Part 4 - Homeward Bound

'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 7:30am start after a breakfast comprising two bananas and two cups of coffee. My larder is empty and gas canister nearly depleted so I don't need any convincing to stop at a roadside café for tea and a sausage and bacon bap. Passing through Newmarket doesn't take long and though I knew of its racing tradition I didn't appreciate the extent. First a row of stud farms though all belonging to the same racing superpower, then the common where five groups of twelve horses are being exercised, then in town the horse infrastructure allows the movement (riding) of race horses just off the High Street. Today is only three hours of pedalling but I plan a stop at Anglesey Abbey which is worth it as rather than a pile of old stones there is the 1920s interior of the 'stately home' style residence it became including the kitchen areas.

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. 

Introduction and Index

Part 3 - The Rebellion Way day five

'God help thee, old man, thy thoughts have created a creature in thee; and he whose intense thinking thus makes him a Prometheus; a vulture feeds upon that heart forever; the vulture the very creature he creates.' Moby Dick by Herman Melville. 

Prometheus was punished by Zeus by being chained to a rock where every night a vulture (or eagle) fed upon his liver (or heart) but being a Titan and therefore immortal Prometheus regenerated so he suffered the same fate daily. Prometheus had been warned but he disobeyed so Zeus had to punish him. I have enjoyed The Rebellion Way but this last day feels like it might become a punishment brought on by my well intentioned plans, but let us see how the day develops. 

Checking in one day it was busy and there were two receptionists. While I checked in a woman came up to the other receptionist and politely asked to be moved due to water underfoot. The equally polite receptionist squinted out of the window to get a look at the sky, took a calming breath and said "this is a campsite and it will be wet when it rains."

I had managed to pitch the tent and cook before a squall blew in last night and this morning I was able to brew coffee and pack before the rain; two hours of rain that followed me to Aylsham. With rain gear on the ride wasn't a punishment and given the biblical period of wet weather forecast before I left home I have got off lightly. Like so much of England Norfolk is punctuated by Halls.

I wondered if this village had chosen baby shark as its emblem but maybe they are seahorses. You probably know that "Baby Shark" was the very first video to reach 10,000,000,000 views on YouTube. Given the global population is of the order 8,000,000,000 once wasn't enough for some people. If you haven't heard "Baby Shark" look it up then like Prometheus you can be punished daily with this earworm.

In Aylsham I discover Humphrey Repton's burial place.

I had researched the next section and on the map it looked like a perfect railway embankment ride. It was a perfect embankment but sadly I had 8 miles of variable terrain with the bike slipping and squirming underneath me on the slimy sludgy ground on some sections.

Should have let the train take the strain as I was following the tracks.

Entering Wroxham I suddenly realise I have hit the Norfolk Broads and a tourist hotspot. Reviewing the remaining 30km on the Rebellion Way I see the route delves into the Broads before finally returning to Norwich. 

My looping route takes me through picture postcard villages including this one with a traditional well. This one had a wheel to draw water whereas the one in Aylsham had the hand pump.

My final 10 miles weren't that spectacular as I punctured, energy left me, and after the puncture repair the bike developed an annoying rubbing sound which I failed to locate though probably due to a badly seated tyre. Add in the rear brake problem - worn pad? - I've had for a few days and I knew what I'd be doing on my day off. Oh and my poor puncture repair left me with a slow puncture. 

'God help thee, old man, thy thoughts have created a creature in thee; and he whose intense thinking thus makes him a Prometheus'

I don't know about Prometheus but the old man bit feels closer than it once did as pulling into Norwich at the end of the Rebellion Way I feel a deep fatigue for which rest is the only cure. But that is me, the Rebellion Way is spectacular. 

Introduction and Index

Part 3 - The Rebellion Way day four

'All my means are sane, my motive and my object mad.' Moby Dick by Herman Melville. 

My means, comprising planning, bicycle, kit, campsites and accommodations are all quite reasonable and sane but after cycling 101km (63 miles) yesterday I do wonder at the madness of it all. What convinces me that my motives are mad is that I truly believe that this is all good fun. My re-planning and stay in Walsingham was definitely sane as Walsingham is home to the national shrine of Our Lady Of Walsingham. I was staying at a Catholic hostel but the local shrine was Anglian and it took time for the veil of confusion to lift. Walsingham is home to two shrines, one for each of the two main denominations. As shrines they are complexes comprising chapel, café, gardens and plenty of space to accommodate the pilgrims and coaches. Luckily I visited early and missed the coaches that I see rolling in as I leave.

Walsingham. 

Remains of the Benedictine Binham Priory dissolved in the 1500s with the parish church in tact.

The end of day sees me walking along muddy trails that are too much for my bike (and me).

At the very end of the day I plunge down a gravel road to the campsite thinking about the climb out in the morning. It has been a shorter day at 56km (35 miles) but I feel properly tired and this explains the short journal note.

Introduction and Index

Part 3 - The Rebellion Way day three

'As for me, I am tormented with an everlasting itch for things remote. I love to sail forbidden seas, and land on barbarous coasts.' Moby Dick by Herman Melville. 

I have been shamelessly using Herman Melville quotes without saying anything about this American author who wrote far more than Moby Dick. Some of his whaling knowledge surely comes from his - albeit brief - time on the whaler Acushnet in 1841 which sailed for the South Seas though Herman jumped ship at some point for the US navy. This information comes from a copy of Margaret Drabble's The Oxford Companion to English Literature.

A copy of Drabble to hand and open in the Ms is all the excuse I need to talk about the Bloomsbury based Charlotte Mew (1869-1928) who struggled financially until Thomas Hardy (of Far from the Madding Crowd fame) helped secure a pension for her. Her collection of poems entitled The Farmer's Bride helped her find recognition but like many female poets and authors (Christina Rossetti to name just one) she somehow faded from view but like Rossetti in the 1960s (?) she is experiencing a renaissance now.

I too landed on a barbarous coast, once. It was 2023 and I was bitten by a dog (again) and - temporarily at least - lost some of that itch for things remote. 

Norfolk is flat so I was preparing some derogatory comment about the road name. However, I climbed it in first gear and it is such a wonderful name unspoilt by any additions such as Road, Avenue or Street though maybe they could have added Hill.

After some off-road muddy adventure I am surprised by a derelict church.

I have seen many muntjac deer and have been alarmed by how brazen they are. This one engaged in a lengthy staring match. 

I had the option to skip ducking into Kings Lynne but was pleased I did.

I mentioned earlier how Brow of the Hill Hill might make a good road name. Someone else has my sense of language. 

Then Sandringham looms. Leaving Sandringham a Sandringham estate vehicle pulls up and the driver asks if I have seen any sheep. I say no and he is keen to state that they aren't his sheep; King Charles' sheep would never misbehave. 

Lavender cake at the Norfolk Lavender Centre.

Norfolk was home to Nelson.

More than the other counties on this tour mobile signal has been very patchy and in response establishments are even more explicit in providing their WiFi password, so much so it is almost part of the greeting such as "Hello, guest1234". 

At one left turn I am suddenly faced with two gate houses either side of a magnificent but locked double gate. As I contemplate this turn of events the gates slowly and majestically open as they would in a James Bond film when the arch villain is enticing Bond in. I am duly enticed and make my way up the grand carriage drive and past an obelisk towards Holkham Hall.

Wells-next-the-Sea is my penultimate stop before my destination. 

Today was 101km (63 miles) which was far enough. I arrived at my accommodation tired just as the rain started. I am staying at the Pilgrim Hostel and had received so much post-booking information about the Shrine Of Our Lady Of Walsingham that I worry about being turned away or being quizzed on my motives. As it turns out the young man at reception is more interested in bikes. 

Today's route had an amount of elevation when added together and though the ride time of 6 hours looks reasonable the actual elapsed time taking in breaks and navigation stops was closer to 10 hours. 

Introduction and Index

Part 3 - The Rebellion Way day two

'It is not down on any map; true places never are.' Moby Dick by Herman Melville.

One benefit of ignoring the guidebook is that everything is unexpected, surprising and very much a true place. And so it is that I find myself in Thetford Forest almost by accident. 

The Desert Rats were based in Thetford Forest and there is a memorial in tank form.

The forest has a large network of forest roads which my satnav recognises as FR153 and so on which means I spend an amount of time zigzagging through the forest on tracks and trails.

The church at Oxborough and it chantry chapel are still used though the main body is derelict. Chantry chapels came over from the Norman conquest and they were built with funds from the wealthy who wanted to be remembered and have mass sung for them at regular intervals. The word chantry derives from the French for 'to sing'.

My satnav took it upon itself to shorten an already short day but I picked up on the change which is fortunate as I would have missed Castle Acre and the portcullis on Bailey Street. 

East Walton opts for a wheel as its emblem. 

On further investigation it is because the wheelwright's oven is still standing in front of what would have been the blacksmiths. 

Introduction and Index

Part 3 - The Rebellion Way day one

'I know not all that may be coming, but be it what it will, I'll go to it laughing.' Moby Dick by Herman Melville. 

As much as I enjoyed my day off in Norwich it was time to head off into unknown waters with the benefit to me of fresh legs and to the benefit of others freshly laundered kit. I know I have possibly over-reached myself on this tour with longer days imprecisely measured. 

One of Norwich's famous streets.

Back to the familiar leafy country lanes.

Any excuse for a break.

Most of the Rebellion Way is on macadam, with or without tar. This ford is deep in places and the ground comprises soft sand and gravel so it was with some relief that I made it across without going for a swim; low gear, commit to the crossing, and 'go to it laughing' is the way to go.

The town of Diss is a popular stop for tourists. 

If today looks low on photos then this is because I missed opportunities as I endeavoured to cover the distance which was 94km (58 miles). I belatedly find out how to accurately calculate distances between my overnight stops in my navigation tool and see the third day of the Rebellion Way is just too long so some re-planning may be in order. 

Introduction and Index