There is a delicious masochism about riding in the rain. It starts with the ritual of donning equipment that is designed to keep you dry for a casual ride but in 10 hour monsoons even the best can be overcome. Gortex topped with one piece rain suit works best for me – but forget waterproof boots and gloves they simply don’t exist in torrential rain conditions. Days end allows for drip drying and repeated hot drinks – snuggling into a dry sleeping bag on a wooden platform yesterday covered by a tin roof was a extraordinary feeling – so in touch with the elements yet thankfully dry and warm – the spectacle of viscous lighting bolts and the soundtrack of thunderclaps and bouncing rain… best nights sleep yet.
Category Archives: Travel Blogs
Skyscraper Envy
Can a country get Skyscraper envy? Frankfurt has around 30 Skyscrapers… I wonder if this could be inked to Andrew Lawrence’s belief that the “skyscraper index,” is in play. Andrew maintains that, a skyscraper begins construction when the economy is growing, but this is then followed by a sharp downturn. But once a skyscraper is finished, according to the index, the economy is climbing back. By my understanding there around 6 substantive skyscraper building projects under way in Frankfurt today…
I’ll take the rain over snow
So over the last 1870 miles and four countries, today has been the first dry day since the 21st June. In truth I don’t mind the rain, its just about having the right gear and getting the mindset right. Focus is on drying over suits, boots and gloves and then checking the bike – that takes precedent in the evenings and thankfully the land of very cheap overnight accommodation beckons. I am paying less now per night in each miserly selected venue than I have paid for camping spots in Scandinavia, though in truth I am missing the sea already. I journeyed into Frankfurt today, my new German friends said I must see the “Eurotower”, and there’s me thinking it was a monument to unification striving for peace and understanding across the E.C. when in actuality it is a shrine to a struggling currency.
