Into the mountains...

This year marks the 10^th anniversary since we started our cycling tours of Europe and I have some great memories on which to reflect.

The early morning sun burning the mist off the purple mountains as we rode through Glen Coe in the Highlands. Trying to make sense of the desolate country roads around the Scottish town of Wick after a visit to the Clynelish distillery. Picking our way through the vineyards of Burgundy with each village, an echo from the dusty pages of Claridge’s wine list or late one night, staggering into the sinister Rosergarten Hotel, high in the Alps after a 130 mile day, crossing the Stelvio pass and climbing 14,000 feet. In Italy, long summer days enjoying the grandeur and scale of the Apennines around Monte Cassino. More or less collapsing of exhaustion in a bus shelter in the tiny, southern Italian mountain village of Mormanno, then finding a rustic inn for the night before a long descent through high mountain passes to rejoin the others on the coast. The ferry across the clear, blue Mediterranean waters of the Messina Straight to Sicily. Riding through the ‘flatlands’ of central Spain and the imposing medieval castles or paradors in which we stayed. The remarkable Turia Gardens in Valencia created from a diverted riverbed. The bullet holes of Croatia and the beauty of Dubrovnik.

This year we plan to spend a few days in the Alps and Dolomites. A shorter ride (476 miles / 766km) but what we are losing in distance, we are making up for in climbing (64,975ft / 19,800 meters) or a little over 2 Mount Everests. The plan is to return to Ljubljana, the picturesque capital of Slovenia, head North West into Triglavski National Park before crossing the boarder into Italy, navigating the Dolomites and then up into the Alps, traversing the Stelvio pass once again at 2760 meters then down to lake Garda and finishing in Verona.

Jeremy has ‘apologised’ for this trip with various excuses ranging from being too old, too grumpy and not wishing to be seen in the company of people who wear such cheap cycling jerseys.

Unusually healthy breakfast

As for the rest of us, no major changes since last year's trip. Chris is still responsible for selling vast quantities of (Ransomware free) software to the NHS. Graham continues to run his ever expanding garden maintenance business which seems responsible for cutting every front lawn in the South of England. Harley will probably be 'in-oil' for the rest of his days. For my part, life continues in Khartoum where I'm enjoying the work, the people and the place as much as ever. No mis-adventures with the Secret Police or broken legs on my cycle rides this year, just the excellent company of the Sudanese Amateur Cyclists Group.

The Sudanese Amateur Cyclists

On the personal side, we all seem to have arrived at that point in our lives when most of the children have buggered off to various universities and if mine are anything to go by, struggling to find the right balance between smoking strange substances, partying and actually doing some work.

So we are all set I think. Flights booked, logistics arranged, nutrition packs sent to each hotel en route. Spanners, a first aid kit and a spare inner tube, all packed.

Keep you posted!