Day 1 - Swindon to Plymouth / Portsmouth

Day 1 - Swindon to Plymouth

Wednesday 21/06/2023

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What was meant to be a nice easy day, ended-up becoming a nightmare. Shortly after leaving Swindon my bike got a puncture. I whacked in a can of tyre foam and hobbled to Gordano services on the M5. At this stage it was obvious that I wasn't going to make it to Plymouth so I gave the boys their tickets and paperwork and attempted to make it back to Swindon with another can of spray foam.


Made it to Chippenham and decided to call the breakdown people as my tyre and tube were destroyed. This ended-up being a nightmare and left me waiting for many, many hours in the sun (I am pretty sunburt now). Frustrating as I was only 25 miles from home where I had a spare bike and a new tyre and other options,  but I foolishly believed the 2 hour estimate from the breakdown people. Eventually I found a local garage that had a new tube and who could fit my tyre but I was stuck waiting for the breakdown people.

A friend offered to take my wheel to the garage and then return it to me, but eventually the breakdown people arrived and delivered me and the bike to the garage where my friend had kindly dropped my new tyre off for me.

In the meantime, I was searching for alternative ways of getting across the channel tonight. Dover to Calais would have lost me a day unless I rode through the night, but Brittany Ferries came through and found me a place on the overnight Portsmouth to Caen ferry. Not perfect and no nice cabin, but I can travel whilst I sleep and have less distance to smash-out tomorrow. Even getting to Portsmouth was a pain as the M4 was closed, but it was fine and I made it here without further issue and on time for the boat.

I aim to just hit the French autoroutes tomorrow morning and cover the distance. Konrad and Leon will add a chunk onto the end of their route and try to close some of the distance between us so that we can camp together tomorrow night. I should be able to cover 250 miles South before they even leave their ship.

Konrad and Leon also had an eventful journey. After leaving me they encountered a closed A38 and were late (as we're nearly all of the other passengers). They have the benefit of a ship with a pool, a nice comfy cabin a shower (which I could really do with) and some lame entertainment. They are enjoying it, have had a swim, watched the dolphins and enjoyed a few drinks.


It's always a pleasant experience for me travelling by ferry - knowing that you are going somewhere away from the familiarities of home. It's even more of an event travelling on ship down to Spain as you can enjoy a beer, grab a shower, enjoy the views and have a decent night's sleep. Waking to see the Spanish mainland and the Picos de Europa mountains in front of you is always a memorable experience and a taste of what you are just about to experience! Unfortunately my reality this time isn't so great, but I am grateful to still be able to join them and hopefully just miss one day of great riding.

We made it, in our own ways and now we can relax and enjoy the adventure.



Mileage: 175 (both)
Beers / Drinks: 7
Fines: 0
Bribes: 0
Ass pain: 2/10
Mechanical issues: 1 (puncture)
Accidents: 0
Wetness: 3/10 (Konrad and Leon got wet in Dartmoor)
Coldness: 1/10 (Leon - I am burning up)
Theft count: 0

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