Cycling

[Mel]

Latest post of the previous page:

I hope that wasn't you on the bike that whizzed past me this afternoon and nearly knocked me down

If it was whizzing along it definitely wasn't me Boatbuilder

[boatbuilder]

'Twas only a joke, Mel as you posted about the route and I was along there as stated.
That's where I saw them there 'free-ranges'.

[jonboy]

OOOhhhh.....i was supposed to fly out to Salamanca in Spain and continue my aborted ride from Seville to Santiago in a couple of weeks time .
This morning ,after waiting 5 days for an E mail reply i was informed that the bike hire company have no bikes available until mid June . Fortunately i have not yet booked my flight/train ticket to Stansted/overnight hotel in Santiago nor the coach from Santiago to Salamanca .
I am now looking at the possibility of taking my own bike but it would need a younger and fitter person to transport the bike and my baggage between home and my destination in Spain , so, at the moment all i can do is rant and rave on this forum . :

Ahh that feels better , for the moment at least .

[boatbuilder]

June in Seville should be good. When I went there in June one year it was about 42 degrees Celsius.

[jonboy]

Yes i was there in Oct last year and it was 32 deg ....nice for sitting in a bar or in a park...not quite as nice riding my fully loaded bike , still i managed 565 klms to Salamanca , which is why i wanted to continue the ride before June / july .

[funkychick]

I keep toying with the idea of an assisted bike like you Mel I m not finding it as easy as I used to
My question Jonboy are they heavy, someone told me they were ?

[jonboy]

Hello Funkychick.......Yes , electric bikes are a bit heavier, than their non powered counterparts mainly because of the battery and motor of course .
The cheaper new, and older secondhand bikes use lead acid batteries ( the same as used in cars ) and they are the heaviest of the lot ,the more expensive bikes use Lithium-ion batteries which are much smaller and lighter .
My wife has a fold up electric bike ,(a viking E-go) which i have only ridden a few hundred metres , but i was impressed , and my wife loves it for trips into town / shopping etc .
We bought it for about £345 second hand .
You are quite welcome to come and have a trial ride on it just to see the difference that electrical help gives and to see if the weight is o k for you.
Just send me a private message ( at the top of the page ) and i will reply with our contact details . B T W we live in Oulton Broad area .

[boatbuilder]

Yes i was there in Oct last year and it was 32 deg ....nice for sitting in a bar or in a park...not quite as nice riding my fully loaded bike , still i managed 565 klms to Salamanca , which is why i wanted to continue the ride before June / july .

I have been watching this series on Channel 5 on Friday nights and noticed that Salamanca is featured in the program this Friday 28th so might be of interest to you, jonboy.

[jonboy]

Boatbuilder thanks for that , i will be watching it .
Late last year i had 15hrs (9am until 2am the following morning ) to wait for a coach at Salamanca bus station so i managed to wander round a bit of this lovely city . Beautiful buildings and churches , lots of student life , bars, clean streets .
Not the best photos in the world , but for a cheap mobile phone not too bad

[boatbuilder]

Your middle picture there made me do a second 'take' on it, jonboy. It reminded me of the cathedral in the old Maltese capital city of Mdina.

Mdina Cathedral

[frankiesays]

I used to take that route when I worked in Beccles but used to turn off on to the Ellough village road and then up Cucumber Lane. Used to go back down Cucumber Lane for lunch in a field somewhere if it was nice.

[boatbuilder]

Was that Beccles via Malta, frankiesays? (guess you were responding to an old post )

[jonboy]

Well after my little rant the other day i have found another bike hire company in Spain ( 265 euros for 12 days hire for 1 bike )....jeez i could have hired a car for that ....anyway i have paid for the hire , paid for my flights , paid for the bus between Santiago and Salamanca and am about to pay for a hotel in Salamanca for the night .......just the train from Lowestoft to Stansted to pay now !

Amazing how quick the money goes when it is spent electronically is it not ?.

[jonboy]

Well , i have just returned home after finishing my 500 Klm ride in Spain . This ride was along the "Camino del Plata " to Santiago de Compostella , not an easy ride as most was on tracks , over rocks and even the bed of a stream , but a great but hard ride . Here are a few photos of this "Camino" .

Whilst i was there i promised myself this would be my last long distance ride , but since i have been home for a week i now find myself looking for somewhere to ride in September/ October ........thinking of Lisbon to Santiago along another "Camino " .. . my brain still does not know how old my legs are .

[boatbuilder]

Congratulations jonboy. Some lovely scenery there that brings back memories of my visits to Spain which seem ages ago now. Last time was in 2001.

[kerch]

Think there's a lot of us with the same problem,only remember the next day when it's hard work getting out of bed.