A Day of Trials
Boy, yesterday was a breeze compared to today.
Maps.me is in the doghouse. The navigation lady led us down a bridle way, which at first looked like fun.
But it soon dwindled to a grass path leading to a vast green pasture.
We dutifully followed the Maps.me arrow across the field (to turn back seemed impossible!), where it intersected with a busy highway. However, there was no way through the hedgerow to the highway, and we ended up lifting the bikes first over a barbed wire fence...
and then over a substantial gate.
Dave gets stars in his crown for his colossal strength.
We then found ourselves walking along the highway for 0.3 mile feeling lost, tense, and betrayed by technology. Ruby got stung by nettles and it began to rain.
We ditched Maps.me for the day and returned to our Lady of Google. She led us down miles of narrow, beautiful country roads with undulating hills, lush hedgerows and blue-green wheat fields.
We stopped at a pub for lunch and a break from the drizzle.
The kids read their books while we fretted over mapping technology and wondered what lesson we were supposed to learn from the morning’s trials.
Then, a new goal: GO Outdoors in Basingstoke. Which, it turns out, is a very large box store (think REI) in a matrix of fast highways. On the upside, we acquired the proper camping fuel. On the downside, getting to and from the store was harrowing and nobody there had any notion where in the area we could camp.
We headed out of town and back into farm country, where I began to knock on doors to ask if anyone would allow us to pitch our tents in their fields. It was 6 pm, hours past when we wanted to be finished for the day.
The trouble is, we are in a very wealthy part of England. Estates are walled off with gates, codes, and call buttons. It took some time to find a friendly soul, but thank goodness we finally did: a kind man who freely offered up his tiny postagestamp of a front yard for the night, and then disappeared into his house. We turned our attention to coping, and with hot food in our bellies, we are collapsing into bed.
Bone tired. 30 miles, 1200 feet of elevation gain, and a 90-minute detour through a pasture. — Liv
OMG!!!! You poor souls. I can picture all of this way too vividly. The lifting of those fully loaded tandems over barbed-wire fences and large gates is just ridiculous, oh my gosh. Reminds me of how we lifted sleeping Oz in his stroller over that enormous wall at the Women's March. Thank goodness for camp fuel, hot food, and that incredibly kind man who offered you his front yard. What would a trip to England be without camping in someone's yard? Hang in there and sleep deeply.
ReplyDeleteP.S. Any idea where you can get an old-fashioned paper map...?
ReplyDeleteDang! Tough day. It's good to get the worst out of the way. You might want to rethink the Michelin map thing. I remember the best part of many days on the road was the hour or so spent studying the maps, looking carefully for a route that didn't include ^^^ hills. I imagine you could find them in the village bookstore. They have phenomenal detail, and will show which villages have town campgrounds. Worth a thought.
ReplyDeleteHang in there! The sun will shine again!
Ach! Beware of bridle ways! And nettles! Thank goodness for pubs!
ReplyDeleteHi Liv, Dave, Lyle and Ruby,
ReplyDeleteIt was nice meeting you briefly and glad I managed to help. Hopefully, the weather and technology will be kinder to you during the rest of your amazing experience.
Keep pedalling and best of luck
You were our hero yesterday, Souheil! Thanks for everything!
DeleteADVENTURE!
ReplyDeleteHahaha, wow! These photos are hilarious. Love the one of them riding through the tall green grass.
ReplyDelete