During May preparations for our French adventure stalled. The Current Mrs R knackered her foot; then she knackered her knee. She couldn’t ride and confidence dropped whilst faces lengthened. Some perspective and a plan were called for. I worked out that we had 13 days to ride 220 miles – 17 miles per day. It was decided that such a prospect was not beyond the realms of possibility but the theory needed testing.
Enter stage left the sunny weekend we have just enjoyed. Enter stage right Oaky of this parish closely followed by his charming wife and their two lovely children, The Acorns. The plan was that Famille Oscar’s dad would load up their bikes with a fortnight’s kit and accompanied by Famille Oaky would ride round a 34 mile route over the weekend. Would all our kit fit in the panniers? Could we ride that distance with that much weight? In order to thoroughly test the theory I devised a route slightly longer than 34 miles and included some hills which we are unlikely to encounter in France.
On Saturday morning I helped Oaky ferry their car full of their camping kit to
the campsite then we cycled off at noon …
We pit stopped at The Green Man, Little Braxted then dropped down the hill to the Blackwater Rail Trail after passing through Wickham Bishops. Small children needed a hedge stop by the abandoned St Peter’s church which guards the first section of the Rail Trail. The surface was rough but mercifully dry so we were soon back on the road heading for Paper Mill Lock via Nutty’s Slimed Bottom. The lock was heaving with people but we found a table for lunch. Suitably refreshed we climbed the foot hills of the Col de Little Baddow (aka North Hill), hanging a left onto the undulating Tofts Chase.
By late afternoon we were at the campsite and the tents were put up ...
... as some of our children hared around the site …
… and others had a cuddle ...
Oaky got busy with the BBQ, successfully smoking out the site …
Our nearest neighbour evacuated their pitch and went for a walk whilst the caravan next to them had their smoke alarm activated!
The food was fantastic and didn’t hang around long …
The sun set on a great day …
The next morning breakfast disappeared as quickly as dinner. The kids wandered off to look at the horses …
… and the grown ups persuaded tents to fit their bags …
We had a bit more climbing to do before we found a new ford. Most of the party decided it was too long and too deep to ride through. Since fortune favours the brave (or just plain stupid) I decided to have a go. Twinkle Toes my stoker abandoned ship but Tina the Tandem and I were triumphant …
Spirits soared …
After crossing the A12 the kids were delighted to see this …
After lunch at the Square & Compasses, Fuller Street a brisk tail wind blew us home.
Everyone agreed we had had a brilliant weekend. Sat on the sofa on Sunday evening The Current Mrs R declared she was very proud of herself. Her pride was not misplaced as she had done exceedingly well.
Fingers crossed, we’re all set for France in five weeks time
