Summer As seems to be the way with these big events you have to be quick off the mark when entering; the Alpi in Italy appeared way back in September and seemed to fit the thrifty travelling mode. I could tour down to Italy leave some kit behind at the start and enjoy more freedom whilst being looked after by the organisers.
I love a door to door tour. Me, Taz and the Tripster set off for the ferry at Portsmouth in the July Summer 18 heat wave, it was great I could not remember the last time a waterproof was needed. The Tailfin rack is ideal for this plan and full camp gear is coming along; Tent on top, one pannier for gear the other solely for food.
Camping through Northern France was a journey of three planned campsites getting miles a day out of the way while the going was flat. Caen to camping de la Trye in Bresles. The camping municipal just off the canal route is a quick easy check in away from a great communal tent area where I met some interesting fellow tourists and shared a beer. I went for an earlier start and a shorter mile day still heading East to cross the big la Moselle canals at Toul.
On the banks of the Canal de la Marne au Rhin, camping du Parroy was an idyllic quiet retreat, although the shade was limited it was a nice place to cool down and get an early cool start again. The canal network had me through Strasbourg by early afternoon and into my first real trip through Germany. The cycle routes although intricate were a revelation; very well signposted and well away from busy roads, this was fun.
Food by Aldi, fun in the baking sun and all on an easy budget. After the first very steep climbing near Schramberg I started to look for a stealth camp site off a wide quiet cycle lane. It was dusk yet there were plenty of people out enjoying the late heat, tons of professional looking skaters especially. A small sheltered field just off the road was perfect and cooled off quickly with some altitude.
