There’s no doubt that the Isle of Wight is great for a cycling holiday, but it is also pretty fantastic for the locals. It’s no secret I’m a fan of Island roads. Knowing its network of little lanes offers endless possibilities mid-ride, and I love to make it up as I pedal. On Sunday we headed out for a coffee and ended up riding 60k, spurred on by the last of the summer sun, and the excuse for another coffee (and cake) stop.
It’s a pleasure to know roads well enough to plan a route in your head and travel without a map. I’m a little in love with the old road names, and wonder at their origins. Our Sunday route took us up Kite Hill, through Firestone Copse, down Beacon Alley, across Bleak Down, past Thorness Bay, and over Egypt Hill. I’m not practical enough to remember useful road names, (I pity the driver who asks me for directions in a town) but these old road names are so evocative, they’re forever in my head.
Do you have a favourite road, or a favourite route? Mine always has to involve a good coffee stop!