Cambridge to Peterborough - Day 15

Date: September 2nd, 2009
Distance: 48 miles
Country: England
Song of the Day: Ahead by a Century - The Tragically Hip

Woke up late again. I don't know why I do this all the time. But the road life really takes it out of you. Was out of the campsite just after noon. Stopped to pick up some much needed food. Mmmmm. Then it was into town.

I have to say Cambridge is a really beautiful city. I really wish I had more time to spend here. It seems like it would be a wonderful place to go to school. (Not to say I would actually get in...) The city and the university and the city are so smushed together after 800 years that it is hard to tell where one ends and another begins. Complicating this is the fact that the university is a collection of different colleges. Each one has its own area. The buildings are quite pretty. Again, I wish I had more time, but I needed to press on.

I did find a bike shop though. I got two extra tubes, a new tire and some lights. Oh, and a bell. Silly I know, but it is a good way to say "hey, there is a bike coming through". Also, I like to ring it sometimes in the middle of nowhere. It makes me giggle. I put the lights and the bell on real quick. I didn't change the tire out, because the boot was holding pretty good. Plus I just wanted to get moving.

It was 3:00 PM when I left Cambridge. Again, the late starts are going to kill me. I found the national cycle route (51) I wanted, which was nice. But it dumped me out onto the A1. Basically a freeway at that point. So the riding was really not that fun. But I was headed in the right direction and making good time.

After Huntington, I decided there has to be a better way. I felt very good that I found the next cycle route (12) that I was supposed to take. I also picked up a Frenchman. He was riding north to Scotland. So I was trying to show him the route north. This wasn't all that easy. A number of occasions I missed a sign and that was it. So we had to turn around and go back. The little blue signs aren't all that easy to see. Especially when they are behind a tree. The route was very nice though. Sure it was a bit windy, but through this wonderful countryside and little, ancient villages. It also started raining as it go on toward evening. Nothing terrible, but it made the ride a little slower and more annoying.

I should mention in here something about the smell. This probably doesn't get mentioned in most travel magazine or books. A field with a fresh layer a manure over it smells awful. You know when you pass one. It just assaults your nostrils. I don't have any advice for a good way to avoid it. But just remember it isn't all fun and games out on the road.

I also had a weird experience, I swear that one of the little towns we went through was the same as one I played in Medal of Honor. The way the road wrapped around the church was eerily similar. I tried explaining this to my French companion, but his English isn't that good, and my French is basically non-existent.

I said goodbye to him about 8 miles outside of Peterborough. A mile later the cycle path I was on vanished. I found the last sign, but there were no turns indicated after that anywhere. Just gone. Leaving me in the middle of nowhere with no indication of where to go. Oh, I should mention that English road signs only seem to mention the very next town. Since every four miles there is some tiny village or other, it isn't easy to tell if you are going the correct direction even. I ended up biking back and forth in the rain trying to find it to no avail. I did run into two other bikers who had good directions to the town and camping.

With all the running around trying to find my path. It was dark by the time I go into Peterborough. I got into town and had a cheap meal at the local pub. After that it was off to the campsite, a quick shower and off to bed.

-Dravis