u/jules_wake

First 600km with my daughter in preparation for PBP. We created our own route from our home near Nice in the South of France to Palamos just north of Barcelona, Spain.

We had a window of 3 days but wanted to do it without stopping. The weather report was giving us storms and rain for the last 2 days of that window so we ended up leaving at 2 pm due to her flying that day. This created an immediate issue in that we were under time pressure to avoid two night rides. Ideally we planned to leave the following morning well rested.

The first afternoon and night went fine, we even had a slight tailwind. We had more pit stops than planned although we kept them to sub 20 mins. Plenty of food was prepared in advance, the best was mini salted roasted potatoes which went in no time.

After doing lots of route planning we still ended up on a fast road where bikes weren't allowed. Just tired and missed a turning. That definitely got the adrenaline flowing and woke us up. The first morning cafe at 6.30 was a welcome break and my daughter who was very tired had a 5-10 snooze.

By midday we were feeling confident we would finish that evening and had a quick meal in a restaurant. Little did we know if what was to come!

After crossing the Spanish border the weather changed. Light then heavy rain and some strong headwinds. We pulled off and decided to alter the route which was taking us over a climb at the end as we didn't like the idea of descending in the dark with rain. This created the first issue. My Karoo would not load the new route. No idea why....my daughter since discovered the had not downloaded the Spanish maps on her Wahoo so the map wouldn't load. Ok so backup was to use our phone. So with 50 km to go we set off using Google maps. What could ever be wrong with that!

We got to 20km from the finish ok then Google kept putting us on gravel routes so I switched it to car mode. Then we find ourselves on a motorway type road with trucks going by at 100kmh. We come off as soon as possible then find the roads are flooded and have to cross a small river. By this time we are cold and extremely tired. It's 10.30 and my front light goes. Fortunately we had a small spare.

My phone now is so wet and my hands so cold and numb that operating it is virtually impossible. My daughter then rings her boyfriend who can geolocate us and guides us to our hotel.

So a few lessons learnt! On the positive side we made it and discovered we are capable of coping (just !)with challenging conditions.

Take outs:

Wraps and potatoes...more next time

Toothbrush Toothpaste to freshen up at stops also baby wipes really make you feel human.

Reapplying Chamois cream

3 water bottles, was surprised at lack of water points.

A backup trip computer that works in the rain ie no touch screen.