Three Days to the New Forest

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I bought a Raleigh Royal, which is a steel touring bike with 700c wheels, and cycled to the New Forest and back, following the national cycle route 2. The cycle route actually starts in Dover, so I joined it as it cuts across the Marsh, just down the road from Aldington. The route starts on tarmac, but there are quite a few places where the tarmac has worn away or never had any in the first place. Day one would take me through Lydd, Camber and Rye to get to Winchelsea, mostly following the coastline, Until Pevansey, where it would head in land to get to Alfriston. Most of this route was flat, but at Winchelsea there’s an almighty hill to get over to Hastings. I tried my best, but knowing I had another two days ahead of me, I got off and pushed to a point I thought was the top. Of course, after a short rest I began to cycle, I found the road climbed up again, but luckily this was not as much of a gradient so was possible to cycle in comfort. Once in Hastings, I joined the coastline again and Pedalled till Lunch, where I found a nice little cafe to stop.
A couple of weeks before this trip, I did a test run to Alfriston, so once I reached Pevensea, it all became familiar, meaning I did’t need to rely on the sat nav. Once in the village of Alfriston, I stopped at the little shop for provisions and ciders, then headed to the campsite. After a rest and shower, I walked to a very nice pub that’s opposite the campsite for a good meal, then back to the tent for some sleep. Next days route took me to New Haven where once again I would follow the coastline until Worthing, where I would head up to Chichester, finishing at Hayling Island. Unfortunately, even though the sun was out, there were harsh headwinds all the way to Worthing, due to the remnants of a hurricane from America.

This made day two a very slow, hard slog, that was also quite stressful, as the route I had followed merged into a different cycle route. Then once I reached Chichester, the cycle route merged with several others and became very confusing. This mixed with a lack of a decent nights sleep, and having to fight the headwinds, made it a hard ride. It didn’t help that the sat nav kept trying to put me on dual carriage ways, rather than the cycle paths that run parallel to them. Once I escaped Chichester, it didn’t get a lot better, as the dedicated cycle paths began to merge into the main road until it no longer existed and I was mixed in with the rush hour traffic. Eventually I reached Havant and found myself on a beautiful cycle path that ran along side a stream until I hit the coast.

Once on Hayling Island the main road was like a ridiculously busy race track. Luckily, there is a dedicate cycle path that runs along the east coast, unfortunately this put me back in the headwind. Another problem once on the path, was getting off it, as when I looked at the map it looked as though I could turn off at a housing estate and cut across to the campsite, but the estate was all fenced off so I had to cycle to the end of the path, and head back up the main road to the campsite. It had been long day, and I was definitely feeling it as everything was hurting and I had saddle sores which was something new to me, and made day three just a tad uncomfortable.

The third and final day was a lot shorter by comparison, and was broken up by a couple of small ferry trips. But the first port of call was to a Tesco Express for breakfast and provisions for the ride. The first ferry was in Warash, and should only have been 25 miles away, but due to me starting the ride from Tesco, and staying at a totally different campsite it was an extra 6 or 7 miles. This felt like forever as I was so tired and the sat nav was also playing up. Once I reached Warash there was no signs for the ferry so i had to ask a postman where to go. It also happen to be the same day a charity ride was riding part of my route and also using the same two ferries I was, though unfortunately the riders I shared the ferry with weren’t overly chatty so it was quite nice to get off and carry on.

The second ferry was only six miles further on but it was in Southampton and the cycle route again disappeared just when I needed it, as I couldn’t find the way on to the bridge that crosses over to the main port. Eventually I made it over, but once again the ferry was hard to find as there was no signs. Luckily I half remembered the address of the ferry and spotted the quay I needed, before I was going to have to cycle a dual carriage.

The ferry docked in Hythe at the end of a pier, and if I had been a foot passenger I could have ridden a little train to the main land, but I walked the bike to the exit instead. After having a bit of lunch at a Subway sandwich place, I cycled out of town and into the New Forest. This was the point I finally relaxed as I knew I only had 18 miles left, and even though i was again fighting headwinds, I also knew that if it did become too much, Dad was only a phone call away.

Happily I was able to finish the whole route, though I did miss out the final cycle path, as New Forest cycle paths are gravel tracks through the trees, which while being very tranquil, are very bumpy and a tad slippy on the skinny tyres. This was especially so, when part of the cycle track was down hill, so you had to feather the brakes and ride out the moments the bike fish tailed or tank slapped. Unfortunately, by skipping the track I was again fighting the headwinds, and they seemed to be stronger, and when I did decided I would rejoin the path up ahead, where the road crossed it, it turned out to be on an old railway bridge with no way down, so I had no choice but to carry on. The final few miles had some climbing, but that was followed by a nice flowing down hill all the way to the final campsite, where Dad, Sarah and Rory were waiting for me.

A few hours later Richard and Mum joined us, and the family holiday could begin. All in all the only damage I sustained, was a popped spoke that I didn't notice, so I can't say when it went, other than it was the last day, and using an iPhone as a stereo system is great! But it eats battery, and when your solar battery pack can't be plugged in to charge, it also dies quickly. This was a little worrying when I still had another day to ride. Thankfully the campsite in Hayling let me plug my garmin and iPhone in the wall while i ate some dinner, otherwise i think i could have had issues.

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Photos

Camber Cafe
first stop for a bite to eat