Distance travelled: 18.62 miles
Cumulative distance: 1526.88 miles
Distance remaining: 3473.12 miles
Percentage complete: 30.54
Villages visited: Thornage, Letheringsett, Glandford, Saxlingham, Field Dalling, Langham, Cockthorpe, Binham, Bale, Sharrington.
After nearly two weeks off the bike, I decided to give myself a gentle reintroduction today. There were a few villages just west of Holt that I needed to visit, so I headed for Thornage to complete a gentle circuit of just under 20 miles.
There was nothing challenging about the route on paper; some gentle undulations and a couple of moderate climbs, with light winds and no rain apart from a few spots of drizzle at one point. There was surprisingly little standing water considering the amount of rain we’ve had in the past couple of days, and aside from a few muddy stretches the roads were generally in good nick.
As I was getting towards the end of the ride, it felt about right; I was a bit tired considering how long I’d been off the bike for, so I was glad that I kept it a bit shorter. However, a mile from the end I felt the all-too-familiar ‘thud thud thud’ of a rear puncture, which meant a 20-minute walk back to the car while pushing the bike.
The weather was benign so it wasn’t too bad, and at least the puncture didn’t occur a mile from the start or, even worse, halfway round and miles from the car! I’m going to get the puncture fixed on Thursday, so I might venture out on Thursday afternoon, otherwise I’ll see you again in 2021 for the remaining 3,473 miles…
Well done Matt, it can’t be enticing when it’s so cold, check out Thornage Hall https://www.thornagehall.co.uk/ next time you are that way, its a special place and has a biodynamic farm! You are inspiring with your cycling.