As promised, some more about the marvellous...
We started about 15 minutes late - having ridden out from East London to the start we were hungry and weren't going to miss out on the breakfast goodies available. Consequently we didn't really see many other riders once we were on the road. The first part of both rides (100 and 200) was a loop out to All Hallows on the Isle of Grain. I had been there before but not used the return route - the view across the Medway estuary was impressive, a mix of nature and industry. As per the route info once we got back to Higham and set off westwards the climbing started. On the tandem this is not our forte but the scenery (almost) made up for the effort required. After so much riding in East Anglia the woods of Kent come as a nice surprise, and especially so on a hot day. The route was very laney at first - loads of instructions on the routesheet but it skillfully avoided the main roads. The first control was at Speedgate cafe, new to us, and now on our cycling cafe list. Excellent bacon baguettes, the visit was slightly marred by us finding out later that we had left one of our large water bottles behind, not a good day to do that.
Soon after Speedgate we were on familiar territory for a while, along the Darenth Valley, but then headed off westwards along the Pilgrims' Way, which contoured around the foot of the North Downs escarpment, for a neat info control at Titsey. From there we turned south and climbed up through Limpsfield and then more ups (and maybe a few downs, we didn't notice them!) to Forest Row. There we saw fellow riders for the first time, just finishing lunch at a cafe. We chose the traditional Audax option of the shop at the petrol station and sat on a bench consuming our sandwiches and as much liquid as we could get in the ever increasing heat. We also realised that in our eagerness to have lunch we had not noticed our first Medway crossing point just as we entered the village.
The next leg took us east, with a rather nice 12.6 km stretch between instructions as we followed a very rideable B road. Not too much traffic, reasonable sight lines and satisfactory road surface. Again the scenery was beautiful in an archetypal English way with rolling hills, meadows, woods and greenness everywhere, following the Medway valley. I was convinced (or should that be hopeful) that the climbing would cease well before Staplehurst but I was wrong, the general choppiness lasted until just about 5 km before. We controlled at the petrol station - more liquid, plus ice cream - and then set off again and this time it really was flat for many kilometres as we wiggled around the lanes on our way to Yalding. We almost got the wrong postbox for the info control as I misread a line on the route sheet, but having realised we located the good one and duly noted the all important collection time. After Yalding there was more lumpiness, especially the climb out of Wateringbury after crossing the Medway for the second time, this time knowing that we were soon going to plunge back down again for our third crossing at Aylesford. The old pedestrian/cycle bridge there was a treat and the village is very attractive (we were nearly seduced by the waterside pub garden) but why on earth do they allow everyone to drive through it?
Not long to go now, down the valley and then climb to the cycle path on the M2 bridge. From there we could see across the Thames estuary towards Southend and Essex, and it was clear we were getting the better weather with blue skies and sun our side rather than a heavy downpour. A last sting in the tail climbing through a housing estate with all the roads named after birds, amidst scenes of barbecuing and drinking parties, took us back into countryside for a final swoop down through Higham to the hall. Waiting for us was an array of good sustenance - tea, squash, soup, rolls, biscuits and extremely delicious home baked lemon drizzle cake. Less welcome was the news from organiser Tim that there were no trains from Higham so we needed to cycle back to Gravesend. Fortunately the station was very lightly manned and the tandem passed under the radar (and actually into the lifts!) for a leisurely trip back to East London.
Overall this was a great new ride - we found it quite lumpy with a lot of small ups and downs but then we are conditioned by spending lots of time in Essex. Others would probably not even notice it! The scenery easily made up for it anyway, especially all the woods, which I am going to mention again as we don't have enough of them generally in the UK and it was fabulous to cycle in their shade in the heat of the day. Thanks Tim and all the helpers for a carefully crafted route and ace Audax hospitality.
