And then it was time to leave London and head towards Oxford. Canals again came to the rescue in avoiding traffic. We decided to split our journey to Oxford, 110km or something was a bit longer than we wanted to do in one day, so we headed to Cookham (68 km).
I would guess that for all but 10km we were completely off road and on canals. There were a few spots where the road was little more than a very bumpy dirt track, but still, got there in the end – and with no punctures.
We used AirBnB for the evening and were happy with the place we stayed. Headed out for pizza for the evening, yum.
The next day, we continued on to Oxford
There were a surprising number of “bridleway” paths (for horses) on our route. Planning these things on Google Maps you can never be quite sure what you’re going to end up with sometimes ;)
As we arrived into Oxford, slowing coming up a small hill, we heard a loud BANG! Never a particularly good sound to hear on a bike. The rear wheel had completely deflated and the cause was obvious (ruptured tyre wall)
We were super lucky that it happened in Oxford. Anywhere else in the preceding 50km would have been a pain, as there really wasn’t anywhere to get a replacement, and I didn’t have anything for patching up a tyre.. In the event, it was a short 10 minute walk to the nearest bike shop, where I bought a replacement tyre, this one with Kevlar walls.. I think the tyres that were originally on the bike were great, but, more designed for road cycling around, rather than long-distance touring. Still, it only cost us an hour or so, and then we were on to see my cousin Catherine.
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