Tiptree to Torquay, Champagne and the Dam

So far life after running has been great. I started off with a rather impromptu bike ride from my parent house in Tiptree down to their apartment in Torquay. I was really lucky with the weather which made it all the more pleasant and managed to get down to Torquay in about two and a half days averaging about 130miles a day. The first days ride went through London getting a lift across the Thames on the Woolich ferry followed by some nice country roads over the north and south downs ending at a very picturesque youth hostel in Arundel. Slept like a log that night but still up early for a beautiful ride along the south coast through the New Forest to Weymouth and a night in another hostel in Portland. The final leg of the journey hit the hills of Devon down to my final resting spot of Torquay.

Nearing the end of my ride to Torquay

I was really impressed with the youth hostels I stayed in, for less than £20 a night I got a comfy bed (bed linen provided) in a small dorm room and a good hot shower, perfect if you are just looking for somewhere to lay your head for the night.

Next on the agenda was a trip down to the Champagne region of France with my mum for a short holiday, we sampled plenty of the fabulous french food and local delicacies like the Andouillette sausage which I enjoyed but it definitely wouldn't be to every ones taste! Also as you can imagine when visiting Champagne we had to sample lots of the different Champagnes, all very good and surprisingly different, I always thought Champagne was just Champagne.

A nice walk through the forest in Champagne

Got back to the UK yesterday and today I'm off for three days in Amsterdam then pack up my things and move to London to start my new job next week.

One other thing to mention is some new earphones that I have just got as my old ipod ones were starting to get a bit tatty. I got some Jabra Rhythm ones that are perfect for use with the iphone or other similar smartphones and the improvement in sound quality is remarkable, they also have a mic so you can use them for hands free calls and they are suitable for use when running as you just have to tap the control box to skip tracks, answer calls etc. Definitely a good buy.