Clive Purt
Rotarians can improvise at short notice. The day before our meeting we still didn’t have a guest speaker.
President Margaret came up with the idea that she, Ray and Clive would speak about overseas cycling holidays. Clive had just returned from one in the Netherlands, so he went first.
Clive has had an interest in cycling since primary school.
He booked an 8 day barge and bike tour in the Netherlands. He was one of 14 people who stayed on the floating hotel overnight and cycled about 50km during the day. The barge provided single cabins and a chef who took your meal orders for the day, including a vegetarian option.
It was a great experience except for one hairy moment when he was totally lost in pouring rain in the dark with only a cell phone.
Clive had to get used to motorists driving on the other side of the road, and the front and rear brakes being in reverse on the handlebars. Another difference was that the bike had a belt not a chain.
At the end of the trip, he looked forward to coming home but the air traffic control system at Heathrow had collapsed, which resulted in his spending 17 hours at the airport, mostly trying to sleep on the floor.
He is undaunted however, and has already booked an overseas 10-day cycling tour for next year.
Margaret Brede
Margaret spoke about a cycling trip she and husband Dennis did in 2018. They followed the canal route from Bordeaux to Toulouse.
Their accommodation provided a big breakfast but when they wanted to stop for lunch, most foody places in the villages were closed. Margaret adopted the routine of sending Dennis as the forward lunch scout up the hill, while she waited to find out if there was anything open.
Most days they self-guided themselves over 50-60km rides through beautiful vineyard and canal vistas, except for one day when they were lost and cycled 70km to the accommodation where their luggage awaited them.
Two years ago, they did a guided barge/bike tour from Amsterdam to Bruges. Margaret noted that over there, the bike is king, cars give way to bikes and there are many underground bike parks.
Margaret was glad that this time she rode an E-bike and had a tour guide, because they saw a lot more local sights that way.
Ray Philp
Ray reminisced about a bike trip he and his wife did in Croatia in 2015. There were eight couples from the South Bunbury Rotary Club who went across for a Rotary Convention. Four of the couples decided it was a great opportunity to take a cycling trip for a week beforehand.
Like Clive, Ray noted that the front and rear brakes were in reverse, but achieved a reputation for having the most falls, including a spectacular plummet over the handlebars on a roundabout.
The next Rotary conference will take place in India next year. Ray is wondering if a cycling trip could be included?