We started this morning, Sunday, in West Norfolk and rode through Suffolk, Cambridgeshire, Essex and back into Cambridgeshire. Well, OK, four counties if you must. GG, our faithful Garmin Gadget, had gone into such a sulk yesterday that it turned itself off. It (he, she?) seems frightfully touchy and we had only overruled her a few times. Or maybe it had something to do with not having charged her up sufficiently. Who knows. Anyway our route, when uploaded onto the computer, was sadly short of the last few miles. Good news if you are sponsoring us by the mile.
We visited our usual quota of Hastoe housing schemes. For those who like lists: Saturday we started from Fakenham and travelled via Sedgeford and West Newton on the Sandringham Estate to stay at juts short of Foulden in West Norfolk. We found a chap moving a mattress out of one Hastoe property. He was helping his son move out so he could move in instead. They were doing a swap. At one site we found a delighted tenant who had moved in only a couple of months before and declared that he hoped and expected to die there. He was not old. I must say those houses had a delectable view over the countryside. Not untypical among Hastoe properties.
Harry is still nursing her swollen arm and knee and her shoulder isn't quite what it was but all these things seem on the whole to be getting better by degrees. She has possibly chipped her elbow but doesn't take kindly to universal advice to get it checked out. I must say the thought of a visit to casualty during a bank holiday weekend seems singularly unattractive so I play along. Not that it would make any difference if I didn't. My heart is behaving itself again.
Today we started at nine and called first at Foulden, then Lakenheath, Burwell, Bottisham and ended up here with friends at Ickleton, just south of Cambridge. GG - or Gigi (I have decided she must be female) - purred and took us along beautiful routes, straight and flat, through Thetford Forest and across lovely countryside. I believe she was feeling remorse after her tantrum yesterday. But perhaps she just knew that we were watching her every move and ready to overrule if needed. For the last leg of the journey we just trusted her and then it was that she had a brainstorm and deposited us in Saffron Walden, five miles too far south. the one consolation was tat she made us climb a long and unnecessary hill but I managed to top 30 mph on the way down the other side. Also it meant that Harry spotted a sign which read "HOME GROWEN TOMATOES" which she much enjoyed.
Tomorrow, Monday, we head for Emberton, near Milton Keynes. We have a plan to keep Gigi in check. The game is on.
I think you need to ditch GiGi and get a paper map, glad to read things are going ok apart from that, nice to see you are getting to talk to some residents in Hastoe housing, hope you haven't got wet yet as we have had rain here, well done good luck on the next leg tomorrow, With love and Prayers x x
ReplyDeleteI think you should give the stats-lovers a bit more help by linking to the Gigi page for each route.
ReplyDeleteAnyone who wants to catch up can use this link
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/363990134
to see the first leg. Click Previous to see the Amex Stadium warm-up (which clocks both the total elapsed time and the time used for calculating average speeds, and also shows the highest top speed), and keep clicking next for the subsequent legs. The stats are fantastic, even if they do insist on Imperial units (I'd like to put in a bit for centigrade and metres for temperature and altitude).
My mistake: there's a "View in Metric" link at the top right of the Gigi stats page.
ReplyDeleteF points out that even the Tour de France includes two whole rest days, and they shouldn’t push it beyond reasonable bounds! Having said that, the London day was probably the worst, and hope they avoid London on the way back.
ReplyDeleteWe did feel a bit dubious when they pushed off down the drive on Tuesday morning. Gallant, but...
We’re off for a week.
Lots of love,
Nicjk and felicity
Check me out. Nicko asked me (yes, me) to put this on the blog for him. I must be blog-savvier than someone, siblings. Mock no more.
M&D, loving the updates, and glad to hear that pumpkin / cucumber / aubergine is morphing. Maybe one day it'll be a neat little cherry tomato? (Hopefully not a bunch of bananas at end of mum's arm).
I've been dropping things into conversation lately like 'My mum & Dad.... 73 and 70 you know... aubergine... pumpkin... accidentally did 64 miles....' etc. Think I'll add in 'probably chipped...' now. You are obv legends, but Mil & I did feel a bit like roles had reversed when we took the accidental phone call from Dad's pocket, and overheard ambulance chat. Then our call to you saying things like 'We can come and collect you. No-one will mind, you know'. A foretaste of having teenagers? (esp when the answer comes back 'I WILL').
Have fun out there, loads of love xxxx annie
Can't resist another go at this, as I'm so excited that I'm now a blogger. Even got my own profile with rubbish photo. Feel I've come of age. (Though obv not a proper blogger until I post comments between midnight and morning). M&D, as well as the obvious conversation mileage, this is a notable fringe benefit of your bike ride. Thanks. xxx annie
ReplyDeleteMadeleine has asked me to send there congrats on what you have done so far as she is not able to work out how to be a blogger but she is working at it and hope you don't have to much pain in your knee and arm Harrie.
ReplyDeleteBest Wishes Madeleine and John x