As Good as it Gets

Norfolk Stage 00 – Chesham to Letchworth 52 Km (Wed 4 May 2022)

Weather: 8⁰C min – 15⁰C max, overcast

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“We only regret the bike rides we didn’t take in our life.” ~ Unknown

Due to the COVID pandemic, this is the first bicycle tour I have done since Taiwan more than three years ago. At 76 years I feared that my touring days had come to an end, but my body still feels OK so I decided to throw caution to the wind and set off on another tour.

Planning my 11 day, 627 Km, tour of Norfolk was simple because it was a loop starting and ending in Chesham where I am staying for the next few weeks. There were no flights or ferry trips to arrange, just hop on my Cannondale Tourer with it’s two Ortlieb pannier bags and ride off.

The only difficulty was finding accommodation in the 10 towns I had planned to stay, because accommodation was more than 80% booked in most of the towns. The main reason was that English people have decided to enjoy their own country rather than venturing overseas, also some of the B&Bs are closed due to COVID-19.

The route I had created using https://cycle.travel/  and Garmin Basecamp was as near perfect as I could have wished for, taking me on quiet tertiary roads through some of the most charming English countryside imaginable. Without having to worry about traffic I was free to roll along without a care in the world, savouring the beautiful world around me.

I was treated to typically beautiful English countryside, with lush green rolling hills and the occasional sea of yellow canola flowers. I passed through sleepy little villages and past several “Escape to the Country” quality mansions. In particular I liked the Tudor style houses with their rough-hewn, dark brown, beams contrasting nicely with the whiter than white walls.

Riding along at a gentle pace, I was able to fully appreciate the beauty around me. I saw shy bluebells nodded their heads, forming a carpet of purple at the foot of forest trees with their fresh, light green, spring, foliage. I saw duck ponds, horses and sheep, and even a colourful pheasant crossing the road.

All too soon I reached my destination of Letchworth Garden City in Hertfordshire.

Before I stay at a town I always check online to get a feel for what to expect. Last night when I did a search for Letchworth on YouTube I was horrified to see videos with titles such as “Letchworth village insane asylum”, “Letchworth village insane asylum”, Letchworth ghost adventures”, “Letchworth village morgue”, “Letchworth village abuse”. This is not what I expected. How could it be? Google soon put me at ease because it turns out there is another Letchworth in USA.

Letchworth Garden City in Hertfordshire is one of the most charming towns you will find. As the world’s first garden city, Letchworth has had a notable impact on town planning. Aspects of the principles demonstrated at Letchworth have been incorporated into other projects around the world including the Australian capital Canberra.

My tour of Norfolk could not have started any better. Today has been a ride to remember!