Cycling East England: Maidstone to London, Train Home

My latest bicycle touring update: cycling in East England. Maidstone to London, then train to Bognor Regis. 42 miles. After yesterday’s day of indecision, I was pretty good today and made up my mind what I was doing and stuck to it! A lot of my decision on my direction today was down to the wind direction. I was umming and ahing as to whether I should cycle home or not. But as there was a stiff southwesterly wind to ride against, I decided to give it a miss. I seem to be struggling enough as it is! Instead, I decided to cycle into London and get the train home. I have to be home on Monday for a hospital appointment anyway.

The ride into London, for the most part, was pretty good. I followed the A20, which was good, although I did have a rather big climb over the North Downs. All was going well until the road turned into a three-lane highway with no hard shoulder! It was entirely my own fault, I’ve driven along that road so many times in the past, and I could see on the map that it was a dual carriageway classed as a motorway! And surprisingly, it was! I was just hoping that it wasn’t going to be! After about three miles, I came off and found the cycle route into London.

There’s always a good feeling about London, and I always enjoy going there. After a brief ride around, I went to London Victoria railway station and caught a train home. I’m hoping to continue this ride next week (and maybe get a few more miles in; this week’s effort has been pretty feeble) after my hydrotherapy appointment on Monday. It depends on how I feel.  I didn’t feel too good at all after last week’s appointment. Still, you know what they say, “no pain, no gain.”

Tour Information

It’s been years since I took this ride, but the memories (and the data) are all archived:

• Photos: See my photos on Flickr
• The route: Sussex to Norfolk
• Tour page: Ride overview

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