Machacas in Wales: A 3 day tour across Wales

We took the opportunity of the May bank holiday weekend to do a short tour across Wales from North to South. We caught the train to Chester early Saturday morning and were heading back from Swansea to London on Monday evening. A great long weekend getaway!

On Saturday morning we missed our train from London due to Alberto forgetting his wallet and the train tickets at home! Fortunately we weren't charged for being booked on to a new train, arriving into Chester about an hour later than planned. We headed out of Chester on quiet roads and then found that the GPS track led us onto a dirt road through farmland. We followed it for a few km and when we emerged back onto tarmac we had entered Wales.

Dirt track leading to Wales

It was quite hilly (as you might expect for Wales) as we headed towards Corwen, so we were ready for a break when we arrived. We did some small grocery shopping and popped into a cafe for a second breakfast, and the weather was even nice enough to sit outside!

We had made relatively slow progress thus far and I was finding it hard to relax into the rhythm of the tour. I was concerned about all the kms we had left to do. Fortunately, it was about at this stage that we entered into Snowdonia National Park so there were more interesting things to look at. I also seemed to discover the area of Wales where the Welsh immigrants who settled Southeastern Pennyslvania came from, as we passed through the towns of Gwenydd, Bala, and Cynwyd.

Bala lake

We cycled along Bala Lake (Wales' largest) into a pretty stiff headwind. We decided to take a break from the wind by diverting to Llanuwchllyn for a quick tea stop in the pub. It made a world of difference and we emerged back into the early evening sun ready to take on most daunting climb of the trip.

Bwlch y Groes pass

The climb up to Bwlch y Groes was on a lovely quiet road and it was great to settle into a rhythm on this long climb. We knew it was a high one, but when we reached the top we learned it was actually the highest pass in North Wales at 546 meters, and was historically used by pilgrims coming from the north down to St David's in the south.

Ready for the descent

We put on an extra layer for the fast descent and followed the valley downhill until we eventually arrived at a campsite in Minllyn. It seemed easier to camp there rather than search out a wild campsite, and I fancied a shower after working hard on the climb, so we decided to pitch up there for the night. There was one other tent, a family from the Netherlands whose kids spoke to us in perfect English. We cooked up dinner of cous cous and settled in for the night by 10pm, after a day of 100km.

The following morning it was a bit misty so the tent had to be packed wet, but it did improve over the course of the day. We had an offer of a garden to camp in, but it was 125km away, so we knew it would be a long day. We enjoyed a scenic ride towards Llanidloes, and when we arrived there decided to stop for lunch. We found a pub doing a £5 Sunday carvery including as much veg as you could eat! I don't think hungry cyclists were part of their business plan. We had a great lunch and headed to Rhayader on the B4518.

£5 carvery lunch

From Rhayader, we decided to take the A470 to Builth Wells as it would save us a bit of time. It wasn't too bad with traffic, and we made good time. The last 15km or so were done on a quiet lane going roughly parallel with the A40, just outside Brecon Beacons National Park. It was rather hilly and my knee was bothering my slightly, so I was really ready to make it to Trecastle and Mark's farm.

Finally we arrived (at about 8:15pm) and met Mark who showed us the ropes of the outdoor tap and loo. While we were cooking dinner, a very inquisitive cat started hanging around. I am much more comfortable with cats than Alberto, but we were both concerned that it was getting too close to the stove and could knock over the pot and set itself or somthing (else) we cared about on fire! It would not leave us alone and it took a tag team of Alberto doing the food and me distracting the cat to get dinner done.

Here's Marks cat the next morning still sniffing around

We decided to go inside the tent to eat dinner as we had had enough of the cat's begging. This turned out to be A Bad Idea. The cat tried to get in the tent and ended up puncturing the tent fabric with it's claws. Darn! It made us wish we had brought our old tent instead of our new Hilleberg. With all the excitement it was midnight before we managed to get to bed.

We woke up on day 3 to sunny skies. As soon as we were moving around in the tent, we could see the cat's shadow sniffing around outside. I do believe I've heard a song about this cat before....



We took our time packing up, waiting for the condensation to dry on our tent and chatting with Mark. We decided against cooking up the bacon we had bought to avoid a repeat of last night (Mark did confirm the cat was his, and that it was crazy about all food!).

We only had 50km left to Swansea so we could enjoy a leisurely start on a long, gently climb through the Brecon Beacons, followed by an incredibly fun descent to intersect with the A4067. Just down the road we found the Craig-Y-Nos Country Park with its excellent farm shop cafe and inviting outdoor seating area. We had a second breakfast and also bought a jar of homemade jam. It was great to be able to enjoy it without being in any rush.

Through the Brecon Beacons

We carried on on the A4067 for a bit longer (it was starting to get busy) and then diverted up a steep hill and onto NCN Route 43 which we would end up following pretty much all the way into Swansea. It was a great off-road route, well paved, shady, and not even particularly busy with people. As we were in no rush we just enjoyed the easy ride. The kms went by without us even noticing and suddenly it was time to get off the cycle route and into downtown Swansea.

Cycle path into Swansea

We made our way to the beach, which on this unseasonably warm bank holiday Monday was packed. After a quick shopping trip we found a grassy spot overlooking the beach to set up for the next few hours while we waited for our train. We got out the camp stove and cooked up the bacon we'd intended for breakfast. It was a great end to a great mini-tour of Wales!

Swansea beach

Riding the Trans Pennine Trail

Our grand tour of the year is approaching fast. On the May bank holiday we had set out to ride most of the Trans Pennine Trail, a mostly off-roadie trail that runs from Southport (on the UK's west coast) to Hornsea (all the way on the East coast). It is pancake flat, except the bit in the middle, across the Peninnes, where you will find some inclines. Due to train connections and time constraints, we only did it from Liverpool to Hull. The route we followed, although with some detours, can be found below:



Day 1: Liverpool to Stockport


So, another super early start and a smooth journey to Liverpool. Suprisingly, the ride out of town was quite pleasant, with little traffic and wider roads than we are used to in London. Soon we were on the official route heading East towards Stockport.

About to set off from Liverpool 

Once we cleared the Liverpool suburbs, we followed the river for a while and took in the first view of the water. This ride is supposed to go from coast to coast, but this would be the only water that we will see until we got to Hull.

Weather was threatening with rain, but stayed dried in the end

The route passed through many urban areas and was not particularly nice or what we were exactly expecting. Plenty of road crossings and gates made for a very slow progress. Also, the scenery was not the nicest as we went through industrial areas and the odd power station...

A usual sight in the UK

Somewhere half way we rode on what it turned out to be the only mountain bikey section of the trail on day 1. However, due to the heavy rains of April, we encountered lots of mud, some of which made it impossible to ride through...!

At least we could push the loaded bikes!

Once we cleared these muddy sections, we were quite near the Manchester area and thus plenty of developments. Past 5 pm we headed off the main route and into our B & B, where we spent the night. It was not the most ideal ride, but it got us there without doing much on-road km.

In Stockport we ended up eating at what it was probably the worst Italian restaurant that I can recall. Something called "Amici". If you happened to be there, I would avoid it by all means, unless you want frozen pizza for 9 quid each... Fell asleep pretty quickly after a long day, and looked forward to crossing the Peninnes on the following day.

Day 2: Stockport to Doncaster


We woke up to a sunny and cold morning. Had a hearty breafast and set off minutes before 10 am. The Peaks awaited us, so we needed the extra calories for this one.

Before hitting the Peaks proper, we encountered the first and only group of cyclists doing the trail. Some sections were relatively busy with other, more leisurely cyclists, but not much people doing the whole coast to coast. These guys happened to be from near Hull, and so the route was just too convenient for them. They finished quite literally at their doorstep! We chatted to them a few times, especially on the hills, but eventually ended up loosing them towards the middle of the day on the highest point.

We're now quite familiar to the Peak District, although this was the first time that we attempted a ride with our mtbs. I was glad to be back on some good trails, with potentially steep inclines. We really tested our legs here, and even had to walk one of them as it was just too slippery and rocky at times! Lucy did very well indeed, despite this being her only third or fourth time on her mtb. She was initially scared of some of the steepest hills, but in general made excellent progress and I believe she is a good climber!

The views were just too good, especially given the good weather. Of all the times we've travelled up here, it's only ever rained at night, so can't really complain!

Peaks

Making good progress

Once we reached the highest point of the trail, nearing 500 m, we put all our warm clothes back on for what I was expecting it would be an exciting descend on trails. Unfortunately, it was all down on easy roads and well-paved trails, so we descended back to sea levels in no time. 

Admittedly, had to walk up this one...

Next, the Pyrinees...

Reaching the "summit"

Glad to be back on easy trails

The last bit out of the Peaks and into Doncaster was quite nice, along old disused railways and quiet paths and soon after 6 pm we reached our destination.

Highlights of the day included some challenging climbs in the Peaks, seeing locals without a shirt at below 10C (this included very young children!), people on flip-flops and some scenic views. We should definitely come back for some good mtb-ing in the near future!

Rail bridge into Doncaster

Day 3: Doncaster to Hull

We woke up to yet another sunny day in England. But the forecast was not so promising for the rest of the day. Heavy rain was approaching from the West, making its way East by noon and hitting us soon after that. We tried to make an early start to avoid all this, but only managed to re-join the trail at 9 am. 

After some 30 km into it, it was time for a cake stop. This time it was not the regular café on a high street, but someone else's house tucked in some random town suburbs near the trail in Braithwaith. The owner was catering for walkers and cyclists. Prices were reasonable and portions of American standards, so all good and happy faces.

Cottage full of tourer's pictures

While enjoying our cakes, an Irish cyclist turned up. We soon found out that he had been travelling from his house in Donegal to Belfast, then boat to Liverpool and he had plans to carry on to Prague. I can tell you that he made me very jealous, especially as this was our last day of the trail. Although we would have loved to chat to him a bit more, we were worried about the rain and getting late to Hull for our train back.

At some point we saw a bunch of cyclists going past us through the window, and we guessed those must be the group we saw the day before. Indeed, they were. Again, we engaged into interesting conversations and got an invite to join them (20 of them!) for lunch. They had a support vehicle! They really insisted and we could not refuse the offer. Nice people up North. Even had some fantastic conversations about statistics with one of them, an statistician himself, who gave me good advice. Who would have told me?

Again, we worried about making slow progress (they were literally heading home, in South Cave, while we were due to catch an 8 pm train from Hull!) and set off on our own. My wheel was feeling a bit weird, and it was here where I noticed my first ever broken spoke. As it usually happens, it was one from the drive side...Luckily I have 32 spokes on both my mtb wheels, so after a bit of re-adjusting of the other spokes, we carried on without much delay. I will fix it back at home. 

20 km out of Hull, with the Humber bridge in the background

It's not the Golden Gate, but still, quite impressive!

The bridge from below, over the river Humber

For the last 50 km we met up with the Irish cyclist again, and between the three of us battled some head and crosswinds on our way to Hull. Apparently this area is always windy, but still, quite nice with the farmland, rolling roads and the bridge. Most of the day we were on really quiet roads and very few trails.

At 6 pm we arrived in town, after some pretty boring stretches of roads into Hull. Being a bank holiday, everything seemed deserted and closed, so grabbed some quick snacks at the station, waved our Irish friend off and wish him well.

It had been a good trip, not particularly adventurous or challenging, but we really enjoyed the second day through the Peaks and some good company along the way. It is still quite impressive that they have managed to join some 360 km through the midlands, full of industrial towns and suburbs, with most of the way on trails or super quiet lanes. Good for families and novices, maybe not the best if you're looking for something challenging, scenic or country-sidey. For us, it was more a test of the bikes and the luggage than anything else, but we did have a great time, and most suprisingly, did not get rained on for the whole trip!

Next stop, El Camino Francés.

The stats for the trip:

Overall odometer: 315 km (split in three days)

Moving time: 21h 23 min

Stopped time while en route: 5 h 25 min

Overall average speed: 11.7 km/h

Moving average speed: 14.7 km/h

Maximum speed: 42.9 km/h

Camino de Santiago trial run

Only two weeks till we head down South, to Bordeaux, to start our Camino de Santiago. We've been doing some planning and are taking our mountain bikes to the North of England this bank holiday weekend, to ride the Trans Pennine Trail.

We'll be putting some more information nearer the time, but for now these are our bikes in Camino mode, or bikepacking as it is known nowadays. We're each carrying about 6 kg worth of stuff, including sleeping bags. After this ride we will hopefully be able to introduce some last minute changes and assess whether this set up is appropriate for off-road cycling.

13-years old (the bike, not me!) and still going strong

Lucy's mtb ready for El Camino

The puncture from hell

Any cyclist has had many a puncture at least once in their live. But what happened in our last 2-day mini-tour almost made me run out of patience. Lucy's bike wears Continental Ultra Sport tyres, which although are not awful when they're brand new (as they usually come with low-end bikes off-the-peg), they tend to wear off quickly and get punctures every 20 km after 1000 km or so. This is a short summary of events that happened when we were only 10 km away from our final destination, King's Lynn:

1. Front flat tyre
2. We removed the tyre, inspected it for foreign objects, we found nothing
3. Put a new inner tube and put tyre back on
4. Realised that the valve is too short for Lucy's rims (they're kinda fancy aero tall rims)
5. Take inner tube back out to only realise that the rim tape had moved from its natural place and the hole along the rim is not longer visible
6. Unsuccessfully tried to move the rim tape so that the holes on both the tape and the rim matched
7. Given the heat (even in the shade) and the fact that we needed to get back home at a reasonable time, I decided to cut a new whole on the rim tape using the swiss knife
8. Put a new inner tube with longer valve in. Put tyre back on.

9. Sh*t, tyre lever breaks! First time this has happened to me! Strange...maybe blame it to the hot English weather?
10. Inflate the wheel with mini-pump, doing well, up to 70 psi, boooom! Valve has blown up. This is the very first time it has happened to me at only 70 psi!
11. Only have one other inner tube that would fit those rims, the original one that actually had the flat.
12. Get glue and patches out, fix it, leave it to dry for 5 min
13. Put inner tube back in, tyre back on with only two remaining tyre levers, and inflate to 60 psi fearing that the valve would blow up again and we will run out of options!

We thought this was bad enough, but no...

14. Monday morning we realised that also the back tyre was completely flat! Luckily, it held up on the previous day and we did not even notice! Phew...

Continental Gatorskins ordered!

So, make sure your inner tubes fit your rims, and always carry patches as well as inner tubes! And get reliable tyres to make life easier!

Suffolk and Norfolk Coast Mini-Tour: Part 3: Day 2 Mundesley to King's Lynn

We got as early a start as we could on Day 2 because we knew it would be a hot one. The forecast was for at least 30 C (86 F) if not hotter. We had a proper English breakfast at the B&B and headed out onto the roads. We had been very excited to leave behind the terrible yellow-loving flying beetles of the day before, but we soon learned that there were other bugs waiting for us! These little things stuck to our skin, but died quickly (due to sweat or sunscreen) and then just remained there all day. We would wipe them off periodically, but pick up more the next time we would ride at speed.

Yep, all those little black things are bugs!

We took quiet lanes as much as possible, but after Runton we briefly had to go on the A149. It is always scary to go on main roads, but fortunately it was downhill, and we both managed to hit about 46kph (28mph), so we kept up with traffic somewhat. We turned onto quiet roads after that which gave me an opportunity to practice taking pictures of Alberto in motion. Something tells me he will remain primary photographer of our rides...

The day was starting to heat up, and we got a taste for what would lie ahead when we turned into Sheringham to check out the beach...hundreds of Brits arriving at the seaside on a hot summers day. After Sheringham we turned inland for a while, which was probably a good thing given the traffic near the coast. We cycled to Baconsthorpe Castle, a National Trust site that Alberto had read about, and had a snack as we briefly explored the ruins of this manor house from the 1400s.

Baconsthorpe Castle

We continued inland for a while longer, riding through quiet country lanes, many of which had pretty good shade so we did not necessarily notice how hot it was starting to get! The kilometers passed pretty quickly, although I started to get hungry when we were about 10km out of Wells-next-the-Sea, where we planned to stop for some food. When we finally arrived at Wells-next-the-Sea, our final coastal town, it was PACKED. We didn't even make it to actually see the ocean, which was a few kilometers away from the town. Alberto had some fresh cockles and we bought sandwhiches at a cafe, but we didn't stick around long due to all the crowds and the fact that the heat was intensifying.

Eating cockles

We turned inland for the final time, and it was brutally hot. There was very little shade and I just couldn't seem to drink enough water to stay hydrated. At the first small bit of shade we found, I stopped to take off my leg warmers which I had been wearing all day to avoid having to worry about sunscreen on my legs. This only helped with the heat marginally. We had to keep moving because it was too hot to stay in one place!

We eventually turned on to roads lined by well kept fields with trees in the distance. What a nice change of scenery! A few minutes later we realised we had just entered the Sandringham estate, owned by the Queen! We knew we were very close to King's Lynn so we decided to stop and rest in the shade by the entrance to Sandringham House, near the gift shop. We rested in the shade, had a snack and plenty of water, and left with enough time to make the next train out of King's Lynn.... or so we thought!

About 10 minutes after of Sandringham I got the puncture from hell. This was such an awful puncture that we are devoting another whole post to it very soon! Luckily, we were in the shade, but suffice to stay we spent the better part of 45 minutes trying to sort it out. When we finally got it fixed, we hurried on to King's Lynn to try to catch the *next* train (half an hour from the one we had been aiming for). We made it with about 8 minutes to spare, only to miss the train due to some confusing signs on the platforms!! Another 30 minutes later, we finally got on the train. If there was any reluctance to head back to London after a weekend of mini-touring, the last few hours certainly helped us see that we were ready to get back to normal life for a while!

Shortly before the puncture from hell!

Suffolk and Norfolk Coast Mini-tour: Part 2 - Day 1 Ipswich to Mundesley

Stats: total time 10h42m; moving time 8h10m; moving average 19.3 km/h; max speed 47.6 km/h; total odometer 157+8 km(from home)

We set off on very wet roads in Ipswich. Ricardo's bike was making some funny noises which we found out came from the rear tyire scratching on his brand new mudguards! These plastic devices are good for wet days, but they seem to give lots of headaches.

Ricardo, and the girls heading to Orford

Lucy & Erin pedalling through Suffolk

Leaving Ipswich via residential roads we were soon in Woodbridge where we were able to take in some nice river sights, boats, and of course, plenty of traffic. We continued on the B1084, a beautiful road through some nice woods that leads to Orford. This little cute town had a riverfront with a nice cafe and some fishermen wandering about. The country lanes around the area were beautiful, merging the English grey skies with the yellow wheat.

Fields & grey skies

We then pushed on through a few more forests, some of which were badly infested with small beetles that were particularly attracted to Erin. Shortly afterwards he headed back east and into the Dunwich area, home to the Dunwich Dynamo which we are aiming to complete in a couple of weeks from now. The place itself is amazing, it really feels remote for being in the UK and within 2h reach from London. The beach is rocky but really long, all surrounded by wetlands. It even has a cafe (not quite a chiringuito espanyol) that serves traditional fry-ups. Only downside was that, as newbies we were, all those funny beetles were waiting for us to land on our brightly colored gear. It got so bad that Erin had to get rid of her yellow jacket to only found it covered by them 2 min later! The regulars laughed at us as apparently is very common: you just have to wear dark clothes, which in hot weather can be quite painful...tough decision!

Erin's yellow jacket in Dunwich

Uninvited passengers

We rushed out of Dunwich to escape the bugs and keep heading north, more inland. As we were leaving Norwich a few km on our left, we entered into Beccles. This riverside town would not have been special if it was not because Ricardo had heard of a good pub along the river. Off we went to find that 1) no lunch was served after 2:30 (ehhhm, right, are you not meant to actually start lunch at 2:30?) and 2) wedding celebrations were in place. Our lycras did not quite match the etiquette! At this point, Erin and Ricardo decided to not overwork themselves and take a train up to Cromor, but unfortunately the connections were so bad that they would only get there by 9:30 in the dark, with no lights or maps, definitely not a smart thing to do...so they had to leave us and returned to London.

Lucy and I pedalled then non-stop for about 3 hours through truly beautiful country lanes. Well, it was meant to be non-stop until we almost literally cycled into water! We were not expecting any ferry crossings as I plotted the route avoiding all of them. But it seemed that I had forgotten the Reedham ferry, the shortest ferry crossing in the whole of the UK! A nice gentleman in a car rang the ferry, which came to the other side of the river in a few minutes. For 1 quid we got the quickest ferry ever!

About to cycle into water!

Shortest ferry crossing in the UK

The ride into Mundesley was one of the finest we've done in the UK, with nice vistas and mostly flat. Once in Mundesley, we had a quick look at the beach, which definetely lived up to our expectations! First sandy beach in the UK! And it was hot, yet not very sunny. We headed to the B&B just on the outskirts of the little town, checked in and left for some food. Fish & Chips plus celebratory local ale were in order. A quick visit to the beach to wet our feet followed, as did some laughs from stupid local kids when we walked back: it seems that whenever we get out of London the locals laughed about our not-so-cool cycling outfits.

Mundesley, our destination beach after 160 km

Water was kinda cool

Day 2 awaited for us with sunny skies and forecasted temperatures to hit more than 30 celsius!

Suffolk and Norfolk Coast Mini-Tour: Part 1 - The Prep

This past weekend Alberto and I took a mini-tour of the Suffolk and Norfolk coasts. Alberto had organised the trip as a birthday present for me and had invited our good friends Erin and Ricardo along as well.

We've already covered the route planning aspect of the prepwork. On Friday evening as we both got home from work, all that was left was figuring out what to pack and how to fit it in our limited-capacity bags.

Since it was such a short trip it wasn't too hard to pack effectively. We decided that Alberto would take his Carradice and we'd fit my bike with the Ortlieb Saddlebag that Alberto normally takes on day rides. In addition to the cycling clothes we would wear on Saturday morning, each of us brought a change of clothes to wear in the evening, plus an extra pair of socks and underwear, and packable rain jackets just in case. We also had to bring shoes (the lightest we own!) since it's not comfortable to walk in our cycling shoes. Apart from that, we had to make space for the bike tools and spare inner tubes, and a small bag of toiletries. I wanted to bring my chamois cream, but the container was too bulky and heavy, so I had the pleasure of scooping it in to a ziploc bag to bring along!

Good view of the Carradice bag

Oh, and Alberto packed his swim trunks because he was being very optimistic about the weather and about having enough time to go for a swim!

The other main element of our prep work was to make the wraps. We stuck with our traditional breakdown of peanut butter, banana, and raisins for me, and yummy veggies for alberto (sweet potato dip, red pepper, and rocket). We tried to pack as many cereal bars and bananas as we could as we knew it would be a long two days in the saddle.

The final bit of prep work was a bit of a fail. I set the alarm for the wrong time! We were supposed to wake up at 5:50 in order to get to our 7:30am train, but I think my brain would not compute that time so I accidentally set it for 6:50. Luckily, Alberto had set his alarm for 6-something so we were able to get out of the door with relatively good time.

We had to get to Liverpool Street Station which is about 5 miles from our house. But shortly after we left home, Alberto realised he had forgotten to bring our pump. He decided to turn back while I kept going, figuring he would catch back up with me as I tend to ride more slowly. I kept riding towards the station but he never caught up with me. I was a little worried that he might not make it in time, as I got to the station with only 10 minutes to spare. But when I walked towards the platform, there he was with our friends Erin and Ricardo! He had somehow beaten me to the station despite me having a head start, and he also somehow managed to put on a cloak of invisibility as he passed me, since he claims he took the same route as I did! One of life's mysteries.

Anyway, we made it just in time to catch the 7:30am train to Ipswich where we would begin our journey....

The train we were on was a little outdated... to open the door to get off the train you had to open the window and use the outside handle!

Stay tuned for Part 2 of the Suffolk and Norfolk Coast Mini-Tour, which describes Day 1 of our ride!

We're off!

We're off to enjoy the Norfolk and Suffolk coast ride that Alberto has planned in celebration of my birthday! We'll be taking an early morning train tomorrow with a few friends and will hopefully arrive back in one piece Sunday evening, roughly 17o miles later!

Expect a full report soon!

Cycling the Suffolk and Norfolk coast

We have always wanted to cycle the Suffolk and Norfolk coast of England, but never found the right time to do it. Although the route has no difficulty gradients-wise, I have planned two relatively long days on the saddle that will at least build up some strength ...in our butts.

We will be taking the train to Ipswich, East Suffolk, from Liverpool St. Buying the tickets in advance we have got four one ways for about £20, including bicycle reservation. Apparently they are a bit funny with bikes on the East Anglia trains, although I doubt they would bother on a Saturday 7 am train!

The route out of Ipswich visits some nice beaches along the Suffolk coast, which I am very much hopping to swim if weather is not too bad. I will be carrying my Carradice with swimsuit in it, just in case. I have also put in Dunwich just to see the beach we will be cycling to on the 16th of July with the Dunwich Dynamo machacas. Apparently this tiny town was once upon a time a major port in the East Anglian coast. The sea coastal erosion has eaten the old bustling city, but there is some ongoing projects that will maybe reveal the lost city.

The route on day 1 will cover 100 milles from Ipswich to the coast village of Mundesley where we found a bike-friendly B&B that gets great reviews. The climb is about 600 m which is as flat as it can get on a bike and that is why Lucy was always attracted to this route!

The route on day 2 continues on from Mundesley heading west along the north coast into King's Lynn, where we will catch the train back to London. First Capital Connect is the only company that links this town with the capital, and so the discounted tickets are still fairly pricey to buy in advance. It is a flat 70 mile route with a slight climb 2/3 of the way over farmlands that rise over 80 m, giving a decent view of the seaside apparently. It totals about 600 m of incline, so overall it seems a bit "steeper" than day 1. We do not expect the last bit to be very nice, but maybe we will be surprised?