After arriving home from my tour in India and Nepal at the end of November things soon returned to normal. A little bit too normal for my liking!
Whilst I was away on tour I’d managed to stop taking any medication for my back, which was good news as it was the first time I’d been able to do that in nearly 5 years! But after being off the bike and back at home for a few days the pain soon returned and I was once again having to take painkillers.
This is as far as Garry got
With my back hurting once again I decided to go away on my bike to try and ease it. Unfortunately, I only got as far as Portsmouth 20 miles away before the wind got up and I had to take shelter in a pub. It never really got that windy at all it was just an excuse to stop as I really wasn’t that enthusiastic about going away, particularly as I didn’t know where to head for and as I’ve said before, I’m not any good at just going out on a bike ride just for the sake of it!
All ready and loaded to go away
A couple of days later I was looking at the mileage that I’d cycled whilst I was in India when I realised that I was just 105 miles short of the 50,000-mile mark on Passepartout!
With the 50,000-mile mark, so close I now had a reason to go away cycling as I decided that I wanted to complete 50,000 miles before the end of the year!
Unfortunately work commitments and bad weather were both against me and it wasn’t until after Christmas that I was able to go away.
Crossing Southampton waters on the way to Hythe and the New Forest
Once again, I headed towards Portsmouth and managed to keep going this time and not end up in the pub!
I crossed the water at Portsmouth catching the ferry to Gosport where I then followed the coast to Southampton. Once in Southampton I again caught another ferry this time to Hythe and then on down through the New Forest, which as you know is one of the places I quite regularly cycle to.
The sun going down in the New Forest
It was a lovely sunny day albeit a bit chilly and I was enjoying being back in the saddle.
Cycling through the New Forest was as lovely as it always is. After 75 miles, I reached Christchurch where I decided to stop for the night in a hotel, I did contemplate camping (very briefly) but I didn’t think that there were any campsites open at this time of year, well certainly not the one I normally stay at!
Little harbour at Hill Head
The following morning I was going to come back home via the Isle of Wight another place I like to cycle to, but after a bit of consideration I decided to cycle back the same way that I had cycled down, following national cycle route 2.
A frosty morning in the New Forest
By the time, I’d got home I’d covered 150 miles and surpassed the 50,000-mile mark.
The Queen Elizabeth in port at Southampton
So, at the end of 2016 I’ve covered 50,046 miles in seven and a half years!
Christmas was the normal affair of family meals and plenty of drink!
Asia 2016 bicycle tour map from Garry McGivern Travelsonabike2. The map shows where Garry spent each night of his 2000-mile bike ride across India and Nepal. Behind each pin is a brief description of the day’s ride, along with the miles cycled for the day.
Garry’s original tour didn’t involve Nepal at all! Initially, he was planning to cycle around the south of India. But after discovering that he could now cross into Myanmar (Burma), he changed his plans. Instead, he decided to head east to Myanmar! Myanmar was one of the countries that Garry wanted to cycle through on his world tour in 2011, but at the time, it wasn’t permitted.
There were also one or two other changes to Garry’s route, which eventually saw Garry cycling to Nepal.
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