Seeing as all the above are cycling round avoiding unexploded bombs on Foulness, that leaves me free to post!
As everyone else was getting on further along the line, I got on the train at Victoria, enabling me to pass the secret location of the bike carriage to Jurek, so at Bromley Jurek, Pippa, Katie, Jane and Paul were all lined up right next to the doors. After putting bikes in various places, Wowbagger then got on at Rochester and Auntie Helen was waiting at Whitstable, meaning there were eight of us.
We quickly left Whitstable and hopped onto the Crab & Winkle trail to Canterbury.
Sadly whilst going past the University, thanks to these guys
Pippa suffered a soft & squidgy effect in her rear tyre which after fixing, due to over enthusiastic pumping then resulted in a snapped valve meaning Jurek had to use a second inner tube to get her on the road again.
Whilst zooming down St Stephens Hill my computer logged 71 mph somehow which seemed a little excessive, even for me, but the rest of the ride being fairly flat passed with a more normal speed range.
Due to the delay caused by the puncture, we were getting a bit peckish, so we stopped off at the garden centre in the little village of Preston for cake.
Rolling past the Roman castle at Richborough
we then went through the ancient town of Sandwich to pick up the cycle path along the A256, to have a look at the replica Viking boat showing the site when the Vikings first landed in AD449
(lots of history on this ride)
After a very nice fish & chip stop in Ramsgate
we then rolled along the coast
to stop for ice cream in Broadstairs.
Once we rounded the tip of Kent at North Foreland, we had the wind behind us, which was nice, so in Margate, we stopped to allow Jane & Katie (and Wowbagger once he'd got changed) to go for a swim.
I'm assuming you've checked the water quality...........
Going along the sea wall after Margate there were a few places where the water was splashing over the edge but on the stretch to Reculver the sea calmed down and on the final stretch back to Whitstable we just admired the views as the sun went down.
We'd just missed a train, so after saying goodbye to Helen, sadly we had nearly an hour to wait for the next train, so Wowbagger & Katie obtained a few essentials from the takeaway and off-licence.
Another fun day out, so thanks everyone for coming along. Sadly, I've got a feeling it might be the last day out in shorts for me for this year.
Other photos
here.
