Update three

 

Update three will contain a mix of some unpublished photos and 'interesting' facts about the journey.

The photo above featured in one of my first posts and was taken in Germany while I was having a break, waiting for my solar panel to charge. It was the only time on the entire 2500km journey that I wore my cycle helmet. Despite fine weather a strong wind was blowing rock hard, unripe pears down from the tree and the cycle helmet proved to be the only protection from being knocked out.

I never felt the need to wear a cycle helmet and even in my younger days during schoolboy cycle racing I think the only time cycle helmets (leather in those days) were worn was during circuit racing.

However the cycle helmet proved to be very useful on this journey as it was strapped to the offside rear pannier and the rear mounted flashing red light on the helmet was used at night more often than the rear mounted light under the saddle (which did not flash).

The cheap helmet did not fit very well and was very uncomfortable to wear and it would probably have caused more drag than it was worth. I always felt perfectly safe on the very sturdy and stable Giant gravel bike, even when descending hills in the Black Forest at speeds in excess of 50kmh. However my baseball cap, which I wore back to front on fast downhill sections, had a habit of flying off at speeds over 30kph and only a cord clipped to my shirt prevented me from losing it completely. It was however quite annoying when this happened as it often meant retrieving it as it flapped behind me on its length of cord while trying to negotiate fast downhill bends one handed.

Geese and a couple of hens (out of pic) that had hunkered down on the cycle path blocking my way. I ushered them back into what I took to be their humble abode.

Somewhere in Spain the traffic had ground to a halt, however undeterred I was able to overtake them by riding on a rough track beside the road. 

I had traveled right through France living off croissants and quiche but it was here in Spain that I had the best croissant ever. A fat crispy croissant with a very thin sugar glaze made for the perfect snack. Looking at the stickers on the window front they seem to have won some awards too. It's always pot luck to come across such places.

After setting up camp near Barcelona I went out in search of a seafood restaurant. This burger joint was the only place open nearby and the approaching storm had cleared the seafront of potential customers. I decided to have a burger instead and for just 11 euros I got a fantastic meal, a burger that would have made a McDonald's Big Mac look like some sort of joke. It was sadly more than I could eat, which was a shame but proof that fast food restaurants like McDonald's are rubbish. I managed to eat my meal in comfort and get back to the campsite before the storm arrived, which mostly missed us anyway thankfully.