Tag: michael lindsay

The King’s Highway Day 1: Amman – Madaba

Distance: 22.09 miles

Time: 2:42:55

Elevation: 1611 feet

Average Speed: 8.1 mph

Looking at today’s route out of Amman, I could tell that it wended its way over the hilltops – to avoid the busy roads on the valley floor. Still suffering with a bad cold, I considered opting out of the steep climbs, to try weaving in and out of the poorly flowing traffic instead. A brief spell in the traffic seemed alright, and I quite enjoyed the flow, reminding me of my exit out of Hanoi almost 4 years before.


But the route turned off sharply up ahead and I was also interested to see what the hills would be like. I passed through some narrow alleys where a colourful market was in full swing, then the road turned steeply to the left. I tried to engage my lowest gear, but one or two pedal revolutions later, the chain had slipped and I had to act fast to unclip before I toppled over. I’d installed a new rear derailleur just before I’d left, and although it seemed to be set up fine when tested on the flat roads near my home, it would appear that perhaps wasn’t the case.


I got up the first steep ramp in stages, but between the malfunctioning gears and the gradient, it hadn’t been pretty. Impatient to get moving I made some impromptu adjustments and kept on fighting up the hill. The road meandered higher and higher, reaching almost 1000 metres, the surroundings becoming less salubrious as I went. As I reached the summit of the first hilltop settlement, it felt impoverished and cut off, and when the afternoon call to prayer began reverberating around the buildings, I stopped and soaked in the atmosphere.


Back on a major road, I passed a variety of roadside cafes and food stalls, the roadsides were starting to feel like those in Vietnam, it was quite comforting after my ride there. I came across a large square and stopped to take photos of the Abu Darwish Mosque, a large building I’d seen on the skyline from the Citadel the day before. As I lingered a group of teenage boys walked by, they called out a welcome before one asked ‘if I liked Palestine’. What would Rishi say? I briefly considered, before thinking of something else.


The route kept off the main road from now on, cutting through sparse housing developments and up and over steep rises to keep moving forwards. Eventually the housing petered out and I was passing through farmland on a very quiet road. Stray dogs looked too bored to attack and kids looked on inquiringly


After working my way across the countryside for some miles, I realised I was close to my stop for the night, Madaba. Passing through the outer reaches, I tried to follow the route on the tiny screen of my GPS, in bright sunshine, making several missteps, and passing along roads that I doubted many tourists would usually encounter, before eventually arriving at the Black Iris Hotel.


While I paused before going inside, a large group of boys gathered around, seemingly interested in my bike, and the aforementioned GPS unit, and in good spirits. They had just asked me the age-old burning question of Messi or Ronaldo when the hotel proprietors came out to shoe them away. Messi I’d responded, which annoyed the boy who’d asked, but seemed to be appreciated by his friends. Well, the ones in Argentina tops anyway.


Checking into the Black Iris Hotel was a pleasant experience, so I elected to have dinner in the hotel. Being only a little after 4 o’clock, I had some time to spare, so deliberated between the 12 mile return trip over to Mount Nebo, which would afford views of Jerusalem and the Dead Sea, or to make a quick dash down to St George’s Greek Orthodox Church, home to the Madaba Map, a mosaic map known as being the earliest cartographic depiction of Jerusalem and the Holy Land, dating from the 6th Century AD.

The walled city of Jerusalem is at the centre of the image with the Dead Sea above that. Jordan itself would be above the Dead Sea but much has been lost.


Only being an hour left until sunset, I opted for the map. Unfortunately, the area that contained Madaba itself had been destroyed, but I did find Karak just on the edge of the remains, and that’s where I hoped to stop tomorrow.


As I made my way back from the church, I found the heart of Madaba to be very pleasant and slightly regretted opting to have dinner at the hotel. Passing by a very busy food counter, I noticed that they were selling Chicken Shawarma, and as it was the first place I’d spotted that did, I couldn’t help but try one. As it was dinner soon, I went small, at the princely sum of 67 pence. Simply prepared, I received a wrap with a light spreading of tahini sauce and thin slices of hot succulent chicken. It was very tasty, and I was pretty sure this would be better than what the hotel would provide.


Unsurprisingly I was right, but they did put on quite a feast, with soup, big bowls of hummus and baba ganoush, salads, kofta and rice and a chicken and potato stew. Following that was a big slab of baklava, which was very nice, but I particularly enjoyed washing it all down with a bottle of Petra Blonde Ale, as brewed in Jordan.

Iceland 2023: The Ring Road

Back in the Saddle…

When I cycled from Land’s End to John o’ Groats in August 2021, it was a targeted attempt to regain some fitness after a busy few months at work where sporting pursuits had fallen by the wayside. Since then, my main training focus has been running and the culmination of the last few years has been recent PBs in the 5K and Half Marathon of 18:37 and 1:25:40 respectively, and completing my first ever Marathon in Manchester in a time of 3:14:36. So, almost 2 years since LEJOG, I’m definitely fitter than I was, but I haven’t been doing much cycling, so it must be time for another adventure…

Last summer was largely spent working on bikes rather than cycling them, and I finally bought a new bike to replace my battle-scarred Thorn Brevet, the bike that has scaled the Atlas mountains and the Vietnamese highlands, while also rolling past the stunning Oregon coastline along the way. What is the new bike? Well, it’s another Thorn, a Club Tour, a heavier duty tourer with stronger wheels and wider tyres for exploring off the beaten track, perfect for its debut outing along the Fife Coastal Path last September.

So, when I started dreaming about where to travel next, my thoughts turned to the gravel trails of New Zealand and the dirt roads of the Carretera Austral in Chile, but, alas, I have a new job, and not enough holidays to spare, so I started to think of somewhere similar, but closer to home. An active volcanic landscape, sparsely populated, and only a two hour flight. That’ll be Iceland.

For those who have followed my previous tours, you’ll have spotted that I do like a good, old-fashioned, point to point route, they tend to look good on maps, and offer the greatest rate of change of landscape and culture. But, my second favourite is definitely a loop, and the fact that Iceland has a Ring Road that circumnavigates the whole country is almost as good! When I started to plan the trip I found statistics that suggested that the Ring Road still featured gravel stretches, and that as much as 30% of it could still be gravel. However, more recently I’ve found a more up to date source that shows that it has now been tarmacked all the way round, and now that I know that, it does make a difference to my choice of bike. And, with me being reluctant to take my new bike on a plane as of yet, the old one is being pressed into service once more.

What, then, is the plan? Well, I’ve booked my flights to Reykjavik, and I’ll stay in Reykjavik Campsite on the first night; storing my bike box there for when I return. Then, I’ll set off around the Golden Circle to Geyser and Gullfoss before joining Route 1 – the Ring Road – on the south coast, and following it anti-clockwise around the country. All in all, a distance of around 852 miles and with 16 days to complete it, it’s lucky there’s a lot of daylight…

Oh, and I leave tomorrow, so I’d best get packing!

Lejog Day 2: Ponsanooth – Liskeard

Distance: 51.4 miles

Time: 5:33

Elevation: 5244 feet

By the time I’d packed up camp this morning, my start wasn’t much earlier, and still to have breakfast, I made for the Norway Inn, waiting impatiently for my fry up to arrive. Now 10:40, I found myself on the busy A39, holding up a truck, before a cycle lane appeared just before the lengthy hill to Devoran. Thankfully, I was exiting here to rejoin the route and swept along some country lanes to King Harry Ferry, a chain ferry across the Carrick Roads.

Climbing steeply away from the slipway, I momentarily reached some higher ground, before the road plummeted again, a pattern that would continue for most of the ride. Much like yesterday, the roads were narrow, and lined with high hedges on either side, I considered the wisdom of choosing an ‘optimal’ route solely on the criteria of minimising traffic, and distance. I had other variables to throw into the mix, like avoiding going over every hilltop, and ensuring that there was occasionally something other than a hedge to look at.

I was thankful for the lack of traffic, though, and as I slogged up the first few climbs there was no one to be seen. Eventually, my luck ran out, and it became a regular occurrence that, no sooner had I started up a climb, a car would come over the brow of the hill, tuck into the verge somewhere near the top, and I’d have to spin up the hill as fast as I could to get past.

On the last few miles into St Austell, the route branched off onto a cycle path of loose gravel and stones, and instantly I regretted following it. I bailed out half a mile later, for the good of my tyres, but, it was too late, and shortly afterwards, my front wheel started to go squidgy. I hauled the bike off the road, through a patch of nettles, and set to work changing the inner tube, resolving to avoid any off road detours in future.

Eventually, I reached St Austell, but not spotting anywhere for lunch, I continued to St Blazey, popping into a shop for provisions. One more climb saw me reach the short Ferry crossing between Fowey and Bodinnick, but the climbing didn’t stop there, and where the hills had been 100 metres high before they now pushed 200.

Passing 43 miles for the day, the relentless climbing caught up with me, and after a tricky 17% descent, the road climbed steeply back up the other side, and I was defeated. 3 times I got off and walked, not ideal on a narrow country lane, but there was nothing else for it.

The miles passed ever more slowly, and I realised that I wouldn’t even make the first of my potential campsites by their check in time of 6pm. One by one, I interrogated Google Maps for alternatives, and one by one, the options disappeared. Passing through Liskeard, I strapped a fish supper to the back of my bike, and set off in the hope that the kind people of Fursdon Farm would forgive my late arrival. At just after 7, I was standing by the campsite entrance when the owners drove in. Head on in they said, and would you like a coffee?

UK 2021: Land’s End to John o’ Groats

So, what does your average globetrotting cycle-tourist do during a world pandemic I hear you ask? Unsurprisingly, look for the nearest suitable challenge not necessitating the use of an Aeroplane and get packing is the answer.

And here I am, packed. Packed off on the 9:08 train from Edinburgh Waverley and with over 12 hours to kill before I arrive in Penzance. My challenge is – of course – Land’s End to John o’ Groats. 1000 miles, from the south-western tip of the British mainland to the north-eastern one.

The route I am intending to follow is the one presented in the Cicerone LeJoG guidebook, and is described as the ‘optimal’ route by none other than the author himself. Optimal because it keeps to quiet roads without adding greatly to the overall mileage.

To this stage, my planning has been minimal. I booked a train – and accommodation for my first night in Penzance – and that’s about it! Hotels in England look expensive, so I’ve brought my tent and hope to camp most nights, but not having planned where I hope to reach each night, I’ll need to seek out my accommodation options as I go. Hopefully this isn’t complicated too much by the English school holidays or lingering Covid restrictions…