August 17, 2023
Day 28: Witham to Rainham
There's no rush to get away this morning, after yesterday’s ridiculously early start from the ferry. There’s a hearty (nearly) full English breakfast to be had so it’s nearly 10am by the time we pedal away from the White Hart hotel.
We’re not sure what to expect in terms of riding conditions today after yesterday’s experience. The route sticks pretty closely to a main road once we’re out of Witham. At times, it’s OK. At others, it’s not. It’s all a bit of a blur now but when you’re riding on a road with no shoulder and exactly two vehicles wide (or one and a half trucks wide), you need to have a Plan B. In other words, a footpath unencumbered by pedestrians. Constantly on high alert, we move from road to footpath, then from footpath to the opposite footpath. At one stage, our narrow footpath is joined by casement windows and a brick wall, leaving no room for error if a pannier hits an obstacle and sends the bike into the path of a vehicle. These footpaths are also in poor condition and overgrown with stinging nettle to add to the excitement.
However, we make it to the outskirts of Chelmsford and are rewarded with a bike path into and through the city, following the river Chelmer. We deserve a coffee stop in town by this time.
Leaving Chelmsford is a delight. The bike path meanders through one green space after another, well beyond the city. We pop out into the real world just after Writtle university campus.
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Lunch, we think, is at an interesting private bike park we spot in a field beside the road. It’s well set up with extreme ramps, jumps and obstacles – just the thing that someone like Danny MacAskill would relish. Please do Google this guy if you haven’t heard of him – he is poetry on two wheels (and more often only one wheel).
But we’re moved on by a woman in a Tesla who claims she needs to lock up. Someone has obviously spotted us on site, thinking we’re about to do a couple of rounds of jumps each. But we have a chat and leave on good terms. And there’s a scenic village green down the road where we can finish lunch uninterrupted.
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A good hour of on-road and on-footpath follows. We’re very close to London now, this fact brought home by crossing over the famed M25 motorway that circles the city. The world’s largest carpark, it used to be called. Now, there’s any number of congested motorways that could claim the title. We also ride along cycle paths that have been built alongside expressways - hardly scenic but certainly safe.
Finally, to end the day on a positive note, we reach a busy park full of families and dogs, stop for an ice cream and observe some interesting parenting styles. From here, we’re led onto a series of connected parks and green spaces following the Ingrebourne river for some kilometres. There’s one final dash along a busy road before we turn into the gates of the Berwick Manor hotel and call it a day.
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Over a beer and cider later, we agree that today went better than expected. Yes, there were some challenging sections of busy, narrow and shoulderless roads – but then the unexpected green spaces certainly compensated. I stayed on my bike. And we had sunshine and a tail wind.
Chelmsford, you take the Most Improved Player of the Day award for your commitment to cycling. Let’s see what London can bring to the game tomorrow.
Today's ride: 60 km (37 miles)
Total: 1,498 km (930 miles)
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