Pedal for Charity's Blog
Jonny - 27 July
Another day of sorting out stuff without our bikes, also watching Hancock at the cinema. One of the main things I miss about cycling all the time is watching films. Trying to sort out ferries and trains in order to see Stockholm, Helsinki, maybe Tallinn and then make it back down to Rostock in Germany. 2,310 km
Read and comment on this article
Jonny : 24 July, a day off
Nice to have a day without worrying about the bikes, walking around Oslo and actually making it to 'The Dark Knight' at the cinema. Oslo is quite nice, but we need to organize trains and ferries for other European countries. 2,310 km
Read and comment on this article
Andy: July 27 - day off!
One third out the way, time for a little intermission!
We've both really enjoyed it so far, time will tell whether we start to grow weary of it at all. Whether we do or not, we'll let you know and try to keep the website more frequently updated over August, we promise! So stay tuned...
We are about half way to making our target amount of 4,000 pounds so a warm thank you to all those who have donated so far, it really does mean a lot to us and it keeps us struggling up the hills and pedalling through the wind and the rain. For those who haven't donated yet, please do try to, whatever you can afford will make a difference to our total and mean a lot to us just in the knowledge that you are supporting us. And remember what great causes they are....check out more info on the website if you still need persuasion!
Hopefully my lengthy rants have not bored you too much.....we're off to see another film now.....best wishes to everyone for an amazing summer...Andy xxx
Read and comment on this article
Andy: 26 July
Today we had the biggest day to date. We cycled 145km which was a new maximum for the tour and all the more satisfying considering just how hard the terrain in Norway was. We had nothing left when we finally reached Olso, something we had not imagined being able to do at the start of the day and having conquered the first section of our tour over a week ahead of schedule. The final hour or two it took us to reach the center was really tough, with all the roads in and out of Oslo seemingly being motorways or hidden away from us. Once we found the road we wanted we were impressed by how picturesque it could be so close to a capital city, with plenty of huge lakes, woods and beaches, it seems to be nature that dominates Oslo rather than the city dominating its surroundings, which is a nice change compared to London and its token green-belt. We are lucky enough to be staying in a flat for a few days that belongs to the family of a friend of Jonny from school. We met Eric and Alice, siblings of Johnny's friend Charlotte, and both were kind enough to take the time to chat and make us feel welcome despite having to catch an early plane the next morning.
It's only now that we have realized just how much we needed a break, so its good that we've got a week or so without any heavy cycling. We've been to see The Dark Knight which was a phenomenal film made all the more impressive by Eric's suggestion that we see it in the Colusseum cinema in Oslo...a vast cinematic structure. We're taking a few days out to sort out our next move and relax a little. Over the next few days we'll be visiting Stockholm, Helsinki, Tallin (briefly) and Rostock....all things going to plan. Then we are back on two wheels once again to finish off Germany and then progress onto the final third of our trip.
Read and comment on this article
Jonny: 25 July
Absolutely massive day of cycling, making it all the way to Oslo in just one day, and ending in the flat of a friend from school Charlotte. We only arrived at 21:30 but worth it for a hot shower and a bed for the night. 2,310 km
Read and comment on this article
Andy: 25 July
Another day of pedalling in sweltering heat but with plenty to look at, including a variety of roadkill from snakes to non-descript furred critters of varying sizes, we didn't mind. We came very close to the border of Norway and slept on an airfield which was great. We met a guy called Daniel who was also camping on the airfield and was kind enough to cook us up a scouts-style dinner of weeners and beans which was surprisingly tasty...perhaps because it was the first hot food we had had in a while. In the morning we stayed to watch the first skydive of the day and made our way north to Norway.
Read and comment on this article
Jonny - 24 July
Completely worth another sunburn on my back after a perfect weather day. Just close to the border and still in Sweden but about 15 km away from Norway. Staying on an airfield tonight with this nice guy, whoīs sharing his food with us. May be able to watch some sky diving tomorrow morning. 2,165 km
Read and comment on this article
Andy: 24 July
Today we have reached a milestone. We are one third of the way through our distance for the trip, having passed the 2000km mark. We managed a respectable 102km today, the final 5 of which were the toughest so far. Today Sweden bit back, ensuring that all the views we had enjoyed would not come without a price...hard cycling (!). We had a nice excursion in Goteburg, but found some of the sights to be slightly anti-climactic, especially the skyscraper that was supposed to be fashioned on a lipstick, which already seemed to be trying to make some pretentious and unnecessary statement, but instead looked like some kind of mishapen dustbin with a red helmet.
We stopped for two beers each and some fries. I was left intoxicated y both my inability to process alcohol and yet another Swedish beauty...but regrettably the waitress in question was not similarly bowled over by my boysih good looks and roguish charms! Instead of eloping with her, Jonny and I zigzagged out of Goteburg in the sunshine and continued to head north.
Two small grumbles about Swedish roads...they seem to think that signposting is more a decoration to be put sporadically at points that might be aesthetically pleasing rather than at junctions or crossings where they might serve a genuine function, and second, the Swedes place bike paths alongside roads for perhaps 300 meters at a time, which then halt abruptly with no easy way to get ack onto the road... ...still its not a country I would particularly mind getting lost in.
Read and comment on this article
Jonny: 23 July
Perfect weather again all day, and I burnt my back completely but thatīs ok. Long stay in Goteborg, which was particularly nice followed by a 6 to 7 hour non-stop cycling through islands and over bridges, which resembles the Golden gate bridge in San Francisco. We just crossed the 2000 km mark in less than three weeks of cycling, so one third done. Quite difficult hills at the moment, followed by great but short down-hills (obviously). Weīre still managing more than 100 kms a day though. Camping with a view on the sea again. 2,043 km
Read and comment on this article
Andy: 23 July
Another day of being overwhelmed by just how beautiful Sweden is. The day began in an overcast manner but our moods skyrocketed once the sun came out in force once again. The evening in particular was very pleasant, as we ambled long coastal routes as basked in the warm evening sunshine. We stayed in a garden that overlooked a bay, and once again we looked out at the sun setting in magnificent fashion. Regrettabl our cameras just cannot seem to justice to what we are seeing....
Read and comment on this article
Jonny: 22 July
Andy and I lost each other, gave me a little scare, but he ended up 7 km in front of me somehow. Anyway, Varberg was relatively exciting, sort of, and we should reach Goteborg tomorrow. Stopped off in a garden for the night right next to the water edge. 1,941 km
Read and comment on this article
Andy: 22 July
Wow! All day my eyes have gorged on spectacular Scandinavian landscapes. Blue skies all day long too, with vast unspoilt scenery. We tackled our first big monster hill today, it took a long time and was a good 3 times the size of anything we had covered before but once we reached the summit we experienced a euphoric state for a considerable period after. Zooming down at 45kmph singing the knight rider theme tune to myself, I was subsequently high-spirited for the whole afternoon.
The women here are also stunning...even the grotty tattoo-ridden ones look pretty good! Blondes everywhere. Its sweeeeeet. I have been left baffled as to why the vikings ever left such a nice place to go to the U.K. There must have been a lot of irate Viking rowers on those boats when they arrived on the shores of the north-east of england, unless they were just trying to avoid the scandinavian prices and pick up some cheap food and drink. We stayed with a very friendly Swedish family, the Havagårds, and had tea, Swedish cakes and barbequed bananas as we watched another amazing swedish sun set.
Read and comment on this article
Jonny: July 21
No rain whatsoever today makes a nice change! Cycling through beautiful Swedish countryside makes a good difference as well. I much prefer mountains and hilly terrain to flat one although itīs a lot harder obviously. Somehow, the mountains seem to make us work harder and longer as we are accumulating longer distances. Some nice people let us stay in their garden, from where we watched a brilliant sunset. 1,819 km
Read and comment on this article
Andy: 21 July - Copenhagen
Great Day! Copenhagen is wonderful. An early highlight on the outskirts was a giant marble earth floating on water....it astounded me. We toured around looking at various wonders and tourist spots and were generally very impressed by the place. We got on a ferry in the evening and found ourselves in Sweden. Tried Carlsberg Black and Gold....probably the worst re-branding exercise in the world...it just tastes like special brew.
Read and comment on this article
Jonny: 20 July
Spent quite a while in Copenhagen, enjoying the sights and having an all-you-can-eat pizza buffet meal. Saw the mermaid close to the port, where some stupid tourist were climbing all over it and making strange poses with it. After sightseeing almost everything with a couple of downpours, we cycled to Helsingor and crossed the channel to Helsingborg so we stayed in Sweden that evening, shown to a farmerīs field by an attractive blond blue-eyed Swedish girl. Good start for Swedish female reputation. 1,711 km
Read and comment on this article
Andy: 20 July
Somehow managed 140km in the rain today. Mace at times is more a machine than a man, powering up each incline effortlessly and seldom expressing any form of fatigue. It has ensured that we continue to make great progress in terms of distance and speed. Lunch is becoming pricier in Scandinavia, and having to work everything out in Danish Crowns is tricky, but we had some Danish Blue Cheese which was quite good, and made a change from the standard Gouda/Camambert mix we tend to stick to. We finished a stone's throw away from Copenhagen so we have something to look forward to tomorrow...and our reward for a long day was a spectacular beach to camp on for the night. Although it decided to rain that night which really irked us, we got some magnificent views out to sea in the morning.
Read and comment on this article
Jonny: 19 July
Long day and massive distance covered for the second time (140 km) with downpours along the way. There were some hills along the way, which is promising distance-wise for more mountainous terrain. We made it close to Copenhagen, about 20 km away and we stayed on a beach south of Copenhagen. 1,624 km
Read and comment on this article
Andy: 19 July
Time is flying, as it seems are we! Went to Kiel in the morning which was very bland, just some creative cobbling and very little else to see. We had a Brockwurst for breakfast which was very tasty but seemed only to be a larger scale version of the beloved British banger in a much smaller roll, which led me to question the hype placed around the German sausage. Still, it gave us some fuel for the days cycling, which saw us reach Denmark at 9:30pm and slightly frantically, we finally found a beautiful private fishery that we were permitted to stay on for the night. We were only 5 minutes cycle from the harbor but we had already found the scenery to be quite pleasant.
I accidentally had a bit of an adventure today, one which the Mace was not impressed by. I was pedalling along with Jonny some distance ahead as has become customary for us. I somehow found myself on quite a large road. Oblivious to my whereabouts, I wondered why the Germans had had put so much effort into widening a minor road. Little did I know that I was in fact meandering down an autoroute/motorway. Still, the view was very pleasant as I crossed over the bridge, and the cars were courteous enough to leave me in my blissful state of ignorance as they sped past. Unbeknown to me, the Mace sped behind me, attempting to save me from the ever present danger that I was ever unaware of until he zoomed past me, like some great super hero with a potty mouth, screaming "what the **** are you doing?!?!?!?!?!." I continued to toddle on until we reached an exit, and whilst Mace was not happy with me for my error, not happy at all in fact, we soon put it behind us and saw the funny side of my little detour.
Read and comment on this article
Jonny: 18 July
Going through Kiel wasnīt so exciting. rather boring, but we did have a sausage hot dog thing, which Andy particularly enjoyed chewing on in front of the camera. Reached Puttgarden and took the ferry across to Denmark, why not? Had a bit of a scare, when Andy decided to miss a turn behind me and cycle along the autoroute for a couple of kilometres. I had to chase wildly after him, and annoyingly I fell and almost chopped off the end of my finger, as well as scratch up my bike, which didnīt help when I finally caught up with him and started shouting at him. The strange thing is, when I passed by him, he was smiling and listening to music, after having expressed his wishes to stay away from autoroutes! Anyway, we had a tender moment afterwards and apologized to each other. It was nice. At the end of the day arriving in Denmark at 21:30, we spent the night next to a fishing lake. 1,484 km Read and comment on this article
Andy: 18 July
Clocked another 100+ day today, and stayed just outside of Kiel. Stayed with Torsten, an absolute bachelor....we had beer, showers and used the internet for a bit.....once again the two beers had their effect and we were asleep very quickly indeed!
