Charity book for xmas - Cycling France in Hibs Strip

[andyf5]

Hi

I cycled France for charity and a friend in my Hibs strip (some days), met up with the Biarritz Hibs Supporters branch and have published a book. All proceeds from the book go to RNIB. It's my blog in book form so its not literature but it is funny.

A lot went wrong which is the funny bit but I persevered.


"Live Cycle: Straight from a desk, an attempt to cycle France with no training, no maps and no accommodation by Andrew Wallace

Link: http://amzn.eu/f0IqN1L"

The ISBN is 1981281983

Photo attached. Receipts from RNIB will be published here.

Thanks for reading

Andy

[Sammy7nil]

Well done

[andyf5]

Well done

Link now working. It's


http://amzn.eu/f0IqN1L

[Famous Fiver]

I've cycled in Little France and what a dodgy experience that is so hats off to you for doing the real thing. :greengrin

[Gregor]

If this is even half as good as Tim Moore's French Revolutions, then it'll surely be worth a purchase and read. Chapeau!

-- Edit ; purchased. Now all I need to do is find a decent Bordeaux to go with it.

[andyf5]

If this is even half as good as Tim Moore's French Revolutions, then it'll surely be worth a purchase and read. Chapeau!

-- Edit ; purchased. Now all I need to do is find a decent Bordeaux to go with it.

Never heard of that book but it sounds just like my trip! The blog which the book is taken from is here https://thecannytraveller.wordpress.com/ so you can read some of the stuff for free.

[Gregor]

Never heard of that book but it sounds just like my trip! The blog which the book is taken from is here https://thecannytraveller.wordpress.com/ so you can read some of the stuff for free.

Cheers for that ; will have a neb.

Incidentally, just finished the book last night and it was nice being able to visually follow pretty much most of your itinerary (nice and descriptive). Been on the Royane ferry many times by car and didn't recognise your description of it struggling to dock in the wind. The benefits of travelling in July :)

Our family based ourselves a bit further down from where you stayed over - Hourtin Plage - but I recognised your description of the cycle trails through the forests. I mostly did loops close to the lake, but I can still hear the deafening racket of the birds. Gorgeous area.

It's still my intention to do a North to South of France by bike - something similar to what you did and I'm impressed by your approach which, while it appeared ad-hoc, is clearly a refined practice given your reference to previous escapades.

Congratulations!

BTW - yes, deffo give the Tim Moore books a go ; you can usually pick up used paperbacks for a 99p on Amazon (a habit of mine, given I get free delivery on Prime).

Read in this order:

1. "French Revolutions: Cycling the Tour de France"
2. "Gironimo!: Riding the Very Terrible 1914 Tour of Italy"
3. "The Cyclist Who Went Out in the Cold: Adventures Along the Iron Curtain Trail"

And also given you experienced a bit of the area yourself:

"Spanish Steps: Travels With My Donkey" - where we walks the Camino de Santiago with a donkey.

[andyf5]

Cheers for that ; will have a neb.

Incidentally, just finished the book last night and it was nice being able to visually follow pretty much most of your itinerary (nice and descriptive). Been on the Royane ferry many times by car and didn't recognise your description of it struggling to dock in the wind. The benefits of travelling in July :)

Our family based ourselves a bit further down from where you stayed over - Hourtin Plage - but I recognised your description of the cycle trails through the forests. I mostly did loops close to the lake, but I can still hear the deafening racket of the birds. Gorgeous area.

It's still my intention to do a North to South of France by bike - something similar to what you did and I'm impressed by your approach which, while it appeared ad-hoc, is clearly a refined practice given your reference to previous escapades.

Congratulations!

BTW - yes, deffo give the Tim Moore books a go ; you can usually pick up used paperbacks for a 99p on Amazon (a habit of mine, given I get free delivery on Prime).

Read in this order:

1. "French Revolutions: Cycling the Tour de France"
2. "Gironimo!: Riding the Very Terrible 1914 Tour of Italy"
3. "The Cyclist Who Went Out in the Cold: Adventures Along the Iron Curtain Trail"

And also given you experienced a bit of the area yourself:

"Spanish Steps: Travels With My Donkey" - where we walks the Camino de Santiago with a donkey.

Thanks. Feel free to leave a review. The French websites have some great information on the routes if you plan on doing the trip.

[SuperAllyMcleod]

I would also recommend the Tim Moore book.

I’ve been going to France to do solo cycles for the past few years and would thoroughly recommend it to any cyclists thinking of doing something similar. The weather is almost guaranteed and there are loads of segregated cycle paths. I do, however, like a proper bed of an evening so I can’t claim to have roughed it.

In 2012 I cycled from Port Bou in Spain to Menton on the Italian border following the coast as much as I could. It was the best thing I have ever done, such a sense of achievement.

I followed that up in 2013 by cycling from Royan, on the Atlantic, to Sete on the Med. Again, all good but I would alter my route to avoid some of the canals if I were to do it again - they got a bit boring.

2015 was Corsica - tried to do the entire coast but an injury prevented me from completing that - unfinished business there!

Other years I have tended to fly into Nice and just spend a week or so heading along the coast - hoping to go again next year but it is starting to be more expensive now that the pound is nosediving.

I’ll have a look at your blog and may buy the book - or publish my own [emoji4] I do have a blog of some of my trips but they are more to remind me of where I went rather than be of too much interest to others - happy to share if there is interest.

I do plan to cycle from Edinburgh to Nice when I retire and have enough time.

Thanks for sharing.

[andyf5]

I’ll have a look at your blog and may buy the book - or publish my own [emoji4] I do have a blog of some of my trips but they are more to remind me of where I went rather than be of too much interest to others - happy to share if there is interest.

I do plan to cycle from Edinburgh to Nice when I retire and have enough time.

Thanks for sharing.

If you are publishing your own book happy to give advice - it was much harder than I thought it would be. The reviews of my book are coming in if you are undecided. https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1981281983/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_ep_dp_RxloAb7SH1XXS All proceeds to RNIB so you can be entertained and feel good about contributing to a worthy cause. :thumbsup:

[SuperAllyMcleod]

If you are publishing your own book happy to give advice - it was much harder than I thought it would be. The reviews of my book are coming in if you are undecided. https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1981281983/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_ep_dp_RxloAb7SH1XXS All proceeds to RNIB so you can be entertained and feel good about contributing to a worthy cause. :thumbsup:

Thanks but I was just kidding [emoji4] I will have a look at the reviews though.

[andyf5]

If you are publishing your own book happy to give advice - it was much harder than I thought it would be. The reviews of my book are coming in if you are undecided. https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1981281983/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_ep_dp_RxloAb7SH1XXS All proceeds to RNIB so you can be entertained and feel good about contributing to a worthy cause. :thumbsup:

I liked this review. Amazon say only 2 books left: http://amzn.eu/1xZhZyH


"A brave and inspiring tale of organisation, endurance, and perseverance.

I'm a sucker for cycle travelogues. Can't get enough of them. Some of them are woeful, full of "I am very smart-isms", racist "humour", reams of nonsense. I don't review those.

The good ones do get reviews, and this is one of the best. I like a good backstories as well, and it's worth noting that the book is derived from the author's blog for which the primary audience was originally his fellow traveller who was unfortunate to join him (that's part of the book) but the author has gone to a great deal of effort to provide as much deal as is required in order to follow the journey in your own head.

Excellent stuff ; could not put it down."

[andyf5]

"A brave and inspiring tale of organisation, endurance, and perseverance." The charity book is getting some good reviews. Persevere was the word in my head like a good hibby.

The story and book link is here https://thecannytraveller.wordpress.com/ with my friend on the front cover.

I promised to post back sales. Amazon does not pay out until a month after the sale so at the end of January the donation to RNIB via JustGiving will be made and shown here at that time.

[Gregor]

I do have a blog of some of my trips but they are more to remind me of where I went rather than be of too much interest to others - happy to share if there is interest.

Deffo. Please do.

Cheers!

[SuperAllyMcleod]

Deffo. Please do.

Cheers!

I’ve sent you a link. Enjoy.

[andyf5]

I said I would post back sales of the charity book of my French cycle in a hibs strip in aid of RNIB.

I sold 68 books and 14 Kindle editions in December. That makes £330, including gift aid, to RNIB as certified here; https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/andy-wallace7

You can read the 9 book reviews here -how bad were they? http://amzn.eu/2x4WkDQ

Still on sale :wink: