Day
26 – July 5, 2022Day
26 – July 5, 2022First things first, today’s primary mission was to fix the broken spoke (my third of the trip). This time, I had the benefit of a night’s stay with good internet to help me locate the best possible choice of bike shops, instead of trying to come up with one in the field. I got lucky the first time and there was a shop in the next town. The second time, in the pouring rain, I had to find a bus stop for cover and search for a bit, then veer slightly off course to get things taken care of. This time, I had hoped to find something in Bourne (the center of which was 5 miles south of me) but no luck. However, there was a shop almost directly on my route on the edge of Peterborough, 19 miles away. I figured that would have to do and set off about 10am.
The first part of the day was mostly pleasant, with a crosswind that wasn’t too bad, just a little chilly (about 62F degrees) and a good stop in Bourne to pick up food supplies. The road was crowded but as usual people just went around me, because here in Britain bikes are an accepted fact of life, unlike back home where most people would just as soon keep bikes off the road at all times. (Not that I’m bitter or anything.) I made it to the bike shop in pretty good time and while they fixed my spoke I had lunch. Oh, and the question of whether or not I would risk riding my worn-out rear tire all the way to the finish was rendered moot because I figured since they had to take the tire off anyway to fix the spoke, they might as well just swap on the new tire at the same time and save me the worry and risk. So the spoke got fixed and now I can finish out the ride not worrying about whether my tire will blow up at any moment.
Anyway, after that, it was another 15 miles or so south and then I could head southeast for a bit and turn that crosswind into a tailwind. After meandering through Huntingdon (including yet another “adventures in routing” from Google Maps) I emerged onto the best bike path I’ve seen this trip, a 14-mile pleasure along the “busway” between Huntingdon and Cambridge (more on that in the photos section). I stopped for a few geocaches here and there but mostly kept going because I had to check into this hotel tonight before 8:30pm (sigh) but also wanted some time to look around Cambridge first. The town did not disappoint, with some extremely gorgeous university buildings and architecture...well worth the extra hour and a half I spent wandering around. Eventually, though, it was time to head for the hotel and I got there with half an hour to spare, almost exactly at 8pm, which is when I told them I’d arrive when I filled out their online check-in form last night. Then the usual shower, dinner, and work on this blog before bed.
So thanks to Cambridge I finally got another decent day of photos prepped, so let’s get started...
First
off, let’s get that spoke fixed...here’s the broken end
of it, the rest is down inside that connector piece where it snapped
off. All three of my broken spokes happened this way (they can also
break at the hub, or snap in half). I’m told when they break
off here it’s a sign of too much tension on the wheel...not a
big surprise with all the weight I’m carrying.
In
case you’re curious, here’s how much had worn off the
tire in the 3 days since I first noticed that one little spot. I
probably could’ve made it to the end of the ride on this, but
I’m just as glad to not have to worry about trying.
And
as usual a shout out to the fine folks at this bike shop for helping
me get back on my way quickly. I think I was lucky to find three
shops along the way that could all spare the time to solve my problem
for me without an appointment or a long wait.
Back
on the road, the route took me right through the middle of
Peterborough, and this is the town square.
More
classic architecture in Peterborough. The next picture is taken on
the other side of the arch to the left.
This
is the cathedral at the center of town. Very impressive.
And
here’s a shot looking back at the town as I cross a bridge on
the way out.
Once
out in the country Google Maps did it to me again, sending me 3 miles
down a road that ended at somebody’s farm, and then told me to
turn left on this dirt road. So I did, and when I got to the end a
mile later and looked back, I saw this. So yeah, I was on private
property that whole time. Nice job, Google Maps.
Sidebar:
Here in the UK, there are places where this happens...see the “give
way to oncoming vehicles” sign? (Remember you’re driving
on the left.) Places like this are designed to break up traffic in
towns and near busy intersections. When you come upon one of these
you have to stop and let any oncoming traffic pass. I think they must
be a pain for drivers, though most of the time on a bike I just blow
around them.
For
the middle part of the day I got treated to seemingly endless views
of this.
Then,
finally, I got onto this awesome bike path that followed along next
to the “busway” from Huntingdon to Cambridge. See those
two lanes to the left? They are for buses only and yes, those are
high concrete barriers that work like rails. I wasn’t sure how
buses could even drive down one of these without going up over the
curb.
Then,
eventually, one went zooming past me (at a high rate of speed) while
I was stopped looking for a cache. You can see the bus is just
zipping along in between those concrete rails with no problem. How do
they do it? Turns out there are little guide wheels extending out in
front of the axles, so the driver probably doesn’t even need to
put his hands on the steering wheel at all. When the bus comes to the
end of the track those guide wheels just go idle and the bus drives
along normally. So this whole thing is like a train track for buses.
How cool is that? Oh and the best part is the path running
alongside...look how wide and smooth it is. Pure luxury.
Even
better, the route went right through some very picturesque natural
wetlands.
Along
the way I spotted this nice looking windmill sitting off by itself.
Now
I’ve reached Cambridge so most of the rest of these pictures
will be from there. This is St. John’s University.
The
Little Round Church, just across the street from the last photo.
Even
better view of St Johns.
The
Great Gate into the university. Obviously crawling with tourists.
More
of that amazing architecture.
Some
of the streets nearby. Harry Potter fans, what does this remind you
of?
Another
cool street nearby. Look at those chimneys...
Further
down the road, the beauty continued...
Looking
back from the previous spot.
I
enjoyed watching this clock tick along. Since it’s a still
photo you can’t see what I mean, but basically, the creature on
top would reach out with a claw and drag the wheel one click at a
time every second, so it looked like the thing was walking along
while the wheels rotated underneath.
The
canals running through town were also very pretty. This view is
adjacent to the Queen’s University.
This
is the gate to the King’s University. No bicycles permitted?
Bah!
And
this is the King’s University, visible to the left of the gate
in the previous photo.
Now
onto my hotel, which looks like this...basically a converted
apartment building. Honestly it felt more like a hostel inside...it
has an upstairs common area with seats and a full shared kitchen
(where I will enjoy a free breakfast in the morning).
One
nice thing about traveling is sometimes you can find some unique
locally flavored items. In this case it was these yummy roast beef
and horseradish flavored crisps (don’t call them chips...that
word means something totally different in the UK). I wound up eating
the entire bag. Yum! Now for some sleep...one last ride awaits...