I can't believe that it's Easter already, it doesn't seem 2 minutes ago that we were sitting down to Christmas dinner and now it's time to smash open the Easter eggs again, or it would be if I hadn't already eaten them all (that will teach “The Emma” for being so organised and getting chocolate, before the big day!).
Easter always seems to be one of the turning points in the year though, the days are getting longer, sometimes the weather is starting to improve, and the worlds starting to turn green again after the long brown days of winter. It also means, that if the weather's getting better, I can start thinking about turning my attentions to longer and more elaborate adventures, and with the forecast looking good for the weekend, that's exactly what I've done this year. Although if I'm honest, after last weeks running effort I'm not sure that my legs are going to thank me for putting them through yet more stupidity. So, what was the plan for the extra long weekend then, I hear you ask (and if your not asking then you should be). Well, my legs certainly aren't up to much running, even after a couple of days off, they're still a touch on the tender side. So the bike it's going to have to be, and with 4 days off on the trot, that's an opportunity to get some real miles in. A quick look at the map showed that Oswestry just happens to be nearly 200 miles away from home, which isn't a bad distance for a weekends riding. Plus the route there and back will take me through the Cotswolds, Worcester, Shrewsbury and numerous other picturesque parts of the country, so that seemed like a reasonable destination. 400 miles in 3 days, shouldn't be to onerous an endeavour though, so to make things a little more interesting my mind managed to convince me that by throwing in a bit of a detour round home, maybe a trip down to the New Forest and back, I could probably push the mileage up towards the 600 mile mark and make things a bit more challenging, whilst giving myself a bale out option if things weren't going to plan. “Challenge accepted” said my poor legs, once my brain had come up with this stupid idea “If you've got the mental capacity to cover 600 miles in 3 days, then we'll put in the effort”. At which point my brain decided to throw in the idea of camping out too!
Oh well, "in for a penny in for a pound" as they say, and to that end I found myself running round like an idiot on Wednesday night, rounding up camping equipment from the darkest recess of the loft, garage, and all the other places that it seems to migrate too, ready for a departure straight from work on Thursday afternoon.
The commute in to work on Thursday morning gave me the chance to identify all the annoying rattles and remember all the bits of kit that I'd forgotten, plus reminded me just how heavy all this lightweight camping kit really is (more of which later). One full and exciting day at work later, and as the clock struck 15:30 I was out the door like a scalded cat, on the bike and away. Heading North(ish), as fast as my little legs could carry me, getting as far away as I could, before someone missed me and said “Oi, come back we don't finish until 17:00"! The roads up to Newbury were still surprisingly busy with commuters heading for home, but it wasn't long until I was out in the “sticks” proper, heading for Lambourn, before turning onto the first long climb of the weekend to cross The Ridgeway and head towards Faringdon and the start of the Cotswolds. A massive queue for the "chippy" in Faringdon, which had originally been my destination for tea, called for a quick change of plan and a slight reroute. Moreton-in-Marsh for a late tea instead then, and with the sun slowly sinking to my side I pushed on, arriving in Moreton-in-Marsh just as it started to get dark and just in time to grab a portion of chips for my tea.
Chips, sat by the river, with 70 Odd miles done, does it get any better than that? I'm not sure it does. But just to make sure, I had plans to get a few more miles in before bed time, and took the opportunity to dig out my head torch, Hi Viz top and an extra layer, before heading back out into the dark.
With a full moon, clear skies and a million stars showing the way, I pressed on into the night, making steady progress as the road climbed endlessly towards Snowshill and then plummeted from the Cotswolds Plateau onto flatter ground, as Oxfordshire becomes Worcestershire. A couple of hours later, with the time approaching Midnight and 101 miles covered since leaving work, I stumbled upon a nice little bivvy spot for the night and decided to call it a day. Hammock up, brew on, stretch off, biscuits and brew for supper and then turn in for the night, alarm set for 04:30 with a view to being on the road again at first light.
Feeling surprisingly refreshed after my short nights sleep, I was packed up, breakfasted and on the road again just as the sun came up, and what a treat that was. Cold, clear, beautiful, with the sun coming up on my right and the night shrinking away on my left, it was certainly worth getting up early for, and I ended up stopping a couple of times just to watch the day start to unfold itself from the nights dark embrace.
I can't spend too much time standing around though, there's big miles to cover today. Ideally I want to be back at almost the same point, having been to Oswestry and back, before bedtime! A few flat, fast miles saw me in Worcester just before 06:00 and having traversed the still sleeping city I grabbed some supplies, before pushing on, expecting more of the same.
Oh, how wrong can you be? As soon as I moved out of the confines of the city, the road went uphill, then straight back down again, then back up, and, well, I'm sure you get the idea. Gone was any pretence of an easy ride through Worcestershire, and very quickly my average pace started to drop off.
A couple of hours of slog later and I stopped for a brew and some porridge. Despite the fabulous views all around me and the joy of being out on the road, as I sat waiting for the water to boil I couldn't help but feel a bit dispirited. Progress was slower than anticipated and that's not good for morale, there's not much choice though but to push on! As the morning wore on, the day warmed up, requiring the removal of many layers of clothing, and the miles ticked slowly down. Past pretty villages with their obligatory war memorials and village halls, fields of rape in full bloom, cows freshly released from the confines of their winter barns watching intently as I passed, rabbits, pheasants and hares frolicking in the verges and fields, and the multitude of small birds all busily nest building in the hedgerows all around me, all providing distraction from the task in hand. Eventually though, after what seemed like an eternity of peddling, I arrived in Shrewsbury and climbed happily from the bike to grab some lunch. Somewhat behind where I'd hoped to be time wise, I didn't hang around and was soon back at it, heading out again on the last leg to my destination, just 20'ish miles away according to the GPS. Luckily the endless roller coaster of hills, calmed itself somewhat for this final leg and I made good time across those last few miles, arriving in Oswestry just before 14:00.
Destination achieved, turn around and head back the way I'd come then, not much to see here and no point in hanging around, destination Basingstoke. In fact by 15:30 I was back at Shrewsbury, sat in the same spot, stuffing yet more supermarket sandwiches into my face, in an effort to keep the calories coming in and the energy levels up, but at the same time starting to consider my options.
The hills and the extra weight of the camping kit were starting to take their toll, and whilst I was still moving reasonably well, the chances of getting back to the same overnight spot were starting to look unlikely. By this time I'd covered about 110 miles for the day, and my original overnight spot would need a total of 180, which seemed like a big ask. Only one way to find out though and that's push on. Another 10 or so miles later, I ground to a halt going up hill, and finding a quiet spot, dismounted and sat down for a few minutes. The mental game was getting to me and I needed to stop for a while and re-focus. Sitting in my quiet little hideaway I munched my way through a couple of Cookies, then a few Chocolate buttons, then a few more, then half the packet, and had a bit of a think. Maybe aiming for 150 miles for the day would be more achievable, take a bit of the pressure off and some of the endless slog away and allow me to enjoy myself a bit more?
Refreshed and reinvigorated I pushed on again, the sugar rush seemed to have done the trick and I was feeling better, the miles slowly started ticking down and I was starting to enjoy myself again. In fact I soon found myself back in Ludlow where the "chippy" once again beckoned for tea (it's living life to the full this lark, endless supermarket sandwiches and chips for tea twice in a row, healthy living at its best).
Hunger sated, water bottles replenished and ready for a few hours in the dark I pushed on again, aiming for that 150 mile mark and see how I felt. By 21:30 the magical 150 miles appeared and to be honest I'd had enough. As if to reinforce the fact that I should stop for the night, a great little "bivvy" spot hove into view. Well off the road, and high up, overlooking a bend in a river, with a great view across open fields to the other side, all of which was bathed in the magnificent light of a full moon. Decision made then, I'm stopping here for the night, hammock up, brew on and 20 minutes later I was swaying gently in the breeze, supping my brew, admiring the view and nibbling on a bit of chocolate, it doesn't get much better than that I can tell you.
I must have been tired, because I don't think I moved between going to bed and first light, despite the temperature dropping markedly overnight. In fact, whilst it was clear, cold, and still when I got up, by the time I got on the road an hour later the world had been shrouded in a low laying damp mist.
Fully refreshed after my long sleep, the misty morning did little to deter my spirits and I felt in fine fettle as I pushed off towards Worcester, 30 miles distant, but with the promise of a second breakfast when I got there! In fact, by the time I got to Worcester a couple of hours later the sun had worked it's magic and burned off the mist , leaving a glorious blue sky and rapidly warming morning. A brew and bacon Butty sat in the sun, worked further wonders for my morale, and it was with soaring spirits that I set off once again, planning to be back in Moreton-in-Marsh for lunch.
Plodding on through the morning with the sun and my shadow for company on quiet roads was a real treat, and whilst I wasn't making particularly quick progress, it was steady. Steady enough in fact that as predicted by lunchtime I was crawling through Moreton-in-Marsh, which was totally gridlocked with tourists and visitors, all of whom seemed to looking for that elusive parking space as close to the centre of town as possible.
Not much point in stopping amidst the crowds, so I grabbed a resupply and headed back out. Stopping a while later in a handy field gate in the middle of nowhere, where I took my shoes off, spread my sleeping bag out to air and generally enjoyed a leisurely lunch sat in the sun! Nice as it was to take the weight off my feet (or should that be backside), it wasn't going to get me anywhere fast and eventually the time came to push on. Next stop Faringdon, followed by Newbury, where I was going to have to come to a decision on my next move.
Mulling it over as the afternoon went on, I had 2 choices. I could either carry on from Newbury as per the original plan, stay out again tonight and push on in the morning with all the camping kit. Or, as I'd be passing within 10 miles of home, divert into home, have a night in bed, something proper to eat and a shower, and push on again early in the morning, but without the extra weight of the camping kit.
By the time I got to Newbury, after an unpleasant run into Faringdon against a headwind, my mind was made up. I'd covered 110 miles so far and it was another 20 to home, that would give me a 130 mile day, for a total of 375 miles since leaving work on Thursday afternoon. If I headed for home I could have an easy day tomorrow to round things up to 500 miles over the 3 days. Decision made then. Text “The Emma” to give her a heads up on my change of plan and set course for home. Home, kit sorted, shower, food, bed, in that order and set the alarm for 05:00, with an eye to being on the road again for 06:00. That should leave plenty of time to get in the remaining miles and still be home in time for tea. Result!
It's surprising the difference dumping the camping kit makes, and as I headed back out from home just after 06:00 on Sunday morning, it was with a new found spring in my step. “Easy miles for maximum smiles” springs to mind and as I made my way down towards the New Forest on a gorgeous morning, I certainly had a smile on my face.
The miles rolled easily on and by 10:00 I was picking up supplies in Fordingbridg, with over 50 miles already covered. Significantly quicker then anything I'd managed for the past couple of days. Next target Winchester, which was quickly dispatched and then a long, slow, slog as I headed towards Alresford against a head wind, on what may be the worst road surface in the world. Not to worry though, slog on for another couple of miles and I'll stop in a minute and have that pasta ready meal that I bought earlier, that will cheer me up. H'mmm, bugger. Having lugged a fork around with me, unused , for the last couple of days, now I need it I haven't got one! I'll tell you something right now. If your ever stuck without a fork, don't bother trying to eat Pasta out of a pot with your fingers. Not only is it incredibly slippery, but it makes a right mess too! I'd say lesson learned there, but it obviously wont be, so there's not much point!
Pushing on to Alresford with Pasta stained fingers and face, I cheered myself up with an ice cream instead and sat in the sun watching the world go by for a few minutes, before heading up the long, seemingly never ending climb back towards Basingstoke.
A quick check of the GPS showed 110 miles covered as I neared the turn off that would take me back home again, that's no good, I'd set off aiming for 125 and my pride won't let me slink home defeated. So I turn the other way, looking for extra miles and set off on a route that I know takes me round the top of Basingstoke and back in the other way, that should do nicely. Another hour or so passes and I'm nearing home again, 121 miles, almost but not quite enough. Right, loops around the streets near home it's going to be then. I pass the same person 4 or 5 times and get some strange looks, but eventually the magic 125 miles appears for the day, bringing the 3 day total to 500 miles. That will do nicely, I think!
500 miles in 3 days and 2 hours, or 800Km in 74 hours, for those of you that have gone metric. Not quite the mileage that I had planned on and hoped for, which was closer to 600, but a bloody good effort in my opinion. Even more so when you think that I'd run 71 miles, 3 days before I set off on this idiotic adventure!
I'm not going to pretend for one second that it was easy, in fact it was bloody hard at times. But, I had a great time none the less. I've been to a few places that I've never been to before, I've had 2 nights out under the stars, I've eaten enough supermarket sandwiches, cookies and other generally unhealthy rubbish to last a life time. And I've learned a few things along the way, both about myself and generally, things that may stand me in good stead in the future, or may never got used again, but either way it doesn't matter. But most importantly, when I'm even older and even less capable than I am today, I'll be able to think back to Easter 2022 and say “Oh' yes, that was the year I cycled 500 miles in 3 days” . “What a bloody Idiot, I could have just gone to the pub or watched TV”!
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Paul PerrattOld enough to know better, young enough to still feel invincible, stupid enough to keep on trying the same thing again and again. Cyclist, Gardener, Runner, Hiker, Cook, Woodworker, Engineer, Jack of all trades and master of none, Anti social old git and all round miserable bugger. Archives
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