Riding in the North Downs
(continuation)

Apple and pear orchards lined the road towards Bicknor. A faint, but delicious smell of quickly ripening apples kept tempting me. The terrain remained gently undulating through a quick succession of rather non-descript hamlets--Deans Bottom, Silver Street, Bredgar, and through the town of Doddington.

Past Doddington, I started climbing the ridge again, this time from the north. The 400-foot ascent was gradual, spread out over 3 miles of interesting scenery. At a narrow point on Slade Road, two cars met each other and wound up at an impasse. I couldn't help feeling smug as I slipped my bike between and through the 2 helpless heaps of metal.

(Above: Just before Slade Road near Warren Street)

(Below: A dark stretch just before the road emerges out on Warren Street)

I got a bit lost after crossing the bridge over the motorway in Charing Heath and wound up in literally going in a circle as in one of John Donne's valediction ("thy firmness makes my circle just, and makes me end where I begun..."). After a couple more wrong turns, I finally managed to orient myself for the final 7 miles back to Headcorn.

I came up towards attractive Egerton House and stopped to observe the outrageous bunch of blackberries on the side of the road.

(Above: At Egerton)

(Below: Autumn reaches Kent)

The lane past Egerton was littered with debris from the recent rains, and I found myself swerving to avoid sharp rocks here and there. As I was getting ready to make the final left turn that would take me on the long, straight stretch back to Headcorn, I heard the very unwelcome sound of air coming out of a tire--my tire. And just like that, my 2-year run of no-flats unceremoniously ended. It was a tiny, but sharp, piece of rock that punctured the tire. I took out my frustration on the flat road that followed. The time I lost fixing the flat caused me to miss the 13:30 Headcorn train. With over 50 minutes to kill, I decided to tack on a flat, 6-mile out and back to Frittenden.

Somebody up there must like me, because the rear tire started leaking air half a mile from Headcorn on my way back. Did I mention that my pump broke earlier in the morning and that I had to use my emergency air cartridge to inflate my tire when it first went flat? Well it didn't matter anyway, because the little middle thingy in the tube's valve snapped off as I tried to unscrew it (must have rotted sitting in my saddle bag for a long time).

Well, when the going gets tough, the tough goes...eating??? There was absolutely nothing I can do to fix my tire--I was out of spare tube, my pump was broken, and even if it weren't, I couldn't pump air into the tube's broken valve, anyway. I looked up from my limp and useless rear tire and lo and behold...a fish and chips shop! With a full stomach, I walked the half mile to the train station, thanking my lucky stars that this all happened at the end of my ride.

(Above: The fast, flat, final stretch back to Headcorn)

Last Modified: October 03, 1998