Friday, 17 October 2014
Photographs updated
Lots more photographs have been added all through the blog entries for the cycle ride.
Thursday, 16 October 2014
Thursday 16th October 2014 - Vale do Lobo, Puortugal
THEY MADE IT!!!!!!!!!!
Congratulations to Les and Ian. On schedule, they have completed their epic ride - a total of 1,303 kilometers.
Hot off the press, here is the report from Ian.
"Well, we made it to Vale do Lobo about noon today! Hooray.
Because we had gone on last night to Olhao, we knew that we did not have too far to go today. In fact, we covered just 29 km in a cycling time of about 1hr 45 minutes. The total distance covered since we left Butleigh was 1303 km. The weather was some of the warmest we have had. After our experience yesterday on the Ecovia, we decided to follow the N125 through Faro towards Almancil. This was a mixed blessing - there was a lot of traffic and often no hard shoulder to the road so it was a bit hairy at times.
Because we arrived as early as we did, we were able to say hello to Annie and Roy before they left for the airport later in the afternoon. They (and we) were treated to Les jumping in the pool in his Lycra cycling shorts."
Congratulations to Les and Ian. On schedule, they have completed their epic ride - a total of 1,303 kilometers.
Hot off the press, here is the report from Ian.
"Well, we made it to Vale do Lobo about noon today! Hooray.
Because we had gone on last night to Olhao, we knew that we did not have too far to go today. In fact, we covered just 29 km in a cycling time of about 1hr 45 minutes. The total distance covered since we left Butleigh was 1303 km. The weather was some of the warmest we have had. After our experience yesterday on the Ecovia, we decided to follow the N125 through Faro towards Almancil. This was a mixed blessing - there was a lot of traffic and often no hard shoulder to the road so it was a bit hairy at times.
Because we arrived as early as we did, we were able to say hello to Annie and Roy before they left for the airport later in the afternoon. They (and we) were treated to Les jumping in the pool in his Lycra cycling shorts."
What a fantastic achievement and we are full of admiration for Ian and Les. Jane has commented on a number of occasions that she felt totally inadequate and I must say that I could never do what they have done. Well done both and now you can have a well-earned rest.
If you are also impressed by what Les and Ian have achieved, please give to their charities, BIBIC (helping children suffering from brain injuries) and Prostate Cancer UK. Visit: www.justgiving.com/teams/lesian and that is what I am going to do right now.
Photos: You will be pleased to know that we don't have any pictures of Les in his Lycra cycling shorts! The arrival in Vale do Lobo; Les' wife, Les (I know, it is very confusing) greets Les and Ian - Ian has to wait for a few days for his wife Emma and daughter Sofia to arrive.
Wednesday 15th October 2014 - Olhao, Portugal
This report has been filed by my man in Portugal, otherwise known as Ian.
"We did not leave Vila Real until after 11.00 this morning as it was raining quite hard. We went to enquire in Monte Gordon about the 'Ecovia do Litoral' which is a published cycle track, over 200 km in length but we were told that it was 'disconnected' which we took to mean being not continuous. We were advised to use the N125 which we both agreed was the worst, and most dangerous, road that we had used on our journey so far. When we reached Tavira, we went to the tourist information office there and they said we could use the Ecovia and directed us to where it left the town. We followed it for about 8 km but it was not the best experience as it was more suitable for mountain bikes. We ended up back on the N125 and looked for accommodation in Fuseta but there did not appear to be anything available there. We went on to Olhao where we were directed to a basic but decent hotel with a good restaurant next door."
And we thought that we had got them over the worst before we left! Sounds as if they could do with an escort on the N125. Where is Henrietta when you need her?
Photo: Some locals went to great lengths to avoid the cyclists! (Photo sponsored by Lidl - we wish!).
"We did not leave Vila Real until after 11.00 this morning as it was raining quite hard. We went to enquire in Monte Gordon about the 'Ecovia do Litoral' which is a published cycle track, over 200 km in length but we were told that it was 'disconnected' which we took to mean being not continuous. We were advised to use the N125 which we both agreed was the worst, and most dangerous, road that we had used on our journey so far. When we reached Tavira, we went to the tourist information office there and they said we could use the Ecovia and directed us to where it left the town. We followed it for about 8 km but it was not the best experience as it was more suitable for mountain bikes. We ended up back on the N125 and looked for accommodation in Fuseta but there did not appear to be anything available there. We went on to Olhao where we were directed to a basic but decent hotel with a good restaurant next door."
And we thought that we had got them over the worst before we left! Sounds as if they could do with an escort on the N125. Where is Henrietta when you need her?
Photo: Some locals went to great lengths to avoid the cyclists! (Photo sponsored by Lidl - we wish!).
Tuesday 14th October 2014 - Villa Real, Portugal
Being well ahead of schedule, Les and Ian can slow down a little on their way to Vale do Lobo. Today they cycled 58km in 3hrs 10mins.
They reached Ayamonte on the Spanish/Portuguese border in time to catch the 14:00 ferry over to Portugal where the local time was 13:00 - so does that mean that they only cycled for 2hrs 30mins? This is the last of a series of ferry journeys on the trip and, says Les, is a much better option than the new busy bridge. They have found a small hotel in Villa Real and hope to find the tourist information office later to enquire about a cycle track along the coast.
Photos:Between Huelva and Ayamonte; The ferry; The motorway bridge over the Guadiana river; Ian near the ferry port with the bridge in the background; Les looking very relaxed on the ferry.
They reached Ayamonte on the Spanish/Portuguese border in time to catch the 14:00 ferry over to Portugal where the local time was 13:00 - so does that mean that they only cycled for 2hrs 30mins? This is the last of a series of ferry journeys on the trip and, says Les, is a much better option than the new busy bridge. They have found a small hotel in Villa Real and hope to find the tourist information office later to enquire about a cycle track along the coast.
Photos:Between Huelva and Ayamonte; The ferry; The motorway bridge over the Guadiana river; Ian near the ferry port with the bridge in the background; Les looking very relaxed on the ferry.
Monday 13th October 2014 - Huelva, Spain
This will be our last day acting as support for the cycling heroes. We have had word from home that my mother is very ill and we have booked a flight back to the UK. The good news is that this is the boys last day in the mountains and they should reach the southern Spanish coast this afternoon.
We brought out supplies of Somerset bacon with just in case the boys got homesick and it all must go before we return so the boys called in at our aire for breakfast. Bacon sandwiches made with freshly baked bread (ok, it was part-baked bread but it was cooked in the motorhome) were served with real English tea for Les and coffee for Ian. Provided with real Somerset Cheddar cheese and chutney baguettes, fruit and chewy bars, the boys were ready for the off.
We did some packing and tidying up before we set off after them. As we drove along we kept expecting them to appear in front of us and eventually we decided that they couldn't have got this far and they must have stopped for coffee. Oh, us of little faith! They they were steaming up another long hill. We tooted as we passed and waited for them at the top of the hill. Jane dispensed cold water whilst I found some surplus ice creams in the freezer. Suitably refreshed they set off again and we gave them a final wave as we passed them on the way to the coast.
Many moons ago, I had lent Les a copy of the book 'Operation Mincemeat' by Ben Macintyre and he then passed it on to Ian to read. It tells the story of a British disinformation plan to fool the Germans into thinking that the British intended to invade Greece and Sardinia rather than the real target, Sicily. The plan involved planting false documents on a body of a British man who had died without any living relatives. The man was Glyndwr Michael and under the false identity of acting Major William 'Bill' Martin, his body was released from a submarine off the coast of Spain together with papers showing the false invasion plan. Although Spain was, in theory, neutral, it was known to be cooperating with Germany and it was expected that, if the body was discovered, the documents would soon be in Axis hands. The plan worked well and the Germans were completely taken in by the deception, directing forces to Greece, Sardinia and Corsica thus taking forces away from Sicily and making the Allied invasion there much easier. William Martin's body was handed over to the British Vice Consul and was buried with full military in a cemetery in Huelva.
We were all inspired by this story and Les decided that he would like to visit the grave as part of the trip. We hoped to do this together but circumstances had contrived to deny us. We had to get to Faro for our flight but realised that it was only a short diversion to the cemetery. We visited the grave in the morning and Les and Ian followed in the afternoon. The grave now shows not only the original name of William Martin but also he actual name of Glyndwr Martin.
We went on to an aire 30 minutes from Faro Airport and there met a French couple with an identical Hobby motorhome to ours, a very rare event as we have only seen three other identical Hobby's in seven years. They spoke no English so we had an interesting Franglais chat with them comparing our experiences. We both loved our vans and they had exactly the same niggles!
Meanwhile, Ian and Les toured Huelva to find accommodation for the night.
The boys covered 84km today in 4hrs 30mins, giving a total of 1163km to date.
Photos: The farewell; Riding off to Huelva; The grave of Glyndwr Michael (alias Major William 'Bill' Martin) aka 'The man who never was'; Jean-Michel and Michelle with their Hobby motorhome in Quartiera.
We brought out supplies of Somerset bacon with just in case the boys got homesick and it all must go before we return so the boys called in at our aire for breakfast. Bacon sandwiches made with freshly baked bread (ok, it was part-baked bread but it was cooked in the motorhome) were served with real English tea for Les and coffee for Ian. Provided with real Somerset Cheddar cheese and chutney baguettes, fruit and chewy bars, the boys were ready for the off.
We did some packing and tidying up before we set off after them. As we drove along we kept expecting them to appear in front of us and eventually we decided that they couldn't have got this far and they must have stopped for coffee. Oh, us of little faith! They they were steaming up another long hill. We tooted as we passed and waited for them at the top of the hill. Jane dispensed cold water whilst I found some surplus ice creams in the freezer. Suitably refreshed they set off again and we gave them a final wave as we passed them on the way to the coast.
Many moons ago, I had lent Les a copy of the book 'Operation Mincemeat' by Ben Macintyre and he then passed it on to Ian to read. It tells the story of a British disinformation plan to fool the Germans into thinking that the British intended to invade Greece and Sardinia rather than the real target, Sicily. The plan involved planting false documents on a body of a British man who had died without any living relatives. The man was Glyndwr Michael and under the false identity of acting Major William 'Bill' Martin, his body was released from a submarine off the coast of Spain together with papers showing the false invasion plan. Although Spain was, in theory, neutral, it was known to be cooperating with Germany and it was expected that, if the body was discovered, the documents would soon be in Axis hands. The plan worked well and the Germans were completely taken in by the deception, directing forces to Greece, Sardinia and Corsica thus taking forces away from Sicily and making the Allied invasion there much easier. William Martin's body was handed over to the British Vice Consul and was buried with full military in a cemetery in Huelva.
We were all inspired by this story and Les decided that he would like to visit the grave as part of the trip. We hoped to do this together but circumstances had contrived to deny us. We had to get to Faro for our flight but realised that it was only a short diversion to the cemetery. We visited the grave in the morning and Les and Ian followed in the afternoon. The grave now shows not only the original name of William Martin but also he actual name of Glyndwr Martin.
We went on to an aire 30 minutes from Faro Airport and there met a French couple with an identical Hobby motorhome to ours, a very rare event as we have only seen three other identical Hobby's in seven years. They spoke no English so we had an interesting Franglais chat with them comparing our experiences. We both loved our vans and they had exactly the same niggles!
Meanwhile, Ian and Les toured Huelva to find accommodation for the night.
The boys covered 84km today in 4hrs 30mins, giving a total of 1163km to date.
Photos: The farewell; Riding off to Huelva; The grave of Glyndwr Michael (alias Major William 'Bill' Martin) aka 'The man who never was'; Jean-Michel and Michelle with their Hobby motorhome in Quartiera.
Wednesday, 15 October 2014
Sunday 12th October 2014 - Minas Riotinto, Spain
After more rain and thunder over night, dawn welcomed a cold but dry morning. As we woke up, we became aware that the van was being surrounded by cars and the hotel bar was soon full of men. It is Spain's National Day and, judging by the universal khaki outfits, the local men had decided to celebrate it by spending the day hunting. We were wondering how we were going to get out of the car park but after a couple of hours there was a great exodus and all was calm again.
Les and Ian then appeared and we were able to see them off on their second day through the mountains. This time the roads hugged the sides of the mountains with very few straight stretches. There was more down than up but the ups were brutal. To a cyclist, the sight of a hill with a crawler lane is always bad news. There were a number of those and they were steep and went on and on.
Meanwhile, we decided to call in at the aire that we had intended to stay at last night. The aire was at Cumbres Mayores and as we approached the village we saw a large, impressive, hill-top castle surrounded by whitewashed houses. It took us a while to find the aire but it was worth the effort. Just outside the village, next to the emergency helicopter pad, it had fantastic 360 degree views including over the countryside and the village and castle. To complete the idyllic scene, a goatherd was sat on a rock next to the aire whilst his flock searched for vegetation. Whilst we dumped the waste water and filled up, the sound of a brass band drifted across from the village.
We parked in the village and walked past the pretty balconied houses to reach the main church and castle. Mass was about to start and the band was resting in the square outside. We went into the castle that had impressive walls but no buildings inside. A young women custodian told us all about the castle, the many other castles in the area and the associated Spanish history. She was very nervous and frequently apologised for her poor English (she had failed her English exam she told us) but she was so enthusiastic about 'her' castle and village. All this fascinating information took a long time to cover and when she finished it was time for the castle to close. However she insisted that we took a walk around the battlements and told us what to look out for. The views were magnificent, we could see huge distances and we spotted two of the four other castles that should have been in sight. We were amused to think that the village football pitch was inside the castle just a few years ago - our guide told us that she watched matches from the battlements.
Much later than we expected we set off after the lads and soon received a text to say that they had arrived at their hotel in Minas Riotinto. You will not be surprised to hear that this area is full of mines, including a huge one run by Rio Tinto on the edge of the village.
Les and Ian told us of an amusing incident on the way. On one of downhill stretches, they came across a young, attractive girl hitchhiking. As each one passed, she stuck out her thumb and gave them a big smile. They gave her a smile and a wave as they cycled past - after all, going up those hills with a passenger would have been even more difficult!
Having problems finding the hotel, they asked a policeman and were escorted to their destination. Like us, they had some fantastic views on the journey - the best of the trip so far in Ian's opinion.
77km today and 4hrs 5mins cycling.
Photos: A view from our aire at Cumbres Mayores, over the helicopter pad to the village; A view of the inside of the castle at Cumbres Mayores where the football pitch used to be; A view from the castle.
Les and Ian then appeared and we were able to see them off on their second day through the mountains. This time the roads hugged the sides of the mountains with very few straight stretches. There was more down than up but the ups were brutal. To a cyclist, the sight of a hill with a crawler lane is always bad news. There were a number of those and they were steep and went on and on.
Meanwhile, we decided to call in at the aire that we had intended to stay at last night. The aire was at Cumbres Mayores and as we approached the village we saw a large, impressive, hill-top castle surrounded by whitewashed houses. It took us a while to find the aire but it was worth the effort. Just outside the village, next to the emergency helicopter pad, it had fantastic 360 degree views including over the countryside and the village and castle. To complete the idyllic scene, a goatherd was sat on a rock next to the aire whilst his flock searched for vegetation. Whilst we dumped the waste water and filled up, the sound of a brass band drifted across from the village.
We parked in the village and walked past the pretty balconied houses to reach the main church and castle. Mass was about to start and the band was resting in the square outside. We went into the castle that had impressive walls but no buildings inside. A young women custodian told us all about the castle, the many other castles in the area and the associated Spanish history. She was very nervous and frequently apologised for her poor English (she had failed her English exam she told us) but she was so enthusiastic about 'her' castle and village. All this fascinating information took a long time to cover and when she finished it was time for the castle to close. However she insisted that we took a walk around the battlements and told us what to look out for. The views were magnificent, we could see huge distances and we spotted two of the four other castles that should have been in sight. We were amused to think that the village football pitch was inside the castle just a few years ago - our guide told us that she watched matches from the battlements.
Much later than we expected we set off after the lads and soon received a text to say that they had arrived at their hotel in Minas Riotinto. You will not be surprised to hear that this area is full of mines, including a huge one run by Rio Tinto on the edge of the village.
Les and Ian told us of an amusing incident on the way. On one of downhill stretches, they came across a young, attractive girl hitchhiking. As each one passed, she stuck out her thumb and gave them a big smile. They gave her a smile and a wave as they cycled past - after all, going up those hills with a passenger would have been even more difficult!
Having problems finding the hotel, they asked a policeman and were escorted to their destination. Like us, they had some fantastic views on the journey - the best of the trip so far in Ian's opinion.
77km today and 4hrs 5mins cycling.
Photos: A view from our aire at Cumbres Mayores, over the helicopter pad to the village; A view of the inside of the castle at Cumbres Mayores where the football pitch used to be; A view from the castle.
Sunday, 12 October 2014
Saturday 11th October 2014 - Higuera la Real, Spain
1,000 km passed today!
This huge landmark was achieved just after leaving Fregenal and the heavens opened to celebrate the event. But before that they passed the 666 km marker of the N630 just outside Villafranca. They have followed the N630 from Salamanca, a distance of approximately 330 km before they finally left it to head for Zafra on the EX101. The road had been generally very good for them, being very lightly trafficked (often deserted apart from mad motorhome drivers) and in good condition.
The last part of the N630 was relatively flat but as soon as they joined the EX101 they could see the road rising as they started to ascend the Sierra de Aracena. There were many tough hills including one stretch of 17 km where the road climbed with barely any respite -even Henrietta struggled and the thought of doing it on a bicycle was horrendous.
If they had stopped in Fregenal, one of their options, they would have missed the rain but they decided to push on to Higuera, just 4 km further but through the 1,000 km barrier. At least they were able to have a hot shower when they arrived to compensate for the cold shower that they had on the way!
We were able to join them at their hotel and camped in the car park. In the time between Ian and Les arriving and us arriving, we had to sit out a massive thunderstorm when lightning flashed around us. We could not see out of the windscreen and rivers ran down the pavement. Fortunately, by that time Les and Ian were safe and dry in their hotel.
Stats for the day - 81 km and 4 hrs 19 min cycling.
If you have been impressed by Les and Ian's achievements so far, please donate to their charities at www.justgiving.com/teams/lesian
Photos: The 666 km marker of the N630; Ian feeling a little thirsty!; Passing the 1,000 km mark.
This huge landmark was achieved just after leaving Fregenal and the heavens opened to celebrate the event. But before that they passed the 666 km marker of the N630 just outside Villafranca. They have followed the N630 from Salamanca, a distance of approximately 330 km before they finally left it to head for Zafra on the EX101. The road had been generally very good for them, being very lightly trafficked (often deserted apart from mad motorhome drivers) and in good condition.
The last part of the N630 was relatively flat but as soon as they joined the EX101 they could see the road rising as they started to ascend the Sierra de Aracena. There were many tough hills including one stretch of 17 km where the road climbed with barely any respite -even Henrietta struggled and the thought of doing it on a bicycle was horrendous.
If they had stopped in Fregenal, one of their options, they would have missed the rain but they decided to push on to Higuera, just 4 km further but through the 1,000 km barrier. At least they were able to have a hot shower when they arrived to compensate for the cold shower that they had on the way!
We were able to join them at their hotel and camped in the car park. In the time between Ian and Les arriving and us arriving, we had to sit out a massive thunderstorm when lightning flashed around us. We could not see out of the windscreen and rivers ran down the pavement. Fortunately, by that time Les and Ian were safe and dry in their hotel.
Stats for the day - 81 km and 4 hrs 19 min cycling.
If you have been impressed by Les and Ian's achievements so far, please donate to their charities at www.justgiving.com/teams/lesian
Photos: The 666 km marker of the N630; Ian feeling a little thirsty!; Passing the 1,000 km mark.
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