Tour de France
January 13, 2021
As planned I left my hometown again for the continuation of the Secutec Seven Summits, on the 3rd of January. This time the goodbye was a bit different as we’re still in a full pandemic. No hugs, no kisses, just a wave goodbye of my beloved friends at the starting place. Still very happy and grateful to have seen these people before leaving.
Planning mania
The first 60km my brother and some friends are joining me for the ride. There we have the same awkward goodbye and I’m off by myself. It’s always very strange to suddenly cycle alone again. From now on I’ll be by myself for one month, and social contact will be very limited due to corona. Because of that I have been planning my sleeping places a bit more in advance. Mainly contacting people if I could pitch my tent in their garden. Usually I cycle till the evening and try to find a place to sleep, but this time it’s different.
Warm nights
The places I’m sleeping at is in people’s garden and they’re all concerned about my comfort, especially this time of year. Still I’m very well equipped to do winter camping and luckily I’ve got some experience in the cold 😉 . Most families I go to even invite me in their houses to eat or sleep. Which I mostly refuse just to keep them and myself safe from corona. Mostly, because I had the occasion to have a complete place by myself. I’m enjoying the time in my tent a lot. It’s very cosy on those winter nights to read a book from my sleeping bag. Only in the morning it’s a bit harder to get up and get everything ready so I can leave when the day comes. Still the coldest it has been in minus 6°C which is not that extreme.
Birthday fun
I had been rushing a bit to the pyrenees because I knew Glenn and Steven would be there waiting for me. I wanted to be there on my birthday so we could have a ride together. Turned out to be a great day going up to Arudy, having pizza on the streets (only take away allowed in France) and then enjoying a beer before going to bed. Again here I have a place for myself which is awesome to sleep in a bed.
On my rest day (today) I’m visiting Pau again to get a covid test, just to have some extra administration to enter Spain. All negative so I’m good to go again!!
I want to thank all the people and families I’ve been passing by for their generosity and help during these strange times. I really enjoyed these first 10 days and looking forward to the next part!
And many thanks to my sponsors to help me in these Secutec Seven Summits!
