TalkAwhile - The Folk Corporation Forum

Hi all !
This is an official declaration that I will travel to Cropredy by bicycle this year from Stuttgart, Germany. The idea for it came up at last year's event when I promised this to some friends in case Cropredy 2005 will take place. As my local football club www.tsvgruenbuehl.de has been supporting a childhood cancer trust with a young player's tournament the last few years I decided to do this as well. More information on my website www.foreveryoung-germany.de ! I have started to organize the whole thing already. Everybody who can help me with some good advices, especially planning the route from Dover to Cropredy, is very welcome !
I reckon that my journey will take between 10 and 14 days (1.000 kilometers from Stuttgart to Cropredy). In case the company where I got my (25 year old) bike from will sponsor me with a new bike I will donate it for the Hokey Pokey Charity Raffle, because I will have to go back home by plane. My office won't allow me to go on holiday for 4 weeks. :) <simon> I'm looking forward to your feedback !!!

Good luck, Walter! ;D

Sustrans www.sustrans.org (http://www.sustrans.org) run a National Cycle Network & you might want to invest in the regional maps from their website - you can plan online, but only town by town & it'll take an age.

These routes cover roads & off-road, so you can alter the view from your bike. ;)

All good wishes for your trek Walter.

You should come and have a cup of tea if you're passing.....

Jude

Good luck Walter and I hope the rain stays away for you!!

AmyJen :) ;)

Good luck for a very good cause  :)

Thank you !!! I'll probably prefer a 6X.

Thanks a lot. I'll check it out

Thanks a lot for your good wishes !!! I'm thinking about trying to go by bike wearing a skirt tomorrow. The guys of my local football club will find it very funny. I'll check out your friend's website. I like entertaining books a lot. Thanks again !

Walter good luck!

The Sustrans maps are the best for cyclists. You ought to get The official guide to the National Cycle Network by Nick Cotton and John Grimshaw (Sustrans) ISBN 1-901389-23-5 MY COPY COST £9.99

The detailed route maps are very good. They are availble directly from Sustrans as Chris says and also from Waterstones a national network of bookshops in all larger cities in England.

Josie Drew's books are great and include very useful sections on equipment.

Puggs

Very helpful. Thanks and cheers !

Walter

As a bit of a cyclist myself, I'm impressed. Good luck with the ride.

Unfortunately, I live north of Cropredy so can't offer any en-route help unless you are seriously lost. However, if you publish a list of requirements we can hopefully arrange pick up points on the way up from Dover.

Clive

Walter..

Once you have your route organised let us know. Then, if you would like, as you pass through the UK countryside anyone who was close to your route could join you for a little while to keep you company on your way...

Another point I'm sure you are doin, get some practice in!

There are some awful uncomfy bikes/saddles/positions out there....

Puggs  >:(

Hi Walter,
your first night could be in Worms (is it possible to cycle 130 km in one day ???). My sofa and a good bottle of wine are waiting for you.

Cheers

Good idea !  I thought about an internet diary already. But I would have to find an internet cafe every evening, as I don't have a laptop. Anyway in case I had one I think it wouldn't be possible to carry it because there will be some luggage on the bike. Is Simon Fairport's webmaster? As we know each other I think he will let me. Won't you, Simon?

I'd be very keen to have some people join me. For my german route some friends have already asked me as well.

Email Andy Farquarson......

I've done this already. Thanks ! The palmtops thing sounds very interesting. You may be interested that in German language bringing someone on a palm's top means you've made him very angry. One of the teachers of mine many many years ago once said, that in case we'd bring him on the palm top he'd throw coconuts on us.

Weren't there 3 folks who walked to Cropredy last year on behalf of Teenage Cancer Trust and kept an on-line diary?

Maybe they could help or those who remember could provide some ideas

mikeC  (who cant remember any more details sorry)

That was 2003. I remember board member Mike (Mike Jervis) was one of the walkers. Apologies that I can't remember the others. Puggs and Amy will no doubt recall.

Cheers


Nick

You're right Nick it was 2003.

I remember seeing (and talking to) mike Jervis cause he was using one of the mobility scooters at the time.

Sorry but I cant find a web related page atm but I'm sure there is one somewhere. If not here then on the Show of Hands board (assuming I dont get barred for mentioning it  ::) ;D

MikeC

Yes it was Mike & 2 friends from Sheffield (an accountant & a Vicar) they walked from Sheffield.

Wrong direction for you but they may be able to supply you with advice!!

Thanks to "Katy's Mum" who donated Sustrans maps and a book about cycling in England I can inform
you about the routing plans for the English part of my journey very soon. The company who manufactured by bike, by the way, has answered to my request by telling me they would have hundreds of requests like this each year, and they would donate to a charity thing once a year and nothing else. Okay ! I can live with it. But anyway I was a bit disappointed, as so many people (besides this forum) have supported me already.

Walter

I could possibly offer you a bed for a night in Oxford, jsut before your final 'push' to Cropredy.

Let me know when you expect to be passing through when you sort out your itinerary.

Sandra

Just caught up with this...  Mike Jervis along with John the vicar and Alan from Sheffield did the Cropredy walk in 2003... it was the HOTTEST week of the century (so far!).

They raised a lot of money.. but Mike knackered his feet!! Yes they did an online diary.. I will ask them how for you...  there was a website but I don't know if it's still on...  it was called 'Blistering Pace'.. very appropriate....

If you want to contact Mike about it you can get him through the Farnsfield Acoustic website..  at the bottom of this post.

Good Luck!!

Amy

Walter,
Maybe the issue of relieving yourself of the bicycle here in England before you fly home, could be resolved by auctioning off the bike. Having an auction will also be a good way of making more money for your cause as all proceeds can go to the Teenage Cancer Trust you are supporting.
Here are two possible suggestions, we could hold an auction in advance of your journey, with board subscribers bidding here, or we could wait and hold the auction at the festival. 
Best of luck on your journey from Stuttgart, I'll have a pint waiting for you at the bar.   [;-)
Martin

Bit of a b*gg*r getting said bike home though.....! ;D

I'd be happy to store it here in Great Bourton for collection though..... :D

I'll match Martin's pint, Walter! ;D

Are you coming in via Harwich? If so, you will pass close to several board members in Essex, at least one of whom will happily provide a pint en route.

Walter has already stated that due to time restraints he will fly back to Stuttgart, that is why I suggested the auction as a way to dispose of the bike and at the same time, raise more money for the cancer charity.

I'm gonna fly back, and some friends are gonna carry the bike back home. Anyway, in planning my journey this is one of the things with less priority.

My plans are not quite sure yet. I think I'll arrive in Dover from Calais at least 4 days before Cropredy starts. I will inform the forum about the route that I'm planning very soon. "Katy's Mum" had some editor made me send maps and I will check them out.

As the company who has manufactured my bike doesn't seem to want to support me, I'm prepared to travel with my "old" bike, 25 years old, but in the best of conditions as a repair service told me today, with only 5 gears to improve the going on. Therefore I
m thinking about donating this very old bike for the Hokey Pokey Charity Raffle (in case anyone would like to win this prize).

Good news ! I've got an 18-gear bike now thanks to my colleague Angelika Reber.
It's much easier now to get "over the next hill".
May I draw your attention to my photographic report of the cycling tours I do
when rehearsing for the big trip in August? Everybody can share some wonderful
sights with me, cause you can see places that others wont in case they're driving by car.
www.foreveryoung-germany.de
Click "Forever Youngs Cropredy Warm-Up".

Thanks for putting that link up Forever Young, such absolutely stunning scenery, I was entranced by it all.
I wish all the very best as you cycle to Cropredy, and very much looking forward to meeting you there!!!! :)
If I was a hundredth as fit as you are............it would be a VAST improvement ;D

Mic

Hey! This is awesome! More converts! I cycled to Cropredy from London last year. This year I'm flying into Paris, biking to Calais and ferrying over to Dover. I just ordered the Sustrans' map last week in fact. Last year I used their maps for the Thames Valley Cycle Route and found them to be extremely helpful for the most part. At one point I came to a rail bridge that was closed off, and had to figure out how to get around it without the GPS map, since I hadn't loaded the maps for that section! All in all though they're pretty good maps, unless something has changed the roads within the last year or so.

The biggest disadvantage of the NCN route was the entire day in which I saw nothing but fields full of sheep. Baaah.

Still trying to decide whether to buy a bike here or in Paris. I'm NOT taking my $50 Wal-mart bike with me, and the one I had last year got stolen last October. :(

How long do you think it will take you to get from Germany to England? I haven't really looked at the maps of France yet to get a sense of the distances; I'm just going in plenty of time, and if I find myself near London too soon I'll just spend a few days wandering there or maybe Oxford. There was a wonderful wooden toy shop in Oxford that I didn't get a chance to go into last year...

Good to hear of your plans to cyle as well ! I'm gonna start my trip here in Stuttgart either on the 29th or the 30th July. So I have 13 or 14 days for 1.000 kilometers approximately. Have you got any link for the GPS maps to download? What maps can you recommend for France?
See you at Cropredy and have a drink !

Hi all !
I've planned the route now ! :D Check it out at www.foreveryoung-germany.de
Everybody who wants to join me when cycling from Dover to Cropredy, or who wants
to meet me up on one of the evenings for a drink is very welcome. :P
If you can recommend B&Bs or camping sites let me know, please !
My route can differ +/- 10 miles on each day, of course, because you never know .....
Yours, Walter !

Hello, all of you Cropredians !
You might have thought my trip won't come true. But everything is well planned now, and the rehearsals are going on well. The itinerary of my 14 days journey is complete now. Only 17 days left now before I will leave Stuttgart. Check out my website www.foreveryoung-germany.de for the details (and lots of photographs as well). I will arrive in Dover by boat on the early sunday afternoon (August 7th), hopefully. Sandy on this forum has kindly offered me a bed in Oxford for the night before the final push to Cropredy. The 5 stages I will travel in England are roughly planned, because I haven't booked any B&B or camping. If anyone on this forum wants to join me or meet me up, please let me know ! Does anybody know why "Katy's Mum" isn't on this forum anymore? She had kindly donated Sustrans cycling maps and 2 books abouth the british cycling net which were were helpful for my plans.
Look forward to hear from you, and finally to arrive in time for Tickled Pink !!!!!

Go Walter Go!!!!!
Best wishes for your journey.
If you arrive for 12.00 noon, head straight to the Pavillion for a resounding welcome and as much beer as you drink!  Failing that, 6.00 pm at field bar  ;D  [;-)

If the weather is anything like now, you'll need a drink!

Good luck for a safe journey.

Malcolm

Look forward to meeting you at Cropredy, Walter

Good luck with the journey and safe cycling

Jude ;D

Dear Walter,
how many bottles of dry white wine shall I stock for you?  [;-)
All the best and a save journey.

Good luck Walter.
See you at the bar  ;D ;D

Don't forget your stabilisers ;D

Good Luck, we'll be thinking about you Walter, hope your saddles comfy!  ;)

 :D Neverending thanks at first for all the support you're giving me. There won't be time for all the drinks that I should have together with you.  :( I have to tell you the great news today that the secretary of the executive management of my company informed me today that they are gonna donate 500,- EURO for the childhood cancer foundation I'm doing my trip for.  ::) Additionally they are sponsoring a night in a hotel in Bad Godesberg (close to Bonn) for me , which will be the 5th night of my 14 days trip. That's really great, I think !!! You can't imagine how hard it is for me to realize that it's still 16 days before my trip will start. I'm sitting on fire, believe me! Do you know what my persoanl request for Fairport is ? I really hope they're gonna play Ben Bennion's (of Freeway Jam) "Cropredy Hill", which is a great anthem about the festival we all love so much.
I really wanna get drunk with all of you this year, but on the other side I don't wanna miss the great that are on. It's a mental conflict, isn't it?

Hi Walter

good luck, good muscles and may the wind always be in your back.
we`ll be doing it the lazy way and fly over on Wednesday.
See you at the bar sometime Friday afternoonish.
Cheerio
Peter

Thanks for your good wishes! Talking about wind: Let's hope that the wind in my back will not be the wind produced by myself. Cheers ! Friday afternoonish is a good idea. Maybe I'll be soberish still. O0

 
Good luck Walter



 

 
 

Thanks again for the great encouragement you gave me ! I'll be heading off to England on my bicycle on Friday 29th. From time to time I'm gonna report about my journey on this page. Does anybody of you know people who come to Cropredy from Germany with a caravan or motorhome, and who could carry back my bike to Germany? I've put this on my website already, too In case I don't find someone I will leave it in England until my next visit.

Hello,
Walter is sitting next to me right now, answering his emails.
That means: He reached Worms after a horrible trip through  Mannheim.

So he is on his way to England and he is fine so far. Fingers crossed for good weather (not too hot and not too wet).
I gave him the "Get fezzed" badge to wear it at the bar.

 [;-) [;-) [;-)

Thanks again, Ulla for being a nice host ! And for the wonderful cappuccino. I'm feeling good, I tell you all. I've done 3 stages of my trip, and the 4th will start in a few minutes. I will pass the famous Loreley rock at the Rhine river very soon. Almost a quarter of my trip is over. Yours, Walter !
(about 260 kilometers). I met 3 dutch guys at the camping yesterday who are cycling to Rome

Any further updates on Walters progress?

I´ve got an email today. He is in Belgium and will be in Calais on Sunday morning.
So he is in time and will be in Cropredy on Thursday afternoon.
Walter, the wine will be in Paulie´s fridge  [;-)