The South Downs Way adventure has started. Today was the first day of cyclng England''s South Downs Way, where we completed roughly 20 miles of off-road path from Winchester to East Meon vicinity. The rolling hills and country vistas are spectacular, and the weather co-operated this Sept 10th, 2019. The cycling trip is in support of this site to let more people know about it, and, stop in on a few related sites. One of which is the Tangmere tower followed by an open invite to the Wetherspoon (Dolphin and Anchor) pub in Chichester, where I hope to meet anyone interested in adding information to the site, or just popping by to say hi. As mentioned, Ron Powell, author of "Wings Over summer" will join us at 7 p.m.
Today's cycle was tough, there is no question you have to be ready for the hills, but we're taking our time, doing the South Downs Way in 4 days. Today's highlights included fixing *successfully* a broken chain, missing the bus in Salisbury but getting an even cheaper taxi ride (than the train) directly to Winchester (start of the ride), getting lost on some tangent of a bridle-way / foot path (there are many offshoots) and ending up on a horse farm before successfully navigating back to the trail. About 4.5 hours with some un-intentional detours, but then, the fantastic pub (Izaak Walton) in East Meon before riding up to our accommodations at the Sustainability Centre. Some very nice single and double track including historical sites such as an iron age fort and the natural amphitheatre where thousands of US troops massed before D-Day.
And that's day one. Day two will be longer *about 25 to 30 miles* before we reach the Chichester area, and, the next pub. Of note I've carried far too heavy a pack, but I will lighten the load a bit as I've brought a few T-shirts to give away from the site, and, we will also have a few Spitfire beer glasses to give away also! Hope to see you there tomorrow the 11th at 7 in Chichester.
Kurt
