Tuesday 8^th July

Route: West Norwood, London to Braintree, Essex
Miles: 54.99; Miles so far: 1565
Weather: Cloudy turning to heavy showers by lunchtime, clearing in afternoon

A much better night's sleep so ready for the road again. I had been asked to call in at the office/workshop on Norwood High Street en route where a number of people gave me a great send-off towards Tulse Hill. It's been really great coming back to Lambeth where I feel so much at home. There are many links with my 18 years here and some special memories. It's been good to see The Vine flourishing and encouraging to see it is expecting another new member shortly.

I suppose to many, riding through London traffic would seem a scary prospect, particularly after Ann-Marie, one of the female assistants from L'Arche Lambeth, was killed when cycling in the city. My earlier brush with death in Kendal made me acutely aware of the dangers. To some extent the bus lanes help, and there are now some specific cycle routes which take one off the busy streets. Thanks To David G, I had a wonderful roll-out street map taking me right out of London, but this nevertheless required close concentration as well as focussing on staying safe.

The route took me norrth through Peckham, Walworth and onto Tower Bridge. Here I picked up a cycle route along Commercial Road to Limehouse. It's great to see traffic lights for bikes as well a pedestrians along these paths, though whoever laid the tarmac must have had St Vitas Dance. I stopped at one point to check the map and Mike appeared on his bike seemingly from nowhere - he is one of the cycling officers owrking for the London Cycling Campaign. Thanks for your suggested route, Mike. Turning north at Butcher's Row and rejoining Mile End road west, Bow Church appeared, hidden by trees and isolated by the busy dual carriageway. I recall during one of the IRA bomb threats when the tubs were closed, I walked through London and was amazed to find how many green parks and forgotten monuments appeared along the route.

Then the rain came – in buckets. I took shelter in McDonalds along Romford Road where they had space for my bike. A coffee and muffin gave me an hour and a half free WiFi time, and the staff were very friendly. Thank you for the refuge from the floods! Yes, by the time I left, there was a lake outside, as the drains weren't coping. The sun came out and life looked brighter. I lost the cycle route through Ilford, but found a way through to Eastern Avenue as per my map then north past Newbury Park, Fullwell Cross and up to Grange Hill where I turned east alongthe Lamboourne Road to Chigwell to Lambourne End. Here suburbia gave way to fields and more open countryside. It's only after Stapleford Abbots that you cross the M25.

At one point I turned the corner and there in front of me was a field of ostriches, obviously being farmed for their meat.

From here on I felt as if I was really making progress to Braintree. Up till now the sky had been still heavy in places with rain clouds, but it quickly brightened into a beautifully sunny afternoon with distant white cotton wool cloud formations setting off the ripening field of golden barley.

From Chipping Ongar, I followed Fyfield Road and discovered hidden gems of Essex along the quiet country lanes interrupted only by intersecting the A1060 and A130 roads. Lovely villages and hamlets along here, with the steeples of country churches punctuating the landscape. Fields of wheat and barley abound, with evidence too of serious vegetable production – with broad beans and leeks nearly ready for harvesting.

Braintree soon came within the radar and I was pedalling down the hill to my hosts for the night at around 6.20.

I had met Michael and Claire earlier this year through a mutual friend David Morland, and it was very good to see them again. After a quick tour of their spacious garden and pond, and an examination of their land drainage arrangements, I relaxed in a wonderful hot bath. Claire and Peter are keen cyclists having done the trip to Rome en velo, and are impressively committed to the Fair Trade movement and interfaith dialogue. They invited their neighbour, Peter, also a cyclist who had just returned from France to join us for a delicious dinner.

Monday 7th July

Rest Day in Lambeth

Decided to get up late after everyone in the house had left for work. Nice not t be driven by the daily timetable of getting n the road to reach another destination.
Went up to Norwood High Street to meet the office team and prepare for the talk I had undertaken to give this evening at St Luke's Church. Raimonda frm L'Arche Liverpool had supplied me with a CD of photos from Zimbabwe and Martha from Bognor, a CD presentation on L'Arche UK.

This little Asus Eee is a wonderful machne but I've encountered a stubborn side to its nature. It won't recognise external SD memory disks, and I'd transferred all the photos onto one in Brecon. I thought I'd solved the problem there with the help of Ferdinand, but it had defaulted back to its original prohibition setting. I eventually cracked the problem thanks to the Asus User Forum, but then I thought I'd lost the powerpoint presentation I'd spent 2 hours compiling. In the end I as able to recover this, but its size seemed to big for little Asus Eee.
But at lest we could view the photos without captions.

After what had been an afternoon's work, it was time to go over to St Luke's. where the Community and others were starting to gather. Somehow I got the words together for the talk and the photos of L'Arche Zimbabwe were profoundly moving, enhanced with the background music from the Ladysmith Black Mambazo Singers. I must arrange for these to go up on the website.
Thanks to everyone for organising and publicising the event - I realise this was done on top of the day to day pressures of Community life. Special thanks Corrine and team. It was all worthwhile, though, as I banked today £390 for the appeal.

Mark, Anya, Louise, Ian and I then went round to Louise's house with fish and chips to share a bottle of red wine (or 2?!). Wonderful.

Sunday 6^th July

Route: Glynde to Lambeth
Distance: 55.56 miles; 1510 miles so far
Weather: Bright start deteriorating into heavy rain then clearing

Fuelled with a hearty breakfast, I said my farewells to Hannah and Ben at 9.30 and headed up through the village. I look forward to seeing them again at their wedding in my home parish in Silsden next month and hope all the final preparations go smoothly. Thanks for a wonderful stay..and the thoughtful snacks.

Up the hill past the Glynde estate house, I soon came across Glydebourne itself, where I later discovered there was a performance of Carmen that evening. Then after passing an alpaca lama farm, the bazaar sight of a grazing camel. The route took me on back roads between the A26 and A27, past the Bentley Car Museum and Wildlife Park (a somewhat incongrous combination) - eventually crossing the A27 past the Lavender Line steam railway. This is beautiful country, and with fields of hay bails and majestic trees.

I was heading north towards Crawley Down where I had planned to meet Christian, a German assistant from The Vine in L'Arche Lambeth, who wanted to accompany me into London. The mobile rang and Christan reported that he had sprung a puncture so would be late for our rendezvous at 11.30, and would have to find a bike shop.

Going through Fletching, I called into the village church of St Andrew and St Mary the Virgin. The service had just finished but I spoke with the church warden and the vicar's husband explaining what I was doing and asking for support for the appeal. Further down the road there was evidence of p sons being taken to a cricket match so I stopped to speak with one parent to explain what I was doing, and further on a mother with two young children on a walk.

Along the road I also bumped into a group from the 1^st Hayward Heath Cubs on a woodland trail. Hope you had a good walk despite the rain! Yes, the rain really came down from here on and by the time I reached Ardingly, it was pouring down and no doubt spoiling the plans of the events taking place at the South of England Show ground, near the National Trust Wakehurst Place.

Christian rang to say that he had got his puncture fixed so we were on target for meeting at Hunters Hill at 12.30. I got there feeling like drowned rat, as did other cyclists who were taking refuge at the Crown Pub here at the top of the hill. Christian arrived and we had a quick sandwich lunch before braving the weather again.

The rain eventually subsided as we crossed the busy M25, stopping on the bridge to view the incessant traffic whose noise footprint must affect a wide corridor – the price of progress.

The road up to White Hill was a pig of a climb, and Christian left me struggling, having run out of gears, so there was no option but to get off and push.

We then encountered the outskirts of London at Caterham, and found a cycle path which took us to Purley where we then followed the excellent map prepared by David Grimshaw which guided us easily through the suburban streets. I was aware that the 1500 mile point was soon coming up and quite appropriately I passed it at the John Fisher Sports School, Peaks Hill, Purley. I must write to the Head and ask him/her if the School would consider some sponsorship. I couldn't easily absorb the fact that I'd achieved my goal after 29 days on the road, averaging 52 miles a day. But there were still another 250 miles to go.

By the time we reached Croydon the sun started to shine. We wheeled into Rosendale Road to an enthusiastic welcome. Thanks Christian for the moral support in such miserable weather!

It was great to arrive at The Vine, which as been a second home to me over the 18 years I have worked for L'Arche. Many of the people who were core members of the house have died over that period: Nick, Beryl, Doreen, Bernadette, Primrose and Brian, but Sylvia and since then Sunta have been joined by new members Mike, Donna and Jackwho have brought new energy to the house. They and other members of L'Arche had gathered to welcome us and Marcela and the house team had prepared a delicious buffet. Visitors Robert, Stephanie and family from New Zealand also dropped in. They had both been assistants in the Community many years ago, Stephanie coincidentally having been part of the team which welcomed Sylvia.

It was great to relax amongst friends. Thanks to everyone for the wonderful welcome. I had hoped to get some blogging done after the meal, but Christian and I ,with Louise and Marcela's help, spent a frustrating hour trying to get the house broadband up and running again. At one point in a series of telephone conversations with the BT help-line, we were told that The Vine didn't have a broadband account but a narrowband account. We needed to ring another number which told us we did indeed have a broadband package. In the end we rebooted and it sprung into life again. BT – you need to get yourself sorted!

To celebrate the day, Christian and I went over to the Rosendale for a pint before bed.

Saturday 5^th July

Route: Bognor to Glynde
Distance: 53.92; 1455 miles so far
Weather: Bright, sunny with westerly wind

Breakfast with Maureen, Alan and Catherine before Tjeerd arrived with his wife Vega, and son Rembrandt and daughter Salome to accompany me asfar as Littlehampton. They had worked with L'Arche in The Netherlands before coming to Bognor last autumn. It was sad to say farewell to everyone in the house where I was looked after so well. It was yet another example of how it is possible to have a relaxed atmosphere in a house which is efficiently run by a good team who are attuned to core members' needs .

We headed out of Bognor through back roads then picked up the Sustrans cycle path which avoids the busy roads, and were soon in Littlehampton where I visited the bank to deposit accumulated donations and had a coffee with Tjeed and family before continuing along the ocast to Hove and Brighton past Worthing where they were having a Birdman competition at 1.30. Bognor has one of these events too where aspiring human birds take to the pier and normally plunge to earth, or rather the cold sea water, sooner then they would like. The cycle way along the sea front has been well thought out, apart from in Shoreham where I lost the signs and then found myself heading along a peninsular of up market houses with no means of getting back. A short stop for lunch at Shoreham Station before continuing in perfect weather with the wind in exactly the right direction. Lots of other cyclists were taking advantage of the dedicated paths to the point of congestions at one point. Brightly coloured beach huts, striped deck chairs and wind breaks beside an inviting aquamarine sea. Then past Hove and Brighton which were inundated with tourists decanted from at least 100 coaches parked up the approach roads. Past Rodean School, dominating the cliffs, musing at the possibe conversation surrounding this posh establishment's name “We can't call it Rottingdean, my dear, much too common. Let's call it Rodean”

In the distance I could ow see the white cliffs so often associated with Dover, but stretching up as far as Peacehaven where I stopped at Williamsons Pharmacy to get some athlete's foot powder and had a nice chat with the staff there who were somewhat impressed by my mileage. Good to meet you, Frankii, Ruth and Gamil.

From here the road drops down the the estuary that forms Newhaven, and turns inland up towards Lewes. I realise the route is taking me alongside the river so no major climbs. Before I knew it, I was riding into the beautiful village of Glynde looking for Hannah and Ben's house.

I've known Hannah Goss since arriving in Silsden in 1990 and going round to her house where her mother, Anne, hosted some of the rehearsals for the Carmel Players. I had unwittingly picked up the role of Nanki Pooh in The Mikado back then. Hannah had subsequently worked as an assistant in the Inverness Community and then L'Arche Cork.

Ben and Hannah have a fabulous cottage rented from the Glynde estate, I was soon sitting out in their garden, overlooking The Trevor Arms, with a village cricket match visible in the distance. Not so obvious was the residents' outdoor swimming pool. Within minutes I was plunging into this inviting fresh water pool fed from a spring in the village. Absolute bliss. What a fantastic facility. If that weren't all, the village sports a station with a direct line to Brighton, probably opened to serve the opera house, Glyndebourne, just up the road.

The cottage has an enormous allotment just over the road (and visible from the sitting room window) which Hannah and Ben are enthusiastically cultivating - radishes and lettuce were duly harvested for tonight's salad.

Christine, a good friend of Hannah came over for a barbeque and a memorable evening was spent al fresco in an idyllic setting. It turns out that Christine's mother worked with Therese Vanier when they were both working in Africa! Thanks Ben and Hannah for the great meal, and Christine for the yummy pud.

Friday 4^th July

Rest Day in Bognor

With no commitments in the morning, I really enjoyed the chance of a lie in. The early morning sun gave promise to a fine day. By the time I went down for breakfast everyone else had left for their day activities in the workshop down town, or in the garden, next door in Jericho.

Part of my task during community visits is to take photos for the UK PR Officer, so it was off out to the garden where Maureen and Cathryn where helping to trim the onions. A variety of crops are looking very healthy in the large polytunnel where the majority of vegetables are grown. Part of the garden team were out collecting some furniture which had been given to the Community. I was able to take a closer look at the impressive new log cabin style Community Room where Louigi putting the finishing touches to the fire-proof cladding.

Then it was off to the workshop to have lunch with Peter, Jeremy, Pammy, Iris, Diane, Derrick, Tomek, Micky ad Ian. Everyone brings their own sandwich prepared normally the night before in their house. It was a chance to open the doors onto the lovely patio outside where one of the artist assistants has painted a fabulous mural of a sun drenched coast line to brighten up the wall of the adjoining property. A chance to meet Leslie and Mary Anne who work in the office, and to get an update on the plans for this evening's gathering.

At 3.00 it was back to Bethany to change into the cycling gear for a picture by the Bognor Observer photographer, and an interview for an article on my ride by their reporter Kevin Smith.

The evening party had been arranged for the Community and local friends to hear about the bike ride, so I told a few anecdotes of my trip so far to the assembled gathering in the garden, under a now threatening sky. A great buffet had been cooked by the Bethany Team under Meghan, the house leader – thanks Meghan, Kristina, James an Marie. It was really good to see friends new and old, including Tom and Roni, Maureen and Ray, and Lois who valiantly took the hat round to collect £110 in donations during the evening. Kathleen O'Gorman, the National Chair of L'Arche who lives nearby in Chichester popped in too. Thanks to all for their contributions.

The rest of the evening was spent chatting and then watching Clockwise with Fred who was falling about with laughter at each turn of the plot which he seemed to know by heart. I haven't laughed so much for a long time – great therapy!

Thursday 3rd July

Route: Winchester to Bognor
Distance: 44.24 Miles; 1400 so far (I reckon another 300 to go!)
Weather: Early cloud dispersed to give a hot sunny day

Another sound night's sleep. I haven't slept so well these last few weeks for a long time. Thank you, Tessa, for a great stay, and your generous support. I'm really grateful.

I found my way out of Winchester on the right road as instructed but was glad to find the quieter A272 Petersfield Road. The turn off is not as simple for cars which have to go up the the next roundabout and back along the other carriageway. There's a bit of a climb up onto the South Downs but once up, it's a great ride. The weather looked very promising too. For a time there was no traffic, and I stopped and marvelled at a sky lark rising in song, then descending into the ripening wheat field below. Magic. It reminded me of the birdsong Classic FM transmitted before going live. Odd how the sound of a distant lawnmower and a bumble bee are so evocative of summer.

This was a short day compared to others so I stopped again at a McDonalds, this time on the outskirts of Petersfield, to do yesterday's blog. Sorry not to be getting any photos up recently, but they take an age to upload, and my Asus software doesn't allow me to look at picture thumbnails.

Then onto South Harting where I had agreed to meet Tjeerd, Luigi and Peter, assistants at L'Arche Bognor who wanted to ride the last stage with me. A minibus full of Community members arrived at about 2.20 pm as I was finishing my lunch outside the Ship Inn. Time to hear about Fred's broken bone in his foot before leaving the non-cycling party to head off to Petersfield lake for a bit of boating.

I was very glad to hand over the panniers to Geoffrey, as the climb up to Harting Hill was tough, but well worth the effort for the view at the top. Here we asked a man to take a photo of the 4 of us. “You've asked the right person – I'm a professional photographer!” Phil replied. He was covering a cycling event for Cycling Weekly, so he soon had one of my sponsorship form in his hand and offered to send the info to the magazine.

Apart from another less strenuous climb, the route to Chichester was easy riding in fabulous weather – a real joy. A Sustrans cycle path took us around the west of Chichester, through what was a Roman amphitheatre I believe. From here there's a petty good cycle track all the way to Bognor even though alongside the busy A259.

The 20 mile or so ride got us to Bethany, the Bognor house where I was staying at around 4.30 pm. in the garden of the next door house, Jericho, the new Community meeting room was taking shape – a low profile log cabin design which blends remarkably well into its surroundings. It was a couple of years ago when I was last here, discussing the project with Chris and Luigi, so its great to see the tangible fruits of all the planning and fundraising.

I really appreciated having no agenda other than to spend time enjoying everyone's company and conversation over a good meal in the evening. Thanks Sahlee for the cooking!

Wednesday 2^nd July

Route: Shrivenham to Winchester
Distance: 53.13 miles; 1,357 so far
Weather: Cloudy, rain early afternoon clearing to give a sunny end to the day

A sound night's sleep. Breakfast with Stella and Graham, with their lovely labrador Barney in attendance. Your kind hospitality and support is much appreciated.

Not far from Shrivenham, I passed some fields shimmering with a delicate purple flowered crop which I hadn't seen before and just had to stop to take a closer look. A car was parked beside the entry to the field, and I hadn't noticed a man crouching on the opposite side of the road looking at a similar field. He was on his way to work and wanted to stop and marvel at the sight as I did, and confirmed it was a field of flax. Thanks for the chat, Ben, and for your pledge of support.

Apart from a reasonable climb up Ashbourne Hill, the terrain was relatively flat beyond crossing the Ridgeway. It soon became apparent this was horse racing country with fields of gently grazing animals and white metal railings. Evidence of serious investment at Weathercock House Stables where a number of jockeys were out for a morning ride beside what looked like a mini-race course in an adjoining field. Beyond Lambourn more fields of beautiful horses, these ones with purple coats, some possibly resting after yesterday's 2.30 at Newbury.

I then took the higher road up Coppington Hill down to Ermin Street, the B4000, which runs alongside the M4 then through Wickham to Newbury. Some lovely properties around here but a shame about the traffic noise which would drive me spare if I had to live with it all day. I had forgotten to ring Mike and Alison, some friends who live at Boxford, but realised they wouldn't be home during the day, so left a message.

Stopped at McDonalds in Newbury to have a coffee and use their WiFi for yesterday's blog. meanwhile it started to pour with rain. In a call to the L'Arche office, Judith informed me that some friends of hers lived on the Andover Road just after the 40 mile/hour sign, if I needed any help in an emergency. When I emerged from my blog spot, I bumped into Martin from Chieveley, a cyclist who showed interest in my ride. Thanks for the chat Martin and and any support you can give.

On the way out on the A343, I looked left at the 40 mph sign and saw a man in the driveway, so thought I'd take a chance and called out “You don't happen to know Judith Ellis do you?” “Yes indeed.” came the reply! This was Judith's friend William who would be seeing her this week-end in Yorkshire.

On to the bottom of Andover Road where William confirmed there was a left turn at the post box which would avoid the busy A34. The road was closed except for access so I took a risk and went along what was a narrow lane leading to some major construction works. Here I came up against a barrier fence on either side of a 3 foot trench for a new sewer. A friendly contractor came over to move the barrier and let me through. Thanks, Liam, for your help and for any support you can get from the Murphy contractor's office. Galway is a beautiful county!

I had rung Tessa Till earlier to find that she would be at Tessa Feilden's this evening so we would be able to meet up after all. So after stopping at the Caernarvon Hotel and Restaurant to get more sponsorship, I decided to risk a stretch of the A34 between White Hill and the old Newbury Road further on, to save a bit of time. A bad mistake. Huge trucks and lorries seemed to suck me into their path from the narrow section of tarmac the other side of the nearside white line. Fortunately, the dicing with death didn't last long. It was only when I arrived in Whitchurch that I realised I had parted company with my wallet. Panic. Where had I lost it? I called in at the local printers after 118111 was decidedly unhelpful in getting a number for the Caernarvon. Jo and Paul were really kind in helping to find their number when my mobile rang and Judith said that the Hotel had rung to say they had found the wallet.

I needed transport back there. Into the paper shop across the road for the number of a local taxi firm. As I explained my plight and asked if I could leave my panniers in their safe keeping, a man in the shop came up and said he would run me up in his car, and suggested I chain the bike to a stand outside and brought my panniers with me. Thanks to another example of extraordinary generosity, I was back in Whitechurch 20 minutes later with the recovered wallet. Martyn, you are a star, and I wish you well in your search. Thanks, too, to Joanna at the Caernarvon for taking the trouble to ring the office.

As I was preparing to leave Whitchurch, Another cyclist appeared and asked me about my ride, attracted by the advertising panels on the panniers. Jonanthan turned out to be a keen cyclist judging by his trip tomorrow to do the Marmot over the Alps, a 120 mile circuit on a racing bike. He joined me as far as Lower Mill, giving me a chance to explain a bit more about L'Arche. Jonathan cycles to and from work as a barrister in London throughout the year. Great to meet you, and good luck with the alpine challenge!

This is a beautiful area with trout farms taking advantage of the river complex, and more than one picturesque thatched cottage, and another with herringbone pattern brick. The narrow lanes avoided the A34 and A303 intersection a Tidbury Common, taking me through Barton Stacey and Sutton Manor. I was nearly home when I reached the B3420. Time for the SatNav which I decided to give another chance to redeem itself. I can hear it saying in defence after yesterday's fiasco “Well, you did program me to avoid major roads, and I thought the A40 to Oxford was a touch busy for you” But I must give it credit for guiding me through a maze of Winchester's one way streets to get me to my destination by about 6.20.

Here the two Tessa's gave me a hearty welcome and I was soon enjoying a delicious dinner with them both before Tessa Till returned to Petworth.