FA+
Shop
570 submissions
Three weeks ago, I embarked on a journey of self-discovery and self-inflicted agony that would take me across the United Kingdom, from my hometown to the nation's capital. After four days of near-constant peddling, I completed a challenge I set for myself several years ago, and naturally I had to take some snaps along the way to share with you. ^__^
Up early this morning, in advance of what will be the longest day of the journey. 81 miles over 13 hours, going from Bath to Reading mostly following the Kennet and Avon Canal (the River Avon being in Bath, and the River Kennet being in Reading). As I described in yesterday's post, today would be the day that made or broke me. If I could make it halfway along this route, just 40 miles, then I would cross over the highest point and enter the wider Thames Valley, a mostly downhill section of the route. Six big hills would stand between me and that promised land of downhills, and so I braced myself for the day ahead with warm pastries in the hotel restaurant.
Starting at 8am, it was quite something to ride through the streets of Bath as the sole person about, which I suppose is to be expected that early on a Sunday morning. I found my way to the start of the Kennet and Avon Cycle Path, a route that hosts National Cycle Route 4, and stared in disbelief at my nemesis: gravel, the killer of road bike tires. But I didn't panic, for I had dealt with gravel just outside Caldicot, and felt taking it slowly would be fine, so long as it was just for a bit. So eastward bound I went, over fairly reasonably compacted gravel that likely had been only briefly tended to since it was built as a horse trail some 300 years earlier. Taking it slowly helped me to appreciate the beauty of this part of the canal, with many canal boats moored along the banks and several bridges spanning it to allow for pictures like this one. About an hour after setting off, I arrived in Bradford-on-Avon to the sound of church bells, and sat in a park and played with a very good doggo for a few minutes. I was off to a good start. ^__^
Things did not improve, however. Leaving Bradford in the direction of Trowbridge and Devizes, the path only got narrower, as vegetation began to overgrow it. Soon, the path was just about 9 inches (21cm) across, reeds in the shallow part of the canal on one side, and stinging nettles taller than me on the other. At this point, I got off the bike was walked, and was still being overtaken by bikes going at about 10mph too fast for the conditions, and having to squeeze myself past joggers, dog-walkers, and parents with pushchairs. I was getting later and later, until I eventually stopped at a swing bridge near Melksham for a water break, and took pride that I had just crossed the halfway-point of the cycle ride, in terms of sheer distance. Yay!
After helping the crew of a passing canal boat to open the swing bridge, I continued on my way on foot, enjoying the flat countryside but cursing at my tight timetable slipping away. Not long after, I reached the biggest ascent of the entire journey - the Caen Hill locks. A series of 26 locks taking boats up the hill to the town of Devizes. While the path had widened considerably by now, I know all too well from experience what cycling uphill on a gravel path with road bike tyres can do, so I opted to walk up that hill. Despite arriving in Devizes about half an hour late, I took a longer break to snarf down a couple of sandwiches and a couple of drinks, and stop off at an ice cream parlour to cool myself off.
At long last, the route east of Devizes once again became asphalt. I could've kicked it, but instead opted to never again say a bad thing about asphalt, no matter how bad the quality might be. This rural road took me into the North Wessex Downs Area of Natural Beauty, and while there was plenty of natural beauty to go around, I was more focused on the uphill incline taking me to the latitudinal middle of England. After a stop in the village of Patney, I pushed on past farms and little thatched-roof cottages, following the railway line to the village of Pewsey, with its white horse adorning a nearby hill watching over me for several miles. Pewsey marked the beginning of the hilly Vale of Pewsey - you'd never think it, would you? ;-p I took a slightly longer break here, aware that the next leg would be challenging, but this would be the decisive leg of the journey, the leg after which everything was downhill. The next 2 hours would decide if I made it to London. After reassuring a lady that I wasn't here to see her, despite sitting outside her house, I steeled myself for what needed to be done, and set off.
First was a nice downhill to Milkhouse Water. Then a nasty uphill to Clench (teehee...). Then down again into Wootton Rivers. Then up again to Easton Royal, and up a bit more to Ram Alley (which I had read on the map as a downhill, dang it!). Up one more time to Burbage, and then... cruising, falling, descending, movement without work. Through the village of Crofton, and into Great Bedwyn, my pedalling was much easier, the road bike coming into its own on this little hedge-rowed rural lanes. Although scheduled for a 10-minute stop in Bedwyn, I sat for 30 minutes in a pub, the only place still open on a Sunday, and nursed an ice-cold Coke and two glasses of water. My estimation for completing the trip jumped about 20 percentage points, and I started feeling a whole lot better about the whole endeavour.
Now being very much on the Kennet side of the Kennet and Avon Canal, it was a pleasant cycle ride crossing from Wiltshire into Berkshire, and arriving in the town of Hungerford. And speaking of hunger... I stopped at a convenience store and grabbed a sandwich, a couple of drinks, and some chocolate to gobble down. On my ride out of Hungerford, I stumbled upon a very curious site - Hungerford Common, a green space still being used as common ground... with many tens of cows grazing on the grass right next to a pub. Careful to avoid any bovine injuries, I continued along the Hungerford Road through the village of Kintbury, and then took a short downhill to rejoin the cycle path following the canal.
No... God... Please... More gravel, more nettles, more walking in lieu of being able to cycle down this cycle path. Thankfully, it was just another three miles to Newbury, but that walking ate into the time I had made up coming down from the Vale of Pewsey, and I was soon running a bit behind schedule again. But surely things would improve, right? I mean, a cycle path between two of Berkshire's biggest towns has to be paved, right? Well, dear reader, it was...! For about 2 miles until arriving in Thatcham, when it went right back to gravel, nettles, and thinness.
At this point, I am absolutely done. I'm going to make it to Reading, but by golly, I'm not cycling on gravel anymore. That neither tyre has burst at this point is nothing short of miraculous, and I refuse to try my luck any further. So, I start looking at on-road options. I definitely can't go on the motorway, the M4, but perhaps the A4... the original road going from London to Bath? I peddle a short distance up to it, and bask in its magnificence. A freshly-paved single carriage road, with an on-pavement purpose-built cycle path right next to it. Sustrans - why oh why oh why is this not on your maps?!
Whether I was on the cycle path or on the A4 itself, these last couple of hours of the journey allowed the road bike to come into its own. I must have been going 30mph on some of the descents, pedalling in top gear with cars respectfully passing me with a wide berth. I took one more break just before Theale, having made excellent time on the road. Despite going over a scary roundabout where the A4 meets Junction 12 of the M$ motorway (many fast cars, ahhhh!), I was soon pedalling past the 'Welcome to Reading' sign, arriving at my hotel in the middle of Reading about 3 miles later.
Standard practice - shower, dress, hunt for food. Having arrived just slightly behind my ETA, there were only a couple of restaurants still open in the middle of Reading on a Sunday night, so I staggered into DcMonalds, ordered several menu items, and snarfed them down there and then (wait, the 20 chicken nugget box was meant to be shared?). Walking back to my hotel, I seemed to be followed by a group of young lads, so despite the achiness of my legs, I kept up my pace and made it safely back to my hotel. After post-cycle stretches and a nice hot bath, I had no trouble at all falling into a deep, dreamless sleep.
Hope you enjoy!
Up early this morning, in advance of what will be the longest day of the journey. 81 miles over 13 hours, going from Bath to Reading mostly following the Kennet and Avon Canal (the River Avon being in Bath, and the River Kennet being in Reading). As I described in yesterday's post, today would be the day that made or broke me. If I could make it halfway along this route, just 40 miles, then I would cross over the highest point and enter the wider Thames Valley, a mostly downhill section of the route. Six big hills would stand between me and that promised land of downhills, and so I braced myself for the day ahead with warm pastries in the hotel restaurant.
Starting at 8am, it was quite something to ride through the streets of Bath as the sole person about, which I suppose is to be expected that early on a Sunday morning. I found my way to the start of the Kennet and Avon Cycle Path, a route that hosts National Cycle Route 4, and stared in disbelief at my nemesis: gravel, the killer of road bike tires. But I didn't panic, for I had dealt with gravel just outside Caldicot, and felt taking it slowly would be fine, so long as it was just for a bit. So eastward bound I went, over fairly reasonably compacted gravel that likely had been only briefly tended to since it was built as a horse trail some 300 years earlier. Taking it slowly helped me to appreciate the beauty of this part of the canal, with many canal boats moored along the banks and several bridges spanning it to allow for pictures like this one. About an hour after setting off, I arrived in Bradford-on-Avon to the sound of church bells, and sat in a park and played with a very good doggo for a few minutes. I was off to a good start. ^__^
Things did not improve, however. Leaving Bradford in the direction of Trowbridge and Devizes, the path only got narrower, as vegetation began to overgrow it. Soon, the path was just about 9 inches (21cm) across, reeds in the shallow part of the canal on one side, and stinging nettles taller than me on the other. At this point, I got off the bike was walked, and was still being overtaken by bikes going at about 10mph too fast for the conditions, and having to squeeze myself past joggers, dog-walkers, and parents with pushchairs. I was getting later and later, until I eventually stopped at a swing bridge near Melksham for a water break, and took pride that I had just crossed the halfway-point of the cycle ride, in terms of sheer distance. Yay!
After helping the crew of a passing canal boat to open the swing bridge, I continued on my way on foot, enjoying the flat countryside but cursing at my tight timetable slipping away. Not long after, I reached the biggest ascent of the entire journey - the Caen Hill locks. A series of 26 locks taking boats up the hill to the town of Devizes. While the path had widened considerably by now, I know all too well from experience what cycling uphill on a gravel path with road bike tyres can do, so I opted to walk up that hill. Despite arriving in Devizes about half an hour late, I took a longer break to snarf down a couple of sandwiches and a couple of drinks, and stop off at an ice cream parlour to cool myself off.
At long last, the route east of Devizes once again became asphalt. I could've kicked it, but instead opted to never again say a bad thing about asphalt, no matter how bad the quality might be. This rural road took me into the North Wessex Downs Area of Natural Beauty, and while there was plenty of natural beauty to go around, I was more focused on the uphill incline taking me to the latitudinal middle of England. After a stop in the village of Patney, I pushed on past farms and little thatched-roof cottages, following the railway line to the village of Pewsey, with its white horse adorning a nearby hill watching over me for several miles. Pewsey marked the beginning of the hilly Vale of Pewsey - you'd never think it, would you? ;-p I took a slightly longer break here, aware that the next leg would be challenging, but this would be the decisive leg of the journey, the leg after which everything was downhill. The next 2 hours would decide if I made it to London. After reassuring a lady that I wasn't here to see her, despite sitting outside her house, I steeled myself for what needed to be done, and set off.
First was a nice downhill to Milkhouse Water. Then a nasty uphill to Clench (teehee...). Then down again into Wootton Rivers. Then up again to Easton Royal, and up a bit more to Ram Alley (which I had read on the map as a downhill, dang it!). Up one more time to Burbage, and then... cruising, falling, descending, movement without work. Through the village of Crofton, and into Great Bedwyn, my pedalling was much easier, the road bike coming into its own on this little hedge-rowed rural lanes. Although scheduled for a 10-minute stop in Bedwyn, I sat for 30 minutes in a pub, the only place still open on a Sunday, and nursed an ice-cold Coke and two glasses of water. My estimation for completing the trip jumped about 20 percentage points, and I started feeling a whole lot better about the whole endeavour.
Now being very much on the Kennet side of the Kennet and Avon Canal, it was a pleasant cycle ride crossing from Wiltshire into Berkshire, and arriving in the town of Hungerford. And speaking of hunger... I stopped at a convenience store and grabbed a sandwich, a couple of drinks, and some chocolate to gobble down. On my ride out of Hungerford, I stumbled upon a very curious site - Hungerford Common, a green space still being used as common ground... with many tens of cows grazing on the grass right next to a pub. Careful to avoid any bovine injuries, I continued along the Hungerford Road through the village of Kintbury, and then took a short downhill to rejoin the cycle path following the canal.
No... God... Please... More gravel, more nettles, more walking in lieu of being able to cycle down this cycle path. Thankfully, it was just another three miles to Newbury, but that walking ate into the time I had made up coming down from the Vale of Pewsey, and I was soon running a bit behind schedule again. But surely things would improve, right? I mean, a cycle path between two of Berkshire's biggest towns has to be paved, right? Well, dear reader, it was...! For about 2 miles until arriving in Thatcham, when it went right back to gravel, nettles, and thinness.
At this point, I am absolutely done. I'm going to make it to Reading, but by golly, I'm not cycling on gravel anymore. That neither tyre has burst at this point is nothing short of miraculous, and I refuse to try my luck any further. So, I start looking at on-road options. I definitely can't go on the motorway, the M4, but perhaps the A4... the original road going from London to Bath? I peddle a short distance up to it, and bask in its magnificence. A freshly-paved single carriage road, with an on-pavement purpose-built cycle path right next to it. Sustrans - why oh why oh why is this not on your maps?!
Whether I was on the cycle path or on the A4 itself, these last couple of hours of the journey allowed the road bike to come into its own. I must have been going 30mph on some of the descents, pedalling in top gear with cars respectfully passing me with a wide berth. I took one more break just before Theale, having made excellent time on the road. Despite going over a scary roundabout where the A4 meets Junction 12 of the M$ motorway (many fast cars, ahhhh!), I was soon pedalling past the 'Welcome to Reading' sign, arriving at my hotel in the middle of Reading about 3 miles later.
Standard practice - shower, dress, hunt for food. Having arrived just slightly behind my ETA, there were only a couple of restaurants still open in the middle of Reading on a Sunday night, so I staggered into DcMonalds, ordered several menu items, and snarfed them down there and then (wait, the 20 chicken nugget box was meant to be shared?). Walking back to my hotel, I seemed to be followed by a group of young lads, so despite the achiness of my legs, I kept up my pace and made it safely back to my hotel. After post-cycle stretches and a nice hot bath, I had no trouble at all falling into a deep, dreamless sleep.
Hope you enjoy!
Category Photography / Scenery
Species Unspecified / Any
Size 2217 x 1662px
File Size 1.44 MB
Comments