Yesterday's ride today. Was just far too cream-crackered to write up a really long day. Anyways, I'd had an idea brewing for a while, so figured I may as well bite the bullet and do something totally mad...
So I rolled out of the door just gone 8am and rode the five and a half miles to Ely station. Arrived with just enough time for Wiggy and me to catch the 08:57 - the first through train of the day to Kings Cross. Train was surprisingly packed, and it was standing room only all the way in. Was stood next to a chap with a really nice Felt roadie, but silly thing was, he was the one admiring *my* bike. We were in the middle of a good chat, and that was when I noticed the cut in my rear tyre.
On closer inspection, it was just a thin slice in the tread, like someone had had a go at it with a vegetable peeler.
Decided to take the chance that it would hold up (and it did) but a new tyre is on order.
Anyways, once at Kings Cross, it's a short hop to the tube - lifts make it so easy to wheel the bike about. Had just gone through the gates for the circle line when one of the station bods stopped me. My first thought was "oh poop, he's not going to let me get on the tube", but it turns out he just wanted to ask me a) about my bike and b) where did I get that really neat bar bag from. (It's from
Decathlon btw...)
He cheerily waved me onto the circle line platform. So, circle line to Blackfriars, where Wiggy had yet another admirer - an elderly gent who couldn't believe that road bikes come in such a small size!
(It's a 38cm frame btw...)
That was really easy, and again, there are lifts which make things so accessible. From Blackfriars station, it was a short and straightforward ride using CS6 over Blackfriars bridge and down Stamford Street to Waterloo, leaving me in good time for the 11:35 train to Weymouth. Again, no problems finding the bike area on the train. Even better, it's in the "quiet carriage". Ended up sharing the bike space with a chap who was doing the last leg of a cycle tour all the way from Rome! That's serious "chapeau" that is...
Turns out we were both getting off in Winchester.
So, there was me, deposited in Winchester at quarter to one on a warm, sunny, if rather windy afternoon. Big thanks to
@Bollo and
@jay clock for the instructions on how to get out (and back into) town. So, armed with that, plus OS Explorer sheet 32 I set out for a ride into the big unknown. Well, to Alresford anyway, a place I know reasonably well. It's just the ride that was unknown.
I chose the "quick ugly route" out of town, and negotiated that, plus the Winnall roundabout and underpasses without any bother. It was already a bit hilly, but man, I had *NO* idea of what I was about to face.
I huffed and puffed my way to Easton, where I took my first wrong turn of the day and ended up halfway to the A31 before I realised the mistake. Fortunately the way back to Easton was downhill. Once on the right road, following NCN 23, I ground my way to Avington, occasionally running out of gears - and out of legs. At least, when I ran out of legs, I could stop, catch my breath and admire the wonderful countryside that's so very different from the fens that I call home.
Rode through a beautiful little wood and alongside the river on a stretch that turned out to be the easiest part of the ride. No sign of any highland coos though... Then onwards to Ovington - now that was really tough. And yes, I did have to get off and push. More than once...
The climb into Alresford was also rather horrible, but dropping into town wasn't so bad, although the cycle path is definitely a bit rattly in places.
The real killer was that it too two and a half hours to cycle to Alresford from Winchester - out here I'd do that distance in about 45 minutes. Talk about a culture shock. I definitely won't be complaining about the mere pimples masquerading as hills that we have out here...
It's funny though, despite the fact it's been the best part of a decade since I was last in Alresford, I hadn't forgotten my way around. Although I was on limited time given that the ride had took me double what I'd planned for it. So some of my plans were put on ice (I'll take the bus when I want to do those) and I spent the little time I had visiting the grave of someone who always has been and who always will be very dear to me.
All too soon, it was time to leave as I knew I *had* to either get the 18:45 or 19:22 trains out of Winchester. Miss the latter and I'd be in real doodoo, as I couldn't afford to miss the 22:11 train to Ely and Kings Lynn, seeings that it was the last one of the day...
So riding with a bit more intent (that was a mistake as I'd pay for it later) I headed back out of Alresford. That's where I made my second wrong turn of the day and ended up in Tichbourne. Oops. So hammer time, found the right junction and retraced my wheel tracks from earlier along NCN 23. By then I was starting to run out of steam, and found that I had to get off and walk more than on the outward leg.
At least gravity helped me with the downhills and part of the uphills. Stopped behind a hedgerow for a natural, only to unship the chain and promptly have a clipless moment. And smear oil all over my right sock.
By now it was definitely a lot cooler and I was glad for the jacket I'd packed. I thought I might make the 18:45 despite the detour, but by the time I'd got to Winnall, my legs were crying enough.
Fortunately the run into Winchester is mostly downhill, but then the one way system threw a spanner in the works as it took me the long way round - in retrospect I think I should just have got off and walked in the way I went out. At one point I was thinking that I would be in serious trouble trainwise, but turning a corner and finding the station was the most welcome thing ever. Even more welcome was the fact that I had 5 mins to spare for the 19:22.
So an exhausted me wheeled Wiggy onto the train, I sucked down a whole bottle of water, scarfed my last sandwich and banana and dozed most of the way back to Waterloo. By then I'd perked up and tootled back along CS6 to Blackfriars and thence to Kings Cross on the Circle Line. There I had 40 mins to kill before getting my train back to Ely, so found a bike rack, locked up the bike and did the pit stop thing, bought a pint of milk and a large bag of crisps as I was desperately craving something salty.
The train home was not terribly busy, but there were a lot of cyclists on board. Wiggy got a few more admiring glances.
23:22 saw me back at Ely station, and from there I bimbled the five and a half miles home. But I was really tired by then, my brain and my feet weren't really on speaking terms, and I made a hash of unclipping as I rolled up to my gate. Hence my second clipless moment of the day. Unlike the first, where I'd toppled over into a soft grass verge, I came down on tarmac. Ouch. Wiggy now has shredded bar tape (no big deal, I have a new lot waiting to go on anyway) and a tear on the saddle. So, note to self, when tired, it's best *not* to ride clipped in...
I was home just gone midnight. And got the right old what for from the cats...
Not entirely sure on the mileage, but I'd guess it was probably around 35 miles all told, mostly hilly and rather blustery. So that was my first ever metric half - and what a truly insane way to do it...
Having said that, I've never made any claims about my sanity - or lack thereof.
Yesterday I was swearing I'd never do this again. Today, I'm thinking that if I improved my fitness and had a bike with much lower gearing, I might give this another crack at some point... Though time constraints (and railcard discounts) mean that this is only a weekend thing.
)
