Two days in and gravel biking was proving harder than expected. Today was the Queens stage being both the longest and having the most meters to climb so Big George had been up all night developing his plan b as he felt today’s ride might be too much.
On the plus side after two hot days then today was also clean cycle top day which I thought we would both be pleased about only to discover Big George only brings one top and has no standards like me.
Not surprisingly we were aiming for an early start with pedals down planned for 8.15 which we almost achieved.
Big George’s plan was to ride with me to near Salisbury then make up a road route from there.We left Winchester past the statue of King Alfred who’s way our route is named after although there is no evidence he ever cycled it.
Once out of Winchester we were soon on the first sector which was a narrow muddy path and set the tone for the day.
These paths make for very slow going but fortunately this sector was followed by a nice country lane section so we sped along nicely.
At the top of the next sector Big George insisted we stop to take in the beauty of Nature, rejuvenate our bodies and eat the bananas we stole from the breakfast buffet.
We were confident that today would go more smoothly especially as there were only 5 climbs today. However when we reached the first one it was a real pig. All off-road very narrow and steep. But I persevered and made it so went back to take a photo of Big George. He angrily told me to stop photographing him pushing his bike up a hill. So I took one of him about to set off at the top of the hill instead. It was a good climb but would it by climb of the day.
From here the route got narrower and up and down so I kept getting a long way ahead until eventually Big George suggested he implemented plan b early and we went out separate way and here his story ends.
The next few miles were really slow on paths hardly wide enough to walk on with nettles on both sides so I got a good stinging as I went along.
Without Big George I had to photograph my bike instead which my bike was very pleased about.
My bike was not so pleased when I thrashed it at Pooh sticks during a short break. I eventually made it to a very nice lunch stop at Heale Plant centre. 
It ticked a lot of boxes and my cake scored highly.
The only problem was that without Big George I had no one to rate the guest hot drink making the gravel vs road bike cafe experiment less accurate.
There was now a good road section so I quickly got up to half way only 5 and a half hours after I set off. To celebrate I decide to jump in the air and pat myself on the back. I was confident I would get to the end in day light and may even make the second planned stop which shut at 4:30. But nothing was going to be that easy and as I looked down at my front bag it had suddenly slipped and I realised the frame holding it to the bike had snapped. Using engineering I managed to tie it to the handlebars with a bunge and bag strap and we were on our way. Or were we as I now came to Salisbury plain famous for army training. As I turned the corner there were red flags flying and a road closed for target practice sign. There was no obvious alternative so I decided if I cycled really fast and ducked if I heard a loud bang I would probably be ok. And fortunately I was. The next few sections were just through fields in the middle nowhere so pace was again slow.
Over the next 90 minutes I managed less than 10 miles and had to abandon any thoughts of a second cafe stop with my science experiment now in tatters.
I decided to recreate a stop, in a field in the middle of nowhere, using the muffin I had stolen from the breakfast buffet and water from my water bottle. My bicycle took on the role of the table but it wasn’t really the same.
There were just 10 miles and one climb to go. It was a good one over a mile long on tarmac and nice and steep. There were no cars in site but I did get delayed but some angry cows.
However it was definitely climb of the day. I assumed once over the top I would glide into the finish but there is always a sting in the tail and most of the descent was on a rutted grass track. The ruts were not wide enough to pedal in so I wasn’t surprised when I found myself climbing out of a hedge. Eventually I approached the final village and finally found a cycleway that someone had taken the trouble to tarmac. The sooner this is rolled out over the rest of the King Alfreds way the better. I met up with Big George again at our accommodation and we set off for the pub to compare notes on our days.
Tomorrow looks another tough one being 63 miles then a drive back to Norwich. Big George is already planning plan b.
Map of todays route
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| Day 3 Elevation |
Cafe ratings
Cafe | Hot Choc Quality | Guest Hot Drink Quality | Cake Selection | Cake Taste Quality | Atmosphere and Ambiance | Total |
Wellington Farm Shop | 7.2 | 6 | 6.8 | 7 | 7.8 | 6.96 |
Brown bear book shop Farnham | | 8 | 7.3 | 8.6 | 5 | 7.23 |
Queen Elizabeth Country Park | 6.3 | 6 | 8 | 6.5 | 5.5 | 6.46 |
Heale Garden tearoom | | 7 | 7.5 | 7.9 | 8 | 7.60 |
St Arbucks cafe | Never made it | | | | | |
Three Trees Farm shop cafe | | | | | | |
Saddlebank farm cafe | | | | | | |
Stats
Route | Miles | Average Mph | Time on Bike | Metres climbed |
Reading to Hindhead | 47.6 | 9.81 | 4:50 | 791 |
Hindhead to Winchester | 49.7 | 8.91 | 5:34 | 1132 |
Winchester to East Kennett | 69.7 | 9.1 | 7:40 | 1316 |
East Kennett to Reading | | | | |
Totals | | | |
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