GRANDPA'S CYCLE RIDES

INTRODUCTION

INTRODUCTION

As with my other blog - "Grandpa's Voyages" - the idea for this one arose from a desire to make available to my Grandchildren photos and descriptions of some post-retirement adventures.

When I took up long distance cruising in my own yacht I had little idea and no plan for the length of time I expected to continue with that lifestyle.

But, after 13 years, when I reached New Zealand for the second time in 2009 - after one and a half circumnavigations - and at the age of 73, I realised I needed to start making plans to change.

So, I put the yacht up for sale at a price reflecting fair value but one that was high for the local market.

I thought I could change my life straight away at that price, but if no sale developed I could refurbish Alchemi for ocean cruising and continue on my way for a few more years.

As an alternative way of life I conceived the idea of reverting to a hobby of my youth - cycle touring - and so specified and bought a suitable bicycle - described in the October 2016 post of this blog as - "My Steed".

Alchemi did not sell in New Zealand so I did have her refitted and spent another five years visiting the Islands of the South West Pacific and continuing my second circumnavigation as far as South Africa - all as recorded in "Grandpa's Voyages".

So, the yacht was not finally sold until 2015 which was the year I finally began my fourth age with cycle-camping trips to Suffolk and the Loire Valley. But by then I was 79 years old so my camping was only practicable by carrying tent, bike, and equipment by car to sites from which I could make modest rides on the bike - rather than the continuous touring I first had in mind in 2009.

By August I also decided camping with a tent was unnecessarily spartan and so bought a caravan instead and went off with that to Spain and Portugal between October and November.

I have continued this new life in 2016 and hope to be able to do so for many years to come.

The layout and style of this blog will adopt the "Grandpa's Voyages" format with posts containing narratives and photos of my various expeditions.

Tuesday 24 January 2017

FRANCE – ANJOU VÉLO VINTAGE

JUNE 2015

Every year an organisation formed for the purpose organises a Cycling Festival held over two days and centred on Saumur that's called “Anjou Vélo Vintage”. This is a very large affair with the riverside road of Saumur at the centre of activities. There were numerous market-type stalls and stages here providing food, craft items and entertainments of all sorts.

At the heart of the festival though were a number of cycling routes of varying length – in 2015 there were five with the shortest being 20 km and the longest 90 km. But the routes and lengths vary from one year to the next and in 2016 they were 30, 40, 60 and 130 kms – each starting and ending on the promenade. At the time of writing it seems the 2017 routes have not yet been chosen though the dates are fixed for 24^th and 25^th June.

The shorter routes in 2015 followed relatively flat land east and west along the banks of the Loire, but the longer ones went north and south and involved climbs over higher ground at the edges of the valley.

Entrance requirements for participants were unusual and included:

Once booking has been confirmed entrants are only allowed to use a bike dating from earlier than 1987. All bikes must have brakes but neither handlebar-mounted gear change levers nor shoes automatically clipped to the pedals are allowed. Single speed fixed wheel bikes are permitted. Anyone presenting themselves with a bike that does not comply with these requirements will not be allowed to ride the course and will forfeit their entrance fee.

Entrants are asked to wear vintage clothing – swimwear, helmets, skirts and other vintage clothes and accessories.

The festival attracted hundreds of entrants and thousands of spectators – including some from other countries.

I arrived in time to see many groups arriving at the finishing line and then continuing up the slope to join friends and relatives or just to park their bikes in the densely packed areas dedicated to this purpose and joining the crowds around stalls and stages.

I found the whole event delightful. Everyone seemed to be enjoying themselves and there were no signs at all of violence or disruptive behaviour – a modern microcosm of an imagined Golden Age.

Here are some of my photos of entrants as they left the finishing line.