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What is the first piece of advice someone will give you when you ask about kit for cycle touring – nope its not have good maps, or get a fancy new GPS, or even disc brakes over rim brakes. Actually it's, and I quote, “get a Brookes saddle”…these people are not your friends.
Do not be fooled by their worldly, all-knowing aura or the insistence that their saddle is now like sitting on an old friend (on behalf of Brookes saddle owners everywhere, old friends, I apologise). Brookes is a British company which make leather saddles for your trusty bike, the idea being that you wear in the leather to the exact shape of your derrière, like you would a leather walking boot. Once it’s worn in it’s the most comfortable and healthiest thing a long distance cyclist can do for their bum. The leather won’t shift or move like gel seats will after a months in the saddle, and will support your bum in all the right places. But what these so-called friends and wise-internet-types won’t tell you is that before the saddle is a perfect mould of your posterior there is anything between 3 months to 2 years (!) of pedalling before it’s worn in. That’s 3 months to 2 years (!) of cycling on the most uncomfortable seat you could possibly imagine. I'm talking seriously uncomfortable. Since moving back to the UK at the start of April I've been on a few rides to build up my fitness and everyday I wake up hoping to see that the leather has softened, but no, nothing, not a sausage, nada. Make no mistake, buying a Brookes saddle is a test of determination and steely perseverance with no guarantee that the leather will have moulded even by the time we reach Hong Kong. All I have is blind trust that it will pay off. Luckily, if there’s anything I can do well its stubborn determination, so my dear Brookes saddle, I believe you have met your match! For a bit of extra encouragement I'm considering cycling the UK part of the journey with a sign saying ‘Beep if you've ever had to wear in a Brookes saddle” Thus, potential, future cycling buddies, the best advice I will give you is to get yourself to a shop immediately and buy your booty a pair of padded cycling shorts, in fact get two pairs. You can thank me later. Preferably in the form of cheesecakes. Plural. Footnote: Charlie (the human) hasn't bought a Brookes saddle yet, should she join me in my misery? Lou x x We are just over a month away from setting off on our trip and have made some steps forward with our preparations... and my some steps I mean just one!
Last weekend I went on a bicycle maintenance course to learn how to fix brakes (mostly fine), gears (all in working order) and the chain (definitely needs replacing!). Transport for Greater Manchester is taking some wonderful steps forward to make the city more bike friendly, it is in the process of building separate bike lanes all around the city and they are offering free learn to ride, maintenance and city cycling courses. All free!! It really is wonderful to see a city embrace it's cyclist and work together with local shops and communities to get everyone involved. You go Manchester! A year ago I went on the basic maintenance course with TfGM and Edinburgh Cycles and last weekend I did the intermediate maintenance course with Ceracycloan and both were absolutely fantastic. I learnt so much about bikes, met some wonderful ladies and the guys were really helpful and didn't mind our constant insistence for tea breaks (thanks Kate!). For me, the biggest thing I learnt was that I have been using my gears wrong my whole life! Who knew gear ratios were a thing?! In case anyone else is like me, it's supposed to go: Left Gears Right Gears 1 1 & 2 2 3, 4 & 5 3 5, 6 & 7 This way the resistance goes up smoothly with out you having to mess around to find the right gear when you change. And you aren't in danger of cross chaining so your chain will last longer, you can thank me later:) If you live in Manchester and have a bike definitely get yourself booked on a course, just click here to see the range they have on offer. Charlie x x Life in South Sudan is currently 0% inspiration and 100% perspiration as we hit March and the temperature sky rockets into the 40’s! I’ve implemented a self-imposed movement restriction to only go to places with air-con so it’s given me a bit of time to write an update on our preparation. It’s the 4th of March and a lot of deadlines are coming up very quickly now:
So here’s what we’ve been working on: Lou – Writing sponsorship letters to companies. Charlie – Updating and tweaking our blog. Lou – Searching on ebay for a bike. Charlie – Training. Lou – Trying to convince Charlie to stop training. Charlie – Posting photos of her training. Lou – Researching visa requirements to make a comprehensive visa tracker. Charlie - Making a kit list and geeking on gear reviews. Lou – Thought about going for a run, decided against it. Charlie – Plotting a route through Europe on the Eurovelo cycle paths from Rotterdam to Istanbul. Lou – Researching the transport in Turkmenistan for the notorious “Dash” Charlie – Arranging for friends to stop by and join us for a section – Germany and Austria are looking popular at the moment. If you’re interested get in touch, the more the merrier! Lou – Did a purely professional reconnaissance mission to the Austrian Alps to assess snow conditions, mountain incline and gravity-to-gradient ratio to reaffirm our decision to go around the Alps rather than over them. Lou xxx Louise Rowen
In the spirit of full disclosure to my dear sister and cycling partner Charlie I’d like to start by declaring how utterly unprepared I am going to be for our journey. I love living in South Sudan but it is currently doing everything it can to foil my attempts at preparedness. So below are 7 ways in which I am laughing in the face of adequate fitness, scoffing at the thought of reasonable preparation and generally maintaining a blissful degree of ignorance for what the next year will hold.
South Sudan has been a wonderful, challenging, frustrating and inspiring place and I’ve really enjoyed my year and a half here. And now Charlie knows what she’s got herself in for, the only thing to do is to set off and put everything to the test #bringiton Louise x x Charlie Rowen Do you want to go on an adventure? The eight words that started this whole crazy idea. And to be honest, when it comes to adventuring my answer is always going to be hell yeah! Adventures are wonderful, you get to see new places, meet interesting people and throw yourself completely out of your comfort zone... your comfort zone is a dot to you! It can be an epic trip around the world or a microadventure outside of your city (speaking of microadventures, check out our Wild camper to respectable wedding guest microadventure from a few years ago here). In this case the adventure Louise was proposing was of the larger, you-want-to-do-what-now, variety. You know the ones that make others instantly start questioning your sanity. As it was such a big idea she knew she would have to have a pretty convincing proposal and boy did she deliver! Continue reading at your own risk... it will make you want to go on an adventure! Charlie x x
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CategoriesA Wheely Long Journey BlogCharlie and Lou are twins from Cheshire, UK on a mission to cycle back to their childhood home in Hong Kong. Archives
December 2016
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