Day 11 - Trois Ponts (B) to Swindon (UK)

Day 11 - Trois Ponts (Ardennes) - (B) to Swindon (UK)


Monday 24/06/2023

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Back Home


Didn't have the best night of sleep, my airbed has a hole so I slept on a cold and wet floor which was very uneven. I was awoken at 2am by the sound of crashing tin cans and someone shouting. Can only assume that it was a pest in trash occurrence. Struggled to get to sleep after that as I was cold so had to throw my bike jacket over myself to keep warm.....

We set out at 9.30 and due to Leon's chain looking a bit ropey we stuck to the main roads rather than strain the machines anymore on the twisting roads. After a while we stopped for petrol and I adjusted both Leon and Konrad's chains as they were both lose, especially Leon's one which was very lose. We treated ourselves to a KFC in the sun as we had made good time so were in no hurry.

The final push to Calais was hot and boring and it was a struggle to stay focused and alert. The boat was on time and it was good to have coffees and discuss all of the different elements of the trip. It was really a marathon and hard work but we saw so much in addition to riding many of Europe's finest roads. My view is that we crammed in a bit too much, but we were pleased how we pretty much did no motorways and saw so many great places that would have otherwise remained unseen. Staying in hotels rather than camping would have made things easier but we were happy with our achievements (even if we need to go back and look at the video footage to remember everything that we did)!

Next year something simpler and easier!



Mileage: 2317
Beers / Drinks: 59 beers + 8 bottles/boxes of white/red + Konrad's mountain tally
Fines: 0 (me and Konrad may have fines in post)
Bribes: 0
Ass pain: 6/10
Mechanical issues: 2 - puncture and my heated grips have broken (long start, flat battery, 2 x chain adjustments and overheating excluded)
Accidents: 0
Wetness: 0/10 (no rain)
Coldness: 2/10 (nice but we were a bit damp in the morning from the days before)
Theft count: 0
Country Count: 7





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