Friday, May 21, 2010

A cycle trip to Hartest Suffolk

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This was a lovely sunny lunch time cycle ride out to the village of Hartest. With the weather being so good I was keen to get back on the bike and go for a spin whilst I am unable to run.

What I am finding is that cycling requires a little more pre planning on a route to follow - firstly to avoid any of the major roads and secondly because in the space of an hour or two you can go a lot further in distance and need to ensure your route takes you back home and not leave you 20 miles away. I like maps and have a number of the ordnance survey explorer maps of Suffolk which have a scale of 2.5 inches to a mile. The map I use most often is the Explorer 211 for the Bury St Edmunds and Stowmarket area which shows all of the public rights of way and paths and walkways.

The route I decided on was Bury St Edmunds / Nowton/ Hawstead/ Lawshall/Hartest/Brockley Green/Whepstead and back to Bury

The saddle soreness was immediately noticeable when I got on the bike today but is no big deal and was soon forgotten once I had gone a mile or two. After 3 miles when I reached Nowton there was very little traffic. From Lawshall I took a turning along Hartest Lane which was a narrow minor road which was pretty much a down hill section for nearly 2 miles.

Hartest green was around 10 miles in to the ride and the ideal place for a short stop for a drink and a banana and to take a few photos. Hartest is part of Suffolk which is little more hilly than most and is an area known as High Suffolk. I came down Hartest Hill into the village and I think this may be one of the steepest hills in Suffolk. Surrounding Hartest green are many bright coloured cottages. As with virtually every village there is a war memorial to commemorate those from the village who died in the 1st and 2nd world war the memorial was unveiled by Capt. E H W Backhouse on 24th October 1920, it cost £20.


My return to Bury was along the Brockley Road and here between Brockley and Whepstead there was a yellow carpet of oil seed rape fields.Extra Virgin Rapeseed Oil is said to be possibly the healthiest and most versatile cooking oil you can get.

My cycle ride totalled 18 miles in 1 hr 40 Min's. I was about 10 seconds a mile quicker than on Wednesday.



6 comments:

  1. Very nice. Love the pictures, esp Hartest Green with the red phone booth. Seems as though you are having a good time with the riding thing. How is your foot feeling now a days? Thanks for sharing. Nice Bike.

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  2. Next time, go the reverse route and climb Hartest hill... Then you'll be sure it's the steepest hill in Suffolk!
    It's a regular part of my training route and a very good litmus test for my fitness levels as I prepare for our Paris to Venice ride in September.
    Hope you can soon be back on two feet!

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  3. Awesome! Love the bike and the pics!

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  4. Thanks Kenley the red phone booths are gradually disappearing from our landscape but there are still some about. The pain in the foot is still very much there and it reminds every so often that I am not ready to run yet

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  5. Thanks Roy you are obviously a proper cyclist unlike me !! Hopefully if I keep enjoying it and improve my cycling speed and stamina I will givethe Hartest Hill a go in reverse
    The Paris to Venice ride sounds like a truely memorable event

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