London Sightseer Audax - 27 June

It is 9.30am and I am in Hampton Hill, Middlesex about to begin a 100 kilometre ride around London, not a race but an organised route with a few questions to answer on the way as proof I have covered the route. I am carrying no luggage to-day so there will be no pictures of this one.

About 20 riders set off in the direction of Twickenham and soon pick up the path alongside the river Thames. The view alternates (with the river always on the same side!) between fields and interesting looking houses, Victorian/Edwardian? I have no idea, but they are all very nice to look at as we ride along. On through Syon Park and Hammersmith to Shepherds Bush and Kensington then passing the famous Portobello Road market. Into Hyde Park I miss the memorial to Princes Diana, oh well, a future visit to look at it.

We pass the Albert Hall and on to Buckingham Palace, after which problems occur with road closures due to building work in connection with the up-coming Olympic Games.

Trafalgar Square, Fleet Street, Saint Paul's and the City are next on the list before we ride through Saint Katherines dock and into Canary Wharf and the Isle of Dogs.

From here it is a walk through the Greenwich foot tunnel under the river then to pass the Cutty Sark and another walk (due to the Olympics) into Greenwich Park.

The approach to and the ride immediately after 'The Dome' is not the best I have ridden, not yet having been developed as some of this area has. I can usually find interest in disused factory area's, but not this one. There is now a cable car over the river at this point, I had not seen that before.

The route follows the Thames path through Rotherhithe and Bermondsey along cobbled roads which are not the best to ride on (my map falls off on two occasions) to eventually take us along the river path through the masses of tourists at Shakespeare's Globe theatre and HMS Belfast - we cycle at walking pace, or walk (again).

Out of the crowds and over the bridges of Westminster and Chelsea before entering Battersea Park. As attractive as this and the next 25 miles is, after an uninspiring section and tourist crowds I have lost interest, I just want to get it over with.

The next destination is Putney then on to Richmond Park with attractive sights of the deer but to add to my lack of interest, it begins to rain!

From here it is another ride alongside the river and over the bridge at Teddington Lock before passing the film studio's and on to Hampton Court Palace.

The final section is through Bushey Park and on, after almost 68 miles, to the finish at Hampton Hill - at least the rain has stopped.

'Sightseer' is certainly an apt title for this ride, I cannot count how many important and interesting places I have passed to-day, apart from the cobbled roads after Greenwich it is a wonderful tour of the capital. Will I ride it again? Probably, but on my touring bike with wider tyres and and a little less pressure in them. Then again, do I really want to ride those cobbles again and then contend with the throngs of tourists along the south bank? Probably not.

As an antidote to the London ride I rode the 'Mid-week Tour of the Cotswolds' on 18 July. Another 100 kilometres on a circular route from Witney, near Oxford. I saw the first two hours of it through the rain, but what an enjoyable ride.
Taking in country lanes and villages to Chipping Norton, Stow-on-the-Wold, Lower Slaughter, Northleach, Burford and Minster Lovell - and a table heaving with home-made cakes at the end.

I have more planned for 18 and 25 August.

The Man of Kent

Well - Man in Kent.

It is Friday 8 June and  having cycled just 74 miles since I returned from the North Sea Route on 7 May it is with some trepidation that I set off for the railway station in pouring rain, not the best preparation for a cycle tour. Muscles have memories, I hope they remember things better than I do these days, but I do remember the way to the station. The train takes me to Gravesend in Kent, where it has stopped raining as I make my way out of town towards Rochester. There is a blustery wind blowing from all directions and at some points I have trouble cycling in a straight line (perhaps nothing new in that).

The route takes me along main roads but all have a wide cycle path and I look forward to an easy afternoon, I had not reckoned on the hills. The road is up and down all the way until I find Sustrans route 1 at the junction for the Medway tunnel. My route is over a hill on the off-road path then a very steep descent into Rochester. I'm not sure how long it is since this submarine last dived but perhaps if it is left alone it is not long before it will be doing it on it's own. It has a Russian hammer and sickle on the side.

The town itself has some interesting buildings and also a very long and slow climb out on the way to Chatham.

In Chatham it is once again a descent into and a climb out of the town along the main A2 road before a left turn to Capstone and the converted oast house that is now Medway Youth Hostel, an interesting building and a sympathetic conversion.

On Saturday morning I retrace my steps before making a short diversion through woodland to rejoin the A2 for a short run before turning left to the very small hamlet of Breach and to pick up route 1 in the direction of Sittingbourne, it's quiet country lanes, passing weather boarded houses, oast houses and thatched cottages along the way. The route in Sittingbourne takes me through an industrial estate and along a cycle path that looks more like the tip for recycled broken glass.

Still along route 1 through Faversham and on the the coast at Whitstable where the harbour makes an ideal place to stop for lunch.

Cycling parallel to the coast I see very little of it until Herne Bay before turning inland to the main dual carriageway towards Margate. It's a fast road but has a wide hard shoulder and traffic is not heavy. I take the chance to turn off onto country lanes for the final five miles and arrive in Margate before 2pm - time for another meal and a look around before booking into the youth hostel, a converted hotel overlooking the sea. Here I meet up again with Steve, a cyclist who lives in God's Country - the Yorkshire Dales. I met him last night at Medway, he is cycling the coast of Britain - in sections as he has time. As I go to bed I remember that rain is forecast for tomorrow.

Margate Youth Hostel

Do they still take patients?

Sunday dawns clear, no rain and very little wind. The first part of my ride back to Gravesend takes in the coast road, the road I take inland turns out to be a dead-end so it's back to the beginning again. I head out of Margate on the main road and along the dual carriageway A299 but have to turn off before Whitstable - no horses, cycles or pedestrians. The road I use has just been resurfaced, which turns out to be a good thing. I have to ride way into the road to avoid the loose stones but everyone is driving slowly to avoid stones flying up, I am the only one who gets by the road sweeper and get a couple of miles to myself.

It is then country lanes to Faversham after which I join the main A2 road again - I did not intend to but missed my turn for Sustans route 1 and traffic is light so I carry on all the way to Sittingbourne for a lunch stop.

From here I once again pick up route 1 and retrace yesterday's route to Chatham. Here I take advantage of the descent into town but once again suffer on the climb out. 

The down-hill road into Rochester should have been a place to break speed limits but a sudden head-wind puts in a appearance and the best I can manage is 28. The town is busy with Sunday shoppers and visitors taking in the sights. As I once again pass the (still floating) submarine I prepare for the steep climb that the cycle path takes. Logic then tells me that if I turn right, keep the cliff on my left I should reach the other side, it works, taking me on a level route through an industrial estate to once again pick up the off-road route. This is over-hung with low branches and passes an MoD depot before a mixture of quiet lanes and cycle trails works it's way to Gravesend. I pass a fox in a field at one point, we both look at each other but it is gone before I can get my camera out.

When Sustrans plan these routes they really do include a variety of things to see, first I am on a trail by a river, next passing between scrap metal dealers and ship repairers before riding between disused factories on cobbled roads just wide enough for a horse and cart, which is an interesting insight into an industry that has passed - whatever it was!

Arrival at the railway station is at exactly the same moment as my train is leaving, no worry, there is another one in 30 minutes.

Just short of 157 miles covered in three days. Apart from Friday with blustery winds and legs that did not want to go anywhere I have had a really enjoyable ride in very pleasant countryside.