Hello everyone,

Kilometers cycled so far: 1260

Well, this is my first installment about my cycling holiday so far. A lot has happened, so Iīll try not to babble...

Ireland, Wales, England:

Well, I set off from Dublin in typical Irish weather: a mix of sun, wind and rain (sometimes all 3 at the same time). Simon (who Iīd previously worked with) and I cycled to Arklow, so it was good to have someone to talk to over my last pint(s) of Guinness.

Southern Wales had some very nice scenery, but quite a few misty days. I didnīt have any problems with the flooding, but had to ride through a couple of pretty big puddles. I was blessed with a couple of nice days to go through the scenic Breacon Beaconīs National Park.

Then it was on to St Briavelīs where I stayed in a pretty unique YHA hostel: a 13th century castle. So when I checked in, instead of "Your staying in dorm number 4" I got "Youīll be staying in the Prison tonight". The staff there were nice and the food was good, so Iīd recommend it to anyone who finds themselves near the English/Welsh border.

Anyway then it was on to Salisbury via Bristol and Bath. Had a rest day here where I did the tourist thing: Stonehenge and Salisbury Cathedral. Stonehenge was impressive, but there is only so long you can look at a pile of rocks. Finally, it was on to Portsmouth where I was shown some remarkable (given theyīd never me before) hospitality by Mick and Julia Kirby who put me up for the night. So thanks to them and to MLH for arranging it. Then caught the ferry (36 hours!) to Bilbao.

Spain:

My first day in Spain wasnīt so successful (long story), so I decided I have a rest day in order to find my feet. So I got my dose of culture with a visit to the Guggenheim Museum, which is a really wild building and was pretty interesting.

Then it was on to the beautiful old town of Santillana del Mar, where I had my first couple of days camping. It was here that I also discovered Sidra, a Spanish cider which is the business (forget Bulmers or Stongbow!).

I then went through the Picos de Europa, a collection of mountains that forms part of the Cantabrian Mountain range. This was the most physically testing part of my trip so far but worth it. I cycled through a mountain pass (a climb of about 1500m to a height of 1670m) and was surrounded on all sides by 2000m+ snow capped mountains, it was awesome. Again, I had some beautifully clear and warm (20 degree) days which made it all the more enjoyable.

Anyway, this is coming to you from Oviedo. From here I plan to stick to the north west coast, taking in La Coruņa and Santiago de Compostela and heading on down to Lisbon.

So a big hello to you all and would love to get an email from each and every one of you.