On a lighter note, my commute this morning was... fun!
My normal commute routine at the moment is the short dash to the station (4.5km), get the train to Bromley, then ride in the rest of the way (16-18km depending on route). Thing is, I can only do that if I get the early train, and I wasn't able to do that this morning.
However, it was too gorgeous to miss out on a ride altogether, so I extended the station dash to ride to Faversham (12km, with sea views
). And because I made good time, I then decided to plough on to Teynham, to round it up to 18km.
Got there to discover that the train I was planning to catch doesn't actually stop at Teynham...
This meant I had no option but to press on to Sittingbourne - another 7km away by the most direct route, and only 12 minutes until the train was due... Hammer time!
And I made it. Just! Arrived at Sittingbourne station just as the train was pulling in.
Average overall speed about 31km/h, which is the fastest I've ever done that route
on fixed by some margin. And something like 35km/h average for that last 7km, which is very spinny on a 65" gear. I think I need to gear up a bit.
I also made a new friend along the way. I first saw him on the road some way ahead of me crossing the Graveney marshes. He was too quick for me to close him down on the open road, but I'd almost caught him on the twisty bit through Faversham before I had to turn off. But as I was climbing Bysing Wood Rd, I heard a bike coming up behind me, glanced round and it was him - he obviously doesn't know the back roads of Faversham like I do. He was on his way to Sittingbourne - doing it for his commute for the first time, so well done him - and we rode together and chatted as far as Teynham. I did briefly toy with the idea of sticking with him all the way to Sittingbourne but thought I didn't have time. Ironic, really.
Overall... Cracking ride. Lots of fun.
d.
