A break from the norm...
Discussion
I had planned to meet up with Jon a couple of times on his global trip but work and life seemed to always get in the way. Fast forward to this week and a twist of fate led me to be in Ireland when he landed from the US. A few messages were sent to and fro arranging various schedules and I planned to ride to his overnight stop then pick up his final ride in Ireland. Unfortunately I couldn’t get there the evening before so set off early (ish) the next day. I had Jon’s route so just had to aim somewhere into it then back track towards him. A simple plan, but forgetting East and West is a bad thing. I spent a good 45mins in the wrong direction before realising I was being a bit thick. I saw a few riders on the way but it was pretty obvious when I found him. The bike was more of a truck but I was greeted with a warm smile and to my relief he hadn’t turned feral. We headed back along the route that I had just ridden in a slightly surreal scenario, worldly traveller, and me. A few things struck me at this point. The bike, it was huge, motorcycle big, covered in panniers with a heavy bag strapped on the top. Crazy.
The route. 18000 miles.
I wasn’t sure how fast to go but we found a pretty good pace. I had to have a go at drafting this bike and as expected it was like following a truck! Guilt soon set in though and I made a conscious effort to stay ahead. We looked for somewhere to stop and eat but in the country places are few and far between. It’s quite a place Ireland as you can be pretty much on the outskirts of a major town yet ride in total isolation. Outside a long dead pub we pulled in and Jon announced it was time for sandwiches. From the right front pannier a loaf of bread, knife and marmalade were produced. His bike is a kitchen, home and transport.
Once underway we made a detour to where I was staying with the family with a brief stop about 15km away for a coffee. I’m skipping over the stories as a. there are too many to tell and b. I can’t do them justice, but there were many, some quite remarkable. Sat outside the café chewing the fat unfortunately for me Jon remembered my offer and pedals were switched over ready for me to humiliate myself. There is video evidence of me looking bemused and scratching my head at what I was now sitting on. The bike was heavy, but the weight was very similar to a motorcycle, low centre of gravity, but loads of it. There was no front brake and the gears are controlled by witchcraft via a twist grip. Once up to speed it actually handled ok, I liked the damn thing to be honest. I mean parking it was ‘fun’, you don’t just swing the back end into a wall, it’s er…different.
I couldn’t get my head around the trip on this bike though, some 50+kgs loaded up it turned every slight incline into a hill. Meanwhile Jon was off, he’d given up laughing at me. He adapted pretty quickly to road bike again and it took him all of 5 mins to start leaning on the powertap looking for peak sprint wattage. Meanwhile I was content with not crashing and trying to keep a sensible pace up whilst basking in the glory of all the onlookers thinking I’d just ridden around the world
I’d say a hard tempo on that bike was 16 mph compared to 20mph on a normal road bike, I’m trying to get it across really how much of a lump it was to keep moving and this was for a little jaunt on the flat. There was a reaction to turning, the weight was like a counter-balance, it definitely had personality! After a quick stop at the house we set a course for the coast where he was staying for the night. Honestly I had it in my mind that I was going to ride for maybe 40mins then head back, the reality was I that was too interested and had too many questions…. all of a sudden we were at the coast.
It was time to head home. 180km ride, felt like half that tbh.
I have a few lasting thoughts from the trip today. It was massively enjoyable, it wasn’t ‘training’ it was a ‘ride’. No thought was paid to speed, distance or much else. Probably the first time in I can’t remember how long that I have just been out and switched off from wattage, time, schedules etc. Listening to Jon talk about his experiences was both humbling and insightful. It brought a few things home to me, namely the small collection of plastic, aluminium and carbon underneath me is far more important than the sum of its parts and that numbers are really not important. I think sometimes we’re all guilty of forgetting why we cycle, today was a great reminder and I think I’ll be making sure I don’t forget again.
Big thanks to Jon for letting me share this part of his journey.
The route. 18000 miles.
I wasn’t sure how fast to go but we found a pretty good pace. I had to have a go at drafting this bike and as expected it was like following a truck! Guilt soon set in though and I made a conscious effort to stay ahead. We looked for somewhere to stop and eat but in the country places are few and far between. It’s quite a place Ireland as you can be pretty much on the outskirts of a major town yet ride in total isolation. Outside a long dead pub we pulled in and Jon announced it was time for sandwiches. From the right front pannier a loaf of bread, knife and marmalade were produced. His bike is a kitchen, home and transport.
Once underway we made a detour to where I was staying with the family with a brief stop about 15km away for a coffee. I’m skipping over the stories as a. there are too many to tell and b. I can’t do them justice, but there were many, some quite remarkable. Sat outside the café chewing the fat unfortunately for me Jon remembered my offer and pedals were switched over ready for me to humiliate myself. There is video evidence of me looking bemused and scratching my head at what I was now sitting on. The bike was heavy, but the weight was very similar to a motorcycle, low centre of gravity, but loads of it. There was no front brake and the gears are controlled by witchcraft via a twist grip. Once up to speed it actually handled ok, I liked the damn thing to be honest. I mean parking it was ‘fun’, you don’t just swing the back end into a wall, it’s er…different.
I couldn’t get my head around the trip on this bike though, some 50+kgs loaded up it turned every slight incline into a hill. Meanwhile Jon was off, he’d given up laughing at me. He adapted pretty quickly to road bike again and it took him all of 5 mins to start leaning on the powertap looking for peak sprint wattage. Meanwhile I was content with not crashing and trying to keep a sensible pace up whilst basking in the glory of all the onlookers thinking I’d just ridden around the world
I’d say a hard tempo on that bike was 16 mph compared to 20mph on a normal road bike, I’m trying to get it across really how much of a lump it was to keep moving and this was for a little jaunt on the flat. There was a reaction to turning, the weight was like a counter-balance, it definitely had personality! After a quick stop at the house we set a course for the coast where he was staying for the night. Honestly I had it in my mind that I was going to ride for maybe 40mins then head back, the reality was I that was too interested and had too many questions…. all of a sudden we were at the coast.
It was time to head home. 180km ride, felt like half that tbh.
I have a few lasting thoughts from the trip today. It was massively enjoyable, it wasn’t ‘training’ it was a ‘ride’. No thought was paid to speed, distance or much else. Probably the first time in I can’t remember how long that I have just been out and switched off from wattage, time, schedules etc. Listening to Jon talk about his experiences was both humbling and insightful. It brought a few things home to me, namely the small collection of plastic, aluminium and carbon underneath me is far more important than the sum of its parts and that numbers are really not important. I think sometimes we’re all guilty of forgetting why we cycle, today was a great reminder and I think I’ll be making sure I don’t forget again.
Big thanks to Jon for letting me share this part of his journey.
Edited by anonymous-user on Thursday 29th May 23:29
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