So last night, was finally able to board the ferry at 10pm! Wow I wish I had known that. It was such a long boring wait. But I did get chatting to a few people in the terminal and telling them what I was doing. The bike was getting a bit of attention, especially the wind chargers. People think theyre great!
So onboard the ferry. was so exciting, I was gleaming! I must do a cruise one day. I think huge ships like that are amazing. Got into my cabin. All good there. Small, but definately can't complain. Then went and had my second dinner of the evening! The ferry had a huge deck at the back to see out. So was amazing to see the night lights of France getting smaller. Was so amazing out there. I was so happy to be here, crossing the English channel.
Slept average, it was a smooth crossing but it was kinda vibraty from the engines. Then at 05.30 UK time, an hour before docking. They play this nice pianoy music to wake you up nicely. Then by 06:00 theyre banging on the doors making sure youre up. Because they want you off sharp at 06:30!
So off the ferry, through the UK border, and Viola! I'm in England! Plan was for greasy fry up! But it was early and I had a lot of miles ahead of me, so I headed out of Portsmouth. How strange cycling on the left. Having to look over the other shoulder, cars passing me on the right. Looking opposite directions at T-Junctions. Taking roundabouts the other way. I know left is my native side, but with doing all my cycle training on the right,and spending the last 3 weeks solidly
cycling on the right. It was a bit of a difference. Also as it has been six months since being in the UK. It of course looked all nostalgic and weired!
And wow, everythings English!! I can talk to people, I can read stuff again! Woo hoo!
Had a big climb out of Portsmouth, then like France, its back narrow country roads again, endless amount. I've done 20km and still no breakky! Looking at where I was, and the route. I was stuck kn the middle of nowhere for a while! So how annoying, to be back in the UK, and for breakky it was the Cuassonts I'd bought in France for breakfast!!! Not fair! Then the rain set in. Then my ankle started hurting again. Then the excitement of being in the UK wore off and I was on a bit of a low. But what was nice, is being entertained by English radio! Yaay!
Tried diverting into what seemed to a reasonable sized town, which just turned out to be a tiny village. As time ticked on, my traditional English breakfast fry up just wasnt going to happen.
As the rain set in, it actually got colder. At 11am it was colder than it was at 06.30 and I just had to layer up. I was freezing and my head started pounding because of it. If anyone here thinks that I've got it easy now I'm back in the UK. Very wrong. Though the UK has some nice things, such as no language barriers. The country has its own hardships and challenges. The roads are hellish - Narrow windy country roads with no shoulder to hide in, people drive faster and too close to cyclists! One van driver even decided to annoy me by purposly stopping on a hill and then set off again which lost my momentum. I have no idea whether he did this on purpose. The road surfaces are terrible, theyre not as slick making it harder to pedal on. Theyre pot holed and patched up. I'm afraid to say the continent is a far nicer place to cycle!
Anyway enough of the bad. What Spain and France don't have, and wow they have some catching up to do. Is road side greasy burger bars!!! Found one of those and got myself a heart attack in a bun. Fantastic! They dont use George Formans. Oh no! There is nothing more British than sitting in a lay by in the cold wind and rain warming yourself up with a bacon, egg, cheese burger and a coffee! Fantastic! Got chatting to a few people there as well. They see the bike, they see the shirt. Theyre interested. Its actually so nice to be able to talk to people again.
After a really slow start, the much needed calory intake gave me that boost. I was off, and cycling fast, catching up on the mileage. Feeling good, and once again loving the fact that I'm in the UK! What I havnt done, is thought too much about the end, which draws closer and closer. My focus was getting to the pre-booked Hotel just past Oxford today. Which stood at over 140km from Portsmouth.
With a sore ankle it was tough, and Oxford city centre was just nuts. The british capital of Cycling, and it was crazy! There were cyclists everywhere, traffic and busses everywhere. One was even reversing up the road!
Made it through the city centre and dodged rush hour queues. My Gibraltar cycling experience was needed here! It was nice to be over taking the cars for a change. Throughout the whole trip, today was also the first time I had to deal with traffic jams.
Checked into Hotel tonight. First proper bed since Rochefort! But early start tomorrow, have another long one then!
| Todays stats | |
|---|---|
| Start | Portsmouth, UK.06:45 |
| End | Just north of Oxford.18:15 |
| Saddle Time | 8 hr 10 min 28sec. |
| Distance travelled | 142.56km |
| Average Speed | 17.4kph |
| Max speed | 50.1km |
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