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With only 2 weeks until I leave on my RTW journey, I have a pretty good idea of where I’ll be through the end of July.
In general, my goal is to plan as little as possible, but I do know the high points and places I want to hit along the way – even if I don’t entirely know the when & how. Because of some specific desires in the first month, my time is planned out in more detail than the rest of the journey.
First stop: London and Milton Keynes
I land in Heathrow on June 30th and have to get to my friend’s place in Milton Keynes, which is a small (and widely derided) suburb of London, about 80 km out.
Under consideration: my bike will still be in pieces so riding to MK that late in the day would be a bit challenging. I could certainly put it together on the sidewalk outside of Heathrow, but I’m guessing security would take issue that, albeit in a very British way – with a stern look of disapproval.
Instead, my working plan is to take the luggage and bike to London (a much shorter taxi ride), where they have bike lockers at a couple of locations. I can put the bike together in peace, with the help of an associated bike shop if necessary.
Then, I leave the bike behind in the lockers and hop a train out to MK and I’ll be all set for a few days of fun & frivolity. I’m considering leaving my trusty steed in the city for the duration of my stay in the UK (four days) since I’ll be with friends and playing tourist. If I decide I do want to pedal around, I’ll take the train back in (sans luggage) and be able to ride to MK in an afternoon.
The transition to France:
Part of the reason for leaving the bike in London is that it will make the next leg of the journey quite a bit easier. While bikes are allowed on many trains, the size and weight of a loaded touring bike makes it unwieldy on many of the city trains.
On July 4th, I have to head to a ferry to France. Riding the bike from MK to Dover would be a multi-day journey with a loaded touring bike but if I catch an early train to London and grab the bike there, I can ride to Dover (about 100 km) and stay the night.
The next morning, I hop the early ferry across the channel to Dunkerque.
Lille, France:
From Dunkerque, it’s a 90 km ride to Lille, France for my first hostel experience ever. I’ll be in Lille for a few days, riding each morning to watch portions of the Tour de France which heads through that region on the 6th and 7th.
Each day will be an adventure in serendipitous discovery.
I know next to nothing about Lille, so each day will be an adventure in serendipitous discovery.
The nebulous middle bits:
The time from July 10th through the 22nd is open. Depending on how I’m liking Lille, I may stay in the area or I may take a combination train/bike up through Belgium and the Netherlands to finally see Amsterdam, which is a city I’ve often been near, but never been in. I’d love to ride the entire distance to see Brugge, Antwerp, Rotterdam, Liege and Belgium but I don’t want to feel rushed and not give each city its due. I’d rather just see two or three of those for a multi-day stay than constantly be riding and running.With my bike and all my bags along, that’s just more movement than I’d like on a daily basis.
The reason my time to get through Belgium and the Netherlands is a bit restricted is due to having Paris accommodations booked already. I wanted to get there to see the final stage of the Tour de France on the Champs-Elysees, so I paid for a room in advance (thanks to The Aussie Nomad for the recommendation).
I’m in Paris from July 22nd through the 26th with a plan to see some of the things I’ve missed on previous visits.
Yes, that includes the Musee d’Orsay. No, I haven’t seen it. I’ve been to the Louvre, the Pompidou, the Rodin and Dali museums and any number of other places in Paris, but I’ve always missed the Orsay.
It took a British Sci Fi series to make me visit one of the finest museums in the world.
After seeing a recent episode of Doctor Who, which featured the museum and Vincent Van Gogh, I have to admit I’m really excited to finally get there. I know, it took a British Sci Fi series to make mevisit one of the finest museums in the world. If you knew me, you wouldn’t be surprised by that.
Next up:
Who knows? My only other commitment on the trip is La Tomatina in Bunol, Spain in August where I’ll be meeting a number of other travel bloggers – the writers of SuzyGuese.com, cestchristine.com, whatsdavedoing.com, achickwithbaggage.com and hopefully more.
All I can say is, I hope the hostel lives up to your expectations. It was my first hostel and everything worked out ok.
It’s close to a metro and Sacre Coeur which has amazing views.
.-= Chris – The Aussie Nomad´s last blog ..From Amsterdam to Berlin =-.
My sister lives in MK – I think I’m on the much-derided train, but good luck!
Why are you taking a taxi in from H’row? Very expensive. Take the train, less expensive although not cheap, or the tube (metro) dirt cheap, or even a National Express coach. See http://www.heathrowexpress.com/Home and http://www.tfl.gov.uk/
If you insist on a car, http://www.justairports.com or http://www.london-transfers.com/ should be cheaper than a taxi – maybe 30 GBP instead of 60.
Hey Kathy – the primary challenge is that my bike will be in pieces. I’ll have luggage and two boxes of bike parts that need to be re-assembled (and the luggage tossed as I load up my bike bags).
Until that part’s done, it’ll be very unwieldy to try to get onto a train! After that, I’ll be set, though and will be able to use the bike as my primary transport.
I’ll check on some of the coaches to see if they can accommodate everything I need. Thank you for the advice!
.-= Joel´s last blog ..I See London, I See France =-.
You, me, the Greek, Munich, Oktoberfest – make it happen.
You’re almost there!! So excited to hear about your adventures on the bike – well more excited to hear the misadventures as I’m sure there will be tons.
Wait, does that make me sound mean like I want the bike to break down? Take lots of notes as there’s a novel in there somewhere!
.-= ayngelina´s last blog ..Have you met Jeremy? =-.