Update and Kieran's thoughts

Hey there, unfortunately Cian has had to withdraw due to time constraints over the summer, but we have invited Kieran Murphy (Dave may write up a profile on him later) to take his place. Below are some of Kieran's thoughts on the trip:

"Been thinking about the L to Z trip.

Bicycles:

I don't know if the ones we have in the shed are built for what we are looking at, which is a fairly constant use of a bike in various weather and terrain, and more than likely with baggage on it.

Realistically there will be a breakage- punctures, breaks, gears, saddles, crashes, chains falling or breaking etc. We'd need things to repair them with and to have a decent working knowledge to fix them. Falling off bikes at fast speeds (which is likely to happen when a bunch of amateurs go at it, probably weary and hungry!). With a flight booked from Zurich and with the huge uncertainties of the journey already built in, any added accidents like a puncture could add enough time to the journey to make us miss the flight!

Cycling is strenuous enough, more than you would think. Especially if we have stuff to carry, and Dave was talking about having a cart attached. That will be tough going. Even the slightest incline on a small hill will make it hard. People train for months for similar cycles I would say.

Add to that the fact that we will be running to the deadline of the flight, and probably a bit of macho-out-manly-ing each other I can see muscles or ligaments been pulled or whatever, and that kind of thing is rather difficult simply to just suck up and get on with.

Walking:
I think we should consider the advantages of walking rather than cycling.

Ultimately it is just as adventurous, and physically tiring. But it doesn't involve either the financial problem of getting a bike, or maintaining it, or falling off it etc.

Injuries are less of problem when walking, and falling will hurt less.

We don't have to learn how to fix and maintain bikes, or worry about the delays that might cause.

We know how to train for walking better, and could do that training in less time than bike training I would think.

Walking is less strenuous, it just doesnt put the same strain on the muscles so pain, cramp, pulling muscles etc. are far less likely (blisters more likely I grant you). Also, given that food may vary we may not be the strongest as the journey gets to a close and it is easier to wake up and trudge along for a day than it is to sit on a bike- it hurts down below, worse than the Dead Sea I'd say!

None of us have much experience cycling. Dave doesnt even like it! But Dave has experience at a marathon, and Ross has marched- knows how to take care of feet and their ailments - I hope so anyway! (talc to stop them rotting in the rain etc.) We'd also have a better feel for how tired we would get over X period of time, how much we could carry, how far we'd get in a certain time etc.

When cycling we'd be alone effectively because we'd probably have to go in single file and keep a bit of distance. Walking we can walk side by side and chat. The banter will make it go faster, and is surely part of the trip. You see more walking than cycling, because you dont have to work as hard you can take your time. It will be easier to meet people and see useful things and places when walking. I think there would be more of an adventure in the walking to be honest.

Also, with cycling you'd need a decent peripheral vision, which I can't really have unless I get wrap around spectacles, which I dont think they make...

In short bikes are things that do need getting used to and experience, particularly over a long distance. If this were a cycle from Cork to Waterford like it'd be grand, we could get the bus if something went wrong or whatever. What we are talking about does need a bit of biking expertise and experience. I've no doubt we could get that. But probably not in the month or so we are talking about.
We have a certain amount of expertise with our feet and walking, and it seems to provide better opportunities so maybe consider the walk over the cycle?

If we did the walk I think we'd do it from once we got off the ferry to Zurich, so cheat from London to the Ferry basically, by bus or whatever. Otherwise we'd have to add a fair bit more time to the trip, and I really cannot afford more than 2 weeks or so away from working on the thesis.


Also in terms of numbers I think 4 may be the optimal number. With 3 you either have a 3 way conversation or leave someone out. And it's rare to get a road where 3 people can comfortably talk, there will usually be someone left out. 4 people means you have 3 others to talk to, and that 2 conversations can go on comfortably, and even a 4 way conversation possibly sometimes. In terms of accidents etc it also makes more sense to have that extra person. 1 to go for help 1 to mind the injured party, 1 to make food or deal with whatever else needs to be done. 4 people just means you have that extra person to help when things go wrong-even having 2 people to help you walk if you have a sprain while the 4th goes for help, or walks with an extra bag from the person too injured to walk unaided. All those kinds of things 4 seems better to 3 to me.

In terms of money. Im not sure how much stuff we can bring with us and how much we can get there. Realistically we do need to be well fed to keep up the physical effort. Given that we are leaving a lot to chance we should try to ensure we can have a steady supply of food to keep us going. Having a limited budget of money for the trip may be useful. It can be limited enough to still be a challenge but not so much that it's easy.
Having a bit of money means we dont have to carry so much stuff too. We can buy a bit of food here or there if we get stuck. Or pay for some tourist attraction we think is worthwhile. Or buy a plaster for a blister when we get one rather than having them just in case. Even the SAS are given gold sovereigns so they are not completely fucked like!

In any case I do think we need to work out more clearly what the rules are in terms of bringing things with us etc.

As for surviving when there I was thinking a few of the following things:

-Stay near rivers: for washing, drinking, cooking.
-Dehydrated foods eg. soup. It takes up little space and doesn't weigh much.
-Vitamin supplements- regardless what we find to eat in a day at least we'll have the minimum to function and wont get scurvy, and wounds will heal faster and not get infected etc.
-At the end of the day bakeries may give away their produce free or cheaper
-Supermarkets have to throw out their produce once it hits the sell-by date. So rooting around in the rubbish bins of supermarkets can land you good food, packaged utterly perfect except the date says t might be a bit off, but usually isnt. I think it's popular in some places in Britain actually to go to Tescos and salvage perfectly good food that's been thrown away!
-Busking/singing for money or food
-Hippy hostels- there are probably places around where you can stay for free
-Convents/pilgrimage places there may be some thing like that around to make use of
-Do a bit of work on a farm in exchange for a bed for the night or a meal etc.


Walking more so than cycling needs a bit more preparation, partly because we can't go as quickly so we may have to stay in X town, or X field because the next suitable one is too far by foot. So, some planning of routes etc is probably needed. But I think even a well planned trip will still be random enough, with enough variables and unplanned things to be an adventure.

The worst thing would be to not make it because we were a bit too romantic about it and didn't have enough planned. Plenty of unexpected things will happen regardless!

July 14th is Bastille Day, which would be worth being in a decent sized city for.

Either of ye feel like doing a triathlon at some stage as well by the way?

Them's been some of my thoughts anyways. Hope ye have some ideas, and hope ye are both keeping well too!!!

Regards,
Kieran"

Cycling

Cian anseo

As Dave mentioned, I have a... handicap... as regards this adventure. A secret shame, dear reader.

Many of you will know this already. Others may be shocked. Perhaps it’s best I just come out and say it:

I can’t cycle.

Was never taught, never learned, completely bicycle illiterate and have been avoiding this fact for many years.

This, naturally, will present its own unique challenges in a cross-European and trans-Alpine cycling scenario such as this. Since wheeling the bike along 50 miles behind Ross and Dave is probably not an option, I will have to learn how to cycle at some point in the next two months. Preferably alone, at night, in a hidden place, to avoid the inevitable jibes and jeers of small children.

Step one will obviously involve finding a bike. May have to bend the rules of no money here a little bit and buy a dirt cheap second hand one, since it’s fairly imperative I get a bike in time to have some experience of cycling before stepping off the ferry in Dieppe. Then it’s a question of finding time between my dissertation, coursework, real work, drinking etc., to get fit and learn my way around this bicycling lark.

So if you’re the kind of person who likes watching YouTube clips of idiots hurting themselves, stay tuned to this blog for an upcoming literary version as I regale you all with tales of my no doubt disastrous progress in biking. Or Dave and Ross regale you with the gruesome tale of my unfortunate demise at the hands of 18 wheeler. Either way, you won’t be able to tear your eyes away.

Non judgmental biking instructors in Brighton welcome to comment with details for secret meeting below. Discretion needed.

The Protagonists

Dave here. I like this idea very much and will be claiming credit for it even though all I did was moan about an upcoming exam. It should be mentioned that the three of us are ideally suited to the task of cycling 500 miles across Europe owing to our extensive experience in generally dicking about. Here follows a brief summary of our relevant attributes as I see them I blithely (Possibly accurately) list the protagonists/heroes/future-murder-victims in descending order of competence.

Cian Hargrave-Murphy
• Experience as a scout leader (in the Ian Hislop sense, not the Aragorn sense)
• Was awarded the explorer belt and in doing so learned a considerable amount about Samuel Colt
• Speaks German and may actually speak the best French of the three of us
• Knows what the appendix is for
• Uniquely in the group is unlikely to attempt anything just because he is double dared to
It should be noted there Cian does possess a handicap as regards this challenge, but I leave that to him to discuss

Ross Michael Gerard Francis Frenett (QC)
• Has read Lord of the Rings
• Once cycled into a tree
• Has experience in the RDF so has the ability to walk long distances and sleep outdoors
• A facility to talk us out of difficult situations in mangled French
• Travelled around the Middle East on a pittance
• Is conveniently travel sized

David James Cornelius Coughlan (Mrs)
• Once walked halfway from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem before being picked up by the Israeli boys in duck egg blue
• Trained for a marathon in 5 weeks, more or less by accident
• Hitchhiked home from summer camp when nine years old
• Hates Bikes with a burning passion
• Knows the Klingon word for “Mountain”
• Likes the travelling scenes in The Man Who Would Be King
Still, no worries eh?

The Concept

On the 14^th of April 2010 David J Coughlan posted this on his Facebook wall:

“I could really do with an adventure. I've had enough of this, time for mountains, endless fields and some bloke with a sword guarding a bridge. But CE 4010 stands in my way, bloody typical.”

Initially this made me yearn for simpler times. While in school Dave, Cian and I had set out for Venice with a chess board and very little money. In the years following we travelled to Prague, London and the Middle East. Since then the economy has collapsed and we’ve become far more settled, with Dave in final year Civil Engineering, Cian doing a Masters in Development in Brighton and myself settled down doing a Masters with a long term girlfriend in London.

With Vic working and money tight, I couldn’t justify spending anything running off travelling with school friends. This is when a thought struck me… I asked myself the question as to what turns a ‘trip’ into an ‘adventure’. Adversity.

What if we were to go for a pint with a friend in a far off city, while spending no money to get there? That injected adversity, turning a trip into an adventure, and alleviated any guilt as the whole point was that no money be spent!

We chose to go to Zurich as it’s roughly the right distance away, none of us have ever been there, and the trip there fulfills two out of three of the criteria set out by Dave: “mountains, endless fields and some bloke with a sword guarding a bridge”. You never know, we might fulfill the third!

So here are the two simple rules:

1. No money at all to be spent on the trip. This includes for food, accommodation or transport

2. Little or no money to be spent in preparation for the trip with all we need ideally being recycled or donated

The exception to these is that we will almost certainly going to have to spend a little on a) getting across the channel and b) flying home from Zurich.

The purpose of this blog is to keep people informed of our plans and preparations to generate ideas as to how to save money and to encourage people to donate or loan us the materials that we’d need.

Ross