Some one somewhere advertised this ride as Rochester to Leeds. Well it's still early in the year and with limited light we think we might make it to Leeds Castle and back from Rochester.

This was a ride we tried last year and because of awkward engineering works on the day we had to cut the ride short. At the time of writing there are no engineering works to worry about so we're going for it again, although anyone with any experience of Lewisham's attempts to get to Leeds Castle over the years should watch this space.

So the ride goes along Route 1 east from Rochester along the Medway, then dips south to Leeds Castle. Then we go west along Pilgrims Way towards Maidstone and then north by the Medway back to Rochester.

Pub lunch somewhere.

Suitable for all bikes except racey road bikes.

Check out the report and photographs from last years Rochester Loop Ride.

Report

As I sat in Greenwich station watching the rain spatter in the puddles outside I knew that the combination of a winter’s day with steady rain wasn’t a good recipe for a well attended ride. In fact it was most likely that it would be a total no show. Normally if you get a total no show you have the option of going home but it wasn’t to be that simple today because a couple of people had phoned me on Friday to say that they’d meet me at Rochester. So I was in the position of having to go to Rochester even though it was likely that know one would show up there too. I sat in the waiting room working out what I would do if I got to Rochester and there was no one there. A visit to the naval dockyards at Chatham was a possibility, a wander around the market, a little ride to the Friary at Aylesford or I could do the Loop to Leeds Castle. The quandary was solved as Ke turned up at Greenwich bang on the minute for the 08:45 meeting time. The ride was on.

As the train rolled into Rochester I got a phone call from Jill, one of the people who said they’d meet me at Rochester to say that the weather was too inclement for her to do the ride.

No one else was at Rochester. It was just Ke and Me.

The rain was falling steadily as we left Rochester station, but we were both up for the exercise and we were soon on my favourite stretch of route 1 which runs a few feet from the Medway estuary and the view along this stretch makes a ride in any weather worthwhile.

We leave the river at Bloors Wharf and continue eastwards along route 1 to Newington where we turn south and head into the hills of the North Downs. The ride twists and turns rises and falls but mainly rises. We cross the A249 head up a bumpy cratered byway and then cross the M2.

The lanes are narrow and quiet, not even enough room for a cycle and car to pass so as I become aware of a van coming up behind us I dart to a passing point on my right and in the process clip Ke’s front wheel bringing him down. No damage done and we continue on our way. Through Church Wood we enter the huge orchards around Bicknor. We continue climbing slowly to the top of the North Downs ridge before swooping down into Hollingbourne and cross the M20 a couple of miles further on.

We’ve reach our Leeds Castle destination at midday but are too wet to want to go inside and take the tour. We skirt the grounds and ride the ridge to the south going through Broomfield and Langley Heath before heading north to Bearstead and lunch.

The Oak on the Green is expensive. The Boeuf Bourguignon is £13.65 but neither of us wants to mess around and we settle by the radiator for a nice lunch. We dry our layers as best we can and contemplate ending the ride here, but the rain has stopped and the skies look brighter so we decide to continue the ride.

Out of Bearstead we turn north by the Whitehorse and climb quickly to the Blackhorse where we turn west along the Pilgrim’s Way and head towards Maidstone and Aylesford. The narrowness of Pilgrim’s Way had defeated the spatial awareness of a couple of car drivers heading in opposite directions and they had crashed into each other head on. No one was hurt, just broken glass dented wings pride and wallets or insurance. We shouldered our bikes and squeezed through the gap that was left and continued on our way.

Through Aylesford and past the Friary we opt for the road that runs under the North Downs ridge, through Eccles and Burham and pass the Medway Bridge back into Rochester.

Stats

2 riders
42 miles
3981 feet of climbing (a hilly ride)
Wildlife - rabbits, 2 large peacocks sitting on a fence and horses
5 hours
2 crashes, one eclusively involving bikes and one eclusively involving cars.
No fatalities.
Return train fare to Rochester from Greenwich with a Network Card is £5.90

Not many photos because of the weather. The ones taken will be on the website later.

Thanks Ke for coming.

Ian Pendleton