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Garry McGivern’s Spanish bike ride Saturday 30th-April-2011 Portsmouth to Brighstone, Isle of Wight. 26 miles. A huge thank you to Liz for putting me up last night. It made a pleasant change to be staying in somebodies house. And also, thanks for the fry-up she cooked me. It was a bit of a struggle to ride afterwards!

It was a short ride along Portsmouth seafront from Liz’s to the Isle of Wight ferry terminal. And unsurprisingly, I was the first to arrive. But it was long before others started to arrive. I think there may have been around sixty or seventy of us this year, an excellent turnout. And a good few who had never cycled the Isle of Wight before. Soon everybody was on the ferry, and we were on our way to the Isle of Wight. I think the ferry staff hate us with all our bikes. There always seems to be so much chaos.

On the Isle of Wight, it’s a nice short ride to Rookley, where we stop off for lunch. Although I do appreciate that it doesn’t seem short for some. But everybody made it. Trish and John also joined us. They had decided to walk across the island instead of cycling this year.

After a few pints and a huge roast dinner, it was time to leave. There were one or two adjustments to a couple of bikes. Then we were off again. Everybody arrived at the campsite safely, eventually! Some had got lost and needed rescuing. But it’s all part of the Isle of Wight weekend.

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Garry McGivern’s Spanish bike ride Friday 29th-April-2011 Rouen to Le Havre, then Le Havre to Portsmouth by ferry. 81 miles. This morning, I had a fast ride and cycled the seventy miles to Le Havre in record time (for me!), and I was in Le Havre by one o’clock.

I went straight to the ferry terminal in Le Havre and booked the ferry, which didn’t leave for another four hours. There is a faster ferry between Le Havre and Portsmouth, but that doesn’t start until May. With time to kill, I found a bar to sit in. It may have been a little early in the season, as there weren’t many places open.

After a couple of hours, I made my way back to the ferry terminal. And while waiting to board, it started to rain again, and the temperature dropped. Even though I wasn’t out in the rain, the Le Havre terminal has a polytunnel that bikes wait in before boarding. Something Portsmouth doesn’t have. You get wet if it rains in Portsmouth when you’re waiting to board! Anyway, the staff were brilliant and quickly got me on the ferry.

Off The Ferry

The crossing was smooth, and we arrived in Portsmouth just after ten o’clock. I’m not bothering to cycle back to Bognor tonight. It’s hardly worth it as I’m off to the Isle of Wight tomorrow. So I’m staying with Liz, one of my friends. See, I do have friends! I was just about to disembark from the ferry when I received a text from Liz. “I see the bad weather has followed you.” So I asked one of the stevedores if it was raining outside. I’d put my waterproofs on if it was. “non, monsieur, it is not.” So off I cycled.

Two seconds off the ferry, the heavens opened. It was like a monsoon. I got drowned. Luckily I didn’t have too far to go, and I was soon at Liz’s and able to have a nice warming shower.

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Garry McGivern’s Spanish bike ride Thursday 28th-April-2011 Chatou to Rouen. 85 miles. It was a cold and wet start to the day. But after an hour or two, the rain stopped, although you could still feel it in the air.

Every time I cycle out of Paris, I get lost and go a different way. Okay, I know that I’d cycled the bulk of it yesterday, but Chatou is still considered a suburb of Paris. So last night, I spent a bit of time working out my route for today. And as I cycled on this morning, I began to recognise different places, a sure sign that I was heading in the right direction. I even recognised a bench in a bus shelter. I remembered sheltering there from the rain last year.

Do Concentrate

As I cycled on, not paying any attention, I suddenly realised I was heading in the completely wrong direction! Don’t ask me how it happened. I was just in my, own little world! It took me a while before I could work out where I was. But once I had, I found my way to the main D14 to Rouen. So at least I was now going the right way. I thought I’d stay on the D14 for a few miles, then drop down to the Seine and find the route I usually take. The D14 isn’t exactly a pleasant road to cycle on. It’s a single carriageway full of lorries that thunder past with inches to spare.

It started to rain again, so I decided to stay on the main road. That way, I wouldn’t have to worry about looking at road signs and checking to ensure I was going the right way. I could just keep my head down and peddle. I didn’t even stop for a break! All I wanted to do was get to Rouen so I could stop.

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