Thistle Map
Unusually for us, we have planned every night, every route and every ferry crossing before leaving. But we are confident that the Bothy McWeevil Thistle Garden Challenge will add surprises and delights every day…
Read more
Tag: Planning
This’ll Not Be The Thistle
On the 2nd October this year we were due to set off driving the Mini to St Andrews to do the Highland Thistle, a classic car rally organised by our friends at Rally The Globe.
Read more
The Grand Tour In A Time of Covid
Sid and Doris have decided that now would be a good time to go to all the places that you wouldn’t usually dream of visiting in peak tourist season. Will Sid and Doris be the only people there, or has everyone else got the same idea? Watch this blog for details!
Read more
Grand Tour 2020 Route (and Replans)
This page contains the original maps and the various replans, as well as a link to the detailed map of the final route.
Read more
The Zone of Information and the Cone of Interest
This is an important concept for a touring cyclist, and even more important for the TC’s eager blog audience.
Read moreUnscheduled Route Replan #3(c)(iv)
In which we fall out of love with the Pyrenees and think about Brittany instead.We have been really struggling to work out how to get over the Pyrenees. Armed with a large map of the area (approximately double bed-sized) we can see a range of choices. From the left:– go round the west end, which will drop us onto the…
Read moreSometimes I think about roads
Big roads vs little roads – the human perception of slopes – potholes1. Big roads are boring but little roads always seem to be hard Every so often we take a step back from the Epic Journey, and we muse that the problem with Epic Journeys is that you tend to whizz through places on the straightest road you can…
Read moreScheduled Route Replan #3b
From Sardinia to Santander on a relaxed timeline with only a few smallish obstacles remaining. Here we are in Sardinia (hooray!) so only one major section of the Epic Journey is left to plan – “simply” get to Santander in time for the ferry on the 4th September. The ferry only goes twice a week and all the cabins are…
Read moreInterview with Sid and Doris after Phase 1
Q: So the Epic Journey to Istanbul has delivered! What changes did you make as you went along? Doris: I think we became a little more fixated on Istanbul as a destination as we went on, and that straightened the route out and meant less sightseeing. We didn’t go to some bits of Bulgaria and Romania that we originally had…
Read moreScheduled Route Re-Plan #2
The Epic Journey was originally conceived of in three parts, adding up to 16 weeks plus a bit in the UK to get home from the ferry:1. An outward leg to somewhere Epic2. A slower bit with some free time taking ferries across to Greece and Italy and having some chill-out time en route, eating leetle feeshes in harbour towns…
Read more