We were down in Bognor this weekend.
On Sunday morning I woke up to a glorious sunny day (unusual this year)
with very little wind. I had had it in
the back of my mind on the Saturday that I might ride Sunday but with the
weather as cold as it was I wasn’t expecting to carry it through.
I got up Sunday and upon seeing the sunshine I decided to grad the
opportunity and get a few miles in. I
hadn’t got my carbon bike with me nor had I my favourite Peugeot steel bike so I had to
make do with a Raleigh Quasar 10 speed racer (with aerodynamic Reynolds 532
tubing) which I had bought in 1984. I
didn’t have my Speedplay pedals or even my SPD pedals so I had to make do with cages
on the pedals.
I pumped up the tyres and I was off at 09:00 am. I headed into Bognor
then up the A29. In the last few times I
had been riding this route I had been riding into a headwind at this point but
this morning it was glorious.
For some reason I find climbing on the steel bikes smoother and easier
than on the carbons so although I don’t have such light gearing I usually make
the top without a granny wheel. This
morning I was flying and soon got the 11 miles to the top of Bury Hill, Whiteways
Lodge Roundabout. I then went down the
London Road towards Arundel and rode through the village. It never ceases to amaze me that even early
morning all the parking spaces in Arundel are full but there is no one about. Arundel is so nice, with a castle, a cathedral and various churches all on the side of the hill looking across the river and the plains towards the coast. I just wish it wasn't littered with cars (why didn't they have the forethought to build an underground car park under the castle 700 years ago?).
As the weather was still good and it hadn’t clouded over I headed out
towards Swanbourne Lake and the Wetlands Centre then kept on the road which
climbed back up the hill until it came to a dead end just past South Stoke. As I couldn’t see any alternative I turned
around to head back. At this point a
mountain biker arrived. I asked him
whether there was any way to get across to the main road which would lead me
back to the Whiteways Lodge Roundabout at the top of Bury Hill.
He said yes there was and described a convoluted route along the river, across
field and woodland and over many styles and kissing gates.
The route sounded complicated so I thanked him for his instructions but
advised him that I would head back the way I came. He stopped me and advised he had all the time
in the world on this lovely morning and would escort me (he later advised me he was "living the dream". He was a plumber who worked mornings but cycled afternoons, and he wasn't even Polish). We set off.
Fortunately the ground was dry and the paths and fields not to cut up so
my 700 X 23 tyres managed without too much difficulty (although crossing one
field going uphill they were slipping when I wasn’t smooth enough). I had the advantage over him in that my racer
was lighter than his mountain bike as we climbed over and carried the bikes
over styles and kissing gates.
Once we got back to the road at Amberly Working Museum (an old quarry
now converted to a museum with vintage vehicles, a steam train and a working forge and printing press) I went back up the road (B2139) to the Whiteways
Lodge Roundabout then back down the London Road bypassing Arundel and back to
Bognor.
The overall ride was a gentile 30 miles.
The Vintage Jaguar Owners Club had a meeting at Amberly this morning so there were lots of vintage vehicles on the road.
Also, I think this is the only time that I haven't been stopped at the railway crossing on the way out at Woodgate and on the way back at Ford (as in Ford Open Prison).
When I downloaded my Garmin to Strava I was very surprised to see I got
a PB and two 2nd fastest personal performances on segments even
though I was on the old racer. I must have
done the basic Bognor Whiteways Lodge Roundabout circuit 40 or 50 times over
the years on various bikes and today there was no wind so why I was so fast
this day I don’t know?
No comments:
Post a Comment