Just been out. My Cyclogs target required 20.15 miles today to hit target this month and I wanted to do it.
I'm on holiday in Norfolk and so not familiar with the routes but had a trusty map with me and decided to go from Ellingham to Halesworth down the NCN1, then back along the A144 which is a fairly quiet A-road.
Firstly, the NCN1 around here is clearly not great for trikes. We have part of the NCN1 and 51 where I live near Colchester and they're really good routes that work well; here they are very narrow roads covered in muck; this is OK if you can put your wheel where the car wheels go but when you've got 3 wheels and the bike width is 95cm you have to have one in the muck. I ended up with a lot of mud on me, my hands and my shiny bike.
It was, however, a pretty route despite the dismal grey weather. I always say hello to livestock that I pass, and also met several dogwalkers (although the Norfolk people don't seem as friendly as those around where I live in North Essex). I was trundling along happily, had just passed a horse (I stopped and waited for her to go past as the horse was a bit nervy) and then carried on through a REALLY mucky bit of farm rubbish all over the road. Then realised I had a puncture in my front left tyre. How irritating!
I pulled off the road into a driveway and set to to fix the puncture. I've done this at home in the warm but never outside and on my own. Fortunately I found the hole in the inner tube very quickly but realised that the glue wasn't doing a very good job of setting so I changed the inner tube instead (I had a spare with me but thought I'd try repair before replacement). Halfway through the procedure an old chappie came out from the house to ask if I was OK - which I was.
My puncture kit that I have assembled has surgical gloves and I am rather pleased as the bike was filthy. Once I had replaced the inner tube I was reminded that I've got a completely crap pump which I can barely use (I have an arm disability anyway which doesn't help). I managed to pump the tyre up enough that it wasn't awful to ride and set off again. I had originally planned to cycle all the way to Halesworth but decided to head home at the next junction which took me directly to the A144.
After about a mile on the A144 I saw a filling station so pulled off to use their tyre pump. I made a bit of a fool of myself by thinking the pressure washer was the air pump (the attendant then brought the air pump from inside; it was a rather heath robinson design and he had to help me a bit, but what's the point of being a blonde if you can't get random men to help you with technical things). There were a father and son just standing around at the filling station watching what was happening; they didn't say hello or smile or anything - these Norfolk/Suffolk people do seem unfriendly!
After my tyre was back to 65psi (according to the weird pump anyway) I set off. I ended up sandwiched between two giant farm vehicles for about five miles which was good fun although the one behind me looked like some enormous torture machine in my rear view mirror. I did manage to get ahead of the one in front but he overtook me again on a hill, the wretch! I did feel rather like a lilliputian in the world of Hannibal, though, in my little recumbent with these huge farm machines in front and behind.
When I eventually got back to the village where we're staying I was only on 19 miles so cycled round the village for 1.2 miles until I'd reached my month's target.
So... not a very nice day, slightly wet roads make for a mucky ride, Norfolk/Suffolk NCN routes not great for my bike, puncture, cold... but all outweighed by the endorphins, the game of Chicken with the giant farm vehicles and the beauty of being out in the great outdoors.
) I think I'll save my riding for tomorrow.
