Coast to Coast - Getting Reading Done

The next stage of my Coast to Coast adventure was Carshalton to Reading.  I hadn't really been looking forward to it, as there are a lot of suburbs and not too many good bits.  Many of the roads are well known to the Wayfarers, and, like me, many of us don't much like them.

Anyway, I woke quite early this morning, and spent a few minutes reading the papers, before I slowly realised that the bright moonlight streaming through the window represented an opportunity.  Even in the suburbs, there weren't going to be too many people around at half past six on a December Sunday morning.

So, shortly afterwards, I was wheeling my Cannondale through the gate, on the road for Reading.  Its powerful headlight lit up the pot-holes, and the many Christmas lights along the way made a dreary route quite cheerful.  The miles passed quickly, Kingston Bridge, Walton Bridge, Tite Hill and by the time I got to Windsor Great Park the sun was nicely up.

After Dave's comment on my last post I changed the route slightly to take in The Castle, at Hurst, which has a Winged Wheel.  It's a nice pub - Jeff Tollerman and I went there, years ago.  Unfortunately it doesn't do breakfast.  A pity, as I was a bit peckish by this time.

As I was taking my photo a knowledgeable chap passing by told me that the Wheel was a Fire Mark, and that they were quite rare ...

The River Loddon interrupted my route shortly after.  It had burst its banks with the recent rains, and my planned route was impassable.  

My Garmin - an Edge 830 - did a fair job of recovery, routing me around the obstacle, mainly on cycle paths.  Cycle paths they were, but crummy ones, on pavements with lots of obstacles, and I was pleased when I re-joined my original route.  This gave me a very satisfactory entry into Reading, along the Kennet and Avon Canal and through the very jolly Christmas Market.  Ten minutes at the station to buy a ticket and a bacon sandwich, then the Great Western Railway brought me home via its pretty North Downs route.

A note on e-bike performance.  This is a pretty flat route.  I rode at normal A-Group pace, and most of the time the motor had little to do.  Arriving at Reading station, 50 miles on the clock, the battery had 80% capacity remaining, so you could go a very long way, if you wanted to.

Reading, done.

Mark