Cycling day 57: Colchester to Chelmsford

The weather’s pretty warm at the moment, so I’m having to buy lots of drinks. Hopefully it gets a little cooler over the next few days, thus making the cycling more enjoyable.

Today’s leg was pretty short, but I managed to stretch it out to all day by adding in some detours and just going at a leisurely pace. First of all I surveyed the link from where I left NCR13 yesterday to NCR1 in Colchester. Then, on the way out of Colchester, I felt the urge to map a brand-new cycle path through a housing estate, because that’s a level of detail where OpenStreetMap excels. I also mapped some other cycle paths on my way out of Colchester, then finally left for the countryside. Many miles later NCR16 connects with NCR1. I’d noticed this when browsing OpenCycleMap the other night, but by following NCR16 I think I may have extended our NCR16 slightly further than at present. There should be some more too, but I stopped at the point where two signs seemed to conflict with one another.

Whilst trying to find any traces of NCR1 in Maldon I came across an inconsiderately parked car across the start of a segregated path. Unfortunately this is far from a unique experience.

In Chelmsford this evening I discovered a turning signposted as NCR13 which I only followed for a few metres, simply because I thought it was already mapped. Looking at OpenCycleMap just now though I can’t see it, so I may go back tomorrow to follow a little more of it before my journey along NCR1 into London.