Day 1,350

We’re off, again!

After 7 months we were finally ready to return to our round the world trip. The last couple of weeks had flown by. Nothing went smoothly - the solicitors’ paperwork was more complicated than anticipated, I developed shingles, we fitted in a big family party in Scarborough to celebrate my mum's 90th, my rear rim split, and the shop had issues finding the right spoke length! 

We were heading to London for a few days with my understanding and welcoming sister Carly and her husband Terry. Tom had promised to do some house maintenance at my sister Liz's, which has now become a family tradition, poor Tom. Just the simple matter of getting there. 

Day 1 dawned cold but sunny, with a clear blue sky, and a tail wind! Glorious cycling weather. Our route took us past Delapre Abbey, through a tree-lined avenue where we had scattered Tom's dad, Brian's, ashes. The whole area was still wearing its winter colours apart from a large patch of snowdrops, exactly where we had scattered the ashes. A strange but wonderful coincidence. 

The curious patch of snowdrops around Brian’s ashes tree

Tom had planned as quiet a route as possible, away from traffic and taking in many cycle paths. For a while we rode alongside the train line to Euston and to begin with we were spoilt, the previously potholed muddy track was being resurfaced and we flew along, little did we realise that within minutes we were going to get seriously stuck. We were now heading to a floodplain outside Milton Keynes, the Ouse Valley Park. The River Great Ouse runs through it, feeding lots of lakes that attract wonderful birdlife, and there are walking and cycling routes criss-crossing the land. However, remember I said the words ‘floodplain’ and ‘February’? Well we certainly found our floods. Take a look at our Strava route, we wound around for quite some time trying to find a dry way out. We ended up pushing the bikes up a footpath through a farm, and no we definitely didn't find a dry path to get us there, ah well! Trying to ignore our very wet feet we found our way back to our route. Despite it only being mid-morning it was lunch time for us. We need to stick to a tight budget, so no cafes for us, instead we sat on a rock and ate a piece of flapjack. A quick gulp of ginger tea from our flask and off we went. 

Sustrans Route 6 just past Castlethorpe

The ‘cycle path’ through the Ouse Valley Park!

Off we went, passing a beautiful old church, St Mary Magdalene’s. We often like to explore old churches and the gravestones always fascinate us, but not today, our damp feet made us keen to keep moving. We paused to eat our sandwiches in Woburn, a very up-market town. Tom found the only friendly people there, heading out in a classic car, everyone else blanked us completely. We didn't linger, maybe we just arrived at a bad time, but seriously we had clean clothes on and didn't smell at all! Actually we had just cycled through a flood so maybe we weren't as pristine as I thought. 

St Mary Magdalene Church, Little Brickhill

A classic car with a friendly owner - anybody know what it is?

We were finding the ride hard work, our cycling muscles appeared to have stayed in La Paz, but we dug deep and by 5pm we had reached Luton, following cycle paths all the way to our Warmshowers host for the night. Mike and his girlfriend Sue were so welcoming. A hot cuppa, followed by a hot shower and we felt human again. Six hours riding had taken its toll. We spent the evening eating and chatting. Mike has just completed all the Munros, 282 mountains in Scotland, all over 3,000ft. He was buzzing with his achievement. We slept like logs, and in the morning departed laden down with doorstep cheese sandwiches made with the bread Sue had kindly baked for us. 

Mike - a Warmshowers wonder!

Then after hugs goodbye, off we went, following Sustrans Route 6, through beautiful tree-lined country lanes and a change to our planned route. With Mike's advice we went onto two disused railway lines, the Lea Valley Way and the Nickey Line. There is some dispute around how the latter got its name, but my favorite is this - the navvies that helped build the line, wore three-quarter length trousers, otherwise known as the knickerbocker, hence Nickey! It is supported by a Friends group who are helping maintain it, and preserving its historical features as well as introducing new ones. 

Some images from the Lea Valley Way and Nickey Line

Though we've had to replace a lot of kit we left in La Paz, we still have loads we have used for years. One of my favourite pieces is my cap. Given to me by a Canadian, Don, who we met and rode with on the Icefield Parkway in Canada. I burnt mine trying to dry it out on a stove and Don had a brand new cap with him that he'd been given for completing a local marathon. I'm hoping it will last the trip, as the peak keeps most of the sun off my face, though I have to admit it's showing its age!

Canadian Don’s hat

We passed through tunnels, under bridges and under a tree festooned with shoes, boots, pans and much more. It was all pretty hard work as the line slowly rose upwards and the surface was quite muddy, but we were traffic-free and the surrounding countryside was beautiful. When we left it we stayed on Route 6, which took us over fields alongside the Grand Union Canal. At a small upmarket new housing development we spotted a Yorkshire flag. I was tempted to knock on the door and say hello, but time was passing. We then joined the canal for a while, it was muddy going but certainly was beautiful.

A Yorkshire flag inside the M25, and some pictures of the Grand Union Canal (note the erosion the two ropes have caused on the bridge metals)

Mike's route had added ten miles to our trip, meaning today's ride was around 55 miles. I was feeling very tired, probably a result of the shingles. I dug deep and finally after what seemed like forever we entered Richmond Park, a quick pause to admire the deer and just the final few miles to my sister's. They'd cleared the shed for our bikes, and a hot meal was waiting, bliss.

Next stop Dover for boat number 25!

Richmond Park at sunset

A few of the park’s famous deer