'But what's this long face about, Mr. Starbuck; wilt thou not chase the white whale! art not game for Moby Dick?' Moby Dick by Herman Melville.
I like to think I enjoy cycling up hills and would seek them out rather than avoid them. I do this locally to a degree though in truth there aren't any hills local to me worthy of that title. However, as I am now homeward bound we need to get to the truth. It is true that I chose this tour for the ease of terrain as last year's tours were both hard and sometimes you need to sail in calmer waters. It is also true that last year I cycled up Mont Ventoux when I could have had a day off. So what's the deal with hills? Hills are my nemesis, but they are there to be chased down and you need a certain mentality. You need to train for them, develop skills for them and have the right gear ratios for them. You do, as Captain Ahab suggests to us, need to be game for the hills, and I am game.
Before we leave Ahab captaining his ship the Pequod let us pause at the curiously named first mate, Mr Starbuck, if only to remind ourselves that a certain coffee shop chain was named after this fictional character.
My day off was used to send the bike away for new rear brake pads and cable as the old ones were fully worn out; something I should have done on the first day off in Norwich if not before starting this tour.
Cycling out of Norwich I have a decidedly flat 70km to cover before reaching my wooden camping pod. It isn't the most interesting route at the start as it mostly tracks a straight line on main roads (or cycleways alongside main roads) so it's a good day to pick up the pace; a touring time trial if you like. That's what my head says but after 10m (yes, ten metres) my legs tell me they are still on holiday after yesterday's day off and after 10km I stop and wonder at what's wrong. 25km in and my legs have finally woken up so of course I stop for a coffee. The sun is out and it is 18 degrees by 11am and - a rarity on this trip - I am down to a t-shirt.
As its an uneventful day we can take in the broad sweep of this tour. With one notable exception where I could have been hospitalised, the interactions with cars have been very positive with cars giving way occasionally on single track roads or always acknowledging me when I have pulled over. I have slowed for horses whose rider's have nodded their thanks. Both the Cantii Way and the Rebellion Way are very well thought out and I can't recommend them enough; the National Cycle Network is superb but it can follow main roads like part of today. If I was doing these Cycling UK tours again I might look out for any muddy sections and avoid them though technology isn't yet developed to match terrain to recent precipitation. The average daily mileage exceeded my usual 35 mile rule by a small degree which has been OK. The weather has been cool and mostly dry but I have still required less excuse to switch from campsite to hotel compared to earlier tours and I have done less camp cooking. My route from Canterbury to Norwich was excellent though Norwich to London less interesting mainly as I am taking the direct route and entering Cambridgeshire the traffic volume increases and cars are less accommodating. I have enjoyed the differences in Kent and Norfolk but have missed the unfolding landscapes you get if you travel from London up to the North of England or cycle from the Channel to the Mediterranean as I did last year.
I dip into the edge of Thetford Forest where I am back onto small country lanes and I'm pleased my legs have woken and warmed up.
After 54km I take a break as I have only 10 miles to go. An agricultural hurdle as an emblem seems strange though appropriate for the area though this isn't really sheep country.
Arriving at my destination it is 2:57pm and check-in is from 3pm. My average speed (while in motion) is 18.6 km/h (11.6mph) on this flat day. For once the accommodation is well sign-posted and Komoot delivers me neatly to the doorstep.
A nice touch that my accommodation uses AstroTurf for a carpet.
A thatched 14th century Church with medieval tiles inside.
Dining after a hot day on the bike, a dark and cool corner is found for me. Remark to self on stink and then regard, the soft perfumed ladies far off from me, they all enjoy a sunny gossip supper, all protected from the cyclists smelly feet.
A small but perfect rose garden with perfect Gertrude Jeykyll roses.
The short hop to Letchworth was extended as the route ahead appeared to be on a dual carriageway with no cycle provision though luckily for an extra 10.4km I enjoyed some lanes and rolling countryside. I hadn't researched the route in enough detail and had got off lightly with my pleasant detour.
Only 25 miles today pedalled in one big slug with the second half feeling like the hardest miles of the tour so far. I suspect I was just one banana short on my fuelling though having just crossed the A1(M) the east is behind me and home just a day away.
Letchworth to London via Stevenage doesn't sound promising but as it mostly follows the National Cycling Network route 12 it makes for a flowing low traffic ride.
Then Stevenage has its cycle/pedestrian super highway to enable those not using a motor vehicle to navigate the town by looping under the main roads on well sign-posted broad paths.
The corn has ripened noticeably since I headed out 20 days ago.
People often ask me what the highlight was, what was most memorable, the best bit. I don't have an answer other than to refer you to the text and pictures of this tour. It is the long days, the short days, feeling invincible, feeling wrecked, cold and wet, hot and sweaty, the good coffee and the bad, the variety of the countryside and the towns, the tarmac and the mud, and overarching all this the simple joyful act of cycling 750 miles.
As I get close to home, the thing I've hunted these last 20 days, I can't help thinking of that most famous quote from Moby Dick.
'There she blows!-there she blows! A hump like a snow-hill! It is Moby Dick!'
It has been an adventure and I, like Ishmael, have made it home safely.
