Had a good day out on the 2023 edition of the Hop Garden 200 on Sunday. Weather was perfect, dry all day, a fair bit of sunshine but not too hot - especially given that it had chucked it down for most of the Saturday, and then rained again on Monday! Early on was the crossing of the Medway on a massive road bridge with a dedicated cycle path. Then rolling terrain with a few sharper hills, as we roughly followed the Pilgrims Way through Hollingbourne and Charing. By Wye it was even sunny enough that I had to stop and put some sun cream on.
After a quick snack at the railway cafe at Hythe, I pushed on over the Romney Marshes to New Romney and Appledore. This bit was flat as a pancake, and relatively windless, so easy riding, and quite pleasant, with hardly any traffic. Later on a few of us came across a huge street party at Yalding, and it took a little while to pick our way through the very jolly crowds on foot. The last 10km had a sting in the tail, with the climb of Birling Hill, which felt a lot longer than the last time I did it.
All in all a very enjoyable route, with some nice country roads, excellent scenery, a good mix of hills and easier sections, and mostly very light traffic. This is the second time I have done it now, and will definitely be repeating it again. Thanks to Patrick and helpers for a great event.
Sadly, there was a rider who came a cropper on the first stage, just after Hollingbourne, on a short section of road that had a sudden thick layer of slippery mud on a bend. Patrick had warned us about this very section in the pre-ride briefing. By the time I got there he was sitting up, and a few people were waiting with him for an ambulance to arrive. Very unfortunate, and I hope his injuries weren't too bad.
