Unique Cycling Tour...Riders Wanted

[oldfatfool]

means no beer or wine, I'm out!!

 

[smith4188]

means no beer or wine, I'm out!!

Ha! That's part of the challenge. I've never gone longer than a couple of weeks without a drink in my adult life. I'd like to see if it's possible. (Or perhaps with a bag of sugar, a few roadside berries and a little wine yeast we could make our own awful-tasting wine on the way down.)

 

[jay clock]

There are loads of bits of coast where you will struggle to fish in my view. I think you will do better begging (ok explaining what your charity is for and asking for donations of food to eat and cash for the charity)

Plus you need to think about basic nutrients like vitamin C and various others

 

[Eurostar]

Bugger the fishing, are you allowed to forage in supermarket bins? In the UK that's theft, but there are plenty of freegans who live very well this way. If I were doing your trip, that's what I'd do. I tried it in the US and it was OK. Lots of homeless people do it there and it doesn't raise any eyebrows. Unless there's a security guard who sees you and feels obliged to stop you. I also went to Starbucks at the end of the day when they were throwing out sandwiches. I suppose this wasn't theft if the employee actually gave them to you.

 

[MarkF]

Bugger the fishing, are you allowed to forage in supermarket bins? In the UK that's theft, but there are plenty of freegans who live very well this way. If I were doing your trip, that's what I'd do. I tried it in the US and it was OK. Lots of homeless people do it there and it doesn't raise any eyebrows. Unless there's a security guard who sees you and feels obliged to stop you. I also went to Starbucks at the end of the day when they were throwing out sandwiches. I suppose this wasn't theft if the employee actually gave them to you.

My nieces and nephews do this in Sydney, for fun, "dumpster diving", I suppose I could do it in Leeds/Bradford whilst cycling. But I don't think you could synch it in with trans euro touring and it being an enjoyable experience.

Raise it to £2 a day and you could buy 12 magdalena buns for power and some fruit, even so.............

 

[smith4188]

No, no bin diving or begging. I want to see if it can be done as much as possible like it was done in the past. The £1 is there as a cushion and because the natural resources available millenia ago have been destroyed. People have tried shortish, entirely foraged rides before and, as far as I can tell, they haven't worked. But nothing on the scale of this ride. Vitamins shouldn't be a problem though. Foragable foods contains more nutrients than the stuff in the supermarkets. Food growers bred out nutrient quality and quantity in favour of attractive products.

I'm not saying it's going to work, but I'll give it a go. If nothing else it'll be interesting.

 

[Eurostar]

So no busking either...you want to be a hunter-gatherer. If you take 100 days, that's 20 miles per day so you'd have time to set snares for rabbits. Yum! I wonder what else you could catch in France and Spain...boar? Squirrels? Mountain goats?

Have you been over to yacf.co.uk? Some proper hardcases there, they all do PBP.

 

[smith4188]

So no busking either...you want to be a hunter-gatherer. If you take 100 days, that's 20 miles per day so you'd have time to set snares for rabbits. Yum! I wonder what else you could catch in France and Spain...boar? Squirrels? Mountain goats?

Have you been over to yacf.co.uk? Some proper hardcases there, they all do PBP.

It's more like 40 miles a day. We're going via the coast to get the fish. The total distance is around 3,700 miles. I'd never even heard of yacf. Cheers, I'll give 'em a look.

 

[MarkF]

Can see a Chris McCandless tale here........" 4 British cyclists found dead near Toledo, 200 yards from Maccy D's"

 

[Ticktockmy]

I would think you will need to find 3000 Cals a day Minumin, I think you will be pushed to achieve that by foraging and too much fish will reduce your immunity to cuts and scraps. When some years ago i was cycling down through Africa, I was hard pushed to find anywhere like the Calories I needed, and after a month I was really suffering and looked like Crap and felt like it.

 

[smith4188]

Can see a Chris McCandless tale here........" 4 British cyclists found dead near Toledo, 200 yards from Maccy D's"

If we're near Toledo we've gone about as far off course as it's possible to go in Spain. But it's a nice city, so who knows?

 

[jonny jeez]

Between 2011 and 2013 I did a massive European tour and it was wonderful except that I spent all of my money. I started looking around for a cheaper and yet still enjoyable way to travel and I hope I've found it.

This summer I'm attempting to cycle from the north of England to Gibraltar living on £1 per day. The majority of my food will come from fishing and foraging. It will take around 100 days. Normally I cycle alone but on this year's ride, without the campsites, bars and restaurants of my previous rides, it might get a bit lonely and so I'm looking for a handful of people to join me on this unique tour.

I appreciate that few people can take three months out of their busy lives but the timing of this tour would be ideal for students, the retired or anyone who is stick of daily life. The trip will cost less than it would to stay at home and you'll get the opportunity to attempt something that has (I think) never been done before.

If you're interested in joining me, or keeping an eye on the trip, please visit http://www.rideandseek2015.com/. It would be great to have you along!

Well it's a proper challenge that's for sure.

I've read the rules and can see its a real tough undertaking.

If I had the time, which is to say I didn't have family or a career then this would be the sort of thing that would really appeal.

Good luck with the planning, I hope you get the scholarship support.

 

[smith4188]

I would think you will need to find 3000 Cals a day Minumin, I think you will be pushed to achieve that by foraging and too much fish will reduce your immunity to cuts and scraps. When some years ago i was cycling down through Africa, I was hard pushed to find anywhere like the Calories I needed, and after a month I was really suffering and looked like Crap and felt like it.

Everyone seems to be forgetting about our £1.

 

[MarkF]

I ate cheap in France and Spain, but as far as I can recall, 12 magdalenas cost 99 cents, not bakery ones but supermarket cheapest ones, these were great for a cycling "boost" but I looked at the packaging, it was about 1500 calories (and not much else) in total.

 

[Bodhbh]

Ha! That's part of the challenge. I've never gone longer than a couple of weeks without a drink in my adult life. I'd like to see if it's possible. (Or perhaps with a bag of sugar, a few roadside berries and a little wine yeast we could make our own awful-tasting wine on the way down.)

I am healthy sceptical about the jaunt, but good luck! Surely the better the turnout, the harder it'll be to forage for food and wild camp etc?

Regarding the booze, I've had a mess about with bread yeast and fruit juice in the past. You can easily get something strong enough to get a buzz off that doesn't taste too offensive within a week. The key is to drink before all the sugar gets turned to alcohol - once it's bone dry there's nothing to mask the off taste! tbh bread yeast is a false economy, get a decent, clean yeast (i.e. Nottingham beer yeast) that doesn't produce too much funky flavours and can handle whatever temperatures you thrown at it and keep re-inoculating. Or google prison wine....

But then you don't really want to be lugging about gallons of fermenting juice I think...