I could do this all day

We decided to go for a bike ride up to Hampton Court, the sun being out for once - allegedly for the whole day. After taking you through West Byfleet, The Basingstoke Canal gives way to the River Wey, which in turn takes you on to the Thames at Weybridge. In theory you can cycle into Putney in London from our front door if  you have the stamina. After that it gets a bit patchy but there is plenty of cycling on the South Bank and through Bankside to Rotherhithe … maybe one day.

The point at which the Basingstoke Canal joins the Wey at Addlestone is marred by the M25 roaring overhead, so you feel as ’though you are in some dystopian setting. There is however something imposing about the graffiti clad concrete columns and the broad gravel pathway - at this point you are literally cycling a path that is the same width as an eight lane motorway! This is little compensation for the fact that the next section is some of the most tree-root ridden and narrow along the whole route. And after the heavy rain over the weekend it was also full of puddles, some of them deceptively deep. I shall be cleaning my bike and panniers this  weekend as a consequence.

There was a lot of bird life on the river today, including a swan just outside Weybridge which was preening itself as it stood on the weir. 

Dangerous creatures swans. I saw a man chased by one when I was young and it has made me cautious ever since; when fully puffed up with wings extended they seem enormous and can move very quickly. I was surprised to see a family with young children feeding them close up further along the path; one misinterpreted quick move by a toddler could have see them coming off badly. But there were no cygnets or juveniles around so it was probably alright. They had nothing to stick up for.

The sheer number of Canada geese by Walton Bridge was like something out of a David Attenborough documentary. Hundreds of them on the river bank by the cafe just below the road, presumably used to getting rich pickings from the people that picnic there. We cycled on to the marina, which is only a few hundred yards the other side of the bridge but much nicer for a coffee stop. In fact we spent a really pleasant half hour there, surrounded by hundreds of boats, none of them particularly big or ostentatious but all very clean and well kept. One man spent the whole of our  time there jet washing the front of his boat, which I found very restful; as Jerome K Jerome said, I love work - I could watch people doing it all day. But then he was a man who knew a thing or two about the Thames. 

The river from Walton up to Hampton Court is really nice, and very quiet. Probably because of the Molesey Reservoirs, which means that there are very few houses or communities by the river itself, just the long winding path and a view of the nice dwellings on the far bank. 

We stopped just past Hampton Court for a picnic - or rather, we opened our box of grains, beans and Mexican vegetable burgers, and started at opposite ends with our bamboo spoons. Most food tastes delicious when you’ve been cycling for a few miles and this was no exception. The  body craves sustenance for all the work it has been doing. Even when you have an eBike you are still pedalling and bouncing around in the saddle; I worked off quite a few calories today if my Garmin is to be believed.

The original plan had been to stop at Hampton Court and take the train up to Surbiton and then come home by rail but we were feeling pretty good and decided to push on to Kingston along the river, then cycle back down to Surbiton and come home directly from there. This turned out to be a good idea as the rain clouds rolled overhead and we had our second wind. 

We saw a house just outside Kingston which did make us stop and take a look. I would live in it. Huge windows - one wonders what they do in winter but if you can afford a place that big you can presumably afford electric shutters  or blinds.  The whole thing just spoke light and expanse, the green lawns were manicured to within an inch of their lives, and of course it was immaculate. 

Just below Kingston Bridge I saw a tree stump covered in the most enormous fungi. Alien species almost. I vaguely remember something about being able to tell the direction of North from the way  they grow on one particular side of a tree. Or is that lichen? Either way the majority of the growth on this one was on one side, with just one on the other looking as if it had been forced into exile by the rest of the fungal community. Maybe it had transgressed. Or maybe it was a matter of space and there just wasn’t mushroom left …

The last bit of our ride was uneventful and we managed to find lifts in working order at both Surbiton and Woking stations; just as well as our bikes are heavy. Got home tired and happy. I was rather pleased with my efforts as I had struggled earlier in the year but getting fit and losing two stone seems to have given me more energy. I’m pretty sure all the grains and beans helped propel me along the last bit as well…

Lovely day.