With all the Tour de France activity starting this weekend Simon and I decided to take a zero carbon trip to North Norfolk. We spent ages leaving London trying to battle with rush hour traffic until eventually we got to the banks of the canal in the Lea Valley and felt we were on our way. Looking south leaving London was great and we had near perfect conditions for the long cycle ahead. Having been advised by my beloved to change from my loud old cycling top Simon and I looked like a pair of twins in our black and blue outfits, these would match our bottoms later on.
We ended up cycling around and around the Lea Valley and East Hertfordshire for sometime longer than expected, party due to enjoyment of the scenery and partly due to my poor map reading/interpretation. I gave Simon a double viewing of Stanstead Abbotts and we even managed to find a 10% climb that we didnt have to go up that we did. Anyway we enjoyed the extended trip to our first stop, a pub for a sandwich at lunchtime, then decided to up the pace and push on to Cambridge. We bumped into an American cyclist from Minnesota who stayed with us for a while then peeled off.
Quick caffeine hit in Cambridge then off up to Ely, Histon chez Baz and Shaz, the flat lands had arrived, but we were still waiting for the tailwind promised by the weather forecast.
We linked onto the Great Ouse network of waterways just outside Ely up to Littleport then up the "Ten Mile Bank" to Denver. We were making good time and our old legs were hanging on in there. The scenery was stunning, flat but stunning! We started to get a bit worried about Pub O'clock so we took on an extra Mars bar and pushed on down the A1122 down through Fincham at around 40kph until we turnedoff to Marham. Very peaceful last part of trip through Narborough, West Acre until getting to Great Massingham just in time for a quick wash change and walk to the pub for dinner! Around 130 miles covered and only slowed by my map reading, admiration of the landscape, oh and \simon's perpetual peeing!!!
Spent Saturday riding around the North Norfolk coast and sitting in the Dabbling Duck! Fine trip!
