veloturista

http://veloturista.blogspot.com is how i intend to keep an account (diary kinda thing) of my work...

goodbye england

this is it
i quit my job in england
i'm staying where my heart is
in paris
and i'm making my dream come true
becoming a bicycle messenger

a bientot

pedalturista

so, veloturista [veloturista.blogspot.com] is now
pedalturista. bonne route

riding to fontainebleau

98.65km
average speed 19.38
ride time 5:05
from paris, along le seine, through la foret de senart, to fontainebleau:
gare de lyon, along le seine, towards choisy le roi, athis-mons, grigny, across le seine to draveil, through la foret de senart



to st. germain les corbeil, st. pierre du perray, saintry, morsang, seine port, across le seine to ponthierry, jonville, brinville, st. saveur, perthes, and barbizon, through la foret de fontainebleau, to le chateau and to avon to catch the train back to paris.



pedalturista photos

riding along le seine to foret de senart

riding along le seine to foret de senart, originally uploaded by pedalturista.

the plan was to get to fontainebleau (following the itinerary in: http://mayq.com/Cycling_out_of_paris), but i got lost a few times (the senart forest is amazing) and after 69km it was getting a bit late, so i ended up getting to the town of evry to catch the train back to paris... i'll try again tomorrow

riding the canal de l'ourcq

riding the canal de l'ourcq, originally uploaded by pedalturista.

i rode from place de la bastille on the pistes cyclables along boulevard richard lenoir, canal saint martin, parc de la villette, out of paris, and then along the canal de l'ourcq, through the parc de sevran, passed villeparisis, all the way to claye-souilly, and then continued on to trilbardou. 90k there and back. i wonder how far the path along the canal goes on for. i'll find out sometime soon...




trip photos (and directions): http://www.flickr.com/photos/pedalturista

leaving zahara de los atunes...

algeciras to cadiz aug07

algecirastocadiz.aug07, originally uploaded by pedalturista.

we flew from paris to malaga via madrid with our bikes on the 12th. we spent the night in marbella, at my cousins. the following day, we started the bike trip in marbella, riding the autovia (motorway) del mediterraneo to algeciras, but it was way too dangerous (too many cars going too fast). the other option was to go inland, but it would have taken longer and we wanted to ride along the coast. so we took the bus from san pedro (near marbella) to algeciras, and then we rode from algeciras to tarifa. about 25km (we forgot both our computers...) climbing two mountain tops (puerto del bujeo and puerto del cabrito). and then it's pretty much downhill to tarifa. we spent the night in rio jara camping (it was full but they let us put our little tent in a corner). up early and off to zahara de los atunes, along the coast, beautiful weather and views, quiet (ish) roads. lunch with my (other) cousins and on to los caños de meca, we stayed in faro de trafalgar camping (again full). last day we rode to san fernando (just outside cadiz) where sophie decided to take the bus (she didn't want to go on the autovia) and i rode to cadiz. it was sophie's first bike trip and our first trip together and we both loved it.




trip photos: http://www.flickr.com/photos/pedalturista

le petit dejeuner... (due south)

le petite dejeuner, originally uploaded by pedalturista.

we're off to spain on saturday the 11th (my birthday!). it's our first trip together with our LHT's. and it's sophie's first cycle touring trip... and first trip on her baby trucker.... we're flying to malaga, then riding to marbella and staying there with my cousin. 2nd day marbella to san roque, 3rd day san roque to barbate, and last day barbate to cadiz... and then, we're staying there... two weeks... riding our bikes... two weeks of sun, sea, and my mum's food. pedalturista p h o t o s

sophie's baby trucker

sophie's baby trucker, originally uploaded by véloturista.

getting ready for our trip...

paris bff poster

paris bff poster, originally uploaded by véloturista.

paris bff postcard

paris bff postcard, originally uploaded by véloturista.

sophie's LHT

sophie's LHT, originally uploaded by véloturista.

... ready for our trip, due south, in august

sophie's LHT

sophie's LHT, originally uploaded by véloturista.

... baby LHT

sophie's LHT

sophie's LHT, originally uploaded by véloturista.

...

sophie's LHT

sophie's LHT, originally uploaded by véloturista.

the frame is finally here... i'm building sophie's LHT soon

view of les champs elysees

view of les champs elysees, originally uploaded by véloturista.

i love riding in the city

Bicycle Film Festival

Bicycle Film Festival, originally uploaded by véloturista.

Bicycle Film Festival in Paris: 26th - 29th of July

daydreaming part2 contd.

daydreaming part2 contd., originally uploaded by véloturista.

we were considering the crosscheck, but after a lot of thinking, we're going for the LHT, size 46, in blue. i called brixton cycles this morning; it's in stock and they're ordering one for us. it should be ready before the end of july....

one rabbit, an aeroplane and the fox

early morning commuting ride to work...

(british) summer...

(british) summer..., originally uploaded by véloturista.

and i'm wearing my winter gear.
this has to be the crappiest june ever! i don't mind the rain... i quite like riding when it's raining... a little bit, every now and then, but... it's june!
where's the summer? i miss the sun

freedom

freedom, originally uploaded by véloturista.

one LESS car

sophie's LHT

sophie's new bike
still in planning/daydream process



I think it's going to be a size 50... in blue

...

LHT vs CC

LONG HAUL TRUCKER vs CROSS CHECK



Same trip: London to Paris in 3 days. First trip in April, second trip with very similar weather conditions (nice) on the LHT in June.



Both bikes were loaded the same: bar bag, front panniers, rear panniers, tent, sleeping bag and mat. Pretty much the same weight. I also used the same rear wheel and drivetrain. However, I had a Surly Nice front rack on the Cross Check but on the Long Haul Trucker I used a Tubus Tara low rider. I love the Surly Nice front rack. It's so... nice, solid piece of kit. It looks like it can take anything; and the extra space on top is a brilliant idea for carrying stuff, like your tent, or the sleeping bag, but it is a little bit heavy. Apart from the obvious weight difference, the tubus carried the weight lower which made the LHT more stable. And that was one of the main differences: the LHT felt a lot more stable than the CC always, even off the saddle, going uphill, and also going fast downhill. And more confortable.
My LHT is a size bigger (58) than the CC and it has a higher stem/bars set up. This, along with the taller headset tube, and laid back angles, make the LHT so much more comfortable. I have a very upright position, my back and neck are more relaxed, and even my ass doesn't hurt so much after six hours on the (new Brooks!)saddle.



The handling on the LHT felt more controlled always. My new Brooks leather bar tape also helped: The new one is a lot softer to the hand/fingers. I think the leather is treated differently on the new one and it has holes so it doesn't get all wet and slippery with the sweat.
The different tyres also made a big difference: 32c Continental Top Touring 2000 on the CC and 35c Schwalbe Marathon XR on the LHT. The fatter tyres ("fatties fit fine") on the LHT roll faster and also add comfort to the ride. I had mudguards on both bikes but on the LHT, even with the bigger tyres, didn't have any toe overlap issues.



My Cross Check is staying in England, set up fixed for my 20 minutes commuting ride to work, with rear rack and panniers, perfect, comfortable enough (I might change the stem for a shorter one), fast, responsive. And I'll take it offroad too. My Long Haul Trucker is at home in Paris, and is my touring bike. I'm already planning my next trip: from Paris to Cadiz (my hometown in the south of Spain); fully loaded, riding south.