Bikepacking overnighter II - Sun, sea and geese.
Last weekend we embarked on another overnight adventure, making the most of the rapidly diminishing evening light and still somewhat predictable weather. The rendezvous point was Thetford train station so a quick ride from Norwich landed us right in the heart of pine trees and not much else. With the team assembled we hit the road and joined the river path which was of course blocked by a fallen tree. This could only be a clever trick to stop you from leaving Thetford or possibly natures way of saying, ‘I do what I want’. Either way we crawled through and emerged the other side victorious.
The river path slowly became more of a trail and a few sketchy bits that were a little too close to the water later we made it into some of Thetford’s extensive forest. This area is a gravel riders paradise, miles and miles for fire roads and no doubt plenty of single track hidden away between the trees, it made for super easy riding and ideal terrain for rattling loose any screws on my slightly bodged front rack set up (Sonder why you no put a thru-hole in the fork crown).
Just a few km’s in and we were at our morning coffee/ cake and searing hot sausage roll stop The Shepards Baa which certainly delivered on all fronts. Riding a bike is as much about scoping out the best food and drink stops as it is about rotating the cranks so provided you’re not committed to a Strava leaderboard winning average speed, there’s always time for a sit down and chat with friends.
A lunchtime pitstop at the highly rated village shop in Castle Acre (they serve beer on tap) was a welcome reprieve from the rough-stuff and another great opportunity to sit, chat and think about what lies ahead on the route. The next section would follow some off-road sections of Peddars Way, a long distance footpath which is a near straight route from Thetford up to Hunstanton on the North Norfolk coast. As it happens this would be the moment I realise that the Restrap Rando bag is really not suited to off-road terrain and would almost certainly decide to try and fly off mid-way down a flint covered decent - wonderful..
Fortunately our route-master had planned for us to take a detour, avoiding a decent chunk of Peddars and sticking to quieter lanes instead which was definitely a good shout. It was surprising how quick the time had gone and it was past 3pm with a good few km’s still to cover before we got to the coast.
Not far beyond Great Bircham we stopped again for a bit of a rest and more importantly to snap some BAAW (bike against a wall) photos, well, bike against large concrete building blocks.
The final section was a classic mix of lanes and off-road tracks followed by a glorious spin through the grounds of Holkham Hall as the sun was dropping lower in the sky. There were hundreds of deer in the parkland which was very cool to see, obviously I didn't actually take a photo of them, just imagine a lot of deer. Beyond Holkham we were on the doorstep of Wells next to Sea and more crucially our dinner which I was very excited for. Fish and chips on the quayside was a real treat although after eating our weight in potato, the 3 miles between us and campsite suddenly seemed a long way indeed. The temperature also dropped considerably once the sun went down so we hit the final stretch of trail and rolled into the campsite ready for some much needed snoozing.
I failed to take a photo of my tent or in fact anything other than this nice tractor that was parked on the camping field.
Despite being a clear morning it was bloody chilly and after a quick brew, pack up and equipment check we hit the road in the direction of Holt. I’m glad I wasn’t aware of all the climbing we would have to do that morning otherwise I don’t think I would have ventured out of my tent. But the pull of visiting Cross Street Union for some extremely good coffee was all I needed to motivate me up the various hills we encountered.
Four flat whites and four cinco-buns later we were feeling recharged and ready to commence pedalling once again. We bid farewell to one of our party at this point and the remaining three of us turned our bikes in the direction of home. The route back took in some great sections of tracks, fields and some walking too, the latter of which I always enjoy as the words ‘I never go for a walk without my bike’ ring in my ears.
Reaching Reepham we said goodbye to another rider and the two of us jumped on Mariotts’s Way to take us back to Norwich.
And so another overnighter comes to an end. After these rides I like to reflect on what went well and what didn’t, a things to consider next time list of sorts. From a bike standpoint my Camino still ticks all the boxes and the addition of the Restrap rando bag was a welcome change from the dry bag I used last time. However this rando bag really isn’t suited to off-road sections as mentioned previously and from a safety standpoint it will definitely need remedying. I have found that putting a cargo net over the whole bag is something of a solution to this issue but this negates the bags easy access, hopefully I’ll come up with something a bit better before the next ride.
Also, whilst I enjoy writing these posts after a ride I do find it a challenge to just sit back and enjoy a ride without always thinking about capturing it on camera. Even with all the photos I did take, there were still so many gaps and things I should have taken photos of to make the post more coherent but when riding in a group it isn’t always easy to stop for every photo opportunity you see. Maybe next time I’ll try and just concentrate on the ride and forget about the photos..lol.
Until next time.
Larry.