Cycling day 4: East Ashling to Bransgore

Today’s ride took me through Portsmouth and Southampton before heading through the New Forest to the village of Bransgore, which is relatively near to Christchurch. I lost a bit of time in Portsmouth and Southampton because of the usual delay when navigating through urban areas. I made up some of the time by resorting to a slightly more major road in Portsmouth instead of a route through a housing estate that I’d originally planned. I also cut out a detour into Hythe near Southampton, saving me probably a couple of miles.

Shortly after I reached the New Forest National Park it started to spit with rain, but then that eased off again. I took lots of photos of the scenery there; it’s a lovely place. A fair amount of my journey through the New Forest was on the various cycling tracks available. However I don’t think I actually covered any new ground on top of the fantastic New Forest coverage that OpenStreetMap already has. Having the OSM data on my GPS certainly made it easier to stick to my planned route.

During my urban travels today I briefly met a gentlemen who quipped that I should use a car instead. When I explained that that wouldn’t work for a charity ride he very generously offered £20 of sponsorship.

Gary and Suzy, the friendly couple who own the B&B I’m staying at tonight, suggested that they’ll forego the remaining half beyond the deposit of my overnight stay, donating it as sponsorship for the ride instead.