40 Miles Cycled in a Day (17th July 2012)
It was 17 miles to reach my friend for lunch in Wimbledon. I rode much of it along the A3 which has a shared use footpath along most of the length. Some very slow shared use crossings at junctions and being diverted onto residential footpaths at a large junction to avoid sliproads was disorienting.
I just took it slowly, rode a pace which was well within my abilities and sustained it all the way there, rode around the area and came all the way back.
Got the distance from the Google Maps website. You can right-click a point and then click “Add Destination” so it adds it all in one go. Dragged a couple of the routes so they snapped to the way I actually went. Simplest navigation is my priority when cycling, with shortest route being a close second.
After we had lunch I rode on to Hampton Court Palace but it was all fenced off for Olympic events. I browsed their site from my phone but nothing seemed free. Plotted a route home using gMaps on my Lumia 800. It took me through the outskirts of Richmond Park, so I rode in slightly further and found a very neat climb and descent.
A few geared-up riders were also doing the route, including a mixed pair who seemed to be training together. They were so fast, professional speed I reckon. They overtook and rode away from me like I was standing still!
The ride back along the A3 had some more mystery cycling directions. One junction in particuarly was a navigation challenge in its own right! Involved turning left and riding down it for 30 metres, then taking a turn onto a footpath and following that back to a subway beneath the junction. In the centre of the junction was a 3-way cycle path junction, with the correct route being off to the left. Easy to get turned around and disoriented in those diversions.
Certainly prefer wiggling around cycle lanes than contending with busy traffic in a 40mph limit!