# Tuesdays Ride to Whitstable - for fun



## Mice (2 Aug 2011)

With summer sunshine forecast in full volume, a relaxing ride to the seaside seemed a perfect plan. I bolted out of the flat at 7.07am straight into grey clouds and drizzling rain. By the time I reached Clapham I was soaked to the skin. How could I have got it so wrong? Luckily the soaked-to-the-skin-dries-out-in-a-few-hours scenario had been proved correct on the Dieppe-Paris ride (three times) so I decided to grin and bear it. Besides, I was on my bike! As soon as User10571 walked towards his front door, the rain stopped, disappeared and wasn't seen again all day! All right for some!

A train from Lewisham to Gravesend meant we could avoid urban traffic. A fabulous route was found along the Thames Estuary, to Rochester (Andy's Cafe is the place). It was a real opportunity to see all the various roles and responsibilities being carried out by people doing their everyday jobs. From fruitpicking to captaining a container ship. A farmer ploughing a field. Railway staff in charge of a level crossing - one of them cycles from Rochester to Whitstable most weekends. We met many friendly people, some of whom were clearly stunned when we said we were cycling from Gravesend to Whitstable! It was a really lovely day - not blue sky but a great day out all the same. The first teashop in Whitstable was closing at 4pm (?!) so on to another. Cups of tea and a bowl of chips as we looked out to sea. Windfarms, military castles, conversations about Radio Caroline and sailing, all the while staring out to sea. Some people were swimming in it! The 6.07pm train was too full for our bicycles so - despite the suggestion that we left the bicycles at the station and came back another time to collect them??? - we made a reasonable joggle back to Faversham and caught the 6.53.

Arrived at Victoria at just past 8pm with 87.5 miles on the clock. Not quite an even number so a few circuits of streets later brought it to a 90 mile total for the day. 

Excellent indeed! Thank you User10571 - that was fun.


Pics are here

M


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