Broken.

 

I’m finally home, and pleased to be back. Though I have no milk, and have yet to make a cup of tea. That needs to change. 

I’ve just come inside from cleaning the bike, as it was upsetting me greatly seeing it in such a dirty, oily, muddy state. It’s now back to its shiny, gleaming self, but I’ve found out why the back wheel wasn’t running true… There’s one spoke which has snapped, and a really serious crack in the rim, on both sides of the wheel. I think the hub is fine, but I’ll need a new rim and spokes. I’ll take it to see the doctor tomorrow and ask them to fix the battle scars. Apart from the ruined rear wheel, everything else seems fine, other than all four brake pads, which due to the weight on the bike, and The Mud Incident, have all worn down almost completely and will need replacing. I’ve stripped all the oil off the chain and rear cassette, and will re-oil it when it’s had a chance to dry off. 

The final stats for the trip were as follows…

Distance: 484.7km

Cycling time: 25:16:02

Maximum speed: 54km/h

Also, as mentioned in a previous blog entry before I left, one of my uncles was interested to see the difference between the weight of the bike, luggage and rider before and after the trip. Well, the only difference in the weight of the luggage is a bit of food and three bottles of water, the bike obviously stayed the same, and the rider gained a very small amount. I was 73.9kg before I set off, and according to the scales I’m now 74.1kg. Too much cheese, clearly…

I’ll upload some maps and elevation profiles later tonight. They’re quite interesting to look at. Well, I think they are.

And finally, I must mention the instant effect my participation in Luke’s English Podcast has had on the numbers of people looking at the blog. And they’re all over the world! So I’ll take this opportunity to say hello to the people from Poland, Russia, USA, Cambodia, Brazil, Germany, Vietnam, Canada, Uruguay, South Korea, Morocco, and Italy who have all clicked on the link on Luke’s website and visited my blog. I hope you’ve found it interesting! Who would have thought that my own little London to Paris adventure would come to the attention of all those people around the world?