21/03/2022 – Juliano’s World Frenzy Resumes! Day 1
Hi all and a warm welcome back to my World Frenzy series! My good gravy, this has been a long time coming hasn’t it? January 24th saw me receive delightful news on easing of restrictions for foreign travel not too far into the future. So I had spent a few hours deciding where to go and British Airways had a sale on, finishing on 25th January 2022. After much deciding, I had finally chosen a deal and the website was having no end of hissy fits about booking it. So I gave up, and was prepared to return to Plan A, which had been a cycling tour which I’d already made some bookings for.
25th January saw me actually book my planned deal, this time it actually worked and £220 later, I got an error message. The booking had been received, but the website could not show me the reference details etc. Which led to some stresses about how I was seemingly never going to get anywhere, especially as the number I was told to call hung up on me twice, as apparently there were other customers more deserving of their time than me! Thankfully, after loading Twitter to seek advice from their social media team, and feeling dirty at the prospect of using social media, I finally got the email and all was well again.
Obviously, this meant the bulk of the cycle tour was no longer happening. I still had Day 1 and potentially Day 5 to do some, of course whether I would do so or not was not decided at that point. All I knew for sure was that I was going exploring the world again, and I was incredibly pleased to be doing so! With the Airbnb cancelled, and the Iceland trip postponed once again (I swear that it will happen eventually) I was starting to get things organised. Research on my route to Heathrow, which was almost certainly going to be Heathrow Express at the time and keep reading to find out if that ended up being the case, how to get from the airport to my destination hotel, pre-departure tests and all that needed doing.
So, where was I booked to visit? Well first I must mention that my other choices of destination all got looked at but were rejected for various reasons. I could be here all day discussing the 3 hour booking session on 24th January, but I will spare you all that tale! Nice, Santorini and Zakopane all got investigated and will happen in due course, what I can tell you is that Nice nearly happened but the inability to take my cycle with me on Eurostar stopped that. They had wanted outrageous money to go by train to Nice anyway, but if I had been able to take my cycle I’d have paid it to allow for some touring while in France. So Eurostar lost nearly £250 on fares from me, just because there’s apparently a security risk with taking a cycle on Eurostar. Never mind, I will put my money into the accounts of airlines instead and go elsewhere! I’m told I would have been able to hire a bike, similar to those in some cities around the UK, but they are a bit small for my liking and I prefer my own beast for a cycle ride anyway. Maybe one day, but I stumbled upon a cheaper option.
I was off to Zagreb, Croatia! I had not been to Croatia before, and a quick Google Images search revealed I had a beautiful city to go and explore. With an excellent hotel, in a convenient location and at an amazing price, I was very keen to visit! Zakopane also looks beautiful, but I will go there another time which is good as it will give me more time to learn Polish!
So then, 56 days after booking the trip, I was all set to go and I was on the 0643 from Hereford to London Paddington. The text prior to this sentence was typed up several weeks before the trip, I had been that excited about it. Of course, since then a war has broken out in Ukraine, and I was still unsure if I’d be going on this adventure until 3 days in advance of Day 1. By the time I finished work, I was very much in Holiday Mode and celebrating the end of a department I’d been a part of for nearly 3 years (good grief, it’s been that long since Sydney!) and looking forward to returning to a different role, I was ready to go. Whatever would happen in the meantime, well I was going to get ready for it regardless and get some foreign currency. I just had to go and see what happened!
So, back to the train to London. That went by quite quickly, and I arrived off 802010 at the magnificent and best London terminus, London Paddington, 5 minutes early at 0942. A Pret coffee was the order of the morning, and I have to say I didn’t know the new entrance near platform 1 was open. I arrived on the streets of London in glorious weather, and I was not going to pass on that to play on trains. Good gravy no, if I hadn’t had my beast with me then that might have been different. That said, I’d have got on one of those Santander ‘Boris Bikes’, or got my walking feet on. I had recently committed to smashing March 2021’s longest single walk of 16.25 miles, so this would have been a good time to do so. It will happen soon!
So, I set off with some vague plans and it goes without saying all the time spent on the 802 planning, well I could have done something else as I threw all plans out of the window! I had looked at filling the gap on my map between Barking and Rainham (Essex), but I obviously didn’t do that. Somehow, I ended up at Victoria Park and I decided to go for it and head up the Lea/Lee Valley. I’ve seen it called both Lea and Lee, I’m pretty sure it’s meant to be Lea though!
What a beautiful park to ride through, I must return there one day. I got a bit lost a couple of times trying to follow National Cycle Network’s Route 1, but that doesn’t surprise me sadly. Eventually I found my way out of the city, and near Tottenham I pulled over for a short break, and further on I was back on Route 1. It had been quite a nice route, alongside the canal, once out of the city, definitely one to do again and to be recommended.
I soon fell into the trap of believing NCN signage, and somehow I was heading north on the A112 (I haven’t checked that number yet) instead! Bang went my nice and easy ride then, that was challenging in places, and I think it was at the top of the climb into Sewardstone that I crossed over into Essex. Well, I had wanted to go to Essex I guess! After a Maps check at Gunpowder Park, where I could have found my way back to the canal path but which I had lost faith in following, I saw Waltham Abbey was not far away so finished the climb and got to drop the hammer on the downhill section before branching off onto the A121.
During a quick stop here, I discovered my backpack had opened up, and how nothing had fallen out I don’t know. I also have no idea how long it had been like it, having not taken the bag off at the Maps check, so I was certainly very lucky! It happened again later, although considering how much I had crammed into it (it had been pretty full before shoving the coat into it at Victoria Park!) then I should have not been surprised.
I finally arrived in Waltham Abbey and had a quick ride around, and I had briefly considered heading up to Harlow while in this part of the world. I could pick up a 745 from there after all, but my heart was set on Cheshunt for the bay platform used by London Overground and some 710 action. So I finally found my way back to the canal route, even crossing briefly into Hertfordshire, and got going. Cheshunt wasn’t too far away now after all, I would soon be back in the city and having lunch from Pure. I could sense the taste buds having a party already!
After 27 and something miles, I was finished with the day’s main ride. It hadn’t exactly gone to plan, but I see it like this, I’ll not have to do that bit of the A road again and I have good reason to return to the area in the future! At the refreshments place upstairs, a bag of crisps and a large tea weighed in at £3.05 (those crisps must have been expensive! Good thing they were delicious) before I ended up on winner 720549 all the way to Stratford.
Well, I missed the junction for Cheshunt, but I knew I could carry on to Broxbourne so I figured I might as well do just that! It’s quite a nice route, and I highly recommend the route from Tottenham to Broxbourne. The section into London, yes it’s nice enough but I preferred the northerly part. It looks like I could have rode further, but by the time I saw 745107 head north just before the station I was ready to call it quits. The pair of 317s, I wasn’t ready for them otherwise I’d have got the camera out. They’ll soon be gone at the time of typing this after all.
I had looked at bailing at Cheshunt for the transfer onto London Overground, but quite frankly I had a million ideas going on and I wanted to get moving. I should really have checked the trains before going upstairs, as I would have known to wait for the 1339 from Broxbourne. Instead I’d gone for the 1312 train, oh well it is what it is! If the 720 had been dud, I would absolutely have done the sensible thing and soaked up more sunshine!
With the weather still incredible, I soon enough worked my way down to the cycling route and when possible dropped the hammer. Once I got to Fenchurch Street, I crossed London Bridge and by some route or another I was in the Elephant & Castle area. OK, I had not planned to get that far, and somehow I found my way back around to the Vauxhall area and towards the river. Onto Cycling Superhighway 6 and at the river I turned left onto Route 4 of the National Cycle Network.
I decided after the crisps it made sense to stay on the 720 all the way, as I had wanted to clear some more of Cycling Superhighway 2. I don’t know for sure where that starts in the east, but I would soon have more of it done at long last! After finishing the tea at Stratford, it was that hot, I eventually found myself on the Westfield exit. An email reminded me to check-in for my flight, and I got lucky with a window seat. Happy days!
In the Jubilee Gardens area, a road closure caused me to say enough was enough. I had by now done another 10 and something miles, and I should add the day before the adventure I had done my Gran Fondo for March. That had been allocated to this day, but what can I say, impulse rules the roost and it’s a powerful force! That ride had been challenging over its 65.5 miles around a lot of rural Herefordshire, so all this cycling was starting to test the derriere! Bear in mind too I’d only got the beast back from some repairs a few days previous, so I was putting it through its paces!
A break here on the South Bank was mandatory, and after logging the ride I was going for a good walk instead. 0.2 miles later, I found Pret and the chant of ‘Pret, Pret, Pret’ meant only one thing, I wanted a Pret filter coffee! With that enjoyed in the sunshine, and a study of the map done, I was soon up on Waterloo Bridge, I had an approximate route of interest in my mind so it was time to roll.
Yes, you know how this goes by now, I am the King of Impulse after all! Bang went my plan to ride along the north bank of the river, I had found myself riding along towards Buckingham Palace. Out and around I found myself going, before finally ending up somewhere near the plan to ride through Hyde Park. I was nearly done for the day, and after a nice ride through a fantastic park (but I do like Battersea Park more) I finished the bit of Cycling Superhighway 3 I had not done in 2021.
Soon enough, I arrived at Paddington, or more specifically Bishops Road Bridge. I had to go for more new coverage! With that 5.6 miles or so, that was me done for the day. I wanted some proper food badly (I had also had some bread during the ride and journey on the 720, don’t worry the crisps were not my only food) but first I needed to secure my beast. It was due to spend 3 nights at Paddington, I had to wonder if it would still be there or in a decent condition or not when I returned, but it was the best I could do!
With all that done, the top priority was expelling redundant waters. By now it was around 1635, and I’d not had the opportunity since around 0935! The room on the 720 nearest me was OOU and I didn’t bother checking the other one. Having dealt with that need, it was to Sainsburys for some supplies, which included a 10″ pizza freshly made and cooked at their pizza counter. Obviously, I made sure I got a vegan cheese and tomato pizza, excellent value at £4 (including a £1 cooking fee) and surprisingly tasty. I’ll have one again, now I know what they’re like and that a vegan option is available.
The next two 345s after my pizza, eaten outside for perhaps obvious reasons of soaking up the nice weather, were not required so I hung around for two other options. The 1728 to Reading threw out winner 345052, so I took that to Hayes & Harlington. The following Heathrow service, that would have been required 345068, but I didn’t fancy dealing with the crowds I might get stuck in on that, given how busy my 345 had got at Ealing Broadway.
I had also wanted now to get to my Airbnb and fast. I marched down the road as fast as I could, and after emptying the bag, checking out the room etc, it was off to nearby Asda. I had a microwave, fridge and kettle in my room, but no tea/coffee, cups or plates. So while there I also bought a £1 mug, I didn’t mind leaving that and the coffee behind. I’d have preferred to not need to do so, but it was that or no coffee in the morning. That was absolutely not happening!
After that, and a lengthy phone call to the little sister, it was chill time. Eventually I got this trip report typed up, and to end this off nicely I should mention the day before I found out just how excited I was for this trip. How? I was paraphrasing a line from South Park, in this case it is from an early season episode with the dodgeball team. The original line I seem to recall is ‘Let’s go Cows, let’s go’, but my paraphrasing is ‘Let’s go Heathrow, let’s go’! Yes, before you ask, it will also get quoted on Strava on the relevant activity on Day 2!
Tech's World Frenzy 