Travelsonabike2 England Saturday 18th-March-2023

Garry McGivern Travelsonabike2 is cycle touring in England on Saturday, 18th-March-2023. Oxford to Edmonton, North London. 63 miles. Well, I’m not so sure Google got my mileage right today. It’s certainly felt a lot more, and I’ve been on the road for nearly twelve hours. But then I have been stopping a lot.

After leaving the hotel this morning, I went for a quick ride around the centre of Oxford, which took all of ten minutes. Then I was on my way to London.

I’d only been cycling for an hour before it started to rain. And it remained wet for most of the day. It’s hard going cycling in the rain, especially as I tend to rely on my phone for directions these days. I have to put glasses on to read a map, so it’s just easier. That is, until it rains. Then a smartphone is pretty useless. The screen doesn’t like getting wet and jumps all over the place, moving from one app to another. I think that’s maybe why today has felt a lot longer. I kept stopping to try and work out where I was.

Well, I failed miserably today and had to push my bike up a hill, which is only the second time ever! It was just as I was coming out of Princess Risborough, and it was called Kop Hill. I made the fatal mistake of stopping just short of the top. And then I couldn’t get going again and resorted to pushing my bike. Which was even harder, but it was so steep I just couldn’t get back to cycling.

A Tough Day

There have been a few more steep hills today but nothing as bad as Kop Hill. I think that took a lot out of me, and what with that and the rain, it’s been a tough day but still enjoyable.

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