All the dry weather has made the going easy on the Ridgeway and made it to a pub just before Goring for dinner. Another 20 miles post dinner saw us past Reading.
Mike knew a cracking bivi spot (from the last time he rode it) which came at just the right time. The shelters had only been up minutes when the thunder and lightening started. At first it was just in the distance but it was quite some storm, the lightening flashes were so bright it hurt your eyes even with them closed as the whole area was lit up brighter than daylight. A sudden increase in wind, then a lull, and then the heavens opened! The Deschutes took it in it's stride but I was concerned that if the lightening got any closer we might need to move. We were on the edge of a woods but sort of in the open in the field. Luckily the lightening never made it directly overhead. The rain didn't last long and the morning dawned bright and sunny.
As always seems to be the case though we were in the shade
20 miles of quiet back lanes, canal towpath and the odd bridleway saw us at what might well be the worlds largest garden centre for breakfast but not before stopping to admire a railway bridge. We were stopped a while but obliviously a train only went under just after we had rode away.
We past through the first of the military ranges on the route. The affects of the recent fires clearly visible.
Next is the climb up to the top of the Devils Punchbowl at Hindhead. From the FB page I was expecting this to be an epic battle of man v's gravity but the top arrived in no time at all, in fact I felt somewhat short-changed at the size of it after all the hype. Stopped at the NT cafe for coffee and cake and to air some of the kit, well before it started raining.
At QECP we diverted off route to drop down into Clanfield for dinner. Met a group of lads riding the route who were staying at the pub. 3 of them were on E-bikes so needed to charge their batteries. One was in his mid 60's and one had one leg, the E-bike has opened up routes like this to all so good to see. They had the added bonus that they could have as many pints as they liked as their riding was done for the day. We had to climb back up to the SDW and look for a bivi spot. We'd just made it up to the top of the downs before Old Winchester Hill when the rain started. Our requirements for a bivi spot were reduced in proportion to the intensity of the rain and so dived into some trees to the first nearly flat spot. Unfortunately the wind had also picked up and the rain intensity had increased to 11 so I was soaked by the time I got under cover. Still managed a decent nights sleep.
I had found a slight hollow which meant the ground was nearly flat despite being on a slope. Luckily it didn't fill with water as I didn't think of that until in my bag. Up at first thing and back into the wet kit, a coffee and porridge and we were off. Not long after getting going, 9 miles, we came across a great little campsite with a cafe. Suitably refreshed it was a further 10 miles into Winchester for breakfast proper. Stopped at Kings Sombre for snacks from the shop and asked a passer by if there was a bench nearby. They pointed us down the road and there was a picnic table on the verge. It turns out this was put here by the house adjacent for riders
As well as stopping to eat we got all our damp kit out in the sun and it was all dry by the time we left. The owners of the bench came out for a chat and pointed us towards their outside tap for water refills. We now had quite a way to go until our intended dinner stop at Market Lavington.Unfortunately 5 or so miles before we made it there our luck with the weather ran out and it started raining, the sort of rain where it's hard to see where you're going. Riding up Lavington Hill on the edge of the range the water was running back down the hill an inch or more deep. On the road down to the village the runoff from the chalk made it look like we riding down a river of milk. The pub didn't seem to mind when 2 soaking bikepackers arrived and seated us on the some benches in an area of conveniently tiled floor so the drips would be easy to deal with.
The area is somewhat lacking in bivi spots as it's mainly military ranges and the red flags were out but we had spotted a suitable area on the way in which although still military wasn't actually a range. It was raining on and off so decided we'd just take out chances and rode back along the road. We were awakened at 06:30 by someone advising us there was no camping due to military by-laws and the MPs would move us on. As we were moving on anyway this wasn't much of a threat and even if they'd come round in the night the worst case would have been a night in a nice warm block-house and no doubt a mug of tea.
Dropped back down to the road to the garage hoping for breakfast but the coffee machine was broken. A local recommended the burger van up the road. It's 'just' past the tractor dealers. We had past the tractors and been peddling for some time, Mike was beginning to loose hope as he'd been told it 'almost opposite' the tractors. The issue here is that our travel guides would be in cars and at 60 mph (the slowest they seem to drive in this road) they cover a mile every minute so it does seem like its just past the tractors. The same distance takes us 5 or 6 minutes up a slight hill into the wind. The lay-by did arrive and it was well worth it. A very good cup of coffee and a bacon and egg bap.
To get off the road we cut back onto the route. It meant re-riding a section we rode the day before but it was no great hardship. When we went past the bivi spot the army were setting up in the car park nearby for what looked like a major event, which explains the mobile toilet block and parking signs etc. Good job we got going early. Our progress over the last few days left only 36 miles back to the vans, stopping for coffee at Avebury and lunch back at Calne were we'd parked. We had diverted off onto the various alternative sections to maximise the off road and with that and starting off-route we ended up riding 260 miles, so over 50 more than the official route. As he'd managed to get a bit damp, and the smell of damp riding shoes in the back of the van was pretty bad, I let Ralph ride up front with me on the trip home as a treat
On the drive back there were some very heavy storms, the sort that require the wipers on high speed to see. I saw another couple of riders we'd chatted to the day before slogging it out in full waterproofs but they were riding towards the good weather so hopefully didn't have to suffer it for too long.
Sean and Ralph BAMS 9/9 for this year and I think 29 in a row?
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