And the end I have reached! On the Sunday 15th of August 2010 I reached Oschle campsite, a very well hidden campsite a few kilometers south of Kempten, Bavaria. We battled through some of the coldestand heaviest rain experienced in the last 4 weeks for me to finish my cycling adventure in the beautiful Allgau of Germany. Unlike the afternoon, the last day greeted me with a pleasant mornings cycling from Memmingen across gentle hills and past pine forests. The scenary was everything we had come to Germany for and seemed to sum up the trip perfectly. Still slightly weak from the D&V the days before the 'gentle' hills still took no mercy on me having to puff all the way up them. The view from the top is always worth it though.
Its sad and a bit boring being home in Oxfordshire if im frank. The daily routine of brew, breakfast, cycle, lunch in a lidl/aldi carpark, cycle, locate a campsite, cook, shower, tights and bed has been all ive desired for the last month and will probably desire for a few more days until I can embrace what the English summer has left for me... apparently not a lot with a few days of rain forecast - would it be any other way?! Ive stated to my family that cycling is in my bones (and now athletically formed leg muscles!) for good and ive vowed to take my bike up to Glasgow Uni with me for more adventures in the Scottish Countryside. Im considering drop handle bars and a new set of brakes to improve my 'Trek' bike I fell in love with on the Bavaria Trip.
Looking forward to carrying on the passion I developed has led me to write about all that created it.
The beginning of the trip was filled with very high apprehension every morning as Tom, Ellie and I left the warmth of friends homes to tackle the English Countryside. After cyclying out of Hampshire to Windsor on the first day it dawned on me extremtly quickly that this is going to be one of the hardest challenges I have set myself. Massive doubts haunted me every evening if I would make it up the hills the following day. Althought the few stops and sobs at the side of 'Upshire Hill' harrowed me with fear I wouldnt make it to Bavaria, let alone Harwich Ellie and Tom's incredible encouragement ensured I did. Im forever thankful for those early days of you guys pushing me to my limits to find the strenght to keep cycling and reach the end of the trip.
Harwich was a very high point in the trip for me. I had finished Phase 1A and was meeting the rest of the team that evening. That morning my mum had sponsored us and it provided me with the drive to keep on going. The 60mile day had filled me with a great sense of acheivement and meeting Dave Tooth and Rob Berry (again) provided a fresh look at the adventure and anticipation for cycling as a team of 5 was rose.
Cycling along the Rhine tested my fittness, keeping up with the group and playing my part at the front at times only made me stronger. Now home, Im feeling fresh and as fit as I may have been for a good 3 years - the cycling along dykes and in high winds has defintly paid off! My family are in awe of my physic now - makes a change to the usual fat sister jokes they used to throw at me. Now my legs of steel are more impressive than my sporty young sisters but my muscley shelf of a bum not so!!
The evenings of cooking and getting to know each other in 'beir gartens' have left an impression on me for sure. The insight to the OTC was exciting and at times even though I was outside the box I still felt your knowledge and practices rubbing off on me. Always at the butt of jokes for being a bit useless camping and general surviving outside in a forgein country I was asured by Ellie that insults were a strong sign of feeling comfortable with each other and of affection. Being dubbed the 'Mong' was never a worry for me and I was very proud to be part of the OTC dominated team. You all made me very welcome and im still shocked at the honour of Ellie asking me along for the expedition.
Thank you Tom for your leadership and ability to always keep morale up. Unexpectedly for me my cyclying on busy roads was less than proficient so Tom taught me the obvious importance of looking both ways (believe it or not I never did remember to be careful - my mong personality made a great appreance at road junctions!) I can now accuratly point out a position on a map with a blade of grass rather than my 1:50000 finger thanks to Rob's teachings. The importance of properly squared away kit was introduced to me aswell and in heavy downpours and cold evenings the knowledge that warm kit was easily accessible bought me huge statisfaction. I feel people reading this may think 'well duh' obviously it should be at the top of the pannier bags but having never done an OTC excercise or spent time in the field like the others had it didnt occur to me at all that kit should be positioned so miticulously. Thanks Rob and Ellie for your teachings! By the end of the trip I got a few remarks out about Rob's slow progress in the mornings after I had managed to square away my kit away first. A small sense of cheeky pride glowed inside me before I was reminded of my Mong status moments later by knocking over a cup of tea or being reminded of nearly hitting a car the day before. Rob was a very polite and well humoured tent mate, massive pleasure sharing the same canvas with you for the past few weeks.
The highlights of the trip are hard to pin point. There are so many - most days something memorable happened. Unkel, the night out in Mainz and our sighting of the first hills off the Rhine are up there. No day was a chore, once the usual stiffness in our legs loosened, cycling everyday was never monotonous and always bought surprises. The time Dave spent with us was a great week and our spell of D&V is very memorable, so was the 14% incline hill I managed to drag myself up on the last day. The unforgetable team effort Ellie played in getting me up the long slog of the 7% 4km hill on the 12th of August was amazing. Ellie's compassion for a healthy team was evident throughout the whole trip and meant a lot to me. You were a hero that morning mate.
Traveling always brings people together and forces a bond. The bond of friendship that grew between us four in the last month needed little forcing and it was a sincere honour and pleasure for me to be part of the team. Im so proud I took part in this expedition, 900 odd miles cycled from home to help raise money for people and families of those in the forces through SSAFA. Onwards and Upwards we went together as team Bavaria for an unforgettable summer.
Charlotte xxx
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