Well I did 109.3 kms in the end (that’s nearly 70 miles for the oldies!); well over the average that I will have to do en route to Puglia. I continued from Newbury along the Kennet & Avon Canal but on arrival in Hungerford, chatting to a fellow cyclist outside the shop where we had both invested in refreshments I realised that Bath was perhaps a bit too ambitious (the proof was his map). So I headed vaguely north(ish) and ended up in Wantage from where I completed the third side of my triangle and arrived, tired but delighted that I had broken the 100 km barrier, back in Reading. I was going to pause and post to the blog from the exact point where I breached the milestone but it was one of the most uninspiring views of the ride, somewhere in Purley. Update: I’ve just added the route map.

Reggie performed well and now has a cool dusting of dry debris from the road and tow path. I eliminated the two rattles that had developed; the rear mudguard was the first one (and what I was doing in the picture below – the wheel needed removing to access the screw), the second disappeared after I stopped and inspected, touched, pushed etc… everything that I possibly could. Bizarre….

Need to do quite a few of this kind of ride before I set off (six weeks tomorrow). One every weekend? I’m a bit saddle sore. 🙁