Meet: Greenwich Station 09:50 for 10:07 train to Rochester

Distance: 45 miles

Phone: Ian  - 07986 872 205

Ride along Route 1 east from Rochester, along the Medway, then dip south to Leeds Castle. West along Pilgrims Way towards Maidstone and then North by the Medway back to Rochester.

Ride Report

After a phone call from Stewart on Friday afternoon warning me that we wouldn’t be able to get a train to Rochester because of engineering works and after a quick checking of maps and train timetables the Rochester Loop became the Strood Loop. The Strood Loop being very similar to the Rochester one; really only differing in that it cut off the visit to Leeds Castle in an effort to make the ride a little shorter in view of the late start and increased travelling time on the trains. Strood Station is only 1 mile from Rochester Station but there were timetable changes, a train change at Dartford with a 15 minute wait involved.

There were eight of us on the ride – Ian, Janine, Judith, Rachel, Paul, Tim, Robert and Stewart.

Fares were £8 full fare, £5.35 with a Network Card and £4 group save 4 for 2

As events unfolded at Greenwich Station the shorter ride seemed prudent. Our train was cancelled which involved half an hour wait and the trains were very slow getting into Dartford because they were queuing outside waiting for platform space. Another half hour lost. The good thing that happened at Dartford was that we didn’t have a wait for the connection to Strood. A quick change of trains and we were away. We arrived in Strood at midday an hour later than intended.

So it was no messing, straight onto the bikes and away. We crossed the Medway into eastern Rochester and were soon on National Route 1 heading out of town before turning off the busy main road and heading down to the river side path. The path here is a quality item, a little bit bumpy in places but dry and I would say passable on all kinds of bikes and tyres. Put this on your list of places to cycle the views over the river, and quiet traffic free environment are excellent. Because of the late start and our previous experiences of getting food in pubs, quite a few stop serving food at 2pm, we thought we should be pro active about finding somewhere to eat rather than waiting for somewhere to appear on the route. When we came away from the river we popped into the fist pub we came to. They didn’t serve food but directed us into the centre of Rainham, to The Rose.

Food at The Rose was wholesome and cheap and the service quick and friendly and the bikes went in the car park round the back. A full plate of Cottage Pie, roast potatoes, mashed sweed, carrots, and cabbage for £5 was very good value for money. I’m not an ale connoisseur but that too got the nod of approval from those who were.

From The Rose I adjusted the route a little and we went straight down the main road for 3 or 4 miles before finding the turning point where the original intended route crossed our road. We were now in the Kent country side that I really love, narrow quiet lanes where you only see 4 or 5 cars in an hours riding, We past bare orchards of Apple trees,  bare hop sticks and as we slowly climbed and reached our high point for the ride there patches of snow in the fields. It was a slow gradual ascent to our high point of 650 ft before cresting the North Downs ridge and rapidly descending to the Pilgrims Way. The Pilgrims Way is another narrow quiet country lane which roles its way under the North Downs ridge from east to west.

We reached the outskirts of Maidstone at about 4pm and I figured that we had about enough time travel up the Medway Valley Walk between The Friars at Aylesford and Wouldham, before darkness completely took over. The Medway Valley Walk is for the most part a concrete pot holed road with a lot of deep puddles – but I always think it’s nice to get away from the traffic. A puncture for Paul on this section meant we were quickly enveloped by the freezing dark evening. A puncture mended by torch light, unique security wheel skewers, with freezing hands and everything else getting cold too is a long arduous affair. I think it took half an hour to do this. Back moving and onto the road it was too dark now to read the GPS and it was too cold for my gloved hands to turn on its illumination. However it was just a question of heading north and keeping the river close to our left. Another puncture, a slow one for Stewart, meant a couple of quick stops to replenish the depleting air in his rear tyre.

We arrive at Strood at 18:10. No trouble with the trains on the way back, another quick change at Dartford and we arrived at Greenwich at 19:10. Stewart mended his puncture on the journey.

I enjoyed today . . . .  loads. Thanks everyone who came along.

Photographs should be on the website Monday or Tuesday.

Ian Pendleton

Lewisham Cyclists.