Barnet to Broadstairs - day 4 - home again

 

When you are setting off from an overnight stop you have to put everything back on the bike and on this occasion I forgot to take the Elemnt Bolt out of the handlebar bag so 9.2 miles from Sittingbourne to when I noticed was not recorded. Thus I cycled 65 miles that day and Steve 60 because he lives in Enfield. He also missed the hard climbing at the end of the day, lucky lad.

The plan was to do 40 miles and see how we felt. Steve suggested putting the bikes on a train once we reached the edge of London, if necessary, or there was always the hotel option. In the event we just cycled it all as the route was partly familiar in reverse as well as nice and flat and the weather turned out better than forecast, we dodged the raindrops.

This looks a bit dismal but wasn't. A personal view of the river with no-one around to disturb the peace.

On Canal Road to the east of Gravesend was this useful tea van (tea £1.20). You can make up your own joke about the name of it.

This was the route shortly afterwards, delightful, alongside the disused Thames & Medway Canal 

Getting closer to Gravesend

Lovely old building adjacent to the ferry pontoon

It did get dark for a few minutes whilst waiting for the ferry but luckily it blew over.

You wait quite a way from the shore.

There is a ferry every 30 minutes so even if you miss one by a minute, as we did, it isn't long to wait for the next one. Whilst waiting a couple came along who were headed from Dover to Norfolk and wild camping as they went. They were so relaxed, on unremarkable bikes, going very slowly and she was wearing crocs to cycle in, we both use flat pedals so they do work, I prefer to wear waterproof walking shoes as I have not yet trained myself on cleats and probably never will. The crossing went quickly with someone to chat too (through our masks). It was worth £4 to not have to carry the bike up 100 steps.

After the crossing and a filling jacket potato in Tilbury we suddenly realised we had passed under the QE2 bridge. I have often looked down from the bridge and wondered about the businesses down below.

There were now 26 miles to go per google maps. I've run that (when 30 years younger) so didn't doubt that we would make it home. The route partly follows the London Loop which goes through Barnet and which Steve had walked with other buddies so he felt at home.

I think we did still have a few steps to lift the bikes up.

This shot was for my co-director who hails from Barking. There was a tornado there about 4 hours later so a good job we had cycled on.

Off the edge of the roundabout where the North Circular joins the A13 is the CS3 cycle route. Follow the blue paint, easy.

I'm old enough to remember Canary Wharf's first tower going up.

Linking up with the A13 at East Ham is the Greenway a 7km path open to walkers and cyclists. It took us straight to the Olympic Park and our canal route home.

A view from Greenway

The former Olympic stadium

The ArcelorMittal Orbit

Final photo - the ice cream van where we treated ourselves, actually Steve paid so I was treated.

Seeing our loaded bikes a lady stopped to ask a question or two. She was planning a vist to the Hebridean Way.

Looks delightful.

There we are, a lovely weekday trip to Kent and back, well within anyone's abilities with a bit of regular cycling. We got faster across the four days starting out at 8.4mph and reaching the steady pace of 9.5mph on day 4. At that rate a 50 mile journey takes about 5 and 1/4 hours which splits easily into four sessions of 1 hour and 10 minutes each wrapped around morning coffee, lunch and afternoon tea. There is still plenty of time left for resting, eating and photographs in a typical 8 hour journey from 9am to 5pm.

If you learn from the mistakes we made, and we hope to ourselves, you will have a lovely adventure.

Derek