Set off from Reading around midday.
The first leg from Reading to Basingstoke was tried and tested. Just after Burghfield bridge another cyclist came alongside me from Reading cycle club. He remarked, "Nice bike mate!". He had an identical bike to mine; a (decathlon) BTwin Triban 3. I agreed with him that it is a fantastic bike. He mentioned that when he had bought it that the salesman had said that it was only good for about 40 miles trips maximum *. "I rode to Paris and back on it", he said.
* - I do not think they put enough grease in the hubs. If you get the bike serviced - or do it yourself - you need to repack the wheel bearings with plenty of grease and then it is as good as any bike up to £1000. I have had mine for about 7 years now. It has been a great bike.
Travelling through the woods from Reading the Basingstoke was very straightforward; it took about 60 minutes to reach the outskirts of Basingstoke (link to earlier blog).
Basingstoke
I have only recently been able to finally figure out the road layout around the town centre. It is surrounded by dual-carriageways and is is a bit of a nightmare if you get stuck on one with the usual assortment of BMW's, big lorries, and vans whooshing past. The route I have is via Chineham and through the Kingsland business park; this leads to a road (Gresley Road) which leads under the A339 Ringway and directly into the centre of the town. From here, I cut through Festival Place shopping centre and onto New Road.
I made a mistake here at the fork, and took Hackwood Road instead of Cliddesden Road. This led to a nasty intersection but I managed to work my way back to the planned route cutting through a housing estate and some back alleys. I use the MAPS.ME application on my mobile phone for this. It is an offline map which means I do not need a data connection; I only have pay-as-you-go mobile access.
Got back onto the route (Jays Close) and crossed the M3 via a footbridge on the left just after the Fujitsu offices. I always find it funny how the scenery can change so rapidly from town to country and vice-versa. The footbridge led to the B3046 which felt like a country road.
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| Hampshire countryside (between Basingstoke and Winchester) |
I was not looking forward to this leg of the journey, but I think it ended up being my favourite part. The road meanders through the Hampshire countryside with some spectacular views. I passed through Cliddesdon, Broadmere, and Nutley and got to Axford much more quickly than expected. The name Farleigh Wallop made me chuckle.
Next were a series of villages ending in Candover; Preston Candover, Chilton Candover and Brown Candover. Preston Candover was my favourite. Somewhere here I stopped and retrieved a Decathlon bike multi tool which had been dropped by another cyclist; another one to add to my collection.
Arriving at Totford I stopped outside the Woolpack Inn for a drink and a snack. I needed to check the map as I knew I had to make a right turn around Northington. I had a conversation with a man drinking outside who was from Winchester. He confirmed that I needed to take the right turn about 20 yards back, and then carry for about 1 mile until I got to a crossroads; where I should turn left.
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| Fire Path (alongside M3) |
I reached this crossroads but it did not exactly correspond to the route I had planned so I carried straight on. This lead through Micheldever woods and eventually met the M3 where I took a left down a track into the woods. A green sign indicated 'Fire Path'. This was a mixed blessing as the track eventually degraded into a stony path; I had to get off my bike and walk for about 1/4 mile until the road surface improved back to a paved road.
Then straight though the village if Easton; follow Easton lane which ends in a no-through road, unless you are on a bike where there is a convenient path safely negotiating the busy M3 junction 9. Past Tesco and follow the cycle path to Alresford Road; then Quarry road to the centre of the town *.
* - I think I will change my route next time and go past the King Alfred the great statue and then along an earlier section of the river Itchen.
I think followed
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