Even the Toilet Rolls.......

A few weeks ago at the end of January when I posted about picking up Eva the Eriba from the dealers, Steve from the blog DPF Point to Point in the USA, left a comment asking me when Eva would be painted purple...... to which I replied :-

"I won't quite go that far Steve, but I will be adding lots of purple things inside the van like cushions....containers....wine glasses etc".

Well just to reassure Steve that all is going to plan in line with the 'purpletraveller colour chart' here is a photo of the latest items to go into the van,  proving that even the toilet rolls are purple!!

Purple toilet rolls for Eva the Eriba

Far more 'spring like' than the local tip......

Since my last post Anne and I have been really making some headway with our plans for our big adventure...
We have managed to shift out lot's of items of furniture etc....... you really know you are getting on top of it all when the rooms have a bit of an echo....
Even the garage is almost empty and I think that all our trips to the tip and upcycling and recycling organizations is slowly coming to an end.... probably two or three more trips should see it all done...

We seem to have been working on the task of simplifying and removing all the clutter in our lives for ages - we actually started on it back in mid September last year - but we are both feeling the benefits of our decision already, it's like having a weight lifted.

It is really surprising how much STUFF we can accumulate over our lives.
In the past whenever we have moved we have just packed everything up and moved it on to the next house.....we have never had a proper sort out, so over the years the STUFF just grows and grows.
Deciding to go travelling before moving into our next home has been a great opportunity to just get rid of everything..!!

We have both agreed that when we finally stop our travels and settle in Devon we will keep everything simple and will live a more clutter free existence......

Rather than show you an image of the local tip or a charity shop or recycling organization's offices (all of which I seem to have spent a lot of time at recently) I thought that I would leave you with a picture of some snowdrops....far more Spring like........

SNOWDROPS - far more Spring like than the local tip!!

Pop along to Shaftesbury.....

A few days ago I met with Jon Joynes for lunch and a natter..... Jon was one of the team who rode with me on the Ten Countries in Ten Days (10in10) ride back in 2013....
In actual fact Jon is the only one of the riders whom I have cycled with since that adventure.....

It's always nice to meet up with friends, especially if you have shared the adventure of a trip such as the 10in10.....It's almost as if there is a bit of a bond that is formed by the pleasure and pain jointly experienced by all who were in the team.......

Jon and I met up in Shaftesbury in North Dorset.....
Although on this occasion we both travelled to the town by car, I've cycled to Shaftesbury on a number of occasions in the past and it is a great destination for a cyclist.....
One of the reasons is Gold Hill.........
This is the cobbled hill immortalized in the 1973 Hovis Bread TV advert directed by Ridley Scott and it really is a picture-perfect chocolate box scene..........

It's a great hill for a short... hard.... cobbled hill climb........
In Simon Warren's book 'Another 100 Greatest Cycling Climbs he rates it as 7/10. 
On his scale 10 is the hardest........

The thing with attempting this hill, is that because it is a bit of a tourist honey trap you will always become part of the attraction.....tourist eyes will be on you.....watching your every revolution of the pedals.......you dare not fail to reach the top..!!!
Worth a go though!!

When you've completed that..... just head about a mile south of the town and you will come across another hill listed in Simon Warren's book....
This one is the Zig Zag hill and he rated this an easier 4/10....but don't be fooled as it is still an enjoyable and worth while climb for the cyclist hill climber.....

If you are ever in Dorset with your bike........ pop along to Shaftesbury and give those hills a spin.......

Gold Hill - Shaftesbury

Eva...The arrival.

As I said in my last post, the drive from the Eriba dealers over to my daughter's house was uneventful.

Not having towed a caravan for many years meant that I was more than a little apprehensive but as it turned out I need not have worried as everything went pretty smoothly.

The last mile of the shortish journey was up a reasonably stiff hill..... 
I have cycled up this hill a few times in the past and on the bike it presents a nice tough workout, particularly if you want to maintain any decent speed. 
Towing Eva up this gradient was no problem at all and I barely noticed that I was actually hauling a caravan up a stiff gradient...

When I arrived at my daughter's home I drove straight on to the drive.... There was no way that I was going to mess around trying to reverse it......Anyway I had already sorted the manoeuvring aspect of caravan ownership as I will explain shortly.

I unhitched the caravan and then the 'magic' began......

(When I ordered the caravan one of the extras that I had added was a MOTOR MOVER.
Everyone I had talked to at various campsites who owned a caravan advised me to have one fitted and that was a view that was supported in the caravan magazines I had read.)

Trying to remember all the instructions that Jason the dealer had given me during the handover regarding the operation of the motor mover I switched this bit of kit on and using the handset supplied proceeded to  manoeuvre the van.

Initially I couldn't get Eva to respond correctly to the handset instructions.... and then I realized that I had made the number one beginners mistake... I had not released the handbrake!! 

Actually it was not me who realized the handbrake was still on, it was my daughter who was watching  from one of her windows.
She was filming the whole thing on her smartphone ready to play at a later date for all other family members as a form of comedy entertainment !!.....

Once the handbrake had been released, moving Eva around on the drive was an absolute dream.
I moved her away from the car and then managed to do a 180 degree turn and slot her into the chosen spot to one side of the house entrance....

So....... Eva has now been parked up, already for our adventure starting in a couple of months time.
I know for some people their idea of a retirement adventure would be an around the world cruise or something like that....but that's not for me. 
After a lifetime of camping...backpacking....cycling etc... a caravan is a bit of luxury but still allowing us to enjoy the outdoor life...and that includes still doing a bit of all of the above.

Eva's first dusting of snow.

Since parking Eva up and putting her cozy winter coat on, my daughter has sent me this picture above showing that Eva has experienced a light dusting of snow....

Eva slotted into her temporary home

Eva and the car from where she had been manoeuvred

All you need to move a caravan...My motor mover handset control.