In March I decided to ride Sustrans / National Cycle Network route 2 which takes you from Dover to St Austell or vice versa. I cycled down to Broadstairs to stay with friends so I was near the start and then passed a weekend at leisure in Folkestone before setting off on the route proper. Here is the consolidated Strava route.
I now put my photos on Instagram so if you follow 'dishbike' you can see my daily progress as I go. This is a quick summary with one photo per day.
Day 1 - Broadstairs to Folkestone - 33 miles - 2,149 feet of climbing
A short stage but surprisingly hilly. The start point of each numbered route isn't always obvious and part of this one was closed.
Day 2 - Folkestone to Eastbourne - 62 miles - climbing 1070 feet
The stage is flat with all of the climbing done in one hit, Battery Hill at Fairlight.
A naked lady saw me off on my ride, this sculpture was modelled on a resident.
Day 3 - Eastbourne to Chichester - 59 Miles - Climbing 1,847 feet
Eastbourne Beach - wonderful
I took the wrong route out of Eastbourne which added to the climbing.
Day 4 - Chichester to Christchurch - 70 miles - climbing 1,713 feet
My planning didn't take account of the fact that I needed to take 4 ferries today so time ebbed away. One jetty was so far out in the creek that foot passengers got to take the train - bikes don't fit.
I managed to get one day down below 50 miles and a brewery opposite the hotel at the end.
Up and down all day. The climb up to the monument was well worth it though for the view.
Day 7 - Seaton to Bovey Tracey - 50 miles - climbing 5,007 feet
I have friends in Bovey Tracey and they asked me on arrival if I wanted to go to a quiz to help raise money to send local scouts to the annual jamboree in South Korea which is scheduled for August 2023. We came about 7th out of 20 teams as I recall (probably badly after a lot of beer).
I used the dry bridge route.
Day 8 - Bovey Tracey to Plymouth - 34 miles - Climbing 3,159 feet
Another shorter day but plenty of hills. The views are the reward. This is near Buckfastleigh.
Cornwall is just so hilly and seeing the final Sustrans finger post is such a pleasure.
So that is a tick next to route 2 and I am 90% through route 1, the longest route. I have 2.5 days of it to complete, half a day near Ipswich which I missed due to breakdown and the two days from Enfield Lock to Dover (will actually only go as far as Sandwich as did the final section of route 1 when starting route 2).
The start of route 4 is planned for July.
End.
