9-Sep-18      SUN
 Diss and Thetford  
This was the first ride on this year's trip to the UK for some cycling fun. I joined James Benning and David Nunn. It was the first of many days with relatively balmy conditions, for England, in September. While balmy, it was still blessed relief from Texas heat. Our route was an anticlockwise loop entirely to the SW of Norwich, the largest city in that region. The loop passed through the main towns of Diss and Thetford. We also passed through many small villages as we mostly traversed the lanes and more lightly traveled roads. We were in East Anglia for the week, primarily in the Norfolk County portion, which occupies that part of East Anglia bordered by the North Sea on the north and east and directly west of Amsterdam, across the southern part of the North Sea. This is a relatively flat area, similar to North Texas in that respect. Our lunch stop was in Diss, a market town of about 7500 residents. Diss is on the Great Eastern Main Line, a railway line which runs from London to Norwich. We had lunch near Diss Mere, a lake said to be among the deepest in England. It has a fountain on one side and is populated by many ducks and other aquatic birds. Our next stop, where we had an afternoon coffee stop, was Thetford. Dave informed me that proper pronunciation required sticking the tongue between the upper and lower teeth while saying it. Thetford is another market town and 'overspill' town meaning it took on population from London after the war while London was being rebuilt. Today's population is about 24000. The main road through town, the A11, connects London and Norwich. James rented a cottage for us near Wymondham (pronounced like Wyndham). The town itself has evidence of habitation around the year 1100. But most of the oldest buildings in the town were destroyed by the fires of 1611 including the original Market Cross. The town was rebuilt following the fires and has a current population of about 14000. Wymondham was also hit by an F1 tornado on 23-NOV-1981, giving it an additional similarity to North Texas. There were apparently multiple tornadoes in England in 1981 on that date.  
 BIKE: Scattante; start time: 10:07; end: 17:15; avg:13.9; max: 26; climb: 1722; miles: 68.73; mtd miles:270.62; ytd miles:9211.7  
 MOSTLY CLOUDY; wind: N 14; start  temp: 64; min: 61; avg: 66; max: 72; end: 66  
https://connect.garmin.com/modern/activity/3001624587
 
10-Sep-18      MON
 Southwold  
On this ride, the 3 of us headed SE to Southwold, on the coast. We stopped in Bungay, along the way for cappucino and a snack and Southwold for lunch. Bungay is a market town of about 5000 residents. It's an interesting looking town and would have been nice to take a little more time there. But the real prize of the day was visiting Southwold with it's coastal views, beach huts, sun bathing beach, pier, lighthouse, and most of all it's brewery. The Adnams Brewery does beer of course having been founded in 1872 and produces, annually, about 85000 barrels. In 2010, the company established the Copper House Distillery and began producing Gin, Whiskey, and Vodka. There is a souvenir shop and restaurant where we had lunch. The sun was out, the patio was sheltered from the wind and it was pleasantly warm. The ocean, lapping at the shore, was just about waveless. The wind was from a westerly direction which explains the lack of waves in part. This route, which we did clock-wise, also had a couple steep hills, despite being relatively flat riding in general. One was 10% and the second was 15% Dave had mentioned his painful knees and the steeper hill just about did him in. As we finished up the day it was apparent Dave probably wouldn't be able to continue riding with us. He was limping by the end. Dave confirmed it later as rest did not help his knees. He suspected RA.  
 BIKE: Scattante; start time: 09:42; end: 17:26; avg:14.3; max: 27.7; climb: 2083; miles: 70.43; mtd miles:341.05; ytd miles:9282.13  
 CLOUDS, then some sun; wind: W 9; start  temp: 59; min: 55; avg: 63; max: 70; end: 61  
https://connect.garmin.com/modern/activity/3004072747
 
11-Sep-18      TUE
 Locks Inn Geldeston  
The plan for this day was to meet up at the pub at the Inn at Geldeston with James' friends, Pat and Shane, who live near Norwich. The roundtrip ride was to be about 80 miles. There was rain in the forecast but not until evening. Dave was going to drive home today but meet the group at the pub as well, before going home. It was just over a 31 mile ride in overcast skies and we had our rain jackets but I wasn't concerned. It was a beautiful ride as we passed through villages, forests, and quiet lanes. We were on a bit of a schedule, needing to be at the Geldeston Inn by a certain time. The last quarter mile or so was a dirt road. We arrived before the others did by a few minutes. The Geldeston Inn is somewhat isolated by the dirt road and does not seem to be near any town although as I zoom the Garmin map out, I see we were not that far from the coast or Southwold at that point. We had ridden generally SE. When everyone was together we ordered lunch - sandwiches, crisps, and pints of beer. It was all good - great conversation and nice to meet up as James had talked about his friend Pat before. After at least an hour, we needed to get on with the ride. It had felt very warm when we first sat down for lunch. I'd removed my jacket. But by the time lunch had ended it had gotten chilly. As we started back along the dirt road, it seemed as though the humidity had risen and I thought I could smell rain in the air. I mentioned this to James who agreed that the conditions had changed. We decided to abort the rest of the ride and ride back to the cottage the way we had come. That was a good move. We rode in the rain for the last 20 miles. Glad I'd brought my rain jacket!
 BIKE: Scattante; start time: 09:56; end: 17:05; avg:13.4; max: 25; climb: 1749; miles: 62.48; mtd miles:403.53; ytd miles:9344.61  
 MOSTLY CLOUDY; wind: N 15; start  temp: 68; min: 55; avg: 68; max: 73; end: 55  
https://connect.garmin.com/modern/activity/3006554549
 
12-Sep-18      WED      no ride
Rain was forecast for the day after 'Locks Inn Geldeston' so we rode the rail to Norwich to meet up for pizza and beers with Pat and Shane at an Italian pizza place in Norwich. Pat also took us on a walking tour of Norwich after which we got back on the train and rode it back to Wymondham. Never did rain, sun was out, missed a beautiful day for a ride but at least it was dry for walking around Norwich. No real regrets - visiting Norwich was nice and a break from the bike was welcome as my derriere needed a break from the saddle!  
 
13-Sep-18      THU
 Wells-Next-the-Sea  
This was another counter clockwise loop as we headed north to Wells-Next-the-Sea on the north Norfolk coast. Unfortunately, I have no recollection of where we stopped for breaks. I didn't have any way to take notes. Our ultimate destination though, was the north coast where we intended to take our lunch break. When we got all the way out to the end of the road, the restaurant there was heaving with tourists and the car park was jammed with cars. It was a very nice warm, sunny day at that point. It was not looking promising for a stop. We locked up our bikes anyway and headed over to the path to go to the top of the seawall. I was looking forward to seeing the ocean in this spot, as well. What a disappointment! The tide was out and all we could see was miles of sand and the minor flow of a stream meandering out to where the ocean had retreated. Tidal changes are extreme in this area. We decided to ride on, Unfortunately, i don't remember exactly where we stopped - could have been Fakenham, which is 10 miles south of Wells-Next-the-Sea. That would be about right for a stop.  In any case, found the Wells area interesting and would be a much nicer place to visit at high tide and perhaps the middle of winter when the tourists are gone!
 BIKE: Scattante; start time: 10:15; end: 17:06; avg:15.2; max: 28; climb: 2828; miles: 80.99; mtd miles:484.52; ytd miles:9425.6  
 PARTLY cloudy, then cloudy; wind: SW 6; start  temp: 59; min: 54; avg: 62; max: 68; end: 59  
https://connect.garmin.com/modern/activity/3012296782
 
14-Sep-18      FRI
 California  
Today we rode to California - on the Norfolk east coast that is. Who knew? Well, actually, I did know as I had read a book about a guy circumnavigating the British coast on a bicycle and California got a passing mention in the book. There isn't much there but a restaurant, some souvenir shops, and a few houses. The beach is beautiful and is sandy. Most beaches I've seen in the UK are pebbly. Again, the surf was as flat as that of a lake. There are unstable sloping sandstone cliffs along the beach. Erosion from storm surge has caused collapses along the cliffs which bring down any establishments right along in that area. So between the cliffs and the beach are giant hunks of rock which prevent storm surge from undermining the cliffs. Along the single road that leads to this destination are dozens of tacky tourist rentals. I've never seen anything like that anywhere else in my British travels. They were very unappealing looking, but if one is really intent on vacationing there, that may be the way to do it and be near the sea. Our loop circled Norwich with a stringer out to the coast. It was pretty flat, except to the east of Norwich, where it got very lumpy. We were on a busy 2-lane road that went up an 18.5% hill. I probably could have made the hill except that I was wasted from the miles and the road was super busy. Almost no roads in England have shoulders. This one was no exception. I was in the granny, the bike was squirrely as a result and all these cars were swinging closely around me. I was freaked and decided to dismount and walk it up. That was about 30 feet - wasn't far but that was the only time on the whole trip I walked anything and probably wouldn't have had there been less traffic. That's the problem with long rides - you'll finish in rush hour traffic, almost guaranteed. We were about 10 miles from the cottage at that point. It's a lot more difficult to ride long in the UK than it is here in the States. Roads are rougher and on bikes we are relegated to those types of roads for safety and enjoyment. There are some roads that are nice and smooth, A and B roads mainly, but not always. Those are the roads we avoid because of heavier stressful traffic. We were looking forward to beers at the Green Dragon Pub after the ride. I was ready!
 BIKE: Scattante; start time: 08:13; end: 15:47; avg:14.1; max: 27.5; climb: 2733; miles: 85.95; mtd miles:570.47; ytd miles:9511.55  
 PARTLY cloudy, then cloudy; wind: N 6; start  temp: 55; min: 54; avg: 59; max: 66; end: 59  
https://connect.garmin.com/modern/activity/3015267642
 
15-Sep-18      SAT      no ride
Spent the day driving from East Anglia to the south coast of England for our second week of riding. See Part 2 for the rest of the story.