End of season cycling

At the end of daylight savings, I've clocked up to 5378.7 miles on my own bike, and thus going over the 270 miles I needed in the quarter to match miles done that way in the whole of last year -- 5500 miles has to be the stretch goal for the year. And a last cycling holiday with CycleBreaks put in 98 miles more, which is going to make for a good total, despite the dreadful first half of the year.

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Shingle Street low tide

On the first day, cool, cloudy, but dry, I aimed for the King's Head at Orford for lunch -- which meant a lot of meandering to delay my arrival until decently after noon. Fortified by sausages and mash, and a couple of pints of Ghost Ship, I then got to Shingle Street soon after 3, and made my way to the water's edge to get my feet wet, before heading back. At ten past four, it was a bit late to stop at Sutton Hoo, but by the time I got back to the point where I could make a quick dash across the A12 to the hotel, it was still too early to want to stop for the day, so I got the OS map out (instead of the custom A4 sheets, folded back about half an inch at the ends to fit in the map cover designed for an OS map to be open in, that I'd been using to that point) for a quick off-piste run through Martlesham and the Bealings.

So, having done almost 60 miles, I felt a bit creaky when getting up from the seat in the bar to go to table, but nowhere as much as after doing 45 miles back in March from the same base. And now with winter closing in, I just have to face losing condition again.

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Sitting in the GAR seat

Friday, rain started while I was at breakfast, and I nearly called it a wash; but by ten, the rain had just about stopped, so I aimed for Framlingham for lunch, with a lesser amount of meandering (accompanied by drizzle for the last few miles) to arrive after the Lemon Tree Bistro would have opened. Sustained by lentil soup, a lamb burger, and a Black Forest sundae, I then headed back to stop at Sutton Hoo for a brief visit, before heading back through Woodbridge -- where I managed to foul up a gear-change on an uphill, taking a while to disentangle the chain from where it caught on the inside of the front chainwheel. So this time I did take the shortcut across the main road.