I wasn't looking forward to my final day. The forecast was for showers, followed by heavy rain, followed by showers.
Well, the forecast was wrong. It was heavy rain all day. So today was just a long, long day at the office, into unremitting grey drizzle, with lorries booming past on the A20 in a chaos of spray, and with no visible scenery.
Above, for example, is the stunning view of the sea and the cliffs at Folkestone. Yes, exactly.
Still, it was fun watching the bike computer tick over the miles. Somewhere in Maidstone the tripometer - set to zero at Cape Wrath - reached its limit of 999.99 miles. It would go no further, and just flashed in protest, so I had to reset it to 0 again.
Anyway, I reached Dover about 7pm.
After a brief photo session on the seafront, I celebrated with a beer at Wetherspoons, and dripped steadily over the floor of the 20.45 train back to Victoria.
It's been great spending time with biking chums over the last few days - big thanks and respect to Mark, Si and Sue, John, and Nigel, for their enthusiasm, good company, routefinding, bonkers suggestions and boundless good humour - and quite a few ideas for further trips have come up.
Who's for Barmouth to Yarmouth and Poole to Goole later in the summer...?
Miles today: 85
Miles since Cape Wrath: 1050
Punctures: 5
Friends who joined at various points: 5
Nights camping: 9
Muffins eaten: 18
Awesome views: 473
Best road: Golden Road, Harris, Hebrides
Worst road: A20 into Dover
Max speed: 36.1mph, down Jeffrey Hill, Lancs
Best dinner: Spaghetti and chicken pasta thing, Whitwell, Rutland Water
Worst beer: Most of Scotland
Best beer: Wantsum Dynamo, Wetherspoons, Dover
Total cost inc all transport, accomm, food: £560
Value: Priceless
WELL DONE!
ReplyDeleteWell done, Rob. Simon and I were pleased to have been able to be (a very small) part of it. I'll miss your daily updates. And I quite fancy Barmouth to Yarmouth.
ReplyDeleteYes, jolly well done; especially for braving the A20 in steady rain when you could be sitting in the rumbly cafe with the tots.
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed accompanying you from Hathersage to London. Here's to the next trip! (Other readers might like to know that we identified another rhyming possibility near Melton Mowbray: Hoby to Shoby).
Around here you could try Brindle to Brinscall - but even cycling very slowly that would only take about 20 minutes, so not much of a challenge really.
ReplyDeleteBawtry to Sawtry? Actually that might fit inside Goole to Poole. Austerfield (near Bawtry) to Nosterfield (near Masham)? Bath to Wath (which doesn't rhyme even though it should)? Ah, the possibilities. Well done on a thoroughly worthwhile adventure. Sorry you had to run out of land. As a side note, did you know your favourite Golden Road is so named not because of its aesthetic qualities; but rather becasue it cost so much to build?!
ReplyDeleteCongratulations! Great idea for a trip. And I have just invested in a new bike so will have to join you on something (a lot shorter) at some point. Box to Caen Hill Locks?
ReplyDeleteWell done, Rob. I enjoyed following the blog. What about Ivybridge to Pately Bridge or St Mawes to Hawes?
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