F U R T H E R East (ish)

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Boab
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F U R T H E R East (ish)

Post by Boab »

The first I heard about F U R T H E R East was in a comment on the Wildlife thread by JamesO. A bit of digging later, I discovered that it started/finished in Camps End, which is about 12KM on the road from my house. Intrigued, I put it to the back of my mind until earlier this year, when I noticed the details had disappeared from the F U T H E R website. So I emailed Camille asking if it was running this year and was told it was, however, the very next F U R T H E R email said it was full, even though it hadn't been advertised as being open. 🙄

Digging through previous emails to the FU R T H E R mailing list, I came across last years route, so downloaded the GPX for a bit of a look. After looking at it on and off for a few weeks, I recreated it, with some embellishments, like the new Chisholm Trail through Cambridge, and sticking to the Peddar's Way. This was mainly due to noticing that the GPX I'd found had various issues with it, as it looked like the trace of an actual ride, rather than a route made online; back tracking, altitude irregularities and what not.

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I wasn't sure when, or even if, I'd bother to ride the route, as it was a good 140KM or so longer than the longest trip I'd done to date and I'd lost my mojo. After having an excellent time during the WRT, I decided to get out over the Jubilee weekend, with the (Not) Moors One Hundred not happening, my other option was the The North and South Downs Escapade. It didn't start till the Thursday evening though, and I thought I should really spend some time with the family, so opted to do something I could start and finish at the house.

So I dug out my recreated F U R T H E R East route and started looking at it properly and if I thought I've be able to get round in three days. I decided to go for it, the worst that could happen was spending a third night out and getting back in the (forecasted) pissing rain on the Sunday morning. There was the small matter of fixing my rear derailleur first, but once that was done, the luggage was attached to the bike and we were all set and ready to go.
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Re: F U R T H E R East (ish)

Post by Boab »

I always seem to be slightly late leaving the house, not sure if it's a delaying tactic, or if I'm just poor show at getting up and getting on. Either way, as I was getting ready, I realised I hadn't had a shower, and faced with three days of riding, figured I should probably leave the house clean. So it wasn't until about twenty to eight, that I finally left the house and rolled down the High St. We were soon onto the Roman Road heading for Cambridge and my first deviation from the original route.

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One thing I'd been struggling to understand, was why the original route went straight, splat bang, through the centres of Cambridge, St Neots and Bedford, but looped around the outside of Northampton. 🤷 I know there's "nicer" ways to get around Cambridge, for instance, so I imagine there's a nicer way to get passed Bedford, which is just horrible to cycle through. With this kind of thing in mind, I picked up the Chisholm Trail through Cambridge and was nearly flattened by an inattentive arsehole in the station car park, so much for a nicer, quieter, less stressful way through Cambridge...

Soon enough it was onto the shared use path alongside the guided busway, and easy cruising to St Ives, where it was back off onto the road again. I was was ahead of time at this point, as most of the riding had been on tarmac. I was beginning to wonder when I was going to get to any decent sustained off-road sections, as the next bit towards Offord Cluny was relatively short and had a nesting ground bird diversion.

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More roads brought us to the new A14 / A1 interchange and a lack of right of way signage, meant I took a number of wrong turns before finding the correct gravel service road. Given the nature of the area, the gravel roads, bridges and what not, are pretty good at getting you under and over both roads and spitting you out onto a lovely bridleway climb away from it all, towards Graffham Water. It certainly wasn't a highlight of the route, but neither was it a lowlight, with plenty of wildlife to be seen around the various ponds.

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After Graffham Water, it was time to head towards Eaton Socon and St Neots. Shortly after leaving town, we started on the longest section of off road riding so far; a sequence of bridleways that lead all the way down to Biggleswade, via the RSPB Sandy HQ.

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We also encountered our first issue of the trip, where we encountered a couple and all their sheep, in a box made out of gates that blocked the bridleway. They appeared to be inspecting all the sheep and administering some sort of something to the lambs. I back tracked and rode around on a footpath to pick up the bridleway on the other side of their box. Way easier than trying to lift my bike and wade through them. The road around Biggleswade wasn't particularly pleasant, with a number of close passes before I could get to the off road path that runs nearby. There was a nice large pavement, but absolutely no indication if it was shared use or not. I was glad to get back onto quieter back roads and eventually back off road.

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It seemed to take ages to get from St Neots to Ashwell, which I'm putting down to being mostly off road. We did eventually get there, via a naggery and cut up byway, which meant I was back onto familiar trails, as the next section of the route followed the Icknield Way for a bit. Instead of heading around the top of Letchworth on the road, I stuck to the Icknield Way route I'd done multiple time previously, mostly so I would pass the 24H Esso garage, where I stocked up on sweet and savoury supplies.

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We soon left the Icknield Way and started heading towards Bedford, on a mixture of bridleways and roads. The weather was superb and some of the views cracking, and I was really enjoying flying along, still miles ahead of even my most optimistic planning. Having said that, my heart rate was all over the place, and just wouldn't stay low and kept spiking every time any sort of slope appeared, or if I put the foot down on the flat.

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In my initial planning, I thought I'd be going through Bedford in the evening, given it came at around 177KM or so. To have blasted straight through it and well out the other side by 15:30, was a bit of a surprise. Smashing out a hundred miles in under seven hours, on a full loaded bike, in boiling hot weather, wasn't the plan; which was probably the reason for the heart rate being sky high. So I had a bit of a sit down for ten minutes, ate some savoury food and tried to contemplate what the rest of the day was going to bring.

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I found the next bit of the route, to be a bit of a slog, the legs were feeling the effort and rather than feeling like we were making good progress, it felt like we were going in the wrong direction. The route dipped down toward Milton Keynes, before heading up and around Northampton. I kept wondering if I was near the point where I'd turn North, but it just did come as quickly as I thought it would. It's not that the riding wasn't good, or that there wasn't interesting things to look at, it just seemed to take ages, when the rest of the route had mostly flown by.

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It was a relief to finally hit the turn and start North ducking and diving under the M1. I'd been worried that this would be the area for my first bivy, but I had so much of the day left, I figured I try and clear Northampton and try and find somewhere just to the South of Market Harborough. The riding was varied, but with what left like a strong bias to quieter roads, rather than maximising off road opportunities.

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Having said that, the bit alongside the Grand Union Canal was lovely, especially as the sun was starting to dip and the sky was taking on a lovely hue. By this point I'd made my last stop at the Nisa Local in Roade, although just like the Co-op in Harrold, there was no vegetarian savoury options left. This meant I was really glad that I'd saved one of the ones I bought in Letchworth. I had to have a quick stop at this point, as the arse cream had worn out and I could feel the pad had rubbed a wee bit., so I needed to apply some more.

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The next bit was a bit of a blur, and I can't really remember much of it. But I was soon round Northampton, which at the start of the seemed like a pipe dream. I'd been drinking like a fish up to this point, so was wondering if I should look to stop somewhere again and top up with water. As it turned out, the route follows a bridleway right through the middle of two golf courses, and I noticed what looked like a mid course toilet or rain shelter. A quick inspection turn up a tap, so I took the opportunity to brim the bladder again.

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The route towards Market Harborough used NCR6, which is a disused railway line, it was fantastic. I saw loads of wildlife, including a barn owl and plenty of bats. I was now in a pickle, as it was still before 21:00 and I'd been planning on riding till 23:00 or so. If I continued, I blast past Market Harborough and the next stop would be Rutland Water. Unsure of what resupply options would be available there on a bank holiday Friday, I decided to stop. I could then resupply in Market Harborough in the morning and make sure I could reach Bourne or Spalding, without having to rely on finding anything at or near Rutland Water.

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I found somewhere suitable, and the moment I stopped, I was suddenly aware of lots of road noise. I'd only stopped about a kilometre away from the A14. 🤦 I couldn't be arse moving, as it had taken a while to find this spot, so I just got the tent up and settled down with a jackfruit burrito and premixed G&T. Not necessarily my longest day in the saddle, but by far and away the furthest distance I've ever covered in a day, at somewhere around 277KM.

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Re: F U R T H E R East (ish)

Post by fatbikephil »

Looks Good That Boab, looking forward to the next installment
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Re: F U R T H E R East (ish)

Post by Rob S »

Hi Boab, the ninth photo down, was that the Lavendon mill crossing? If so I used it bank holiday Friday and Saturday as well. Small world and all that. If you go by Harrold Coop again and they're out of stuff, try the cafe at the country park. It's only two or three minutes away.

Sounds like a good trip :-bd
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Re: F U R T H E R East (ish)

Post by Boab »

Rob S wrote: Sat Jun 11, 2022 9:41 pm Hi Boab, the ninth photo down, was that the Lavendon mill crossing? If so I used it bank holiday Friday and Saturday as well. Small world and all that.
Can't remember if it was on here, or Strava, but I saw a photo the other day, and was like, I recognise that... 😂
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Re: F U R T H E R East (ish)

Post by Rob S »

June 4th BaM thread :wink:
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Re: F U R T H E R East (ish)

Post by Boab »

It was one of those nights where you lie there praying for sleep, even though you know you're sleeping, albeit occasionally. I think my Exped pump pillow my have sprung a leak, as it deflated during the night, which I don't think helped. So I was up and away by 06:40, for the short ride to Market Harborough and resupply. Firstly though, was the remainder of NCR6 and a couple of old train tunnels. Very atmospheric to ride through...

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I rocked up at the Sainsbury's petrol station at 07:05, to find it didn't carry much food, thankfully the main supermarket had opened as usual at 07:00. The Waitrose next door was closer though, so I just wandered in and started picking stuff up. I was promptly intercepted and informed that they weren't actually open; maybe shut your front door next time then... 🙄 Food stocks replenished, water bladder full, it was time to head off in the general direction of Rutland Water. I couldn't shake the feeling that I should've continued riding the previous evening, and some potential bivy spots appeared on the other side of Market Harborough, even before we started climbing into the hills.

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The hills on the route towards Rutland Water aren't the largest, or the hardest, but with gradients up to 15%, they're short, sharp and not limited to the tarmac. I felt really quite slow hauling myself up them, and the legs were really feeling the previous days effort. I'm not sure I'd have had the best time trying to ride up them in the dark, so any thoughts of having made a mistake stopping when I did finally evaporated.

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The going around Rultand Water was as slow as expected, with loads of people out cycling and walking. I stopped at the Rutland Cycling shop, mainly to buy some more arse cream, as I'd already had to reapply some, and I'd only been going a few hours. They had a pretty basic selection of sports nutrition products, but I picked up a few by Veloforte and carried on.

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We were soon away from the crowds again, but the route towards Bourne had a couple of sections of main road, the first being the A6121. It was head down, arse up, and just try and get it over and done with. Thankfully there was a shared use path alongside the A15 which was the next main road, as I really didn't want to ride on that. I can't believe that there isn't a nicer, more off road way to end up in Bourne, even if it would be slightly more convoluted. Probably my least favourite bit of the entire weekend, and that includes what was about to come.

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Being Jubilee weekend, I passed some proper bonkers decorations. Dummies having tea parties, snowmen dressed up like Grenadier Guards, and more plastic bunting than you can shake a stick it. This one takes the prize for most bonkers though, and was the only one I bother to stop and take a photo of.

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After a resupply stop at Bourne, where I got to see the Battle of Britain Lancaster lining up for approach, it was time to head into the fens. It was also time to find out that the wind had picked up, and switch to a North Easterly, so was essentially a howling headwind. Just as I headed into the flattest and most expose section of the entire route. Progress felt glacial.

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Another resupply in Spalding and it was off on to the first bit of fen dyke. It may look like nice and easy riding, but I'd take cycling repeatedly up a monster Welsh hill any day of the week. For starters the grass is really grippy, it's also as bumpy as you like, but as you can't see what you're riding over due to the grass, you've no idea what's coming until after its happened. This section only lasted 7KM or so, but very nearly broke me.

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It was then back onto some tarmac for a bit after we'd crossed the A17, which was nice, as we could've just continued along the dyke. We did have to rejoin it eventually though, and I was pleasantly surprised to see some double track, but it only lasted about hundred metres, before it was back to the grass. This section was about 10KM long and took about an hour, during which I had a border line mental breakdown. The sheer unrelenting nature of the riding, into the headwind, coupled with all the fatigue, was just about too much. In order to eat anything, I had to get off and push, as the bike was just bouncing all over the place. I had a word with myself though, reminding me that this was in the route, precisely to invoke these kinds of emotions, and that it would eventually end; even if it didn't feel like it.

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I've lusted after a Lauf fork for ages, but had pretty much decided against buy one; riding these dykes reminded me of why I wanted one. It would probably be cheaper to try a Redshift of Cane Creek suspension stem first, although I'm not sure how good those are when you've got a load of weight hanging off your bars. The next port of call was to be King's Lynn, where I was hoping not to stop. It just never seem to come though, and I was just riding on a horrible road, into the wind, for what felt like an eternity.

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I wasn't looking forward to getting through King's Lynn, but it was pretty much all on off road shared use paths, which was a surprise. If I'd need supplies, then I passed a Morrisons Local, SPAR and a Londis all on the route, so I would've been sorted. I thought I needed more water as the bladder felt a bit light, but upon inspection, I'd only drunk about 500ml since Spalding, so still had just over a litre left. Maybe the low point on the dyke and towards King's Lynn was just dehydration. 🤷 Progress was still slow, as all the paths were busy and there appeared to have been some sort of concert happening in one of the parks I passed along the edge off. We were soon out the other side though and off towards Sandringham.

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Sandringham was also busy, unsurprisingly as Katherine Jenkins was warbling later that evening. The route towards Hunstanton took in a portion of the A149, which was busy with people returning from a day at the beach. The narrow, badly surfaced pavement showed no signs of being shared use, but I used it anyway. I got my bearings wrong on the way into Hunstanton and ended up cycling along the promenade, which is expressly forbidden according to all the signage closer to the centre, where the original GPX tries to take you. I took the first escape route I found, that didn't involve running through someone's garden and made my way to the Tesco for a final resupply for the day. The bladdered gave up the last of it's moisture as I rode across the car park, so it was perfectly timed.

The Tesco is pretty small, and must've been hit pretty hard during the day, as there wasn't the greatest selection of anything left. Supplied procured, it was time for some chips, so I headed to Sally's and picked up a small poke. The chips were nothing special to look at, but tasted OK, the portion size was disappointingly stingy. I pushed the bike back onto the promenade, got the tent out to dry in the wind and ate the chips while watching the world go by.

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It was about this point, that I realised I had a problem. My GPS was reporting one distance ~185KM, and the Strava recording on my phone was reporting another ~207KM. I'd thought it had taken an absurdly long time to reach 160KM earlier in the day, and all my fuelling had been based on the data in front of my face, so if I'd actually ridden 23Km or so further than I thought I had, it would explain why I was struggling a bit.

The tent took no time to dry, so it was packed away and we set off again, before we seized up. I had considered heading for the pub in Holme next the Sea, as they do pizza, but I felt like a whole pizza and a pint would've been the end of me. Before we knew it, we were onto the Peddars Way, and my BaM from September 2020 came flooding back as I recognised various bits of the trail.

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I now found myself in a similar position to the previous evening. If I continued, I'd pass two potential resupply points and end up in a bit of a dead zone. I was confident that the SPAR in Castle Acre would be shut, which meant the expensive BP garage at the Swaffham services. Give how hard the day had been, I decided to stop before Castle Acre and have a bit of a longer stop. Finding a suitable site was easier said than done, as the field edges were all under waist high bracken, nettles or other unforgiving foliage. Quite a bit of it belonged to her Maj too, and I didn't want an early morning wake up from any gamies.

I eventually found a small stand of trees, and managed to pitch the tent under cover and out of sight of the trail and all the surrounding farms. Another savoury pasty consumed with a beer and it was time to turn in. The brain just wouldn't shut off though, so even after 227KM for the day, sleep seemed elusive.

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Re: F U R T H E R East (ish)

Post by robsmuddygloves »

Boab wrote: Sun Jun 12, 2022 5:04 pm


It was then back onto some tarmac for a bit after we'd crossed the A17, which was nice, as we could've just continued along the dyke. We did have to rejoin it eventually though, and I was pleasantly surprised to see some double track, but it only lasted about hundred metres, before it was back to the grass. This section was about 10KM long and took about an hour, during which I had a border line mental breakdown. The sheer unrelenting nature of the riding, into the headwind, coupled with all the fatigue, was just about too much. In order to eat anything, I had to get off and push, as the bike was just bouncing all over the place. I had a word with myself though, reminding me that this was in the route, precisely to invoke these kinds of emotions, and that it would eventually end; even if it didn't feel like it.

[/quote]

:lol: Pretty sure that stretch is right round the corner from where I live. Relentless invisible hills, with no downhill relief. Sometimes it gets so bad I find myself laughing out loud. It's either that or crying.

Cracking read so far, cheers!
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Re: F U R T H E R East (ish)

Post by Blackhound »

Excellent timing for this report as I am planning to ride this starting from Market Harborough on Saturday. Will take a few notes.
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Re: F U R T H E R East (ish)

Post by Boab »

Blackhound wrote: Mon Jun 13, 2022 8:56 pm Excellent timing for this report as I am planning to ride this starting from Market Harborough on Saturday. Will take a few notes.
Best write up my final day of riding then... 😂
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Re: F U R T H E R East (ish)

Post by Blackhound »

Yes, get on with it Boab. Just having my morning coffee and logged in to read up and what do I find? :wink: 0
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Re: F U R T H E R East (ish)

Post by Boab »

What turned out to be my final day of riding, started windy, overcast and cold. On went both arm and knee warmers, plus my waterproof cap, before the short ride into Castle Arce to stock up at the SPAR. Thankfully they were open, and had savoury vegetarian options, plus all those big flapjacks covered in icing and yoghurt and what not. I used up the last of my High5 Zero hydration tablets, which was worrying, as I knew I'd need to fill up at least once more. The weather sort of started improving at this point, at leats enough that I removed my knee warmers and waterproof cap.

The Peddar's Way isn't difficult, there's nothing particularly technical, or challenging, anywhere along it. It does feature quite a bit of road, which I can remember finding frustrating last time I rode it. Riding routes again, always seem quicker than the first time, so I was at the services on the Swaffham Road in no time, and breezed straight by.

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While I remembered most of the route, certain bits I'd forgotten about, like this bit, which I thought would make a good area to bivy near last time I was here. There's a house too close to the meadow area, and the woods were thick with bracken and other bulky undergrowth. Plus there's the small matter of the Stanford Military Training Area too, so maybe not the best place for a bivy after all.

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Near the end of the Peddar's Way, I stared to feel the previous two days riding, with the legs feeling pretty dead and the saddle / arse interface feeling pretty tender. Most of all though, it was my wrists, not my actual wrists though, more like the tendons running between my hands and my wrists. Can you give yourself Carpal Tunnel Syndrome from riding off road...? I was quite pleased to see that a bit I remembers as being a muddy rutted mess had been sanitized, probably a bit too much, but at least the wrists got a bit of a break.

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Just before the last section of the Peddar's Way, the route turns and spears off West, skirting well above Thetford. I was initially annoyed about this, as I though it should take everyone down the Icknield Way passed Euston and onto what is essentially a beach masquerading as a byway. I needn't have worried though, as the gravel track the routes follows soon ran out, and was replaced by a classic soft Breckland sand. It was hard going, mostly as it was bone dry, but getting covered in dust by a couple of passing MX'ers didn't help matters.

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Once the sand finishes, it's more road, even though there are plenty of fire roads and tracks through the forest. Once the route reaches Thetford Power Station, it takes in a load of singletrack, which I felt was wildly out of character with everything up to this point. It's not like it's heavily used singletrack either, with the odd branch down over the track, plus pine cones everywhere. Following the GPX trace was pretty impossible too, as there's been works and diversions, and my GPS was blaring at me constantly for going off route. In the end I just ignored the GPS and rode what was in front of me, which mean that I blasted right past the turn to head for St Helen's Picnic Site.

Note, don't be relying on the fact that Open Street Map says there's toilets and a tap here. I passed a couple of weekends before and the toilets were all boarded up, and the tap had been removed. Not to worry though, if you follow the actual route, you're heading for the trails around High Lodge, which has a cafe, bike shop, toilets and an outside tap.

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I decided to leave the official route behind at this point and head back out into the fens. When I'd been this way a few weekends before, the lack of tap at St Helen's picnic site had left me, with what I thought, was no option but to head for High Lodge. Given that I was so far ahead of time and had plenty of liquid left, I decided to pick up the rest of that days route. So it was off up, down and across various tracks through the forest, some of which were actual byways, some of which I wished were byways. I went passed a pig farm at one point, and had to cycle down the grass verge next to the track, as it was so sandy it was borderline impossible to cycle on. I'm not sure what it is about this area, but any track that happens to be next to a pig farm is a total nightmare.

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Once the forest was dispensed with, it was some back roads into Feltwell, passed clouds of pungent ganga smoke courtesy of a couple of yoof in a parked car. Feltwell must've has some sort of Jubilee thing going on, as loads of people were lining the streets waiting on something, I felt like a pro cyclist as I shot through with the help of the stiff wind on my back; except no-one was cheering me on. I did notice both a One Stop and a Londis, as I sped passed, so there are options for water and food if you time it right; wish I'd know that a few weeks before.

Once you turn off the main road and over a drain, you're onto what feels like some sort of private farm estate track, but it's a byway, not that there was a single sign indicating this. Similarly, when you hit Harrowden Turf, the concrete road turns into a bridleway, not that you'd know it. You feel like you're in the middle of no where, then a small collection of estate houses will appear, so there's always the potential for bumping into lorries, tractors and cars. Which is a shame, as a turf farm in the fens, shirley the ultimate BaM location for pitching your tent...

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It was time to head back towards Brandon, along the top of another fen land dyke, which also meant heading back into the wind. I don't know why I keep going back and riding along these dykes, I absolutely hate it at the time. There must be something that's drawing me back time and time again though, maybe it's riding alongside water, or the lack of other people, I don't know. Going to have to seriously consider a suspension stem, or Lauf fork, if I want to keep on riding them though.

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The main reason for looping out into the fens, was to try and get to Chalk Road, which is a byway that leads into / out of Brandon. On my September 2020 BaM ride, while trying to fight my way along a bridleway on the North bank of the Little Ouse, a lady suggested I'd have been better off on Chalk Road, its taken till now to get back and try it. I almost wish I hadn't bothered, as unlike Cowle's Drove on the other side of the B1112, it's not beautifully flat gravel. Instead it's a combination of sand, gravel, stones, flint and potholes, so progress was haphazard due to being thrown around trying to avoid most of the hazards. On the way into Brandon, the byway splits, I took the right hand turn, which was a mistake, as the surface just turned into sand and progress became glacial once more; I nearly lost it a couple of times as the front wheel bogged down and wandered off in a direction all of it's own choosing. Still preferable to riding the top of the dyke on the other side of the river though.

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After a quick stop at Brandon Tesco to get more water, it was off through the Country Park to pick up the F U R T H E R East route again, where it tracks the Icknield Way for a bit. The skies cleared at this point, and what had been an overcast, cloudy type of day, suddenly turned into an absolute scorcher. I was suddenly wishing I'd remembered to buy a travel sun cream in Tesco, the tan lines were impressive at the end of the day.

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I love cycling this way down through Deadman's Grave. It's open access land, but closed to anything but the byway in the summer months due to ground nesting birds. The 4x4 drivers haven't been sticking to the sandy double track, as a new set of parallel tyre markings are now visible in the grass. I fully appreciate that 4x4's and MX'ers need to pass in opposite directions, but this has the feel of people who are driving the entire way on the grass, as it's easier than in the sand.

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After a bit of a byway detour into and straight back out of Red Lodge, I popped out at Pheonix Cycleworks, where a new shared use pavement has been put in, meaning you don't have to take you life in your hands with all the speeding drivers trying to get onto and off the A14. I didn't stop, as I had enough food and water to make it home. Deciding that I hadn't quite had enough of a battering, I left the F U R T H E R East route behind, and decided to head out onto some of the byways and bridleways I cycle on regularly.

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Time was getting on, I was flagging and everything hurt. I was finding that I was standing up more, trying to give my arse a rest, any sort of incline was now taken in the largest cogs at the back, as I slowly winched myself up stuff I normally batter along without thinking. For some reason I choose pretty much all of the bumpiest, horse hoof chewed up bridleways, :muppet:.

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I txt'd my wife suggesting we meet at the village pub for a drink, partly as I wanted a drink, but also partly to make me stop, as I could see I was getting close to, but wouldn't broach 700KM. Without the carrot of the pub, I'd likely have looped off somewhere else to find those extra kilometers. So the final bit of byway done, the final bit of road done, I wobbled into the pub garden. The beer was average at best, but after 690KM over three days, it was exactly what I needed.

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Re: F U R T H E R East (ish)

Post by thenorthwind »

Enjoyed the whole write up, thanks for sharing. Bet that pint at the end would have tasted sublime even if it was dishwater!

Good to see someone else with the same lack of respect for round numbers (see the Tiso 500 thread) :wink:

Kudos for sticking with the correct B R A N D I N G till the end, even though their route seemed to give you some frustrations :lol: I'd have given up on the unnecessary spacing long ago!
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Re: F U R T H E R East (ish)

Post by Rob S »

That was a good read. Kudos to you for those miles, no way I could cover that amount of ground. Just goes to show, with a bit of research tacking bridleways and quiet lanes together it's possible to construct a really good route, even in our part of the world :-bd
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Re: F U R T H E R East (ish)

Post by fatbikephil »

Cheers for sharing that Boab, an enjoyable tale. Actually makes me want to revisit East Anglia again :-bd
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Re: F U R T H E R East (ish)

Post by Boab »

There maybe another post in here at some point to raise a few points, or maybe not. Either way, I may chuck some money at this East Anglian Way route and give that a bash next month, so there'll be more East Angluar content soon...
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Re: F U R T H E R East (ish)

Post by BobCatMax »

excellent read, thank you Boab. impressive ride too
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Re: F U R T H E R East (ish)

Post by Blackhound »

I have jumped in on Boab’s thread with my account as it keeps a particular route in one place if anybody else wants to do it. I hope you don’t mind BOAB.

Last Monday I set off on the F U R T H E R East route starting from Market Harborough rather than the official start in Cambridge for my own convenience. I was on the 0602 train out of Derby and turning pedals soon after 7am headed for Great Bowden. I had knowledge of the first 40 km to Rutland Water from past rides and I had ridden a few trails a couple of weeks ago and it was amazing how much the crops had grown in the two or three intervening weeks. It was lovely to see a red kite over Cranoe.

Edith Weston was 50km and I arrived about 1030 and stopped for a coffee and almond twist. From here I was mostly on foreign territory to me although I have ridden a few bits on occasion. The last couple of miles to Bourne was busy but the pavement doubled s a bike path and I hopped on there. Soon after I was on the flatlands to Spalding where I agan stopped briefly to stock up on supplies for the 65km ride to Kings lynn. On original planning I suspected this would be an easy ride as I cycled around here last summer… Reading Boab’s account I knew to expect slow progress. Reaching the 7km stretch he mentioned, I found this so difficult, not so much the bumpiness (I was running Lauf forks) but the thick grass with beautiful wild flowers. (See the first of my Instagram links).

I was dreading the second 10km section as BOAB said it took him an hour and it was clear he was at a different riding level to me. (spoiler; his first day took me two). The first bit was nice and I kept expecting the worst but it never came. I was finding the grass draggy, but at least it was short. It was into a headwind, as usual, and somehow it looked to be slightly uphill all along the river and coast.

Eventually, I arrived on the road somewhere near Gedney Drove End and started looking for water. No luck, nothing until Sutton Bridge where I refilled my bottle along with a Magnum and ginger beer.

The run into Kings Lynn was fine. The short section on the A17 was fine due to roadworks on the bridge. Traffic came by in a couple of bursts with plenty of room as traffic towards us was at a standstill. I had booked a Travelodge in Kings Lynn and after crossing the Great Ouse I went directly there and had a meal in the Hungry Horse next door and a fairly early night. 105 miles done.

I was awake about six so went to the onsite Starbucks for breakfast, packed and left about 7am. Leaving Kings Lynn on a shared path a little dog ran across my path just as I was passing it and brought me down. I got a few grazes and broke my Exposure light mount but mostly just shaken. There were two women and two dogs. I knew one was on a lead as she had headed into the park on my approach and I had slowed down anyway. A third dog made an appearance when I was on the ground and, what I thought was the second owner, was making sure I was ok. I suspect the third dog was hers and the one that ran across me belonged to the first woman and was rushing over to her. Anyway, there was no swearing on either side and so I headed up to Sheringham thinking I had better be careful of any blimmin corgi’s running loose.

There was a short section A149 Boab mentioned and this was busy. Like him, I jumped on the pavement. It was remote by pedestrian standards and safety was my main concern. I had a nice section along the beach front from Heacham and I was watching out for the ‘No Cycling’ that BOAB mentioned. As it happens it was easy enough to spot as it was written on the road and there was a sign - maybe Boab was too busy looking at his watts!

It was already warm so I stopped for a lavender ice cream at Ronaldo’s. It was really nice. From There it was south onto the Peddars Way and I arrived in Castle Acre Spar around midday and did the usual raid. It was really hot out front and I struggled to find some shade.

50 miles in 5 hours done and down and my target of 100 miles looked like it might be complete by tea time. Plans eh? I did find some slower terrain near some military base. North of Thetford the route got very sandy and I was reduced to pushing more than cycling.
I turned off the official route at Croxton to head into Thetford town. I am doing the British Cycle Quest (BCQ) which is 402 clues across GB and one of the clues was in Thetford. I made a couple more similar diversions over the next couple of days.

I struggled to find a cafe and supermarket in the centre and ended up in a ‘Spoons with my bike locked up next to me. I then headed back to the route in the Elvedon area along more sandy tracks. I had hoped the route would improve but no, more sand for a few miles. Eventually I was back on roads and headed SE of Newmarket and through various villages with horse racing connections that I recognised from my long ago interest in racing.

I was getting up to my 100 mile target but it was getting late and I was struggling to find a place to stop. Eventually where the Icknield Way joined the road I went through a gate and behind a hedge. It was 1015 and about 104 miles ridden, so 10 hours for the second 50+ miles. The ground was too hard for my pegs so I just lay out my bivvy bag. As I was about to get in I could hear a distant rumble. It turned out to be fireworks in Cambridge which I could see in the distance below the ridge.

I was up at first light as the first birds started singing but before the cock crew. My bag was a little damp from condensation in my goretex bag. I was at 0448 and reached the point where the main route heads to the finish after 12km riding. The first 12km was out and back and there was no real reason to do this short section so I just turned right and headed into Cambridge. 30km done and it was 0630 and I was looking for something that was open, probably a McDonalds. I spied someone working along with a sandwich and coffee and asked him where he got it and he pointed me to the rail station and a trailer set up outside. With my rail pass I was abe to get into the station platform to use the loos and have a wash and then enjoined the early morning sunshine with a fruit/yogurt pot, bacon sandwich, almond croissant and coffee. Expensive but oh so nice. I was surprised how busy the trailer was including students dressed up from the night before.

After breakfast I rejoined the route and diverted to another BCQ at KIngs College and ten headed out to St Ives. It was just after 8am and the ~10 mile track was busy with cyclists heading into the city. It was along the tramway and all the buses were full and standing, very impressive and must help with traffic congestion into the city.

I was expecting this to be a really quick day after reading Boab’s report of a 277km day, it was my third day but some of the off-road sections were very slow going. And the track was briefly sandy again near Sandy and Chicksands. I had stopped in Ashwell (another BCQ) before climbing over the ridge and was determined to stop earlier than yesterday. I got to Haynes early evening just on the ridge above Bedford and went into a pub for a meal. I stayed a while as I was virtually at 100 miles again and then headed North and then off route along a bridleway and found some ground that would take my pegs and erected my tarp.

I was up early again and turning pedals just after 0430 and was on the outskirts of Bedford at 5am. I could not find a 24 hour McD’s and ended up waiting until 6am in the city for them to open the doors.

Over the next 50km I swore under my breath at Boab a few times. These sections were really hard work (for me) around the fields and my average speed fell away to about 12kph. I have it on good authority (Josh Ibbet’s mum) that some of these sections will not be in the 2022 route. I came over one ridge and spotted a windmill and thought I recognised it. It was a BCQ clue I had been to a couple of years ago in Stevington. I arrived in Salcey Forest about midday with something like 60km done. This was going to be a shorter day so I had about an hour and a half Eating a lovely vegan ‘meatball’ wrap, lemon and polenta cake and an ice cream and caught up with my fluids.

It had been cooler today and rain was threatened. After lunch I was heading towards Roade and Northampton but while off route in Stoke Bruerne (BCQ) it started to rain. I thought about staying in the cafe but was unsure if it was going to stay or passover so I put on a jacket and cycled. I got peeved at a series of ‘Cyclists please close the gate’ as if we were the only people who left gates open. Heading into the Althorp estate I found the field unrideable and pushed up ruminating on the signs and how BOAB managed 100 miles of this in 7 hours and 277km before bedtime,. About 30km later I had gone around Northampton and seen nothing of it, not even a shop. I set up the Brampton valley trail that was my last 25km back to Market Harborough.

I could have easily finished the ride today but due to the rail strike there was a limited rail service. In addition, although I could have caught the last train that day I decided not to. I spent my working life on the railway (helping to make it what it is today) and could only think of a former colleague from 40 years ago who was the union rep calling me ‘scab’. I decided to stay loyal to my former colleagues.

After spotting an excellent bivvy spot in an old hut I climbed up a steep hill to a pub but it no longer existed. I went back to the trail and headed North to the next crossing and again went up the hill out of the valley finding The Stag at Maidwell. Not only were they doing food but they did rooms. I asked and B&B was available for £50 and decided to take it. After an excellent veggie saag gosht, lemon meringue pie and a pint of Timothy Tailor’s I started falling asleep at the table reading my Kindle. I went to my room and even a bunch of young farmers in the beer garden could not stop me falling asleep by 9pm.

Next morning I had breakfast at 8am and then packed my bike and headed up the trail to MHR.

My ride ended up at 639km, 3,866m of elevation in 42h40m at an average moving speed of 15kph. It was tougher than I expected, some slow stretches, but I had a fairly local adventure and achieved three century rides and 5 more BCQ clues and used my tarp in the wild. Thanks to Boab for his write-up.

A couple of my Instagram photo's.

https://www.instagram.com/p/CfOWP3aMzc4/
https://www.instagram.com/p/CfOYJP2s85F/
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Re: F U R T H E R East (ish)

Post by Boab »

Blackhound wrote: Mon Jun 27, 2022 11:55 am I was getting up to my 100 mile target but it was getting late and I was struggling to find a place to stop. Eventually where the Icknield Way joined the road I went through a gate and behind a hedge. It was 1015 and about 104 miles ridden, so 10 hours for the second 50+ miles. The ground was too hard for my pegs so I just lay out my bivvy bag. As I was about to get in I could hear a distant rumble. It turned out to be fireworks in Cambridge which I could see in the distance below the ridge.
Sorry, I should have extended a pit stop invite, as I'm literally a mile off the route, somewhere near where you stopped by the sounds of things. The fireworks would've been from a May Ball, no idea why they're called that when they're held in June, but there you go...
Blackhound wrote: Mon Jun 27, 2022 11:55 am Heading into the Althorp estate I found the field unrideable and pushed up ruminating on the signs and how BOAB managed 100 miles of this in 7 hours and 277km before bedtime.
To be fair, it was my first day, so I was nice and fresh. 🤣
Blackhound wrote: Mon Jun 27, 2022 11:55 am My ride ended up at 639km, 3,866m of elevation in 42h40m at an average moving speed of 15kph. It was tougher than I expected, some slow stretches, but I had a fairly local adventure and achieved three century rides and 5 more BCQ clues and used my tarp in the wild.
👍



I feel I should now be changing my user name to B O A B... 🤣
There are theories at the bottom of my jargon.
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Re: F U R T H E R East (ish)

Post by fatbikephil »

Good trip and tale there Blackhound. Notwithstanding the difficulties of negotiating wildflowers and sand (and headwinds) I'm mightly tempted to head down there after my hill climbing antics of late. :-bd
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Re: F U R T H E R East (ish)

Post by Blackhound »

Boab - I needed a couple of nights under the stars for my #bam but thanks for the thought.
It was a Kings College thing as I heard staff talking about it when I was by the postbox, but did not realise the fireworks were related. Still students wandering home as I passed through.

Likewise, up on the Wash I realised I was fresh and you had some miles in your legs and our different start points would reflect how you felt. I was genuinely in awe of your riding. I would say the miles from St Neots area to Salcey forest were the hardest. A section of track before Graffham Water was closed giving me some bonus miles. I don't think I was really enjoying myself for a couple of hours.

Name change :smile:
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Re: F U R T H E R East (ish)

Post by robsmuddygloves »

Thanks Boab and Blackhound, a cracking read. Part of the route is on my doorstep so I'll have to check it out. If it's not too much bother I might ask a bit about the route in the future. Cheers.
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Re: F U R T H E R East (ish)

Post by Blackhound »

Always happy to help Rob.
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Re: F U R T H E R East (ish)

Post by robsmuddygloves »

Blackhound wrote: Wed Jul 06, 2022 7:26 pm Always happy to help Rob.
Cheers! :-bd
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Re: F U R T H E R East (ish)

Post by redefined_cycles »

I just realised that it's not too far from me (relatively speaking). Please may I ask if this is a gravrl ride and would 32c gravel tirws suffice for it do you think? Always wanted to ride around there but never really had the chance to go. Legend has it there are some white tailed eagles not far from there (considering that they have a 70 mile span of territory).

Sorry if the info is in the reports which I need to read/reread...
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