Sunday: Shrewsbury to Aberystwyth. After a very cold night I awoke to a lovely sunrise with promising weather forecast. It was 2 degrees but my thermals paid for themselves! I was snug as a bug in a rug 😊. The tent was saturated though with morning dew and condensation so I had to pack it up wet…not good! The ride, around 115k, was overall lovely going in to Wales and basically going east to west of Wales. The roads were undulating and then I hit the whooper of climbs over the Brecon Beacons…wild, windy and wet, but stunning scenery. And oh how delightful it was to drop down to Aberystwyth 😊. Another day of absolute madness of drivers. I was so so lucky to survive a car overtaking loads of cars coming towards me at crazy speed and oblivious to my presence. So scary – nicked the side of my pannier! And another madness when at a set of roadworks lights the driver behind me thought he could squeeze in to a space that didn’t exist on the single roadway – knocking me in to the roadworks. And just carried on!

I had booked in to a small B+B but when I got there the owner was..out! So I sat in the front garden for an hour…until the neighbour made me a lovely cuppa and just as she did the owner arrived!

Monday – Aberystwyth to Fishguard. I think I can safely say today was undoubtedly the toughest so far. I was greeted with rain, and howling winds this morning. 800 metres in to the ride and the first of what turned out to be one of countless 15%+ climbs. All day I slogged against the elements and incredible hills. At one point the wind was just too strong to ride as it was throwing me off the road…a bit scary in the driving rain, though I can’t complain-in the main the wind was either behind me or across me, though occasionally it was bang in my face! Whilst I cussed a few times it was also a great mental and physical challenge which I quite enjoyed. Met another mad cyclist, cycling the coast of the UK for the MS Society- she had 1500 miles left. An incredible effort. We both bemoaned the idiots on the road, swapping stories of near misses…I had two today. I’m glad I had my brakes serviced a week ago!!

I booked in to this incredible hostel – and I’m the only resident in the place. It’s a converted old school house, and the dude running it was so welcoming. And the shower was out of this world!
Tomorrow I’m heading ‘home’ – across the sea to Ireland 🇮🇪 😊😊.

Well, I decided to hit the road today to make a ferry to Ireland on Tuesday -so had 355k to cover in three days, so reasonable. After loading up and saying goodbye to my lovely rellies in Great Dalby I set off towards a camp site just the other side of Shrewsbury. It was bloody cold! The first 49-50ks were pleasant apart from morons behind their precious car….I had forgotten just how moronic English drivers are, with an unswerving sense of entitlement! Through the days riding I kept thinking – I really hate cycling here, and I don’t feel safe at all’. A very unpleasant experience for 160 odd Ks.

And then it belted with rain! I arrived bedraggled, wet, pissed off and cold. One thing that’s bewildered me is the complete absence of places to eat or buy supplies….I thought this was the land of shop keepers! Perhaps it’s just my routing but I have traveled all day and must have passed a couple of shops! I’d see a sign to what I assumed was a village only to find it was just a hinterland or ‘area’ which was utterly devoid of a shop!

Once I got the tent up I went for a welcome hot shower to prevent hyperthermia….only to be greeted with cold showers 🤣. Oh, can this day get any better..!?. There’s a small ‘bar’ at the site which did a mean fish and chips, so that helped ease the stress!

I think for the first time this trip I simply didn’t want to be here. I have felt quite discombobulated today – just wondering what the hell I’m doing, and why! I think part of it is that the impacts of the past few weeks have finally caught up with me. I didn’t really allow myself to think too much about what was happening- I just got on and did what needed to be done. But undoubtedly it was emotional and tough. I hope I can find a way through these doldrums 🤔.

Tomorrow I’m heading to the coast of Wales. 115k of undulating roads. My bike urgently needs a new bottom bracket so I’m hoping it’ll hold till I get to Ireland for serious intervention!

Off to bed in my cold tent – let’s see how good these thermals are!! Night everyone.

Hello everyone.

Well it’s been nearly 6 weeks since I left bangkok to travel to london to be with my father. It’s been an exhausting though satisfying time and I’m so glad I came over. Having got Bob back after it’s 2nd unplanned ‘holiday’ I was able to enjoy some riding through the beautiful Surrey countryside.

The main focus has been on clearing dads house out ready for sale. Over 4 weeks of removing, clearing and cleaning out his home it was on the market….and sold within days! So that was wonderful and I was glad I could contribute to getting his affairs in order. Dad remains in a care home which overall is pretty good place. His mental acuity is most discernible declining, as is his mobility and control over bodily functions, but there were always glimpses of his humour and approach to life which made us all smile, laugh and be grateful. The key thing is he is now safe, cared for and relieved of a home which he was never going to return to which provides him with financial security and perhaps choices in his care arrangements going forward.

So with a heavy heart I left Surrey on Tuesday to ride the 197k to my rellies in Great Dalby, in the midlands of England. That was a shock to the old system but I managed it, somehow….though have felt a bit rough and stuffed these last few days. It’s been wonderful to catch up with my extended family up here, but it’s time to turn the pedals again tomorrow. The next stage is to ride to Pembroke in Wales to catch the ferry to Ireland….no more planes for now as I rather like Bob can can’t risk another bike holiday sans rider!!

I’ll hopefully post every few days, not least so my Niamh can read what her mad dad is up to! I’m looking forward to some lovely English countryside and the welsh highlands….I might not say that when I’m slogging up them but I’ll moderate my daily distance so as to really enjoy the landscape.

I hope that each of you reading this are happy and healthy. I look forward to sharing my onward journey and reflections. Take care everyone.

Soooo…..after what was an eventful flight with a child directly behind me screaming for about 4 of the 12 hours (I sensed he was a young child with special needs) I arrived in london…..but my bike did not. Does that sound familiar??? You simply could not make this shite up. So my earlier post about considering the possibility that the universe is conspiring to take an enormous dump on me at every turn took one step closer to moving from hypothesis to fact! I think I actually cried. And of course the dance began again ‘so, Dr Kemp, if you fill out this form we will start the process of locating your bike and oh, any questions, just call this number’. What they should say is ‘sir, I know I might appear to care but I actually don’t give a shit as we have your money. And that number to call….no one will answer it’. As it so turned out it was an answering machine which was ‘full’ so you couldn’t leave a message 🤣🤣😡😡.

Sunday: Pluviophile ☔️

The place I stayed in Sunday night was divine! I was greeted with coffee and toast and a sandwich for the road in the morning…now that’s what I call hospitality. I was greeted also with rain and wind, as predicted! Whilst the first thirty Ks were wet, it wasn’t too bad -it’s a quirk of mine (one of many I’m told!) that I ride best in the rain (hence ‘pluviophile’ 😊).

I made good progress – I found myself with only 60 to go and it was only 9 in the morning, but with impending monsoon type weather in the offing I simply wanted to be safe and get to Hua Hai even if that meant sitting in a coffee shop for a few hours….such is life 🤣

Sunday-Tuesday:
Lesson 7654…Read the reviews 🤣

There’s a reason a place you’ve picked is cheaper than comparable hotels in the area….the clue is often in the reviews of the place 🤣. Lesson 7,654 of this trip. I booked in to a small hotel in a town dominated by high rise hotels and resorts, which I hate. As I cycled down what was a car/moped free zone, it starts to dawn on me that this place is, well, situated in a part of town frequented by ‘ladies of the night…’ except here it seems to be morning, noon and night! But I had paid for the accommodation and in talking to the delightful old lady who was the hotel proprietor I was assured it was safe and not too noisy! Turns out she was wrong…,or deaf!

I was saddened by the sight of old men being entertained by young women. I felt like I was ‘one of them’ – older man on my own in this part of town, so I stayed in my hotel room and read my book and rested best I could. Thankfully the more sickening and hideous side of life here, of very young women being forced in to prostitution, was not visible tho I sensed that it was hiding in plain site for those that sought it. The whole place had an air of sordidness. I guess along with the temples, coastlines and rolling hills there is an underbelly which is an integral part of this place as those aspects. During my stay in Hua Hin I had really good opportunities to talk to cafe owners and locals about this situation and got some really good insights and perspectives which I had not considered before – didn’t always agree, but it’s humbling to hear the ‘word on the street’.

Tuesday: Don’t bother reading the reviews!

Such is the contradictory nature of Thailand that when I did remember to read reviews of hotels…..I discovered that are…. full of shite!! After Hua Hai I wanted quiet and rural, so found this raved about place beside a river half way to Bangkok. It was in the back arse of nowhere, but it had a restaurant and breakfast included so when I arrived I was delighted to see such a tranquil place with individual cabins. That soon turned to ‘you’re kidding’! Having booked in and got ready for a shower I looked around for a towel but alas…no towel. So I redressed and located the lady who booked me in….’No towels’. Oh. Ok. Oh, so when does the restaurant open? ‘No food- closed’ Oh shite, you’re kidding! So I put on my sweaty/wet cycling gear back on and buggered off before she had chance to tell me the bed was extra! After much searching I got myself in to a ‘homestay’ accommodation in the most divine part of Thailand I’ve been in – it was like a little Venice! And blow me down…,they had towels! But no food!

Wednesday- Bangkok.

124ks. I set off early to beat the heat and cleared 64k in two hours along what I now know was the motorway, where I wasn’t supposed to be 🤣. Then things got very messy – punctures galore, roadworks everywhere, and the traffic was, well, indescribable. I was thoroughly miserable. There simply was no enjoyment in trying to navigate, ride and have 360 degree vision, as any semblance of order disintegrated in to chaos, pure and simple. And dangerous. After more punctures I pulled on to the pavement on a side road and just said ‘I’m not enjoying this one bit’. Just then a young man approached to ask if I was ok – he owned the lumber yard I had parked up outside. He spoke English very well and, well, basically said ‘if you think that was hard you ain’t seen anything yet…,did you know this is the most dangerous road in the whole of Thailand! Actually, no, I didn’t! He showed me around his factory and we chatted for an hour. Then he said ‘I’ve ordered one of my staff to take you to where you’re going ….it’s simply too dangerous and soon you’ll hit toll roads and serious traffic. I didn’t hesitate! There’s being silly, then there’s down right stupid! As I travelled in comfort the final 30ks I could absolutely 100% confirm he was 100% correct – carnage. The roadworks were insane, the traffic off the charts. It took 1.5 hours in his car to do 30ks. He dropped me at the airport, I fixed my last puncture then rode to find my hotel, about 8k away. And even then I was stopped my traffic police because ‘you’re not allowed to ride on this road’. That was a problem as ‘this road’ was the only one which took me over the river in front of me’. I pretended to confirm I’d turn around and when they left….I rode over the bridge! My rebellious side is popping up more and more here! What was I supposed to do….get a fecking boat?

So….that’s the riding over with and to be honest after today….I’m not sorry. I’m going to box up Bob (yes, sad, I know, but my Bombtrack has a name…,to be said Rowan Atkinson style as Edmund Blackadder) tomorrow. A local bike shop has put aside a box for my trip to London.
Thanks everyone for riding with me. To be continued!

Finally want to say thank you from the bottom of my heart to Jill for hosting and posting these last few months.