It's less than a month until I catch a plane to Denver (🎵 I'm leaving on a jet plane 🎵) for the start of an epic journey through the American West and to a new life in California. It's been a long time coming — I started thinking about this trip in 2022 and planned to do it after I graduated from Edinburgh in 2023, but broke my elbow a few days before leaving Scotland, ironically while riding my bike to get it adjusted to stop knee pain.
Instead, I had an amazing time with Jules (hi Jules!) as we road-tripped around the Southwest while my elbow recovered. Once back in the UK, I ran an overnight test ride in Southern Scotland before heading out our front door, bound for Switzerland.
The European route
I rode from London to Zürich, camping and staying in Paris, Dijon and Geneva for a total of 115 hours riding and 900 miles. There were a few magical moments on the bike, like riding by a field of purple flowers on the edge of a lake on a cool morning, after an awful day of riding in the heat in central France; or seeing the Alps for the first time after spending the day crossing the Jura mountains, but the true highlights were the wonderful people I saw along the way (hi to you all 💛).
Here's a summary of the trip in pictures:
Heading out the front door (yes, I had my moustache for this trip)
Gatwick Airport — looks like an Airbus A320
Boarding the ferry for Dieppe
First pastry in France (chocolate almond!)
Triumphant arrival in Paris
Falafel in the Marais
On the move again in Central France — the flattest part of the trip
Dental hygiene is a top priority
Baguette vending machine!
Cathedral under renovation
The most demoralizing day of riding — above 32C/90F with little shade and dirty paved paths
But I was rewarded with a firefly
Dramatic sky in Dijon
The moment when I realized what crossing the Jura in a day was going to mean
This went on for miles and kilometers and miles
Gravel roads in the Jura
First sighting of Switzerland
Seeing Lake Geneva and the Alps for the first time!
Hanging out in Geneva with my cousins
I loved the incredibly lush grass in Valais 😌
Switzerland has these spring water fountains in every village — perfect for a break!
Climbing up Furkapass
Made it to the top 😎
Going down the other side
Camping next to a lake in Uri
Final day getting to Lake Zürich
Staying in Rapperswil-Jona
The joyous moment of reaching the finish line the following day — can you tell I was cold and wet?
In the next post I'll discuss my plan for this summer.
Bravo! Looks like a great trip. That downhill video from the Funkapass was quite fast - made me feel a bit giddy watching it! I suppose you get lots of fast downhills like those in the mountains. I’d need to get happier with my brakes than I currently am. (PS, at home Will, a new cycle buddy of your mother and father… but i’ve not done much for awhile, and I haven’t done it really long trip like that where I’m across multiple days where I’m taking a lot of gear with me, at least not for a long time. Well done you!.).
The final state line crossing and my arrival to the next place I’m going to call home! I FaceTimed my parents and English grandmother as I rode past the sign First fast food of the trip — riding the drive-through at Jack in the Box. As I was eating I met a curmudgeonly cyclist who was riding randomly around the coast. He recommended I didn’t stay at the campsite I was planning on, which I thankfully ignored because it was one of my favorites Seeing the first signed distance to SF Del Norte Redwoods state park. This is what the guy said I should avoid! Turns out California has even better hiker/biker campsites than Oregon — $5 a spot in the most beautiful campgrounds of the journey It’s amazing to see the redwoods again — each tree is awe-inspiring and combined the forests are so serene. I think these parks are up with Zion National Park as my favorite places in the world Jeremy and I arrived at the hiker/biker campsite at the same time. The bear boxes there had some free provisio...
Happy 2025! A final post for my summer trip: a compilation of clips I recorded on the way. I didn't include videos in my blog posts so it contains never-before-seen footage! Writer, producer, director, actor, stunts, music producer, director of photography, costume designer, caterer, editor, location scout, special thanks: Copeland Royall
The answer to the detour or not to detour question is... 🥁 🥁 🥁 🚊 After having such an easy time on the coast compared to the rural stretches of Wyoming et al, I couldn't bring myself to face the harsh weather and the corresponding "water logistics" of needing to worry about how much water to carry with respect to the heat and distance between towns. To the station! I found myself on the Salinas Amtrak platform the next morning but still somewhat doubting my decision I was finally committed to the train when an Amtrak employee showed up on the empty platform with a tag for my bike I had to load it into the baggage car, which cruelly has its doors on the upper deck It was a little thrilling to be on a train after so long! So smooth and fast. This is the observation car The train line goes through the Salinas valley so I could see what I was missing by not riding the detour. I ended up being very glad to be in air conditioning instead of outside in the 90F...
Wonderful roundup. So enjoyed the accompanying photos.
ReplyDeleteBravo! Looks like a great trip. That downhill video from the Funkapass was quite fast - made me feel a bit giddy watching it! I suppose you get lots of fast downhills like those in the mountains. I’d need to get happier with my brakes than I currently am. (PS, at home Will, a new cycle buddy of your mother and father… but i’ve not done much for awhile, and I haven’t done it really long trip like that where I’m across multiple days where I’m taking a lot of gear with me, at least not for a long time. Well done you!.).
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