Day 5, Thursday 20 June

Belton-in-Rutland to Outwell

Leaving Belton-in-Rutland

The end of my road, March, Cambridgeshire
(Google)

We set off in high spirits, Huw having negotiated his rocky farm track to meet us at Tom’s and my lodgings. A short stretch along the A47 and then we escaped onto a National Byway route. National Byway routes are suited to road bikes as they avoid unmetalled tracks and stretch for between three and four thousand miles around England, Wales and Scotland. In contrast the National Cycle Network, established by Sustrans, covers about twelve thousand miles of which five thousand miles are off-road.

Downhill to Eye Brook Reservoir but then steeply uphill to Stoke Dry where I had to walk. Over the top and I recorded over 30 mph down to Lyddington. I recall walking a couple of more times before we got to the bottom of the hills on the outskirts of Peterborough and the River Nene.

We cycled along the shore of a rowing lake, and came to a welcome halt at The Boathouse, a large pub-restaurant where we ate well. From here on we were on Sustrans Route 63. it was dead flat through fenland, twisting and turning along straight roads through Whittlesey and Turves, crossing mainline railway level crossings until we arrived in March where we met up with Ceri for an afternoon break.

Here I must have appeared to be struggling, riding off the back at my own somewhat slower pace. Partly out of concern for my ageing welfare and possibly a sense of frustration at not being able to get a move-on, it was suggeted that I put my bike in Ceri’s car and allow myself to be driven to The Crown Lodge Hotel in Outwell. I hope I acquiesced gracefully, albeit with some suppressed reluctance. It was a matter 12 miles to Outwell and left to my own devices I would have made it in just over an hour. I could have insisted on the others pushing on ahead and leaving me to follow on like a tortoise. That is what my cycling club are quite happy doing, knowing that having cycled round half of Europe on my own there was not a lot that would go seriously wrong, always being in telephone contact if disaster had struck.

So off Ceri and I motored, arriving at the hotel and sorting out our various rooms and a place to lock the bikes overnight. The others arrived clearly having enjoyed putting their skates on. We cleaned up and enjoyed a good evening meal, receiving a donation to Brain Tumour Research from the hotel manager.