The evening routine

I apologise that this is an overdue section, having previously written the morning and riding routines.   If any readers are considering doing the LEJOG, or any other long distance ride, I hope this may be useful.

Upon reaching the destination bed & breakfast of hotel I found it helpful to have  a routine so that nothing is forgotten.

First – look after the bike.

Find out where the bike can be stored, safely and under shelter. What are the arrangements for access to the bike during the evening or evening? If is not accessible then you will need to remove all panniers and bags. Most hotels I used allowed me to take the bike into the bedroom, which is safest and most convenient. Most b&bs had a lockable shed somewhere out back. I never had to leave Felicity out in the rain overnight. If the bike will be needed to get yourself to dinner then make the necessary arrangements for access.

Relax the gear change cable. Inspect the tires for nails, thorns or bits of stone which may cause a puncture later on if they are left where they are.  Don’t top up the tire pressures until tomorrow morning.

Check the spokes to make sure none need tightening.  If the bike has started making any unusual noises during the day’s ride then investigate and fix them.

Remove the computer and take it to the room before it is accidentally zeroed.

Use the bike-lock and cable wherever and whenever you leave the bike. Lock it to a fixture if possible.  (Radiators are good for this).

Make a written note of the mileage, time and average speed. Finish off any scribbled notes made on the road.

Second – look after yourself.

Bath or shower. I used to take my cycling clothes in the shower or bath with me and do my laundry at the same time as washing myself. The exception is the cycling shorts, which should be hand-washed in water which is as hot as you can bear. It’s important to keep these as clinically clean as possible.

Drying the clothes is easy if you first wrap them as tightly as possible in the bath-towel and then wring them together. (An alternative is to walk up and down the towel-roll). Leave for ten minutes and then unwrap and put on a heated towel rail for the night. If there is no towel rail then you may have to use a hairdryer. If there is no hairdryer in the room then you should ask the landlady for one. Some landladies will actually do your laundry or at least let you use their washing machine and dryer.

If worst comes to worst then your clothes will be still damp in the morning and you will have to put them on again, damp. It’s not the end of the world.

I found it better to shave in the evening than in the morning, if I was going to shave at all.

Write up the notes of mileage etc and complete any notes made during the day of scenery, flora and fauna, traffic, roads, items of interest, conversations etc.  I found it essential to keep a notebook and pen readily to hand for this sort of thing throughout the day (in my bar bag beside the fruit gums and the i-phone /camera).

Have dinner. Chatting to others in the restaurant, dining room or pub is always interesting and someone may make a further donation towards your sponsored charity.

Seek access to a computer and update the blog. This is not always possible each day , which makes it even more important to write up your notes frequently. Otherwise I know I will forget things. Updating a day’s blog using the i-phone keyboard is a challenge because the keyboard and screen as so small, so gaining access to the hotel or b&b computer is very helpful.  Otherwise you may have to wait until you are in a large town which boasts an internet cafe.   I found reception on my i-phone was very patchy, and it was frustrating to be out of contact for both the internet and telephone at times.

Third – plan tomorrow

Bearing in mind how strong you feel, the forecast weather for tomorrow, the likely wind, the terrain, any injuries you have collected, and any other demands such as timing deadlines for return to work etc, you can decide on a target for tomorrow’s journey mileage. Then find a suitable location for tomorrow night. Then book a b&b or hotel. This can be done through the internet, or a tourist information office, or by telephone, or after chatting with tonight’s landlady. They can often make recommendations or give you contact information.

You can often get more useful information about tomorrow’s route, or choice of route, from local people.

I used to then decide on a route and memorize the map and the main waypoints for tomorrow, plus any significant views or local sights that I wanted to visit. This is the best time to look for alternatives to the main roads for tomorrow’s journey.  Local people are always willing to offer information and advice about alternative routes, frequently called ‘the back road’.

Rearrange your damp laundry on the towel rail or festoon it across windowsills, on hangers or over radiators. One trick with spare clothes which have not dried by the morning is to fix them by elastic strapping to the pannier on the bike. Then they get dried by the passing breeze as you cycle along.  On one occasion I obviously didn’t fix one of my stockings firmly enough.  So somewhere on the A49 between Hereford and Leominster there is light brown knee-sock which belongs to me, originally bought from the English Sports Shop in Bermuda.

Get an early night. In my case I usually spent some time on the Daily Telegraph crossword and then picked up my paperback book.  The bookreading put me to sleep very quickly, and I didn’t finish the book for several weeks. Throughout my journey I found that the combination of exercise, fresh air and single objective gave me a good night’s sleep, every night

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