I had planned to meet up with Oliver’s ride which, according to the Greenwich website, was heading out to Maidstone East on a train from London Bridge. I picked up the train on the last leg of that journey from Bromley South. I thought Oliver’s ride would pile on at Otford, but not one single bike got on the train there.
So I headed out from Maidstone alone. Luckily I had my GPS which is gradually becoming quite a large store of all the rides I can remember. I picked up one of my routes in Yalding, just a few miles down the B2010 from Maidstone. A couple of little short sharp rises after a pleasant little riverside path out of Maidstone and then into the flatlands of Kent.
There is a maze of quiet country lanes around Marden, little traffic and no hills make them ideal for less experienced riders. I used to bring my daughter and her friends out here many years ago for that reason.
The road stays mostly level after after a crossing of the A229 reminds you, just for a moment, that this is actually quite a heavily populated area. Then back into the quiet lanes towards Frittenden where few cars follow. I managed to find the really quiet back lanes that I missed the last time I led a Lewisham ride out this way. The old farmhouses and barns here are not converted or beautifully finished homes for London commuters. They are a little rough around the edges because many are still working farms and the barns are used as such.
Once past Frittenden, it’s not far to Biddenden where I stopped off for tea and the purchase of some wine. My Carradice saddlebag was admired by an elderly Dutch tourist, who turned out to have raced in his youth.
Then on, northwards now, for the return, not to Maidstone, but further west. I entertained fleeting ideas of riding all the way back to London for a brief moment. I had covered 50 miles by now and didn’t really feel like a 100+ miler with a North Downs ascent thrown in. So I took a meandering route including one of my favourite little lanes through Rabbits Cross. For a flat ride there were a fair number of views.
And some surprise residents
Finally, after much to-ing and fro-ing around Yalding, including a bit of the path along the Medway, I headed back towards Wateringbury, and up the hill thence to West Malling. That made about 70 miles or so. I just popped into the station to find a train arriving so headed back to Bromley South and then home. I never did find Oliver’s ride.