Cheltenham!

12/8/15

With a cheeky North wind in our faces we set out for home. A final look at the river Severn marked the last vestige of coast and we were soon arriving in Gloucester.

Every year the city improves and I am pleased to say we did not get lost navigating our way out and across to Cheltenham.

We stuck to the NCN 41 until about 200m from our house, unpacking and preparing to go back to school started to fill our minds but elated at completing the journey.

Tibetan Buddhists complete a kora or circumambulation of sacred sites to bring good karma for their future lives. Many people ask us why we set out on this journey, well this self propelled, meditative and enriching exploration of Britain's coast has been a kora for me.

There are five reasons for the journey.

First I love cycling, this efficient transport takes me to a place in the past where people connected by foot, horse, or bike. It may also have a place in the future when oil has run out and the world behaves more sustainably!

Second, I love journeying in the outdoors. The simplicity of having only what you need which you carry from place to place brings a calm rhythm to life.

Third is the love of the sea and it's fruits. I may have had scampi and chips a couple of times but we have not roughed it on this journey and Britain has a lot to celebrate with its cuisine.

Forth is that I love Britain. It may be a manufactured and managed landscape but twisting lanes through thatched villages, wild windswept cliffs and big sky's above flat fens are all beautiful to me. We had some pleasant surprises with a warm welcome to the cyclist on well designed tracks and renovated Victorian promenade making our ride through big towns and cities a pleasure. With a climate that is not too hot, not too cold, enough rain to keep the rivers topped up and forests green all make the UK just right.

Fifth, last but not least, I love travelling with Sue. I think she shares at least four of these loves and I am very lucky that she agreed to spend half a year, or as she observed, a hundredth of her life on a bike with me!

Figures:

Distance:- 33.4 km

Cycle Time:- 2 hours 29 minutes

Average speed:- 13.4 kph

Trip totals:

Total Distance:- 6459 km

Number of Days: 165 (including 20 rest days)

Height Gain: about 120,000m (over 13 Everests!)

4 punctures, 6 new chains

Too many cooked breakfasts!