It's well over 2 weeks since I went for a ride, and more than that since I posted a ride. Last week we were dog sitting which entailed long walks, then the beginning of this week was taken up with family, including a family birthday. So today was the first opportunity. Mrs MY wasn't keen, her recent adventure wuth the medical profession having affected her, so I went out on my own.
OK, so I've posted lots of photos of the canal, but the seasons do make a difference. Behind me, as I took this, is the railway bridge for the West Coast Mainline. As I passed a bench I realised there was a young lady seated there, brushing her hair. I hadn't realised that you got mermaids along the canal.
One of the many, expensive, properties along the canal. I'm not sure how far behind this house the railway runs but it was quite loud to my hearing. The railway doesn't quite run through the middle of this house.
At this point the towpath swaps sides so I took the opportunity of photographing these anglers. The canal is made a lot of as it passes through Berkhamstead.
A slightly different view of Berkhamstead, towards the town centre from the canal.
For once the swans and cygnets were not shy, I suspect that they were expecting bread, sadly I had none.
After Berkhamstead the path is good, smooth and pleasant riding. However, the canal towpath is very popular, since it goes near the town centre and passes through housing estates. Lot's of mums with prams, or children all heading to and from the supermarket. On the way back I met a cyclist heading for Bicester, I pointed out these advantages of staying on the canal but he was more interested in getting where he was going.
At my turning point I came off the canal to see what the road was like. I had some mad idea of using back roads to get home. Sadly, the road quickly became a hill beyond the capability of my engine to scale. So it was back to the canal. Later on, the path remains good, there are fewer people and it is very pleasant. There are even blackberries to pick. So I did that & had a little snack, raisins & blackberries.
I had planned to do a bit more exploring, leaving the canal at one bridge and riding along parallel roads back to an earlier part of the canal, missing some of the better surface areas in the process. I even managed to achieve an indicated 21mph, tho the GPS didn't record it quite that high. It takes a lot of pedalling at that speed on my bike!
15.2 miles max 20 avg 6.8 mph. Year to date, 258.8 miles
