As I guess you noticed, Ev6 (west) was not my favourite route. I avoid cycling along canals for fear of flash backs. The Loire part might have redeemed it but by then I was so jaded by the journey that I didn't really care. I still found joy in the little things, had a smile, a laugh but the trip on the whole wasn't much fun. For the first time I didn't get that gutwrenching joy when I finished. Just relief.
There was no connection with my surroundings. Canals don't have the personality of rivers. They get monotonous. They take you round the outskirts and through suburbs. It's a bugger to find food. You know what else it's a bugger to find? A place to have a wee. Canal on one side and nettles on the other. Every time you think you've found a suitable spot, you see a slow moving boat or a person fishing.
I didn't think the whole trip was canals but, it felt like it was. I have few memories of relaxing. Of just chilling on or off the bike. Obviously the bad weather didn't help. For two weeks I was soaked. It's the first time I've slept in a puddle. Slugs give me flashbacks too.
So. What does all this self pitying reflection mean for my next tour? Well. I'm not going to follow a water way. I'm going strictly road well, majority road - I want to see places.
In the UK I'm aiming for Walney to Wear http://www.cyclingw2w.info (well, Wear or Whitby to Walney so I can have some parental tlc at the end). That involves a fair bit of climbing so I'll be on a get fit campaign. For all my moaning I love the satisfaction of conquering a hill. That'll be a B & B break over Easter. I'll have my usual Scottish summer shakedown over a bank holiday weekend. That involves more camping than cycling and is usually chilly.
In the summer I'm booking UK trains and the Ferry to St Malo. After that I'm thinking of sort of following half of France en Velo. http://franceenvelo.cc I'm looking for lots relaxation and hoping for cheese, wine and sunshine.
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