Friday

13 of us gathered at Tilbury to catch the 10.15 ferry across to Gravesend - I have wanted to include this in a Wheelers' ride for a while and this proved an ideal opportunity with the journey from East London being quick and easy. The day was already becoming hot and suntan cream was much in evidence.

Once across the river we cycled the short distance to the promenade café to meet another three who had come from South London. We split into two groups (slightly faster/longer and slightly slower/shorter) but agreed to stick together as far as the end of the old canal. Our first challenge was to get out of Gravesend without any punctures - the NCN route to the canal towpath was covered in broken glass, but everyone got off, many carried their bikes over the worst bits and amazingly no punctures resulted.

The groups parted company, with the faster group going out to Cooling (for the obligatory stop at the church of Great Expectations fame), then via High Halstow to lunch at the Hoo garden centre. As we approached Rochester, just where the NCN launches itself down a very steep shared use path between two old quarry pits, we saw some familiar cyclists just ahead of us - the other group who had taken a less hilly route and not yet had any lunch. We dropped them off in Rochester to find food and carried on eastwards. My failure to reconnoitre the route (question: how difficult can it be to follow NCN 1?) meant a few stops to check out the map and one or two slight diverts (answer: quite difficult as the signing was rather intermittent and/or confusing) before we arrived back at the Thames estuary. A very enjoyable section through the riverside park, including a tea stop, followed, then pleasant and quiet country lanes before we approached the nadir of the route - Sittingbourne. We took a deep breath and went for it, finally emerging the other side back into the lanes that led us to Teynham and then uphill to the hostel.

In the meantime the slower group (after a consultation with the faster group about the difficulty of route finding east of Rochester) decided to hop on a train as far as Sittingbourne and then picked out a hilly route to Doddington.

Whilst all this cycling was going on, the advance party coming direct from London had arrived, taken delivery of the food AND eaten the ice cream intended for Saturday night! Their excuse was that the village was suffering a power cut and so it would have melted if not consumed.

The power cut extended to the next village (Newnham) where we had booked to eat at the pub. Not deterred by having no electricity they were carrying on with a slightly limited menu (the quality was still very good) and candles on the tables. To round off a good evening, the last few people (and the power) arrived whilst we were having dinner.

Saturday

A choice of rides was on offer - the longest being a trip to Dover via Canterbury with the challenge to actually make it all the way to Dover (we failed last year) and return by train to Faversham. The shorter options were to take the train to Broadstairs or Margate and then cycle back westwards to Faversham via the coastal route to Whitstable. We chose to reverse the route from the previous year because the forecast was for an easterly wind and it seemed just silly to cycle into it all day. Amazingly with 27 riders in total we just happened to divide into three groups of 9!

The short/medium ride groups managed to all get on the same train at Faversham - with other groups of boys with BMXs and individual cyclists there must have been about 24 bikes on that train. Having waved the "short" group goodbye at Margate, the "medium" group disembarked at Broadstairs. Unfortunately the weather was exactly as forecast - cold and misty, rather galling when we knew that London was continuing to enjoy the heatwave. So waterproofs and fleeces on and get cycling.... After a coffee stop at a jetski café (chosen for the out of the wind location, not the ambient noise level) we paid a visit to the Tracy Emin exhibition in the Droit House at Margate. A few more miles of cycling right next to the sea, observing (of course) the intermittent cycling prohibited sections (only May-Sept) and we had lunch at Minnis Bay where enormous portions of chips were the order of the day. The weather had been improving gradually and by the time we left the lunch stop it was summer again so away went the jackets and fleeces.

We finally caught up with the short ride group on the beach in Whitstable - they had followed the same route as us from Margate but had stopped at Reculver for an "urgent fry up" and then again at Herne Bay for an "urgent ice cream". After swimming (for four of us - not at all cold but rather stony on the feet) and general basking in the now hot sun and eating/drinking, we re-grouped for the final part of the day. The cooking team headed by Aneeta departed on the train to Faversham whilst the rest split into the semi-fast group and the "relaxed ladies" group. The latter decided to explore Faversham creek en route and just happened to find a pub there so were almost the last to return to Doddington.

Back at the hostel meal preparations were in full swing as riders arrived back at various times (good for reducing the shower queues). We sat down for a largely Italian themed meal - cold starters of assorted meat, tomatoes, mozzarella, olives and bread sticks followed by aubergine parmigano accompanied by (non Italian, locally sourced and excellent) sausages for the meat eaters and pasta, jacket potatoes and salad for everyone. As we were tucking in, the final two cyclists made it back to base to a round of applause - well done David T and Nadia for actually getting to Dover and living to tell the tale! No ice cream for desert, but "hostel made" banoffee pie was a very satisfactory alternative.

Sunday

Sunday was hot and sunny from the start and it was becoming obvious that this was not going to be a day for very energetic activity. Breakfast became a leisurely affair with many eating outside in the sun. Again several rides were on offer - a shortish ride to arrive at a beer festival in Lenham in time for lunch, a ride to Sevenoaks via Yalding and a longer version via Sissinghurst.

About 5 miles into the route the longer ride group suffered the only puncture of the weekend when Nadia cycled into a rather spectacular pothole. We stopped and tried to get out of the sun and it became apparent that getting to Sissinghurst was really not realistic in the heat. As we contemplated this, the shorter Sevenoaks team caught us up so we continued as one group with some dropping out at Lenham to enjoy the art and beer festival and then find their own way home. The rest of us had a morning coffee stop at Grafty Green Garden Centre, where we played the game of "how many bicycles can we fit into one car parking space" (at least 13).

After our stop we carried on towards Yalding following the planned shorter route, with two more dropping out to follow their own route home via Maidstone. Our destination was Tea Pot Island, a slightly eccentric place next to the Rover Medway crowded with families with inadvisedly uncovered and consequently rather sunburnt children. It suited us fine though, we found a place to flop in the shade of a tree whilst we ate lunch. Two then left us to go to stations, and so we were 9. This group of stalwarts carried on determinedly in the heat of the day, up some increasingly steep hills (plenty of rest stops) to emerge in Knowle Deer park right up on top of the North Downs. Too late for the National trust tearoom but just in time for the toilets to still be open, we took a breather and a few photos. From there it was a cruise down Sevenoaks High Street to the station and a train back to London.

I really don't know much about the other journeys made on Sunday, although I had a report that ride leader Roy had managed to guide the "beer festival" team along some Kentish lanes for just long enough to work up a thirst and an appetite for the ox roast. It was one of those days when everyone gradually departed to do their own thing, but I think everyone made it back safely.

For the record:

We stayed at Palace Farm Hostel, Doddington, Kent. Our second visit there, it's highly recommended and you can just book individual beds or rooms.

Friday longer ride: 42 miles, 1600 feet of ascent

Saturday medium ride: 47 miles Saturday short ride 42 miles

Saturday long ride: 56 (to Dover) 2400 feet of ascent, 47 (to Deal) 2000 feet

Sunday ride to Sevenoaks: 40 miles, 1750 feet of ascent