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London to Auschwitz

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alfapete:
Almost two years after retirement I set out on an adventure. I'd never done more cycle touring than a three day indirect ride to an LEL meeting in Birmingham and I'm not a strong rider - after 15 years regular riding I still find a 200km audax event really hard and usually finish towards the back. I'd always fancied visiting Aushcwitz, more so after reading Primo Levi's "If This is a Man", and one day I plotted the route from home to see how far it was. A thousand miles, so I thought: 10 days at 100 miles a day. I discussed it with a super fit work colleague who had cycled to Spain as a teenager - she thought that was a bit ambitious and eventually so did I, so i settled on aiming for 100-120km each day.

It was a while before I shared the idea with my wife as I was anxious that she wouldn't be too impressed with me being away for so long, but she knew I was keen to do a touring holiday, preferably with her. She was not at all keen to go to Aushcwitz or to witness the horrors there within, and she wouldn't have committed to the distances involved. When I finally revealed the vague plan she was very supportive and began to plan a walking holiday in the Lakes for the same time. There was no set time schedule and I had a good four weeks or so available, planning to return by train. I spent many an hour on ridewithgps and very much enjoyed the planning.

The following is my daily update from Facebook. I tried to post each evening but it didn't always work. The positive vibes amongst the comments were very motivating (though you won't see those) and I've edited it a little to make it appropriate for a different audience. I'll post it 'as live' so you'll get one day at a time.

alfapete:
DAY ONE: London to Aushcwitz.
An early start on the train from Cheltenham to Paddington, and then a ride to stay with our lovely friends, Kim and Matt, near Folkestone.
I hadn't really allowed for the weight of the luggage so it all felt tougher and slower than I was expecting. Kent was quite hilly, and at 130km it will probably be the longest day of the whole trip. Stay tuned for more updates!

Where it all begins. Cheltenham Station early on a bank holiday.
The house where I spent a very happy 3 years as an undergraduate (near Lewisham)
Stopped for lunch at the Ebbsfleet cycle park which was teeming with youngsters.
Chatham
My bike leaning against things (you might see quite a few of these)
NCN1 in Kent
These blue weeds were everywhere...
Beautiful Kent countryside - at this point I hadn't seen or heard a car for at least half an hour.
Leaving the house - picture out of order as my wife had to send me it.

Auntie Helen:
Looking forward to reading the rest of this.

By the way, it is spelled Auschwitz.

barakta:
Great writeup so far, I look forward to further updates.

I too am a huge fan of Primo Levi's books. The first one I read was The Periodic Table as a youngun going to university to read chemistry. I later read If This is a Man which is an astonishing book. I am probably due a reread of both.

I have never been to any of the former concentration camps, I'm not sure I'm brave enough.

alfapete:

--- Quote from: Auntie Helen on 10 July, 2023, 07:41:32 pm ---Looking forward to reading the rest of this.

By the way, it is spelled Auschwitz.

--- End quote ---

Just checked through my FB posts - about a 50% success rate on getting it right so you'll have to wince a few more times if you continue following. Humble apologies.

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