I wasn’t looking forward to my final day. The forecast was for showers, followed by heavy rain, followed by showers.
Well, the forecast was wrong. It was heavy rain all day. So today was just a long, long day at the office, into unremitting grey drizzle, with lorries booming past on the A20 in a chaos of spray, and with no visible scenery.
Above, for example, is the stunning view of the sea and the cliffs at Folkestone. Yes, exactly.
Still, it was fun watching the bike computer tick over the miles. Somewhere in Maidstone the tripometer – set to zero at Cape Wrath – reached its limit of 999.99 miles. It would go no further, and just flashed in protest, so I had to reset it to 0 again.
Anyway, I reached Dover about 7pm.
After a brief photo session on the seafront, I celebrated with a beer at Wetherspoons, and dripped steadily over the floor of the 20.45 train back to Victoria.
It’s been great spending time with biking chums over the last few days – big thanks and respect to Mark, Si and Sue, John, and Nigel, for their enthusiasm, good company, routefinding, bonkers suggestions and boundless good humour – and quite a few ideas for further trips have come up.
Who’s for Barmouth to Yarmouth and Poole to Goole later in the summer…?
Miles today: 85
Miles since Cape Wrath: 1050
Punctures: 5
Friends who joined at various points: 5
Nights camping: 9
Muffins eaten: 18
Awesome views: 473
Best road: Golden Road, Harris, Hebrides
Worst road: A20 into Dover
Max speed: 36.1mph, down Jeffrey Hill, Lancs
Best dinner: Spaghetti and chicken pasta thing, Whitwell, Rutland Water
Worst beer: Most of Scotland
Best beer: Wantsum Dynamo, Wetherspoons, Dover
Total cost inc all transport, accomm, food: £560
Value: Priceless