Carradice Regained and Eastward Ho!

So, I've had the Pashley for four months now and the novelty hasn't worn off. My journey to work has become pleasurable, moreover, I arrive at work enlived, energised, enthusiastic. At least until the first lesson...

But what of my intention to do some 'gentle touring' ?

I must confess, my plans have gone slightly awry. My intention was to spend the past few months preparing for such an undertaking but... that hasn't happened.

So... I'm going to do it anyway.

I'd kicked around a few different ideas, such as a tour of the Isle of Wight but I've decided to revert to Plan A which was to tour the east coast of England. Primarily, this is an exercise in nostalgia as I intend to pass through holiday haunts from my childhood (Caister-On-Sea, Great Yarmouth, Hunstanton) - places I haven't visited in over 30 years. Norfolk's status as the flattest of counties may also have been a deciding factor...

The ghost of my late father seems to loom largley over all of this.

Even though we weren't close during most of my adult life, his death, over a year ago now, still feels raw. I can't help but wonder whether part of my desire to revisit these places is some subconscious urge to go back to a time when he was a real presence in my life.

So it may also be more than a coincidence that I've recently bought a Carradice saddlebag.

                                   

Dad had one of these bags on the back of an old Sturmey-Archer 3 speed. Before he reached a sufficient grade to merit a company car, he cycled to work on this ancient contraption.  To us, as children, cycling the 13 miles to Braunstone seemed a monumental undertaking, an almost Herculean task. Occasionally, I would get up for school early, just in time to see him trundling off down our gravel drive. Squinting, the Carradice bag would be the last thing I'd see before he disappeared out of sight. 

As well as fitting in with the traditional look of the Pashley, the Carradice bags are very practical, particularly if you have a saddle with bag loops like the Brooks, and being made from 'cotton duck' canvas they're (almost) waterproof.

I've opted for one of the largest models, the Carradice 'College': so-called and so-chosen because it's wide enough to fit A4 folders (handy for school and touring alike).  All of the Carradice bags are hand-made and one of the nice touches is having the maker's name on your label. Thanks, Keely!

But what of the tour?  Can I really do any sort of tour on this sort of bike? The sheer eccentricity of the undertaking appeals to me but up until a week ago I hadn't cycled a route of more than 10 miles on the Pashley. It was leaving it late in the day but I definitely needed to some sort of training or test route.

So last week I decided to take the Pashley around Rutland Water. If Rutland is famous for anything it's probably for Rutland Water, or being the smallest county in England,  or perhaps this...

Rutland Water, a drinking-water reservoir, is one of  the largest man-made lakes in Europe. 

The near-sunken Church at Normanton is one of the lake's more striking features.

The cycle path that runs its perimeter is a route I'd done many times before but I'd never done the full 23 mile route before, which takes in the optional Hambleton peninsula. And I certainly hadn't done it on a 21kg bike with only 5 gears before.

Opting  to  do  it  the day  after  Hurricane  Bertha had passed through perhaps wasn't  the wisest  move.  It was still a bit blowy on the exposed south shore and  for the  first time I started to curse the Pashley's upright riding postion. Wind resistant it is not.

But the Brooks sprung saddle, now just about broken in, was a revelation. No post-ride saddle-soreness for me, even the following day. In fact, I felt completely fine. Much fresher than I did the previous week after just a six mile walk.

The weather forecast is beginning to clear and I'm running out of excuses not to do this. Tomorrow I shall go.