A Brompton tour - learning a lesson about hydration the hard way.

 

A couple of weeks ago I did a little tour on my Brompton. There was an event at Farnham Maltings in Surrey, called “Thread – A Festival of Textiles” which I wanted to go to. I do like to have a purpose in a bike tour, whether it's just a day trip or a few days away; it gives me a starting point for planning a trip, rather than just vaguely thinking - “Where shall I go?”.

Before I begin, I bought the Brompton G line pedals a few months ago, and am really pleased with them. I like the feel of them underfoot, and the removable one is easy to remove.

So on we go.... I cycled from home to Didcot station, about 14 miles, leaving home at 7.15 am, and got the train to Bramley, just north of Basingstoke, changing at Reading. I then cycled another 13 miles or so to where I was staying, at Newland's Farm Bed and Breakfast, south of Odiham. The weather started off fairly warm, then wet, and then quite hot. I didn't eat before I went – I have found that eating later works well for me. At some points along the way I ate what I had brought with me – some cheese, a boiled egg, and a clementine. My plan was to find a cafe en route and buy a meal, preferably a cooked breakfast, which always keeps me going for ages. Husband had put the route from Bramley station to my B and B onto my Garmin, but I had a back up of my usual OS maps, and a cue sheet.  I put this in a plastic mobile phone holder, bought from Home Bargains for £1.45, which I rigged up over the handlebars. 

I arrived at Bramley about 11.30. There was a cafe right by the station, but I didn't fancy it somehow, and anyway I really wanted to get on a bit further. By then it was raining – I donned my waterproof jacket, and sometimes I cycled, sometimes I sheltered. I couldn't see the route on the Garmin very well (mine is quite small) - the rain didn't help - and so I used my cue sheet. There was no rush. I took NCN Route 23 out of Bramley as far as Old Basing. There I was delighted to come upon what looked like a very nice cafe – The Street Bakeshop – and went in and ordered, only to be told, as I produced my £20 note, that they did not take cash. I refuse to patronize any establishment that won't take cash – I could have used a card but I think it's very important that we have the choice. A kind lady offered to pay for me with her phone, but I declined, as a principle was at stake. Instead I asked a man trimming a hedge if there was a shop nearby, and he directed me to the local Co-op – not quite what I was hoping for but at least I was able to buy food. I ate scotch eggs and a yogurt on a bench outside the shop.

I rested here - 

At Up Nately, near Odiham

A few miles further on, at Odiham, I began to feel a bit funny – or, to be precise, my heart was racing, and at times I felt slightly lightheaded. I have had this before, the first time probably decades ago. I do sometimes get lightheaded when standing up too quickly. I have since discovered that this has the grand name of orthostatic hypotension - when your blood pressure drops after standing up. It usually only happens after I have been crouching down for a few minutes, e.g. to look at something on a bottom shelf in a shop. Then the cure is to stand still and put my head down. More recently the racing heart has occurred when I've been out for long bike rides, and I have tried to work out why. I do not believe the cause is anything serious, just something connected with my activity at the time, the temperature, and with what I have eaten and drunk. Usually after a rest it has gone away, but even after resting in the very green and pleasant Odiham cemetary, or just walking, I didn't feel much better. I was fearing that I would have to call off this trip.

However, I only had about 2 miles to go to my accommodation – bed and breakfast at a farmhouse - and so after refilling my water bottle at the bar of a cricket club, I took the last bit of the journey very slowly and arrived safely, albeit later than intended, at about 5.45. Quite a long day, as I'd been up at 5. I thought that after a good night's rest, and a good breakfast the following morning, I'd feel a lot better.

What went through my mind was that maybe I should still be taking magnesium, which I have taken on and off for a year or two, mainly for night cramps, but I know it can be of benefit to the heart as well. I am not a big fan of supplements but as most people are deficient in this mineral I reasoned that it would be a good idea to take it anyway. I also thought that I should have brought some sea salt with me to take whenever I drank water – something else that I do when I'm at home, or at least whenever I remember. I began to think about electrolytes, and how athletes are not supposed to drink just plain water, and considered that this might be at the route of the problem.. The day had turned out quite hot, and I had sweated. I also had not eaten very much, partly because I simply hadn't felt very hungry. I resolved that the next day I would buy either magnesium (though I wouldn't be able to buy my preferred make, as I get it online from Clive de Carle) and/or some sea salt.

In bed at 8.15.

MILES: 28

I didn't sleep well, but I never do the first night in a strange bed, and I was also disturbed by helicopters from RAF Odiham, doing night training until about 10 pm, seen through my open bedroom window. Husband would have loved them! I'd seen these odd yellow things all across two fields on the farm the day before and wondered what they were for. Now I know that they are lights to guide the helicopters in -

The next morning I was up at 5.45, went for a short exploratory walk, and then had a very nice cooked breakfast. I was the only one staying, and I had a very interesting chat with Mary, my host, who told me a little about her life on the farm since 1969, and the house, which dated from about 1550. Her late husband had been a very talented woodworker, and had made all the doors, with all the latches and bolts -  

My bedroom - with some history of the farm buildings in the photo on the wall

I was definitely feeling better than the previous day, but still not quite right. Nevertheless I enjoyed the ride into Farnham – about 10 miles, slightly more than it should have been but then I went a bit wrong (despite my cue sheet) which is usual for me! I enjoyed the festival; it's not often that I get to see such a lovely array of everything connected with sewing. There were some very talented people there, and some lovely fabric, but I knew I hadn't got room to carry much extra home so just treated myself to some linen thread.

It was busy and hot though, and after a couple of hours I'd had enough. I went into the town, knowing I must not leave without food for the ride home, sufficient water, and magnesium or salt. I went to the first likely shop I came to, which was Sainsbury's, and bought some BLT sandwiches, a clementine, and, as they didn't have any magnesium, some Maldon's sea salt – the one I normally buy as it happens. Then I went to a lovely quiet garden and sat on a bench, carefully cut open the bag of salt (good job I had scissors in my first aid kit) and sucked on several pinches, and drank water. I did wonder what others in the park might have though of me sitting there carefully pouring out white stuff into my hand and consuming it...

From where I sat I could see the tops of two churches, where I hoped there might be a tap to get water. As it happened one of them had a cafe, where they let me fill my bottle. Then off I went. I pushed up the hill out of Farnham, but after that I got up all the hills. I stopped soon and wolfed down my sandwiches and clementine, and then carried on. I felt a million times better!! I have since read up on all this and understand that taking in salt can indeed have a very quick positive effect. I have watched, in particular, videos by Dr David Brownstein, on the importance of salt in our diet – e.g. this one - but good salt, full of minerals, not table salt. He recommends, as do many others, Celtic sea salt, or Redmond's salt (only available in the US I think), as both are indeed full of minerals. I'm not sure about the Maldon's sea salt I've been buying, and intend to email them to ask what minerals are in it. I have, however, bought some Celtic sea salt, which I know is full of essential minerals, and am now using that when I drink water.

I decided to treat myself to an ice cream in the village of Crondall, where I had a nice chat to another cyclist who was doing the same thing. Interestingly, he had worked for BMW as a salesman, but had been diagnosed with some form of epilepsy, so was no longer allowed to drive. He now did gardening jobs, and travelled to them by bike (10 mile radius from home) and loved it!

On the way back I tucked myself away into some long grass and obeyed a call of nature. More on this subject later! I was pretty tired when I got back and after a shower was in bed at 7.15!

MILES: 20

No helicopters that night, but I woke in the night, and for some reason felt the inside of my right knee, and felt what seemed like a small scab. I couldn't think of any reason for a scab there, but then I thought -

“Uh oh.... could it be a tick?”

I've had a few in recent years, so wasn't quite as horrified and panic stricken as I was when I discovered the first one in 2021. Guess where I probably picked it up... having that nature wee! Beware of long grass!! I couldn't see to remove it, so just left it as a job for Husband when I got home. I discovered I'd also got one in the same fleshy spot on the side of the other knee. What I want to know is – why are there so many ticks now? There are all sorts of rumours, but I'm not sure if they are true. However I do know that prior to 2021 I had never head of anyone getting ticks - I had only ever seen one on the sheepdog we used to have.

The third day was basically a slow and gentle ride back to Bramley station, taking a different route, via some lovely quiet lanes, and the village of Sherfield on Lodden, where there was a big fete.

I asked a couple if there was a cafe, and they directed me to one. We chatted quite a bit, and the husband was very interested in my Brompton. Bromptons are a bit like babies and dogs – they get you into conversation with complete strangers!

Getting on and off the trains was easy again. A couple with their small daughter stood in front of me at one point, speaking a language I didn't recognise at all, and after a while the husband asked me -

“Are you travelling alone? Don't you get lonely?”

“No – I love it!”

And it's true. As Josie Dew, my cycling hero has said in one of her books, when you cycle alone you can stop where you want, and when you want, and look at whatever you want. And I meet plenty of people to chat to, so I don't get lonely.

Husband is always telling me what the weather forecast is, and today he had warned me it would be windy. So far it had indeed been quite windy, but it wasn't unpleasant. Once back at Didcot, I decided to go back a different way to the way I'd come, which in hindsight wasn't a good idea... There are a couple of places in my neck of the woods where there are several villages all quite close together, and despite having lived here for more then 40 years, I can still get lost in either of them! I did this in the villages of East and West Hendred, near Wantage, and so my estimated time of arrival home got later and later as I tried to find my way out. In the end I found my way, on a footpath, where a kindly gent lifted my bike over a stile and a kissing gate. Actually, I know now that I could probably do this myself, as with the bag taken off the front of the bike, it's not that heavy.

Husband had also warned of rain, and it did start to drizzle. He had offered to come and pick me up at any point if I felt I couldn't make it home, and being pretty tired by then, and feeling the rain start, I hoped I wouldn't have to make a call of shame. However, I just kept encouraging myself that it wasn't far to go, and I made it home, all under my own steam, by 7 pm. 

Husband removed the two ticks – oh, and another on the back of my thigh. And another on a buttock!!! And the moral of that story is – don't have a wee in long grass!! Not ladies, anyway.... As I said, I couldn't see to remove any of these ticks myself, but I have read that if you don't have a tick remover with you, then a good idea is to cut a slit, or very narrow V shape into a credit card, slide it under the tick, and remove it that way.

MILES: 31

All in all, a good trip. I've gained confidence on the Brompton, and learnt a valuable lesson about the correct way to hydrate.

Bob the Brompton goes to Devon!

  Last week, Husband and I planned to go to Cullompton, in Devon, to visit our daughter, and I realized this was a good opportunity for me to take the Brompton in the car and cycle/take the train home.  As happens so often when I am considering a longer or more unusual bike ride, I find myself getting nervous and mentally backing out, thinking of all the possible difficulties, and that's exactly what happened, emphasized by the newness of this adventure with Bob. However, as our 2 year old grandson has a habit of saying - "Did it!".

My original thought was to cycle to the station at Tiverton a few miles from Cullompton, get the train to Bristol, cycle the railway path to Bath (I've long wanted to ride it), wild camp overnight nearby, then get the train the next day to Swindon and cycle home from there. However, I realized that this was too much new-to-me activity in one go, too much luggage to think about getting onto the train, and I only had a couple of days to plan it, and so I decided instead to do the whole journey home in one day.

Cycling trips like this take me ages to plan. I've got a spreadsheet of what I need to take but it still took me a good few hours over a couple of days to plan exactly what I needed for this particular trip, and the first leg of the route. I knew what the second leg would be, having already cycled it here, (4th paragraph down) 

Regarding luggage, I had to think about the act of getting the bike onto the train; I needed both hands free for this, one for the bike and one for the bag - a Brompton Borough bag, which easily contained all I needed - which goes on the front of the bike, so the best place for any other bags was on my back, hence I also took my small 5 litre rucksack, strapping it to the rack when cycling. So, for the first part of the route, I needed to get from Cullompton to Tiverton Parkway, which was a choice of either a fairly straightforward one out of the town and then onto a cycle path which takes you straight to the station, or a slightly longer, but more scenic, route, but one which needed a bit more navigating. 

On the morning of the Monday when I left my daughter's, I had a rough timetable in my head of the day. I decided that if I got away soon after 8, I would take the longer more scenic route. If it got to 8.20 I'd probably take the shorter route, which, once I was on the cycle path, would be straight there without needing to look at the map. Neither of the two routes were very far, one about 5 1/2 miles and the other 7 1/2, but as I said, with the longer one I had more to think about as I had to navigate more, which meant memorising as much as I could but no doubt having to stop and check the map as well.  I found out that when you're suddenly cycling in a different area, rather than having cycled to it, it's very different. I wanted to buy a railcard at the station too, so that would add on some time, though I'd already filled in the form.  In case you're wondering, I obviously hadn't got time to wait for one to arrive in the post, and I don't have a smartphone so couldn't get a digital one, which I wouldn't want anyway....I do possess a mobile phone but it is about 14 years old. All I want it for is the odd phone call or message. And even that I could happily manage without!!

 As it happened, by 8.20 when I left  I had already decided to take the cycle path anyway. I was a bit concerned about the roads in that area being quite busy, and both narrow and hilly in places. I'm still getting used to the Brompton and to knowing what I can manage in the way of hills on it, so this decision was all about making life easier for myself!

You might by now be thinking - "Get on with it!" But I am always curious as to what goes through other cyclists' minds when they are planning a trip, hence my detail in case you are curious too! 

Now follow me out of Cullompton if you will....  I was too intent on getting to the station to take photos at this point unfortunately. Trying to find a different road out of the town to avoid the busier road wasn't successful, but I know where I went wrong so next time I'll get it right. I had to get off on a hill as I hadn't engaged the right gear; I stopped at the top for a drink and my second clementine of the day (more on food later). Finding the cycle path out of the neighbouring village of Willand wasn't as easy as it looked on the map. Back at home I'd done my research on where it was, and I checked the map again. It was only when I saw a postman driving down a tiny lane between two buildings that I realized that that must be where it started. I also saw a blue NCN sign  - I hadn't realized it was part of an NCN route.   Why are the blue NCN signs so small and hard to see, and why aren't there more of them?!!!!! "They" want us to cycle more so why don't "They" make it a bit easier by spending more money on better signage, for a start.... I wish I'd taken a photo of the usual tiny hard-to-see sign at the start of the path just to show anyone who's not familiar with them how ridiculously tiny they are.

I got to the station a bit later than planned, so I gave up on buying the railcard that day and just bought my ticket (a real paper one....). Then the moment of folding the bike in public for the first time came! And yes, I did mess it up slightly! but I sorted it out and was rewarded as I got on the train with the lady behind me saying - "I think you're very brave!" I felt rewarded anyway! The train wasn't crowded and I successfully put the bike on the bottom of the luggage rack, and then found a seat right in front of it, where I could keep an eye on it. Some people actually lock the bike to the train, so I've read, to deter opportunist thieves. Phew, Stage 1 of the journey successfully completed! The only eventful thing that happened was that later I went to the loo, came back, and after a while  realized I hadn't got my rucksack - which contained all the important stuff. My stomach turned over as I imagined that someone had pinched it when passing down the aisle. Then I realized I must have left it hung up in the loo, went back, and there it still was - thank God!

I had to change at Bristol Parkway, and again I was nervous about this, having only 12 minutes to change, and not being familiar with this station. As it happened all I had to do was cross a matter of yards from one platform to the neighbouring one - no stairs or lift involved. Again I got on the train and put the bike on the bottom of the luggage rack, and found a seat  in front of it. Stage 2 successfully completed! About 40 minutes later I arrived at Swindon, and, breathing a sigh of relief, immediately made for the cafe, where while waiting to be served, another cyclist, and owner of a Brompton he didn't use any more, came up and chatted to me about mine. I can see that it is definitely a bit of a conversation starter - like dogs and babies! I think I'm going to get a lot of enjoyment out of it.

Up to that point I had only had two clementines, plus water and tea to drink. The reasons for this are  to do with what's called "intermittent fasting" - leaving a longer gap between your last meal on one day and your breakfast on the next. It was also to do with feeling nervous about a ride and wanting to just get on and go rather than trying to force myself to eat while in that nervous state. Once upon a time I used to feel almost sick if I didn't eat before going out in the morning, but  I have discovered now that I feel much better when doing this, even when I go out on my bike. The other day I went 15 miles before stopping to eat. So, I ate my lunch, trying not to wolf it down in my hunger (origin of that expression - the digestion of dogs starts in their stomachs, not in their mouths as does ours, so for them "wolfing it down" is fine!), bought an apple for later, and then for the first time in my life used the lift (well, obviously I've used a lift before but not at a station) to get down to the exit. 

Then to unfold the bike, again for the first time in public. I think by now I was getting slightly more confident and I did it correctly, and off I went on my cycle ride out of Swindon. Please forgive the awful quality of these photos - I'm putting them in just to give some indication of what my ride out of the town was like. My camera has stopped working and I was using Husband's old smartphone.

Just left the station. Beautiful Swindon...

This is the world famous "Magic Roundabout", in the middle of Swindon, and is actually 5 roundabouts, if I remember rightly. It's OK once you are used to it, but if not.... I remember a friend telling me that her husband used to go quiet when negotiating it...When I took this photo there wasn't much traffic about, surprisingly.

The "Magic roundabout"!

Shrivenham Road - getting greener...

As I said, I'd done this ride before so didn't need to consult the map, but, yes, you've guessed it, I still managed to go wrong. but that isn't necessarily a bad thing, because it teaches you to use your brain! I looked round me at my choices, and realized which direction I needed to go in, and was soon on the right path. 

Apart from some quiet roads and backstreets, I rode on cycle paths, and over this bridge -

Over the A419 near Go Outdoors

until I got to the Cop Shop on the A420 -

and then I was out of town and onto this bridlepath - 

Bridlepath (where the yellow arrow is) to South Marston 

From South Marston I went through Nightingale Woods to Rove's Farm, to buy some more food to keep me going.

Brompton Borough bag on the front, rucksack on the back, home made bag on the stem.

Incidentally, I made this stem bag, to put my water bottle in, from a chalk bag -

I was able to push the bike right up to the cafe/farm shop (behind the buildings in the photo) where I felt it was safe to leave it while I went in. They have a drinking water tap where you can fill up your bottle, as well as loos. Then it was on through Sevenhampton (Ian Fleming is buried there) Shrivenham, Longcot (stopped again for water - there was  a tap outside the church. The water from these church taps is always deliciously cold!) and Uffington (John Betjeman lived there) to home a couple of miles away. I did not attempt one last local hill, because by then I was tired and hot and again because I'm not sure of what I can do on this bike, and now didn't feel like the time to try. I got home at 5 pm, having left my daughter's house at 8.20 am. About 27 miles (peanuts!) in total on the bike, but a long day! 

I am amazed by how comfortable the Brompton is to ride. It wouldn't be the bike I'd choose out of my 3 to go on a long tour - though plenty of people do - but I'm more than pleased with what I've been able to do on it so far. 

Money - about £1650 with the bag and a couple of upgrades - well spent!!! I don't mind being honest and revealing how much things cost sometimes. but you know that noise that people make when you've told them the cost of something and they think it's a lot? Well, someone did just that recently when I told them the price in answer to their question. I could have spent a long time in conversation about it...

In conclusion - what a great way to travel!!

I like my Koga again. And meet Bob....

 It's been a long time since I posted. I have continued to cycle but not very far, and mainly just to go shopping. Sometimes events happen in life that cause you to take a break from things, even things that you love doing, and to think about why you do them, and indeed should you do them. Undoubtedly events of the past 3 years or so have caused me to do just that - to take that break, both from longer cycling trips and from blogging, even though I didn't really do it intentionally. However, I feel as if now it's time to get back to more cycling, and back to blogging. Part of my original intention when I started the blog was to help other people, because I had found other people's blogs very helpful (and I still do), and I do feel that in my own small way I have something to offer, so here I am again!

In my last post I wrote that I was going to sell my Koga. Well, I didn't get any interest, so knowing I was going to be keeping it after all I decided to spend a bit of money on it (again!) and try and sort out the problem with the saddle not being in quite the right position, by buying a more laid back seat post. Previously I had found that my choices were limited because of the size of the seat tube, but then I realized that if I used a shim I would have more choice. So that's what I did.

This is the seat post I bought. It is probably only a fraction more laid back than my previous one but it's enough to make a difference. As a result the bike is much more comfortable, and is now my favourite bike to ride, and because the saddle is so comfortable I have just bought another to replace the one on my Trek. It's wider than the Bontrager one that's on there which has served me well for many years. Perhaps one's rear end has widened with age.... It didn't take too long to wear in the first Brooks - about 100 miles - so here goes with the second....

With Carradice panniers

I also bought these Carradice panniers to replace the expensive Ortlieb ones I'd bought. I think I made a mistake in getting the larger size - I wished I hadn't, and sold them and bought these. I think they were about £55, a very good price for what you get. I realized that I really don't like not having outside pockets on my panniers, which these have. The panniers are not waterproof but that doesn't bother me, and anyway they have waterproof covers tucked inside zipped pockets. The only thing I don't like about them is the fact that when you lift up the flap to get to the inside, the flap doesn't stay up (like it does with my old Karrimor ones) because it is not flexible. I need to find some method of fixing/hooking it in place while it is up.

So, I am really enjoying riding this bike again!

And now, Koga has a baby brother, called Bob. It's a Brompton!

I have long wanted to take my bike on a train, in particular to enable me to get to our daughter's in Devon, without having to have a lift to the station at this end. I hear stories about people taking their full size bikes on trains (in this country anyway) and having problems, so have been reluctant to try.  When I was young you could just put your bike in the guard's van and that was it - easy  - and I did it on more than one occasion. I began to think about a folding bike, and about how much easier this would make travelling by train, or bus. One person who finally inspired me to get one was Wiltshire Man on YouTube. Husband and I both love his videos, and often watch them together. He's not far from us, in Swindon. I also got some opinions from our local CUK group on folding bikes. I'm not a member any more but still keep in touch with them on Facebook.

So a few weeks ago we went to Warland's Cycles in Oxford, I tried one out, and the next day picked up a C-Line Explore. I'd expected to have to wait for one, but they had several in stock. I'd highly recommend this shop. It's really old fashioned but up-to-date at the same time. I also bought a Brompton Borough bag to go on the front, and got them to change the chain ring to a smaller one, to make climbing hills easier. There are 6 gears, a combination of hub and derailleur. The stem bag which you can see in the photo I made from a chalk bag; it does the job of holding a water bottle beautifully. The rack bag was donated to me by our Eldest, and has small zip-up drop down panniers, which I'm delighted to say work with this bike. 

We are slightly nearer to Didcot station than Swindon, depending on the route, so I had a few short local runs to get used to the bike and then decided to to do a test run of a ride to Didcot. I used part of the Science Vale Cycling Network to get there, and also some of NCN Route 544 to go a bit further afield. This was a fairly flat and easy to follow route, plus Husband works in Didcot so I could come home with him. I have to say I am absolutely delighted with the bike! One or two bits of the route have quite a rough surface with loose stones, and another would have been very muddy if we hadn't had a couple of days of dry weather. I think that the surface could be much better in these places, and it's a shame that having spent what must have been a lot of taxpayers' money on this route that it has these bad spots. 

On the whole I was amazed at how comfortable the bike was. Even the saddle is remarkably comfortable! Although I've ridden to Didcot in the past, doing it on this quite different bike gave me a real sense of achievement and when I got to the station, I thought - "Wow! I've done it! What possibilities lie ahead...!" And by the way, the bike is very easy to fold and unfold.