From Dover I set off along National cycle route 1 to Royal Cinque Ports to play the first hole of the tour. The hosts the previous night were David and Rebecca and what I thought was their cat. I found out later that it was just a cheeky local moggy who popped by on hunt for food. Rebecca is a teacher and I could spot this a mile off when she got out the craft box out and made 2 signs for my bike with the charity details on. Proper old school Blue Peter style. Rebecca had mentioned the steep climb that I would have to overcome right at the start. She advised to take the road instead as it would soon join the cycle path but me being me I missed the road and took the path. 80 steps of carrying my fully loaded bike almost had me taking a header off the white cliffs and putting me out of my misery. I already had nerves about playing my first hole but at this point I was more concerned with being able to swing the club back without screaming in agony.
I arrived at the course and met the clubhouse steward and the course secretary and got ready to tee off. A member asked me about my bike as it had my kit, clubs and bags on and was pretty taken aback when I described how long it would take, which courses and how far I would be going. That's some round he said, I struggle with 18 holes on the same course let alone 18 different courses all over the country.
My first hole was a par 4 with a tricky second shot over a stream. I hit a nice tee shot but bottled out of going over the stream and laid up and hoped for a chip and a putt. Unfortunately it ended up being a chip and 2 putts for a bogey on the first hole. I'm sure better players than me have taken more on the hole so not to much to be annoyed at.
It was a short ride to the next two courses which was good as the coastal head wind could stop a truck. On the tee of the 2nd hole at Princes the head wind had turned into a cross wind which only added to the difficulty as from the view I had it looked as though the fairway has disappeared and turned into deep wispy rough. It was a par 5 and after 3 shots I was short of the green and hoping once again for a chip and a putt. History didn't quite repeat itself and it ended up being a chip and 3 putts. Once again my lack of practice had cost me a shot or two but just being on these fairways and greens makes up for any short comings in scores. My third course was Royal St Georges. The course that had Greg Norman and Darren Clarke amongst it's champions. The par 3 third was my hole to maybe claw a shot back, at least that's what I thought or hoped until I stood on the tee. These holes are unreal to play but so difficult it's insane. I ended up with a 4 which puts me at 4 over after 3 holes but so glad to have taken on the challenge as it's not my scores that are important but the cause I am doing it for. Course number 4 is Walton Heath in Surrey. I had a host arranged for Maidstone which would put me at 65 miles for day one and would give me 50 miles to get to the next venue. After cycling in the bicycke paradise of Switzerland, Germany and Holland for the last month I have become used to a certain level of cycle lane and bike infrastructure that is clearly lacking in the UK. We have the National Cycle Routes and the local bike systems but my gripe is the upkeep of these is terrible. Riding along the foot path of a "B" road which shows as a cycle route should not entail that I have nettles and thorn bushes dragging across my legs or that I should crouch down to dodge tree branches. This is made even worse when the bike route takes you onto the footpath on the side of the road that faces the oncoming traffic. Ducking branches and swerving brambles all the time while being aware of oncoming trucks makes for scary stuff. I survived this afternoon of cycling hell and made it to my host in Maidstone where I was treated to shepherds pie and vegetables and an apple pie with custard pudding. It was a great evening of conversation with Andy and Sue and I wish them well on their upcoming Lands End to John O'Groats trip. Next tee off Walton Heath.
No comments:
Post a Comment