Sid and Doris Bonkers and their Epic Journeys
"Everybody is normal until you get to know them"
In which Sid and Doris suddenly find themselves at sea, on their way to Sardinia and a holiday.At Vasto we told our hotel host we were headed for Civitavecchia and she made mountain signs with her hands. Today we finished the ride over the Apennines to the sea with a ride that was half joy and half delivery. 78 kilometres…
Read moreIn which Sid and Doris find the Appenines have almost been crossed, with splendid mountain views, vile roads and the excitement of crossing the Tiber. We can be on the West coast tomorrow. We start the day with some more repairs to Doris’ saddle. In her defence, this saddle was transferred from the previous bike and has done all of…
Read moreSome thoughts about food. The right food in the right place – Is it dinner time yet? – Would you like a coffee with that sir? – Have you done your homework? – Self catering? Really?1. The right food in the right place We set off determined to eat the food of each country, and not to go for the…
Read moreIn which Sid and Doris visit earthquake hit Aquila and enjoy an early end to the day in Renaissance Chieti. The breakfast room at the Hotel de la Poste is full of cyclists about to set off on 100 k days and big climbs. And us. We will do 73 k and 663 metres of climb, a breeze. Appropriate Breakfast…
Read moreHot air hand dryers – More reasons not to compete in the Tour de France – Vending machines – Stones on the roof – Major Bumsore – The Milestone Question – Prevailing winds, truly. 1. Hot air hand dryers I used to LOOOOVE hot air hand dryers when I had a motorbike. I remember sitting under one in a motorway…
Read moreIn which Sid and Doris drop a lot of height, enjoy a long honest climb to a Hotel de la Poste in earth quake land. The Appenines crossing goes on.Getting across the Appenines will take a few days of determined cycling. This is not the holiday riding we are promising ourselves. Soon, though. Breakfast was comically unsuited to cyclists. The…
Read moreLook there is Autofity BAT! In CAPITALS because this is a famouf place, it was advertised on posters for milef or indeed kilometref around.And there are many hysterically funny names for tyre shops across Europe [many of which Doris has criminally failed to record on camera, apologies for that].In Hungary they were Gumi Service. Then in later countries, Vulancizers, Elasticons…
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A place to park the occasional gem… “It’s a good job these shoes aren’t white any more or they wouldn’t match my trousers.” (In Amsterdam) “I wonder whether you get a lot of Dutch people going to Venice.” “I knew it (the route) was going to be bad when I rode past a construction site with all the bike path…
Read more“S” writes: Hey! It’s Tour de France time! I’m soooo excited!! I get to sit on the sofa with the remote control for the television, it is a Very Responsible Job and I take it very seriously. [It’s ok, we’re watching it on ITV4 catch-up on the PC – D.] I am “G”s biggest fan, well not biggest of course…
Read moreIn which Sid and Doris use old railways to make progress up the Adriatic coast, passing fishing platforms and old battle sites before climbing to a faded grand hotel.It is Saturday morning and very quickly we are passed by a Wiry Old Gent on a thin bike. This is good news, all day the traffic is sharing with cyclists. We…
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