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Amanda and me to Paris or Bust
  • Steve Bachrach
  • Steve Bachrach

Amanda and me to Paris or Bust

We're following The Seine into Paris, then the Avenue Vert back to Dieppe, up the coast ¹¹to Calais and to Gillingham via Dover and Canterbury. Read more
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  • Trip start
    August 26, 2025
    Steve BachrachAmanda and me to Paris or BustTraveler
    That superglue worked a treat!
    No I didn't need Botox to achieve that look. One kiss of the tarmac was sufficient.

    All ready?

    August 22, 2025 in England ⋅ ☀️ 39 °C

    Why 'or bust' we hear you say. Because since I crashed nearly 4 weeks ago I have hardly ridden and am still feeling rather beaten up. Paris seems a long way away. BUT with my trusty steed repaired and raring to go who am I to refuse such an adventure?Read more

  • Steve BachrachAmanda and me to Paris or BustTraveler

    Last minute preparation

    August 25, 2025 in England ⋅ ☀️ 22 °C

    What does one do on the day before a huge journey?

    Make a packing list, tweak the itinerary after realising that the route you planned on Giggle Maps was via Paris, Texas (see picture) - yes it really does have a cowboy hat on the top.

    After years of overpacking we finally succumbed to Sally Kertzman's wise advice - only take 3 socks (you rotate them so each is worn a max of 2 days before being washed); cut off the handle of the toothbrush ( you can just chew the bristles); let the air out of the tyres (weight saving); leave your passport at home (they're overrated anyway and loads of people crossed the Channel without them over the last few years); only two pairs of pants (right way and inside out for each = 4 days wear). I even decided to leave my cuddly toy at home this time (weeping and gnashing of teeth sounds).

    Off nice and early tomorrow, so keep an eye out on BBC News for the latest. Au revoir.    Read more

  • Steve BachrachAmanda and me to Paris or BustTraveler
    Best of luck getting an e-bike in there2

    And they're off

    August 26, 2025 in England ⋅ ⛅ 21 °C

    What could set you up better than a breakfast of porridge and runner beans? Maybe smoked salmon, scrambled egg and champagne like Sally and Phi have most mornings. Apparently that's what has maintained their youthful appearance over the years 🤔! Nice ride to Bath, train to Paddington with the cycle spaces designed for small road bikes.

    2 missed train connections. Windy campsite. Early bed.    Read more

  • Steve BachrachAmanda and me to Paris or BustTraveler

    Stud Farm Campsite, Telscombe Cliffs

    August 26, 2025 in England ⋅ ☁️ 20 °C

    Beautiful sunrise and early start for the ferry. That ramp off the ferry looks a bit steep!

    And 'don't throw foreign rubbish in the sea'. Does that mean only British rubbish is allowed?

    Not convinced about The Albatross Coast ship name. Especially as we have An Ancient Mariner on board. Dieppe at 1500 then 32 miles to the campsite. Should be a breeze!Read more

  • Steve BachrachAmanda and me to Paris or BustTraveler

    Veulette sur Mer

    August 27, 2025 in France ⋅ ☁️ 20 °C

    Well those Normandie hills haven't got any less since I was last here in 1968...Primary School Year 6 trip. The 32 miles to Veulette sur Mer took about 5 hours and the guy in charge was not happy. We gave a Gallic shrug of the shoulders, said d'accord numerous times and paid up. He capitulated. Our tent went up in his back garden, we kissed on each cheek at least 4 times and shared some raw garlic for dinner.

    Incidentally we passed Phi and Sally's second home on the way.    Read more

  • Steve BachrachAmanda and me to Paris or BustTraveler
    1

    Barry's been there before us

    August 29, 2025 in France ⋅ 🌧 15 °C

    Beautiful roads with barely a pothole in site. Tancraville, 3 miles from our campsite, spotted a bar with fab menu outside. Checked opening hours...food served all day...parked up....went in ....not serving food today. That seems so French. Nah, don't fancy it today.

    Bite the bullet, cos that's all we had left to eat and head for the last hill to the campsite. TO FIND THAT BARRREEEEEEE HAS BEEN THERE BEFORE US. Not only has he closed our road but he has completely removed it. The hillside has gone and only the signs are left hovering 20m above the void. After 40 miles the only other way was via the prettiest little village with a monster hill at the end. I'm going to have words with Barrrreeee. He s got a lot to answer for.

    Camping in Nicolas's garden, we were greeted with beer and sausage. Most welcome. We were his first guests.    Read more

  • Steve BachrachAmanda and me to Paris or BustTraveler
    3

    Abandon ship?

    August 29, 2025 in France ⋅ ☁️ 17 °C

    These things happen. A great breakfast at Veulette by the sea and the heading off into the hills. BUT THOSE HILLS WERE HORRIBLE. The wind was howling and the plateaus were featureless. About lunchtime I said 'you know what my love? I'd really like to be at home right now.' Next time you see her ask Amanda for her version! I was flat out busted and despairing. Never plumbed those depths before. Asked our church small group to pray and received a repatriation offer.

    Reached Etretat (where Arsene Lupin comes from (not a Premier League star but the best thief in the world...read the books) and got details of routes home by rail and bus).

    Got to an interesting camp ground and spent the night recuperating and repairing shattered dreams.

    Abandon ship? Abandon the trip? Sounded like a great idea.    Read more

  • Steve BachrachAmanda and me to Paris or BustTraveler

    Decision time

    August 30, 2025 in France ⋅ ☁️ 21 °C

    Here's what you suspected. The 30 or so miles to Jumieges just about killed us. Pretty flat, pretty exhausting, pretty little villages. Amanda going downhill, probably from dealing with me. We arrived at Jumieges, caught the ferry to our camp spot and just sat. I couldn't go on past Rouen, our closest railway link. We called it a day. Tearful, hugely disappointing. Never been defeated before.

    We stayed in the most beautiful garden with the delightful Monique who took one look at me and said 'You need to go to hospital tomorrow.' Paracetamol reduced the fever overnight and we caught the ferry back across the river for a delish proper French meal.

    In the morning we drparted, caught the ferry again and headed to Rouen    Read more

  • Steve BachrachAmanda and me to Paris or BustTraveler

    L'hopital

    August 31, 2025 in France ⋅ ☁️ 20 °C

    Navigator error added 10 miles to our 'shorts day ride.

    Came across a St's day feast on the way with so.e handsome donkeys.

     But we got to our apartment and were able to extend the stay for an extra night. Those 115 miles to Paris would not happen.

    Early evening, slightly rested we walked the 3 kilometres to the recommended urgent care unit. Yes, we can treat you but you have to pay first and our payment system is broken! Incroyable I cried. We walked home too whacked to try the next.    Read more

  • Steve BachrachAmanda and me to Paris or BustTraveler

    Rouen and rest

    September 1, 2025 in France ⋅ ⛅ 17 °C

    Antibiotics kicked in and we did a bit of exploration. The open walkway at the top of the high clock tower was too much for Amanda who started to cough. OH NO! She's becoming ill. Some good food, beautiful sights and no more cycling. What a reliefRead more

  • Steve BachrachAmanda and me to Paris or BustTraveler

    The battle begins

    September 1, 2025 in France ⋅ ☁️ 16 °C

    Let's try the next hospital. Hospital receptionist escorts us to Urgent care reception 0800. Deserted. Staff kicking their heels and chatting. Forms filled in in double quick time, passport scanned. Triaged by 0815, including a 'Questions to ask patients in English' booklet. Can't see that happening in the NHS. Doctor changeover at 0830. 0845 doctor consultation. 0915 chest x-ray. 1000 blood tests and Covid test. 1200 we spot a porter pushing a patient on a trolley down the corridor stop to greet a colleague with a kiss on each chhek. Can't see that happening in the NHS either!1300 results are in.

    And the final result is Covid 0; pneumonia 0; old bloke 0; tiny little microbe in hobnail boots doing a tap dance in my tubes 1. Result!

    Lemon or strawberry flavoured antibiotic tablets is the next question. Très diffiçile is my response so I end up with one packet of each.

    Beautiful Rouen.    Read more

  • Steve BachrachAmanda and me to Paris or BustTraveler

    Paris and Rest

    September 3, 2025 in France ⋅ ☁️ 19 °C

    Booked the train to Paris. Spoke exclusively in French to the agent who complimented me on my good accent. So glad we're not cycling to Paris.

    Met by our dear and old friends George and Gill, whose lives are an extraordinary story of God's goodness. So happy to be with them.

    This time it's Amanda's turn to visit the hospital and get antibiotics.

    Visited Versailles and shared stories, spent time encouraging and praying for each other, making up for lost time. What a treasured time we had.

    Bothe feeling much better now but it might be a while before we are really well!

    Booked the train tickets to Calais and hope to be home by train and a little pedal power on Monday!    Read more

  • Steve BachrachAmanda and me to Paris or BustTraveler

    It did indeed bust us

    September 8, 2025 in England

    It was Paris or Bust and indeed it did bust us both. A few days rest at George and Gill's enabled us to navigate to Gare du Nord via Notte Dame, and catch the train to Calais for an overnight stop, then early ferry to Dover, train to St Pancras, dash through the traffic to Paddington with 10 mins to spare, train to Bath and cycle home. Arriving pretty shattered and two weeks earlier than anticipated. Manda still pretty ill, both pretty exhausted, but home at least. Manda ordered lots of French food from Waitrose to make up for what we missed.

    At Calais ferry terminal there was even a special lane for cars with a missing rear wheel. Had to take the photo!

    So, trip is over; even though it wasn't as anticipated (I've never cried on a trip before) we will slowly regain strength and look forward to the next trip in Denmark/Sweden/Spain? Who knows.

    Thanks for following us though there didn't seem to be much humour to find this time! As they say in Bonnie Scotland... it could ha been worse. But not much.    Read more

    Trip end
    September 20, 2025
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