Easy cycling to PernesLes Fontaines, but then I had to admit defeat

June 12
The flat roads I had previous days is now histori. Now the climbs begin and the weather still hot .Some shorts break for water refilling and picking cherries .Lot of crops with those berries after the road.

Wild cherries or sweet cherries grew along the roads and were welcome to pick.

Later in the afternoon, I arrived in a small village, Villes-sur-Auzon, but it seemed deserted—no shops or cafés were open.
Maybe everyone was just indoors having dinner. On my way out, I stopped when I saw a water pump by the roadside.
I felt like I needed to cool down.

Cooling – Nice

Real nice and and very necessary. From now upwards, 11 km has my GPS calculated with to my tentplace.

Before I got there some friendly Frenchmen stopped me and offered me some bottles of beer, and I didn’t deny them.

Half way up to Les Abielles two friendy french guys stoped me and offered me some beer

After this nice meeting and break I was ready for may last struggle this afternoon. At the top this climbing an old church with perfect green spot close to beome my tentplace… Notre Dame de la Consolation was the name of this church.

This day stoped at Les Abielles and Notre Dame de la Consolation chapelle

Tomorrow more climbing up to Sault and then I’ve planned to reach Châteauneuf-de-Chabre!

Today distance	83,74 km	Travel time	06:15 h.m	Total time	12:35 h.m
Max speed	33,8 km/h	Medium speed	13,4 km/h
Max temp	48 °C	Average temp	24,0 °C	Min temp	11 °C

See Yeah later
The Global Cyclist

By The Global Cyclist 1726|2025-06-02T08:21:15+00:00juni 13th, 2019|Europe, France|0 Comments

Canal du Mid to Agde, Montpellier and heading north

From Beziers I follow the Canal du Midi and it was a nice surprise. The Canal also named as Canal de las Doas Mars, meaning a canal of the two seas, is a 240 km (150 mi) long canal in Southern France

Locks at Bezier

Ther canal is quite old, around mid or 1780.After the canal lie lots of small boats by the river bank, some of them for tourists but also home for others.

Lots of boats lies by the riverbank

French tourist and bicycle authorities have really done a really good job which continued to maintain the canal and also provide the canalroute with a
cycle path 🫶💓👍

This Canal has sections, parts so beautiful so I had to stop, just breading the atmosphere…

The cyclepath is mostly packed with gravel either or paved, but some parts are very tight and on some short lines it growing back…

By The Global Cyclist 1726|2023-10-16T12:56:57+00:00juni 10th, 2019|Europe, France, General|0 Comments

Switchbacks and lovely bicycle ride to Perpignan and dogbite in Narbonne

June 7

I slept well despite a cold night. Outside half clody but I suppose the clouds will disperse in a few hours once the sun had a chance to work a bit. To Mont Louise isn’t far, just 45 minutes cycling and I will stop there for a breakfast

Switchbacks from Mount-Louise

I’m glad it downwards ad not the opposit because it’s not going to be flat before I arrives Canaveilles 20 km down. The chilly and cloudy weather has turn into luke warm and sunny.
The ride to Villefranche-de-Conflent was easy as expected. I turned into the town throug a huge and old stone gate. Still to early for most of the tourist.
I bought a beer at a small but exclusively decorated bar and sat down outside.

Stoped in Villefranche-de-Conflent for a cold beer

While I sip my cold beer with reverence, the sparsely populated streets become increasingly filled with tourists. It seems that Villefranche-de-Conflent is a popular village to visit, which also google informed me with…One of the most beautiful villages of France and a UNESCO World Heritage Site, but everything here is expensive, also my beer!

After 45 minutes it was time to continue. Weather still sunny and warm but now I got some tailwind so I could speed up a little. I passed many small and cozy villages, some og them lies beautiful along mountain slopes often with a church or a tower standing upp.

Saint-Vincent-d’En-Haut church in EUS

Rest of my cycling to Perpignan was both easy and warm and my legs was still fresch . I arrive into Perpignan around 5 pm.

I stop in the middle of town and after a busy street when I see a sign with the nice name Blues Brothers. Here I have a cup of coffee before I continue out of town towards Narbonne.
My route to Narbonne was planned with Maps.Me but I had some problem to find the cyclepath. I do a few laps around a roundabout before I saw that there is a small gravel road on the right side of a guardrail.

The cyclepath is narrow and with gravel. Some part there has been a stop with the work of the cycle path and it is more similar to a stone–paved path.

Few km later I found a place beside the cyclepath where I could pitch up my tent under a huge tree with gigantic tree crowns. Next to the tent is a large field of vines and I also saw the local wine harvester on the way home.

My tentcamp outside Perpignan

Today distance	106,5 km	Travel time	05:40 h.m	Total time	10:56 h.m
Max speed	48,1 km/h	Medium speed	11,8 km/h
Max temp	41 °C	Average temp	21,0 °C	Min temp	10 °C

See yeah later
P-G
//The Global Cyclist 1719

By The Global Cyclist 1726|2025-03-12T00:14:45+00:00juni 8th, 2019|Europe, France|0 Comments

My last cycling in Spain was tough and landslides caused a car accident

June 6

From my tentplace at Cal Rosal to the France border I have to fight 75 km, but first I’ll need to make my way to Berga and have a late breakfast there.

6 km and 200 meters altitude difference later I cycle into a very steep town.

Berga town

It is small ,but at the moment it seems to be lively visited by tourists. I found a cafe uptown which also has tables across the street after a boardwalk. I bring my food bag with me and pick up bread, yogurt, cheese and ham.

While eating my breakfast I also check out the route to the French border andPuigcerdà. Over 50 km and 600 meters altitude difference I have to cope with. Gonna be a tough route.

Old houses in Berga

After about 30 km cycling towards the franc border It became a stop after the road. A landslide had caused an accident and the police stopped all traffic.

They urge everyone to take another way but for me as a biker I have to take a bus . I not allowed to cycle through the tunnels, but the busride was of course free of charge.

Lots of beautiful village after the road upp o Puigcereda, this village, with the fitting name ALP.

Two hours later the bus let me of at the train station in Puigcereda. After quick coffe break and a new navigation
check I’m on the bike again.

I did not know they played hockey up here. But a French guy told me that Puigcereda ’s hockey team is in the Spanish league!

Finding the route out of town to the Bourg-Madame, the first village in France. Then a long slope before I get into
Saillagouse. A new coffe break at a roadbar before next climbing up to the top, about 4 km.

In the slope down to the next valley I saw a service place with green spots where I could pitch up my tent.

Coll Rigat, my first tentplace in France

See yea later from France
P-G
//The Global Cyclist 1719

By The Global Cyclist 1726|2023-10-17T18:19:24+00:00juni 7th, 2019|Europe, Spain|0 Comments

New Zealand and South Island Next

The flight over the Tasman Sea to New Zealand is going well, and we land almost exactly at 11:30 PM local time.

I have some comments about the landing. First, the plane tilts quite a bit, almost as if there was a big bump in the middle of the runway. Then, there’s a sudden stop, causing us to almost hit the seat in front of us. Neither I nor anyone else seems to be hurt

After that, I went through passport control, which is self-manned. A scanner reads the passport, and you’re supposed to be allowed into the arrival hall, but not for me and a few others. We have to take the regular route, because on the plane, we had to fill out a form about what we have in our luggage, where we’ve been, and so on.

The form also asks if you have camping equipment, medications, explosives, weapons, and so on.

I indicated that I have a tent and other camping gear and that my last destination was Borneo, where I also camped. The passport control officer wants to take a look at this form and notices that I marked a few ”yes” boxes.

Then I’m allowed to proceed towards the exit and the next checkpoint.

The next officer also looks at the form and then asks, ”Where is your tent?” I point to my North Face bag, and the officer tells me to follow the red line. There are also yellow and green lines. Now, I’m asked more questions about the tent, and they also want me to produce it.

I hand over my North Face bag to the female passport control officer, she asks me to wait and she walks through a door into an office.

After about 10 minutes, she returns and said…
– We found some ants in your tent, and you have two options. You leave your tent here, and we destroy it for free.

I look at the woman as if she’s joking and said…
– Destroy?

She responds…
– Yes, but your other option is to let us send the tent for cleaning, but that will cost you about 160 NZD.

What do you do?
Starting an argument with these officers is out of the question, so I asked…
– How many days do I have to wait to get it back?
She replies…
– About a week.

I have no choice but to accept their offer, and I provide my address in Christchurch, my phone number, and email address.
She says…
– We’ll send you an email when and where you can pick up your tent.

Sigh, sigh, and more sighs, and now the time it’s almost half past two AM .

I’m tired and realize that my hostel tonight won’t be open when I arrive….

I hade to get out of the terminal with the rest of my bags and try to find a taxi or bus that will take me to the address 373 Gloucester Street.

A Shuffle bus driver is standing outside at the exit and he asked if I attepting to go into the city. I gave him the address to my hostel .
He asks me to put my luggage in a wire cart that was standing right next to him and then he points to a gray Toyota van that was standing in the parking lot.

Shuffel taxi at Christchurch airport

There are three more families going in the same direction and we have to share the space in the bus. The driver then reverses the bus towards the entrance and hooks up a large white fully covered trailer. He counts the bags and then we drive to Christchurch in the dark of night.

After dropping off the other families at various hotels in the city center, we head on traffic and deserted streets towards the Linwood district and Kiwi House Hostel.

A large fence surrounds the hostel but a small gate to the left takes me into another door that has an internal radio next to it.

I press the internal radio, just a lot of beeps and two lights shining right in my face. No answer. I’m thinking about what to do, whether I should stay until they open or leave my luggage and head into the center. I decide that I leave my luggage and head towards the city center to see if anything is open. I leave the luggage in the space between the outer and inner fence.

Before I left, I locked my bags to the fence with the long yellow strap equipped with a combination lock. It took me just over 30 minutes to find my way to the city center, but nothing is open except a hotel with a closed bar.

Before I left, I locked my bags to the fence using the long yellow strap with a combination lock. It took me just over 30 minutes to find my way to the city center, but nothing was open except a hotel with a closed bar.

I was allowed to sit at one of the window tables. The girl at the reception gave me a mug of hot water, and in my backpack, I had a packet of instant coffe so I could stay awake…

Then I slowly walk back to the hostel and just wait. After waiting for about half an hour, the gate door suddenly swings open and a young girl comes out.

She obviously hadn’t expected me to be standing there and lets out a short scream.

We talk for a while and I show her the SMS message I received from the Hostel and explain why I’m standing here with a bike box and six bags.

– If I let you in, I could be fined 500 NZD$ from the host, says the girl.

– Wait here and I’ll go in and talk to someone.

She comes back within five minutes with a face–scarred guy. They let me in and I get help with the packing. I’m now so tired that I feel bad. I drink several cups of coffee while I wait for the staff to show up at 8.

While I’m sitting at one of the wooden tables, more and more people come down to the kitchen to eat breakfast. It is now eight o’clock and the door next to the reception is unlocked. A younger woman already knows that I have booked and says that I can not get a bed until after ten.

She shows me the TV lounge and says than…
– You can sleep at the sofa while we are preparing your bed.
Al–Jazira is the only news program I could find, but I let it allowed to sound in the background while I tryed to fall asleep, which I do eventually.

…zzZZzz…

See yah later
P-G
// TheGlobalCyclist1719

By The Global Cyclist 1726|2025-06-03T00:12:32+00:00maj 28th, 2019|General, New Zealand, Oceanien|0 Comments

Pontianak welcomes me

Just before and around the time just before ”take off” to Pontianak, I receive a message from Worldtracer that says…

– CGKGA76435 – Bag01/Red
– Your item has been found and will be received at its destination tomorrow, Pontianak.

That sounds good; I’ll have to return to the airport tomorrow, but I’m glad the bag has been found. I had estimated that the contents were worth around 1700-1800 $ if I had to buy equivalent items.

For the rest of the time until the departure at 15:25 from Gate 16, I’m mostly relaxed at my window seat. The check-in process goes smoothly, and we taxi towards the runway on schedule.
The plane barely takes off before I fall asleep with my headphones on, which I had plugged in to watch TV right in front of me on the seatback.

I wake up about 25 minutes before we’re supposed to land and see that the flight attendants have given me a tray with food and water. I finish the rice and chicken but leave the little container with some sweet pink dessert, dosn’t look tasty!

Pontianak below and Kapuas river floating throug

At 5:05 PM, the plane’s wheels touch down with a slight screech and then a strong but safe braking.

Waiting for Taxi to my hotel

The rest goes quickly with no issues at passport control. The airport isn’t particularly large, similar to Midlanda. The bags, except for the missing North Face bag, come gliding on the conveyor belt at Claim 3, and the bicycle box as well. I then head towards the exit.

Getting a ride to the hotel in Pontianak wasn’t difficult. Taxis are waiting outside the airport, and within three-quarters of an hour after getting my luggage, the taxi drives towards the entrance of Aiyr Pontianak Selatan Imam Bonjo.

The check-in at the hotel Merparti goes quickly since I’ve already booked the room via Hotels.com.

The room is on the third floor, but there’s no elevator, so I get some help carrying all my luggage. They place the bicycle box inside a sort of baggage room at the reception.

The hotel is two-star, but the room is quite decent with two single beds, TV, and air conditioning. Breakfast, included in the price, is served between 06:00 and 09:00.

Tonight, I’ll have an early night as I’m tired. Not much sleep at airport!

I’ll catch up with you later from the lively Pontianak on Borneo.
// P-G The Global Cyclist 1719

By The Global Cyclist 1726|2023-10-01T10:26:56+00:00februari 19th, 2019|Indonesia, SouthEast Asia|0 Comments

The island of Orangutans – Borneo

Soon, in about a day, I’ll be stepping foot in my twentieth country, the land of orangutans. I’m looking forward to this adventure with excitement and delight… Wow, I have to pinch myself for all the experiences and challenges I’m going to face.

Borneo, my planned route through island

Roughly an hour after departing from Changi Airport in Singapore, we touch down in Jakarta, Indonesia, at Soekarno-Hatta Airport. It’s pitch black outside, and the time is approaching 11:30 PM. My flight to Pontianak on Borneo is scheduled for tomorrow afternoon, so I’ll be spending a good chunk of time at this airport.

But first, I need to go through passport control, and the first thing I see when I enter the hall is a big sign obove my head that reads ”VISA on Arrival.”

There’s no line, so I approach an officer and inquire about how to apply for an extension of my already-granted 30 days. I don’t think 30 days will be enough to explore the island. He tells me that I need to purchase a card or receipt for $30, which, starting from today’s date and before my initial 30 days expire, should be presented to an immigration authority in one of the cities I’ll be passing through.

Then I’ll automatically get an extra 30 days on Borneo.

I pay the fee directly to the officer and then proceed across the hall to passport control, where I show both my passport and the newly acquired VISA card.

The woman says the same thing as the officer on the other side of the hall, that I should later present my passport and VISA Receipt in the city where I wish to extend by 30 days.

I receive my passport stamps and head towards baggage claim. There’s a sign that says ”Claim 6,” so I make my way there.

The suitcases start coming down the conveyor belt just as I arrive, and I load them onto a trolley.

I notice that my bike box is a little further down and steer the cart in that direction. Just as I’ve loaded the box onto the trolley, I realize that one bag is missing.

It’s the red North Face bag with a complete tent, mattress, liner, pillow, and silk sheets inside.

The belt has stopped, meaning no more bags are on their way. I find a service staff member and am advised to go to Garuda’s service office to file a loss report.

Using the stickers on my boarding pass, we note that a bag is missing, indicating that it’s the airline’s fault, not mine.

The luggage was checked in correctly in Singapore, as confirmed by my stickers.

I provide my mobile phone number, WhatsApp number, my address in Pontianak, and the man behind the desk takes note of everything. I receive a receipt for my report.

The receipt also contains their WhatsApp number and a reference number I should mention when calling.

I’m afraid it might be more than one night in Pontianak, I definitely want to get the North Face bag with the tent back before I continue.

I then push the trolley cart back towards the exit and take the escalators two floors up to terminal three and Gate F.

Up here, I’ll try to find somewhere to rest. I find a booth with the sign ”Scandinavian” above it, it fits me perfect

Inside the booth, there’s a sofa with a upright back, two light green armchairs, and a table. I try to get into a relaxed position so I can get a few minutes of sleep, but it doesn’t take long before the travelers start walking around, so I didn’t get much sleep.

Good night, it started off well with Indonesia…!!

See Yeah from Pontianak, Borneo
// P-G The Global Cyclist 1719

By The Global Cyclist 1726|2023-10-13T07:35:46+00:00februari 18th, 2019|General, Indonesia, SouthEast Asia|0 Comments

Bicycle repair, Gardens by the Bay, Sentosa and Marina Bay Sands

The Chinese New Year celebrations disrupt my planning with almost a week. During this celebration, almost everything owned by Chinese people is closed, also bicycle workshops. Someone told me they dont´t open until februari 11. But I don´t have any hurry!

Instead I explored Singapore both by walking around but mostley using the subway, Singapore Mass Rapid Transit or SMRT. This transport system it´s smart, fast , quite cheap and very very clean. Both the subway cars and stations. Even though I tried, it was hard to find any graffiti or trash.

You can´t find any garbage, dirt or graffiti

Clean, clean and clean

I have mentioned it before about the Durian fruit and its smell, down here signs on several places forbids you from bringing durian on board

The rules are clear and the fines high if you break some.

Twenty minues later a digital voice announce that we are stoping at Bayfront station. To find my wau out to Gardens By The Bay was easy,
signs, arrows fo follow, can´t miss.

Then I had to follow the walkways which were very well signed. It was like to walk in a green dream garden.

Garden By The Bay is an 105 hectares (260 acres) area with lots of walkways.

In the green city of Singapore lies one of the world's most beautiful parks - Gardens by the Bay - a park

that I could never get enough of.

Didn't have to walk far from SMRT station before I saw the enormous giant trees which resembled a giant Y.

Hard to miss this huge supertree groves.

My first attraction was to visit the OCBC Skyway, a walkway between the crowns of the super trees.

OCBC Skyway is 128 meter long and 22 meters above the ground

When I get there it was a que, but I understand why everyone wants to walk up in the artificial treetops, because the view was fantastic.
The fee cost 8 SGD$ or 55 SEK.

View from OCBC Skyway,WOW. A picture is worth a thousand words.

There are 18 Supertree Groves in the park, mostley of them light upp in the evening generated from solarpower.

I wandered around the park for several hours and decided that later in the evening I would visit the light show. Becuse Gardens by the Bay is not just an attraction during the day, in fact the most magical and eye-catching thing happens every night after dark.

The supertrees host a light and sound show every night that is the best I have ever seen in that category. Twice a night, the Supertree Grove is packed with people.

Supertrees lightning up, around 6.30 PM

Everyone sits everywhere on the ground and everyone looks up at the supertrees in awe.

When I was here, a kind of musical show was played with different artists. The music and the performance was fantastic and the supertrees’ light show was magical.

Supertree Magical Show

The light show was not diminished by the city of Singapore being illuminated by shops and stores in the background.

Super tree with one of many light shapes and the city lit up i the background

That I got goosebumps was no exaggeration. That says something about how fantastic and magical this was.

If you are going to visit Singapore, you must not miss this spectactular show and its free

This picture of OCBC Skyway is Photoshopped

Around 10 pm I walked back through a vibrant and colorful Singapore and I was more than satisfied. Stoped for a cold beer at a pub
before goodnight.

See Yeah later
// P-G, The Global Cyclist

By The Global Cyclist 1726|2025-01-23T22:02:23+00:00februari 7th, 2019|General, Singapore, SouthEast Asia|0 Comments

Singapore and Chinese New Year!

February 4

If getting through the border control was easy and hassle-free, getting into the Singapore was a different story. Not my day!

Highways, highways, and more highways, Maps.Me counted thirteen of them, none of those allowed cycling and my GPS is not working optimally.

Cycling is not allowed on the Highway Express so I was ”picked up” by the tow truck!!

I naively thought they would give me a ride to the city center, but no such luck! They found an exit on the side of theexpress highway and dropped me off there.

Now I was completely lost. Google Maps offered some help, but after another half an hour or so without even finding a bus and it was almost black dark outside so I had to ask for help at a small airport.

I asked them to call for taxi and also gave them instruction to notify the cab driver that I had a bicycle with panniers. After half an hour the taxi showed up.It was a van so there where no probs to load my bicycle. 25 minutes later he drove into the chinese part of Singapore.

The traffic was anything but sparse—cars, pedestrians, and tourists were everywhere. It was pure chaos. The taxi driver dropped me off a few blocks from Temple Street, my hotel street.

– I can’t drive any further,” he said.
– It’s Chinese New Year, to much people. Just follow the street and look to the right.

We unloaded the bike, and I carried on. Above me hung banners, flags, and colorful lanterns. Pigs in all sorts of shapes and forms were everywhere. For the Chinese, this is the Year of the Pig.

I couldn’t help but be fascinated by the festivities that had just begun.

When I finally found my street, I realized that getting to the hotel, just 500 meters away, would be a challenge. I had never seen so many people on a single street at the same time before, three people per square meter, and there I was, with my bike loaded with five bags.

Temple street in evening. The street was packed with people.Imagine me with a bike loaded with five packed
bags who is trying to get ahead!

I squeezed through the throngs of tourists, I caught a strong smell, which turned out to be the fruit durian, also known as the ”king of fruits.”

Many people found this smell is pleasant sweet fragance. I wasn´t none of them👎. For me it was overpowering and unpleasant

Durian fruit, also called ”king of fruits” Very popular in Southeast Asia, especially China (Foto: Sadiq Asyraf/AP/TT)

It took me 45 minutes to find my hotel, Beds Dreams Inn. Inchecking easy and quick. Got a bed in a 4 bed-room on the bottom floor. My bicycle I locked up with a wire outside under entrance roof. My bags I could take into the room.

Today distance	177,1 km	Travel time	06:16 h.m	Total time	12:29:06 h.m
Max speed	46,2 km/h	Medium speed	14,5 km/h
Max temp	44,0 °C	Average temp	35,5 °C	Min temp	27,0 °C

See yeah later
// P-G, The Global Cyclist

By The Global Cyclist 1726|2025-06-08T10:04:40+00:00februari 6th, 2019|Singapore, SouthEast Asia|0 Comments

Leaving Malaysia for Singapore

This is my last day in Malaysia, if nothing unexpected comes up, touch wood! my plan is to reach Singapore and my hotel on Temple Street later this afternoon.
The sun is shining from an almost clear sky and it is hot and very humid. I did a short stop and break when I saw a sign for bee farm, only 2 km from mainroad.

Entrance to the bee farm, Milik Penuh Mersing Bee farm Mersing

I was guiden around the bee farm by this smiling man. The guide says each hive produces about 10 kg per month, about 2 kg per frame.

The road AH18 looks like this long stretches. Oilpalms plantations on both sides

After this break I continue my journey south. Quite easy cycling but I notice some strange noise when I try to put more force on the pedals, but I couldn´t see anything strange.

17-20 km after Jemaluang I get a response to the strange noises, suddently I lost every power , the chain has broken. Unfortunately, I have any chain lock left and my spare link can’t be found either. I had to steer the bike to the next small town to find a bike repair shop or a bus to Johor Baharu, but without success.

Two elderly men in a repair shop offer me a ride to his home village a few km away to get help with my problem.

Accept the offer. We drove off and they stopped for lunch and they paid mine.

The help they talked about wasn’t worth much. While I was looking the other way, the so-called repairman assembled the chain without pulling it through the derailleur.

The nearest bike repair shop was in Singapore so the only thing left to do now was to hop on a bus from the nearest village to Joho Baharu and from there find a way to my hotel in Singapore.

Phew what a day

In Kota Tinggi I bought a bus ticket to Johor Baharu bordercontrol, nearly 40 km. Then I had to steer my my ”bike crew” through the control.

Zero problem to pass through, pretty fast.

Now I will cross the Johor Strait, a 1.1 km wide road then I’m in my Singapore, my 18th country om this journey!!

Johor–Singapore Causeway over Johor straits

There were also no probs to pass through the Singaporian passcontrol. My biggest problem now is how to get to the Chinese part of Singapore, where I have booked a hotel room.

See Yeah later from Singapore
// P-G, The Global Cyclist

By The Global Cyclist 1726|2025-03-17T21:47:35+00:00februari 5th, 2019|Malaysia, SouthEast Asia|0 Comments

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