Since Anne and I have been travelling around in Eva we have met a lot of very interesting people........
One of the people I met recently on our current site was Neal Sanders who comes from near Cambridge...
Neal told me that each year he likes to do a cycle tour down here in the West Country.......
Like all good cycle tourists Neal has a name for his bike...... In this case it is Ralph.......
Ralph with a Rohloff....!
Ralph is a 26" wheel Thorn bike with a 14 speed Rohloff hub gear....
The bike has straight bars but Neal has added some trials bars which he told me helps him a lot on the steep climbs that can be found in this part of the world....
Neal loves his bike and the set up obviously works well for him, although it wouldn't be my ideal choice for cycle touring preferring as I do 700c wheels.....drop bars and Shimano derailleur gears.....
Mind you my cycling buddy John Donoghue (JD) would like Ralph as he has a bit of a thing for hub gears, although I am not so sure that he would get on with the trials bars.....
Neal seemed to have his kit well sorted and seemed to have reduced his overall weight pretty well...... mind you he wasn't carrying a stove or cooking pot which I know wouldn't go down well with most of the cycle packers that I ride with, as one of the most important things for us when arriving on a campsite, after putting up the tent, is making that well earned cuppa.....
Neal told me that he just uses cafes etc for his meals and drinks, again this works well for him although I prefer to be a bit more self sufficient.
As I have said Neal's kit was well sorted and the only item that I could see where a weight reduction could be made was with his sleeping bag.... In the picture above it's the item in the red bag...the largest single item. Weight saved with the sleeping bag would then allow that all important stove and pot to be carried without any overall increase in weight carried......
Neal was a really nice guy....typical of the sort of fella you meet when out and about on the campsite......
Due to his schedule Neal only stayed at the site for the one night which was a great pity as although we talked for a couple of hours about all things bikes and bike touring I would have liked to have learned even more about him.....
As I said.... we meet a lot of interesting people.....
One of the people I met recently on our current site was Neal Sanders who comes from near Cambridge...
Neal told me that each year he likes to do a cycle tour down here in the West Country.......
Like all good cycle tourists Neal has a name for his bike...... In this case it is Ralph.......
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| Neal with Ralph |
Ralph is a 26" wheel Thorn bike with a 14 speed Rohloff hub gear....
The bike has straight bars but Neal has added some trials bars which he told me helps him a lot on the steep climbs that can be found in this part of the world....
Neal loves his bike and the set up obviously works well for him, although it wouldn't be my ideal choice for cycle touring preferring as I do 700c wheels.....drop bars and Shimano derailleur gears.....
Mind you my cycling buddy John Donoghue (JD) would like Ralph as he has a bit of a thing for hub gears, although I am not so sure that he would get on with the trials bars.....
Neal seemed to have his kit well sorted and seemed to have reduced his overall weight pretty well...... mind you he wasn't carrying a stove or cooking pot which I know wouldn't go down well with most of the cycle packers that I ride with, as one of the most important things for us when arriving on a campsite, after putting up the tent, is making that well earned cuppa.....
Neal told me that he just uses cafes etc for his meals and drinks, again this works well for him although I prefer to be a bit more self sufficient.
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| Neal's Tent and ALL his kit... |
Neal was a really nice guy....typical of the sort of fella you meet when out and about on the campsite......
Due to his schedule Neal only stayed at the site for the one night which was a great pity as although we talked for a couple of hours about all things bikes and bike touring I would have liked to have learned even more about him.....
As I said.... we meet a lot of interesting people.....
Trevor, thanks for kind words, really enjoyed our chat and a lightweight sleeping bag is on the Father Christmas list this year. I made the top of Dartmoor just as the sun came up that morning. Glorious. Then down into Exeter, 42mph at one stage which I don't really like, in good time for the London train, took me 2:57 in total. Had plenty of time to spare except for the fact that the cycle carriage was locked and they hadn't got a key to hand, lots of flapping around before Ralf (he's part German) was safely stowed away. I'll be back down next year over Aug bank holiday weekend and always use the Tavistock site as last run into Exeter. Happy travels, dew yew keep a troshin as they say hereabouts.
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