirlton Castle. Has pretty gardens too. Nice village green complete with pub and a restaurant along side.

 

[snorri]

The large map of France recovered from the loft yesterday

Any thoughts and ideas/ information on any of the above route/ideas will be greatly appreciated.

That map is bound to be outdated, splash the cash on a new map of another country and widen your experiences

 

[Lostmiles]

I like the sound of that and your idea will be very popular with my wife.
A leisurely self guided tour on bikes around Tuscany.? Sun. Warmth. Fab food and the odd drop of vino. Baggage transfers...........
She is back from London on Friday I can see something like that being booked by Saturday.
Many thanks for the input. Please keep them coming.

 

[steveindenmark]

leisurely self guided tour on bikes around Tuscany.?
Many thanks for the input. Please keep them coming.

Jannie and I are doing a bit of Helpxing in Tuscany in April. We are looking forward to the Cinque terre walk.