Ticker Test Ticked

It’s now twelve months since we abandoned our pan-European e-bike tour due to the havoc that e-biking was playing with Andy’s heart. Fortunately he had a successful catheter ablation for his Atrial Fibrillation (AF) in October and has been healthy ever since.

Now the smooth, silky surface of the Danube cycle path is calling us back. Our e-bikes are desperate to get back onto the most popular bike ride in Europe and to once again point their handlebars in the direction of Istanbul.

And who are we to deny them that pleasure?

Our plan is to drive the bikes back to Nuremberg to exactly the same car park that we stopped in last year, just outside Frank’s bike shop. As the nicest man in the e-bike world, he’s promised to keep an eye our car while we’re away. Having a car in the centre of Europe will certainly make getting home a lot easier at the end of the trip.

We will enjoy the Danube for a couple of weeks as it winds its way through Germany, Austria, Slovakia and northern Hungary before saying goodbye to the river in Budapest. We’ll then head south east to see how far we can get … hopefully all the way across Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria and onto Istanbul!

There’s one thing that’s a little trickier this year though.

In March, both Romania and Bulgaria joined the Schengen Zone for free movement across the EU which only leaves Turkey (of the countries on our route) that’s still outside the bloc. After Bloody Brexit, Brits are only allowed to stay in Schengen countries for a rolling 90 days in every 180 and we’ve already used up some of our allowance with a holiday to Greece in June. This means we’d better not outstay our welcome … or we’ll be facing a difficult discussion with a French customs official on the way home!

To find out whether the gentle exercise of bicycle touring might re-start Andy’s AF, we went on a ‘Ticker Test’ ride in April, cycling north through the Cotswolds, around the top of Birmingham and back south down the Wye Valley. To make for a proper test we pushed it a bit by riding over 80km a day for eight days straight.

Andy passed with flying colours … not a murmur!

Despite the chilly April weather, it was a lot more enjoyable to be cycling in the UK than we’d expected. Once we left behind Somerset and Wiltshire, both notorious for deep potholes, we found the roads to be smooth and the countryside delightful. From the pretty Cotswold villages of Bibury and Lower Slaughter to the border towns of Shrewsbury and Ludlow in the Welsh Marches it was a green and pleasant land that stretched out ahead of us in the view from our handlebars.

We kept telling each other that we really must go on a long bicycle tour across our own country sometime instead of always heading off to foreign climes. An idea for next year, perhaps?

Staying with good friends Jane and David near Rugby, we joined them for a detour into Coventry to visit the ‘new’ Cathedral, completed in 1962 as a symbol of peace and reconciliation after the second world war. It’s a building we’ve wanted to see for a very long time.

The modernist design of the interior is both striking and peaceful, dominated by Graham Sutherland’s vast tapestry of Christ and by John Piper’s colourful Bapistry Window.

When asked whether the window symbolised anything in particular, Piper is reported to have replied “No not really … other than a burst of glory!”

Just a day later, we were sitting outside another remarkable cathedral in Lichfield, famous for the carved figures of kings, queens and saints that adorn the exterior. We arrived just in time for Sunday evensong, made even more special as the choristers were accompanied by an organ that Clare’s grandfather used to regularly play.

In Ludlow we were surprised when our guest house hosts urged us to be sure to book a restaurant for the evening, even though it was only a Wednesday. Undeterred we took our chances and were lucky to get the last two seats in an Indian restaurant where the chef and the staff travel out from Birmingham every evening to serve up their famous Birmingham ‘Balti’ curries to the people of Shropshire.

It was only when some friends messaged to say how fortunate we were to stay in Ludlow and enjoy its famous fine dining scene that we understood the need to book ahead. We could only reply that “it was a very fine Balti” … and indeed it was!

Keen to make up for it, Andy suggested a detour the following afternoon when we reached Ross-on-Wye, turning right and riding for 25km out of our way just over the border into Wales. We’d be surprised if many people go so far out of their way for the simple pleasure of a meal in Wales but this one was well worth the extra kilometres. Both the meal and the overnight stay at the Bell in Skenfrith ended up being a highlight of the whole trip!

From there we had the fun experience of crossing the old Severn Bridge back into England, but were surprised to find speed cameras on the cycle path and a leisurely speed limit of just 10mph. Fortunately, after all that food, it wasn’t too difficult for us to pedal so slowly!

So the Ticker Test was well ticked back in April. The e-bikes are now chomping at the bit to get going and we’re now all set to head back to the Danube in a few days time.

But to prepare properly, Andy has been taking every precaution with another vital part of his bicycling anatomy … his bottom.

As well as the AF, Andy suffered from some painful saddle sores for the first time last year, probably because his new e-bike had a slightly different set-up to his trusty old Ridgeback, on whose saddle he’d ridden for over 14,500 km without the merest hint of an annoying pimple.

Firstly, he’s invested in a big tub of Sudocrem, a UK brand of nappy rash cream beloved by babies and new parents alike.

Secondly, he’s been for a specialist bike fit to make sure his position on the bike is as comfortable as possible … something he now wishes he’d done years ago. If any of our Bath based friends fancy giving it a try, we would thoroughly recommend Jasper at Physio Impulse. As an Osteopath he’s unusual amongst bike fitters at being more focused on comfort than on power and performance.

And thirdly, Andy’s found some new touring cycling shorts and undershorts. After much research he’s bought them from Corinne Dennis, a small company based in Cornwall. Their clothing may not be the most fashionable but it’s specifically aimed at touring cyclists seeking maximum comfort over long distances, on and off the bike. No lycra, no tight leg grips and padding made from soft, supple fleece.

New cycling shorts mean that Andy’s last piece of clothing from our first bicycle tour to Barcelona in 2016 has eventually bitten the dust … his favourite old shorts once held up by safety pins, frequently repaired but still missing a working fly zipper for several years.

This means that Clare has empathically won the make-your-kit-last-a-long-time competition. She might have ditched the hairdryer a long while ago but she’s still wearing the same cycling tops, shorts and sunglasses that she wore to Barcelona.

One of these photos is from 2016, the other is from 2022. Can you tell which is which? Answers on a postcard please … or in the comments below.

Clare and Andy