"Lost" Ride

Picked up the rental bike at Barren Bicycles in Fishbourne today, just as the new delivery of Ridgeback Terrain MXKs arrived.

These will be relaxed rides here, so no weight weenie worries about the rental bike's heft ... and the complementary basket on the front — I tried to figure out how to take it off, but the gear and brake cables were routed through it, and I figured it was not worth the aggravation to disentangle then for just a week.  For a heavy-built bike with a few weight-adding extras, it was surprisingly fast. They tyres were idea for the path/trail mix. And rugged enough to handle off-road flinty paths, where the front suspension was much appreciated. On the generally flat terrain I explored here, the weight was not really an issue. This area offers an abundance of on/off road riding that's perfect for this type of bike, rugged tourers, or cyclocross bikes.

Might as well use the basket, since it's there, "to put the bits in," said the shop ... those included a complementary bike lock, mini-pump, spare tube, my own water bottle and, for now, a phone running Strava, bouncing around in the bottom. 

So how did this qualify as a "lost" ride. Well I hadn't been here in two years, and I managed to get re-routed on the Fishbourne paths, as part of the bike path was closed. No problem, just a small diversion that showed me some other footpath options to ride another day. Paths I didn't know existed, I wonder where they go?

This part of the Fishbourne Footpath is part of a couple of Strava segments. It's neither particularly scenic, it just happens to run in between the railroad/railway lines and the ruins of the 2,000 year old ancient Roman Palace, which are mostly covered underground excavations. Definitely worth a trip. They date back to the Roman invasion of Britain, which at this point is an almost forgotten and irrelevant-seeming part of British history, were it not for the many legacies of that civilization including central N,S,E,W street configurations, roman baths, central heating, aqueducts and viaducts,   advances in science and medicine ... the list goes on.

But for Stravaites, the segment is named Emperor Way — after the inhabitant of the Palace — and it's a flat sprint involving a couple of 90-degree bends, and narrow fence lines. The only chance of PRs here is if there are no pedestrians. It's near a school; so watch out for people, people.

Once beyond the Fishbourne paths, it's onto local streets for a little bit, and another sprint section, from the "subway" under the highway, to the railway line crossing. I got really lost here. Not only has this part of town been redone, but they built a new bridge over the railway that made me think I'd take the wrong road. So I did a back and forth here, and eventually too the ramp bridge over the busy road.

It deposited me right at the entrance to Centurion Way, in Westgate, near the Bishop Luffa School entrance. Ready for the 1.3 mile 100 food climb to Brandy Hole Copse. 

Then I got off Centurion Way prematurely, finding myself in heretofore unexplored-by-me areas of Parklands. No problem, just rejoin the trail, and eventually locate my exit. It's good to get a little lost.