Day 10 – In To London

I was on my own for the final leg today – the second half of the journey from King’s Lynn to London, originally planned as a single day until headwinds and tired legs forced the split.

The start was a few miles south of Cambridge, I followed National Cycle Route 11 through various pretty Essex and Hertfordshire villages, before taking a more straight route south of Clavering, to Roydon.

The wind was still there, but it was more like a crosswind, and the rolling hills and hedgerows kept it at bay. I avoided one intense looking shower and generally stayed in the sunshine. Being on my own, with tired legs and only a short distance to do, I started very late and took it very slowly – every hill was a crawl and breaks were frequent. I suspect that without Dan and Chris’s pacing on the previous days, I would have regularly ended in the dark.

After passing Roydon (and going down Kitten Lane, which had a kitten in the road!) I joined NCR 1 for one final time – an excellent new off-road route has been laid here, it took me right down the Lea Valley, through fields ripe with wheat (and thunderflies!), up some suprising hairpins, past a novel carp feeding station, recreational cyclists and evening blackberry pickers, all the way to Victoria Park, the finish and home.

87.5km in 4h30 cycling time, 5h45 altogether, the average speed of 19.3kph being my slowest of any of the days. With the quads, knees and palms all hurting quite a bit now, I’m glad it’s all over.