Tatia had to go to Waltham Abbey today, so I decided to go along and ride home. I mapped out a route using Komoot and added a detour to Hadleigh Park as a coffee stop. When I unloaded my bike, I suddenly realised that I had no water bottles; I had left them at home. So that meant a four-mile detour each way to the nearest bike shop to buy a pair. Still, it is all miles in the bank (or should that be legs)
I used Komoot to plot a route, which turned out to be ok and mainly avoided busy roads, taking quiet roads, lanes, and trails. At one point, it took me along a trail in Epping forest, which it said was a road, but no motor vehicles had clearly used it in a long time!
When I got to Hadleigh Park, I decided to follow the signs to the visitor centre rather than take the usual trails I know will be good for a road bike. Big mistake. It was much more suitable for a gravel or mountain bike. Well, it is an off-road centre, after all! It felt like the trail would never end as it twisted and turned. I decided enough was enough and would ride home on roads rather than continue along the trails.
All that was then left was to cycle along the seafront to home.
All in all, a good day’s ride