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Life's adventures

Tag: Cycling (page 1 of 2)

Mallorca A Joy To Ride

Spain’s Mallorca is a joy to cycle with friends. A long weekend break in the North of Mallorca proved to be a wonderful break from the rain a cold of London.  I landed in Palma and transferred to Port de Pollença.

My group had already arrived and were already saddling up for a ride out. Some had brought their own bikes but most of us and rented bikes from Pro Cycle which is a stones throw from our hotel.

The bikes had been arranged by Mallorca Cycling Tours  Who guided us on our weekend break. Their knowledge of the island is great and really made our beak enjoyable. They also made sure that everyone rode to their levels.

The weather was just right and even in October suncream wouldn’t of gone a miss. All in all the weekend was a great break and I would highly recommend a cheeky break in Mallorca.

 

Day 4 Bedarieux to Lourdes by Train 170 miles

Welcome to Episode 7  Day 4 Bedarieux to Lourdes by Train.

The previous days riding left me battered bruised. I woke up and looked out of the smelly rooms bedroom window. The weather looked grey. The mountains in the distance were covered by dark grey clouds filled to the brim with water. My exit plan was in full swing. Get the train to warm climbs. Head north west to Toulouse or Lourdes better still. I arrived at the station at 8am. Were is the ticket office. A sign on the window says, open at 9.30 am. I looked around not knowing what to do. Then from now where a women showed up. She clearly worked there. I asked how I buy a ticket. Billette I asked in my made up French. She pointed to a machine. This is where my problem began. Listen to my podcast to find out more.

 

Day 3 Montpellier to Bedarieux 55 miles over the Espinouse Mountains

Welcome to Episode 7  Day 3  Montpellier to Bedarieux, 55 miles.

This was a hard day. In fact very hard. I didn’t expect this to be so tough. The mountain just didn’t stop coming and this was in part because of the Garmin Touring plus route choice. It just loves to take you on the scenic route.  When I finally got to Bedarieux I was disappointed. There seems to be a lot of poverty around and I think it attracts a lot of immigrate workers. The place looks iron down and doesn’t have that rustic french feel to it.

In view of a few days climbing mountains Ive decided to get on a train out of here. Listen to the podcast for the full sp.

 

 

Day 2 Nimes to Montpellier 45 miles

Welcome to Episode 6  Day 2 Nimes to Montpellier

Today was a lazy day. Taking full advantage of a nice soft large bed before a long days ride.

Crepe

Crepe pitstop

Today’s ride took me thru Le Vidourle with it’s lovely water fall where i stopped for a crepe filled with nuttella and an expresso. The waterfall is at Villetelle.  I continued on to Lansargues while making my way to Montgpellier. Finally called it a day in a campsite call Eden. Im finding a lot of campsite dont infact like people with tents. Found one in the end with part services open. No food availible so had to make do with noodles.

 

 

Camping site cooking

Day 1 Crillion Le Brave to Nimes 70 Miles

Welcome to Episode 5 The Day after Mount Ventoux

Today was the first day of my ride home to back to the uk. Coming off the back of riding Mont Ventoux, Today was going to be hard. Having said that I still managed to put in a solid 70 miles and ended my day in Nimes. Had to stump up the cost of a hotel as all the camping sites were full or didn’t like my face. To tell you the truth in was probably for the best as my body needed a nice bath to relax and a good bed to sleep in.

The beating of Mount Ventoux is a was eased by the help of the Mario, James, Christian and Phillip. We all conquered the Mountain and got home save and sound. This will be my fifth time climbing Ventoux and I think it his year was the hardest due to a few extras pounds.  This ride home will kick start my dreams of a slender body in to gear.

I”ll sign off now will a photo montage of the last few days.

Cycle For Your Life “Jason Tell’s his side of the story” EP2

In 2013 I cycled through Spain, Portugal, France and ending in Italy. The trip started out with two friends embarking on an amazing adventure on two wheels but ended with us parting company after ten days. in this episode, Jason gives his version of the story. Further reading of our adventure at the time can be found at first blog site.

 

Cycle For Your Life “How cycling saved my life” EP1

Welcome to the Episode 1 of Cycle For Your Life.

Back in late 2012, my life changed path dramatically. I remember the day when my then wife asked me for a divorce. For me, this was a total bolt out of the blue and left me total and utterly in a spin. The following month’s left me feeling lost and depressed.  As the dust settled on the bombshell. I felt I had to take control of my life. This is when I decided to go on an adventure. This is the start of my three-month cycling tour of Spain, Portugal, France and finally, Italy.

Click here to listen to more Podcast 

GF MONT VENTOUX BEAUMES DE VENISE

Cycling a mountain is never going to be easy and for that reason alone is why people do it. This weekend I rode Mont Ventoux. This is my second time in taking on the challenge and Friends and colleagues ask what it was like? and if I enjoyed it?

ride the waves of Mont Ventoux

To tell you the truth I ask myself the same question, did I enjoy it? There is no simple answer really. The facts are this. It’s painful to ride 90 kilometres with a lot of those going uphill on a gradient of anywhere between 6% to 11% and being in the saddle for six hours takes its toll. So the answer to the question “Whats it’s like” In simple terms, Painful. The second part of the question. Did I enjoy it?. Yes, I love it. It’s challenging in a stunning setting. I love the Alps, I love the mountain and I love the weather. Riding along the French countryside with the smell of Jasmin and rapeseed is heaven. I love the food, in particular, the bread and finally, I love the feeling of adventure and the unknown.

If you fancy taking on the ride next year you can book yourself a place by going to this website http://www.grandtrophee.fr/index.php