UK    SOMERSET AND KENT    

2009 - 2014

I collected my new bike from Thorn in Bridgewater in early October 2009 and stayed for a few nights at a number of B&Bs between there and my home in Tunbridge Wells to try it out away from the very dense traffic of SE England.

That worked to a certain extent though in fact the traffic was only marginally less dense.

Early Trials

My very first trials were on the Somerset levels in the lanes between Bridgewater and Weston super Mare around Burnham and Brean including the full length of Brean Down along the highest ridge of the peninsula (mostly close-cropped grass).

My next stop was at Somerset's eastern boundary to visit King Alfred's Tower near Brewham.

King Alfred's Tower

This was built in the early 1770s to celebrate the end of the Seven Years War with France and the accession of George III.     The location was chosen because it was believed to be very close to the place where King Alfred rallied the Saxons in 878 AD before the battle of Edington.      

It was Alfred's victory in this battle that stemmed the Danish advance from their conquests in Northumbria and Mercia and ultimately resulted in the UK being an Anglo-Saxon country rather than a Scandinavian one.

In any event the tower is at the summit of a high hill that was a struggle to ride up even with the help of the Rohloff gears.

I was staying at a farmhouse B&B at the bottom of the hill and shall always remember a conversation with the lady of the house.

She explained they bred and sold cattle with supermarkets being their main customers.   They had started out keeping the female calves for milk production and selling equal numbers of young male beasts for their meat.

But the UK population is squeamish about eating veal and Tesco decided to discontinue their purchases of the male calves.      The solution turned out to be genetic alteration of the herd to restrict future births to be female only.          

I found this disturbing and have hoped ever since we never have a feminist Dictator who wants to apply the principle more widely.

Later Rides

For the next five years I was still travelling to the Southern Hemisphere for the sailing season during which there is little risk of being caught in a Cyclone - broadly the six months from April to October. 

This meant my cycling opportunities in the UK and Europe were restricted to the least favourable months when the weather didn't encourage long periods away from home.

Nevertheless I joined the San Fairy Ann cycling club in Maidstone that has a large membership and many sections from the fittest of the fittest to its Wednesday Wobblers Group.

I went out several times on day rides with its slowest but one group who usually rode between 15 and 20 miles at around 10-11 mph along the lanes of Eastern Kent between Maidenhead, Ashford and Paddock Wood.

These were good exercise and usually along reasonably traffic free routes without too many hills but not really what I had in mind when I bought the bike and not worth a longer entry in this blog.

MY STEED

In 2009 I had several ideas about my future life ranging from going round the world in Alchemi forever, through sailing back to UK and doing something different after arrival, to offering the boat for sale immediately or buying a small property in New Zealand near which to base Alchemi so I could live in perpetual summer by spending half of each year in the Southern Hemisphere and the other half in the Northern one.

I thought that last idea was particularly attractive because I hoped it would provide frequent opportunities also to visit my two grandchildren in Australia. But my daughter was not keen and in the end I thought I might find myself rather isolated living in the North Island of New Zealand for long periods on my own.

Those thoughts further expanded to wondering how I would spend my time if and when I stopped sailing and realising I would not be able to spend it all with my two sons and their children in the UK – I would have to find something else to do as well.

I understood I would be too old and physically incapable of returning to the mountain and rock climbing enthusiasm of my youth but thought I ought to be able to manage some cycling that had been so prominent an activity when young.

Thus was borne the idea of cycling in a leisurely but still interesting way somewhere different from the over-crowded towns and roads of southern England. I know – I thought – I'll go to France and wobble from one auberge to another along the tow-paths of the canals.

To withstand the rough tracks and my own excessive weight I would need a sturdy bicycle that should be well equipped and easy to maintain with the emphasis on strength and durability rather than speed. By August 2009 I had ruled out the idea of buying a property in New Zealand and decided to buy a bike suitable for the sort of riding I had in mind.

In researching what others had done I came across the website “Crazy Guy on a Bike” in which there are many and varied accounts of amazing expeditions over the mountains of Tibet and the Andes, of journeys through North America and Europe, and indeed of circumnavigations on two wheels.

I knew I was now too old to emulate these but studied closely the bikes these adventurers had chosen as I thought one with a similar specification should be able easily to carry my weight over the moderately uneven surfaces I was expecting to encounter in my milder version of off-road cycling.

There were many bike manufacturers and designs aimed at satisfying people with these sorts of ideas but I narrowed them down to just three.

Koga Signature

Roberts Roughstuff

Thorn Nomad

All looked attractive but I was unhappy at the idea of spending about £ 3,000 on a bike ordered over the internet and so ruled out the Koga.

Roberts had the attraction of a bespoke frame but his delivery period meant I'd have to postpone my return to New Zealand and forego my 2010 sailing plans to visit Fiji again if the boat didn't sell - 2016 note - Chas Roberts has now suspended his business so whilst his bikes may still be available second-hand, new ones are no longer being built.

Thorn could make a bespoke frame at extra cost but with a physical presence in the UK and demonstration bikes to try for fit, and an acceptable delivery period I decided to order from them - 2016 note - Thorn are still in business and I visited them this year to buy a few accessories.

My researches had resulted in very definite ideas about all aspects of the specification and Thorn's assembly system provided ample scope in which to define the final machine.

Unfortunately I can no longer find photos of the bike taken at the time but here's one taken today - 1 October 2016 -  seven years after purchase and without having specially cleaned and "tarted up" the bike.

You can see the main features are

Couplings enabling the frame to be split into two halves for transport

A Rohloff Hub Gear which, with the chosen chain-wheel and sprocket sizes, give 14 ratios from about 18 to 95 per rev

Strong wide wheels and tyres with super-grip brake blocks set in high quality Deore calipers.

A hub alternator that powers an amazing lamp

A very robust rear carrier, and,

To suit my size and weight, a sprung Brooks B66 leather saddle (a later modification from a B17 on a sprung seat pillar that I didn't think gave enough shock absorption).

As I was planning on leisurely riding I chose a relatively flat pair of handlebars and to ease storage and transport problems I specified removable pedals.

Beneath the remaining narrative I have included a copy of the detailed specification as three separate photos of the original invoice.

As frequent use of the bike was delayed by some 5-6 years whilst I continued to sail Alchemi it is almost certainly over-specified for the riding I can now carry out - and I've had to rename this blog from "...Tours" to ".....Rides" as I now find 15-20 miles an outing to be quite enough.

But the bike has performed well with no sign of distress at my weight - it is also very stiff and holds a straight line when zooming down hills, even over less than smooth surfaces, at speeds of up to 30 mph. If its rider had the power of his youth it would also "Climb the Highest Mountain" with the Rohloff gears providing a ratio suitable for any gradient.

Here are photos of the original spec and invoice: