Garry McGivern Travelsonabike2 is cycle touring in the UK Friday, 3rd-March-2023. Brighstone to Bognor Regis. 56 miles. Bit of a late start today, as I had to make a couple of phone calls but couldn’t make them until after nine. I think I was also trying to delay the ride back across the island. There was a bitterly cold wind that I would be cycling against. And, of course, there was the hills!
To prolong leaving camp, I took loads of photographs (I also kept stopping to take photos throughout the day), and if they’re any good, I’ll post them on my Flickr page at the end of the month. I eventually left camp at nearly eleven o’clock, and as suspected, I was straight into that bitterly cold northeasterly wind.
After stopping in Newport to take more photos, I made it to Cowes and found the “holiday park”. It was already on a downer even before I reached the place. The site was located up a hill.
The place looked as I imagined it would be. There were lines of static caravans, all looking exactly the same, just like a proper-looking holiday camp. Thankfully it was too early to stop, but at least I know where it is for future reference.
After leaving Cowes, I made my way to Ryde to catch the Fastcat back to Portsmouth. I could have got the ferry from Fishbourne to Portsmouth. But I decided to cycle straight past that ferry to make more of a ride today. Well, I wished I hadn’t. I got to Ryde only to find out that they don’t run a fastcat service in the afternoon, and it was a two-hour wait for the next one. Great, now, what do I do?
I contemplated cycling back across the island to Brighstone, but I thought they might think I was stalking them if I returned for a third time. If there was a nearby campsite open, I would have gone there and camped again. But it’s still too early in the season, and nowhere is open. I thought about cycling back to Fishbourne and catching the ferry. But I just knew that if I had, I would have just missed one and would have had to wait there for an hour for the next one. In the end, I just had a little ride around Ryde, and before I knew it, the Fastcat was there.
I don’t usually like the ride home from Portsmouth; I’ve done it so many times it’s all a bit boring. And I certainly wasn’t looking forward to it today, especially as the wind would be against me. But I really enjoyed it. After bimbling about on the Isle of Wight for a day or two it felt good to know exactly where I was going. Or was it the thought of a nice warm bed tonight?
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