Some Miles at Last!
Sunday marked the end of the warm settled spell so it was naturally a perfect day to plan my longest solo ride in ages.
Actually, a cloudy day is a lot more comfortable at this time of year and I enjoyed riding out to my old territory on the Suffolk-Essex border. To make the ride more worthwhile I took both panniers, although not fully loaded. That did mean I was able to take all the food and drink I expected to need for a sixty-plus mile trip.
The extra weight was noticeable - it gave me a smoother ride for one thing - but there are no big hills in this part of the world. That said, there are a few steep ones and I included some of those on my planned route.
Heading southeastwards from Bury St Edmunds I was briefly on the main Sudbury road but pretty soon I turned off left and headed along familiar roads towards Rattlesden airfield and Bildeston, near Wattisham, the airfield where I worked for almost eight years.
From there I headed towards Hadleigh, where I lived for a while in my Wattisham days, but took a short detour via Kersey, one of the prettiest villages in Suffolk, famous for its ford and steep hill. That was a good spot to stop for a quick snack. The climb out of Kersey and back towards the Hadleigh road looked daunting but was easy enough after my rest.
There was a cricket match in progress as I entered Hadleigh, but I resisted stopping to watch and bore right at the end of the High Street on my way towards Manningtree. From a tiny street (called The Street) in Hadleigh, this road becomes a little wider, and with a good surface, but quite busy. Drivers were more patient than I expected, though. Many of them held back when they could have squeezed past. Maybe the panniers made me look wider than usual, although the bars on my bike are actually much wider.
Anyway, there were no alarms at all and I reached the outskirts of Manningtree via a short stretch of A137 and the High Street before making for the river and my lunch stop. Very pleasant it was, too. I estimated I'd covered just over thirty miles in about two and a half hours.
I took my time over lunch and savoured the coffee that I'd also brought with me. I ate as much as I could comfortably manage and set off for home. Ten miles later I was in Hadleigh again, although I was disappointed to see the cricket match had finished - I'd planned to spend a few minutes refuelling and enjoying the scene. Instead I carried on after a quick drink and a bite to eat.
After climbing towards Semer (with a large tractor and trailer following me), I turned left to take a look at another place where I used to live. By the time I reached the bungalow it was pouring with rain, the thunder was rumbling around and I was soaked. It was a good time for a toilet stop and the last of my coffee, though, and I took a couple of pictures of the bungalow which looks a lot nicer now than it did when I lived in it!
From there, I turned down a very wet and muddy 11% hill (that I used to run up and down when I lived there) past Semer church and rejoined the main road. Bildeston came up quickly and the road was almost dry by then.
One more refuelling stop on the edge of Rattlesden airfield was enough to get me and my lightened panniers home. I had almost a litre of water and squash, two energy bars and a bag of fruit and nuts to spare. I had eaten six cheese rolls, one energy bar and some fruit and nuts and drunk almost two litres of water and half a litre of coffee. All useful knowledge for bigger tests to come. A few bananas might have reduced my cheese roll consumption!
The total distance, including detours, was about 64 miles. Total cycling time was roughly five hours and fifteen minutes (six hours five minutes door to door). So a bit over 10mph average journey speed and about 13 mph on the bike. I'll be happy if I can do that between Paris and Venice. I suspect it might be tougher, though!
Roy
PS. A few days before this ride I did about half the distance on my thirty plus mile route via Long Melford and Lavenham and felt as weary at the end of that ride as I did after this trip. I'm not sure why that should be but I suspect I've been carrying a low level virus for a week or two and finally shook it off this weekend. Probably, that shorter ride helped my fitness and taking more care to refuel on the longer ride played a part too.
Next Sunday is the Bury St Edmunds Wheel, a 25, 50, 75 or 100 mile organised event. I plan to do the 100. I know I need it!
Actually, a cloudy day is a lot more comfortable at this time of year and I enjoyed riding out to my old territory on the Suffolk-Essex border. To make the ride more worthwhile I took both panniers, although not fully loaded. That did mean I was able to take all the food and drink I expected to need for a sixty-plus mile trip.
The extra weight was noticeable - it gave me a smoother ride for one thing - but there are no big hills in this part of the world. That said, there are a few steep ones and I included some of those on my planned route.
Heading southeastwards from Bury St Edmunds I was briefly on the main Sudbury road but pretty soon I turned off left and headed along familiar roads towards Rattlesden airfield and Bildeston, near Wattisham, the airfield where I worked for almost eight years.
From there I headed towards Hadleigh, where I lived for a while in my Wattisham days, but took a short detour via Kersey, one of the prettiest villages in Suffolk, famous for its ford and steep hill. That was a good spot to stop for a quick snack. The climb out of Kersey and back towards the Hadleigh road looked daunting but was easy enough after my rest.
There was a cricket match in progress as I entered Hadleigh, but I resisted stopping to watch and bore right at the end of the High Street on my way towards Manningtree. From a tiny street (called The Street) in Hadleigh, this road becomes a little wider, and with a good surface, but quite busy. Drivers were more patient than I expected, though. Many of them held back when they could have squeezed past. Maybe the panniers made me look wider than usual, although the bars on my bike are actually much wider.
Anyway, there were no alarms at all and I reached the outskirts of Manningtree via a short stretch of A137 and the High Street before making for the river and my lunch stop. Very pleasant it was, too. I estimated I'd covered just over thirty miles in about two and a half hours.
I took my time over lunch and savoured the coffee that I'd also brought with me. I ate as much as I could comfortably manage and set off for home. Ten miles later I was in Hadleigh again, although I was disappointed to see the cricket match had finished - I'd planned to spend a few minutes refuelling and enjoying the scene. Instead I carried on after a quick drink and a bite to eat.
After climbing towards Semer (with a large tractor and trailer following me), I turned left to take a look at another place where I used to live. By the time I reached the bungalow it was pouring with rain, the thunder was rumbling around and I was soaked. It was a good time for a toilet stop and the last of my coffee, though, and I took a couple of pictures of the bungalow which looks a lot nicer now than it did when I lived in it!
From there, I turned down a very wet and muddy 11% hill (that I used to run up and down when I lived there) past Semer church and rejoined the main road. Bildeston came up quickly and the road was almost dry by then.
One more refuelling stop on the edge of Rattlesden airfield was enough to get me and my lightened panniers home. I had almost a litre of water and squash, two energy bars and a bag of fruit and nuts to spare. I had eaten six cheese rolls, one energy bar and some fruit and nuts and drunk almost two litres of water and half a litre of coffee. All useful knowledge for bigger tests to come. A few bananas might have reduced my cheese roll consumption!
The total distance, including detours, was about 64 miles. Total cycling time was roughly five hours and fifteen minutes (six hours five minutes door to door). So a bit over 10mph average journey speed and about 13 mph on the bike. I'll be happy if I can do that between Paris and Venice. I suspect it might be tougher, though!
Roy
PS. A few days before this ride I did about half the distance on my thirty plus mile route via Long Melford and Lavenham and felt as weary at the end of that ride as I did after this trip. I'm not sure why that should be but I suspect I've been carrying a low level virus for a week or two and finally shook it off this weekend. Probably, that shorter ride helped my fitness and taking more care to refuel on the longer ride played a part too.
Next Sunday is the Bury St Edmunds Wheel, a 25, 50, 75 or 100 mile organised event. I plan to do the 100. I know I need it!
Labels: cycle touring, cycling and health, cycling up hills, paris to venice
posted by Roy Everitt at
19:04
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