Cycling day 58: Chelmsford to Greenwich

Well the weather was cooler today, but it was also quite breezy at times. Nevertheless the cycling was quite relaxed, especially once I’d made some progress down the Lee Valley to the point that I’ve cycled several times before.

Cycling through Harlow was easy, but leaving was more difficult. Beside the A1169 there’s a cycle path that goes on for quite a while marked with with National Cycle Route 1 numbering, but following that effectively doubles back on the cycle route I took through the town. The path appears to abruptly end at the junction with the A414. I’m tempted to say that the signing is a mistake, I think that perhaps only a small part of it was supposed to be signed with NCR1 numbering, but that the constructor signed the whole of it. In the end I just cut across towards the Lee Valley Park where I knew I should pick up NCR1 again eventually. I found it again at Dobb’s Weir.

Olympic StadiumThe last time I cycled part of the Lee Valley was just past Easter, when I cycle-camped from Fishguard to Canterbury as a warm-up to this trip. Since then quite a bit of progress appears to have been made at the Olympic Park site. The stadium appears to be taking shape and it’s great that it looks like it’ll be so easily accessible from NCR1.

I got down to the northern side of the Thames and took a short break, and it’s lucky that I did. I’ve crossed the Thames four times, including today, via the Greenwich Foot Tunnel this year and all four times one of the lifts has been out of action. So, once again, I needed to carry my bike, loaded with four panniers, a rack bag, and a handlebar bag up the flight of stairs. Luckily I’ve got a day to relax now before the final journey home to Canterbury on Saturday. It’ll be great to meet up with several friends for the cycle back down on the last day.

One Comment

Add a Comment