2020-2022: The Covid years – Part 1

The global pandemic put paid to many people’s plans, including the cancellation of various cycling trips I had intended to undertake though this was hardly the most significant of disruptions in the grander scheme of things. Nevertheless I do like cycling so some adjustments were needed and this impacted what I got up to during 2020-2022. I did not keep my blog up to date during that time but did post various thoughts and photos on Facebook and which I now chronicle here. For the most part, the text appears as it was written as I do like to maintain contemporaneous records rather than let the passage of time dilute or even alter my memory of events.

September 2020

Though my plans to join Le Loop again for one week riding the Alps were scuppered by the pandemic, all was not lost from a cycling point of view. When we got to September, restrictions had eased and so I embarked on a “Tour de Home”. This involved a strenuous week’s cycling on various out-and-back routes. Over the first five days I rode 470 miles. I was going to do another longish ride on the final day, but in the end opted for just rounding it up to a tidy 500! The weather had been kind, but the hills in the North and South Downs can be very draining!

There’s a lot to enjoy in the English countryside and although I had covered all the previous routes before, I had never stopped to take any photographs.

Monday: Tenterden

102 miles, to get the week off to a good start (and not too hilly!).

Tuesday: Surrey Hills

Leith Hill and Box Hill were the key climbs on this route.

Wednesday: Ashdown Forest

Kidds Hill is always a good challenge, bringing you to a good view at the top.

Thursday: Herstmonceux

Down into East Sussex. Always good to stop at Lime Cross Garden Centre for a bite to eat.

Friday: The “Ide Hill nonopus”

A real leg-breaker if ever there was one – nine ways up and down Ide Hill. Entirely my own creation, wanting to go one better than the Leith Hill Octopus!

Saturday: There and back again