Tag Archives: England

Ride 259 of the year and day 139 of the streak was a night one. It was soft and still out there – 9.7°C, cloudy, 94% humidity and barely a breath of wind from the west-south-west – the kind of damp air that hangs in your headlight like fog. The plan was simple: Zone 2, out to Egerton, home along the ridge.

It starts the easy way, dropping off the hill from home down to Hunton and out onto the flat Weald lanes. From there it was Marden Road and on through Staplehurst, spinning a steady 90-plus cadence with the heart rate sitting in the low 110s and nothing but the beam ahead of me.

Then, just under fifteen kilometres in, between Staplehurst and Headcorn, the headlight found a wall of orange: barriers, cones and a big Road Closed sign. I stopped for a minute, bypassed the road works and was rolling again before the legs had time to cool.

Ten minutes later I pulled up on the green at Headcorn, where the village sign and the old fingerpost were lit up under a tree still holding on to its autumn leaves. Maidstone 10, Tenterden 9, Biddenden 4. A couple of minutes standing in the quiet, then out east past Swift’s Green and Smarden, the road rising so gently you barely notice it.

The real work came at Egerton, the far corner of the loop. Rock Hill Road climbs 82 metres in just over a kilometre and I took it at 206 W in 4:31, with the steep section at 234 W and the heart rate touching 149 – the top of the night. The Egerton Hill segment went at 203 W for 57 metres of gain. Nothing heroic, but enough to remind the legs what a hill is.

From the top it’s the reward: the Greensand ridge home, west through Ulcombe, East Sutton and Chart Sutton, along the A274 and back past the Cock Inn to Linton. Long, gently undulating, and the lanes all to myself.

The numbers

• Ride: #1130 on Strava, ride 259 of 2026, day 139 of the streak
• Distance: 51.6 km
• Moving time: 2:09:28 (2:13:46 elapsed)
• Elevation: 359 m
• Average power: 132 W
• Heart rate: 114 bpm average, 149 max
• Cadence: 91 rpm average
• Highlight: Rock Hill Road, Egerton – 1.06 km, 82 m, 4:31 at 206 W
• Conditions: dark, cloudy, 9.7°C, 94% humidity, barely a breath of WSW wind
• Year to date: Distance 21,173 km, Elevation Gain 216,297 m

The route

Download the GPX (start and finish trimmed for privacy)

Road works and all, a good night out.

Most people were turning in for the night when I clipped in. It was 23:52 on Tuesday, the sky was clear, the thermometer read 6.6°C, and there was barely a breath of wind from the west. The air was damp, the kind of cold that settles on your gloves rather than biting at your face. Ride 1,129 on Strava, number 258 of the year and day 138 of the streak, was under way.

The plan was simple: an easy loop through the lanes south-west of Maidstone, keep the heart rate low, keep the legs turning. For the first hour, that’s exactly what happened. Out through Yalding and across towards Collier Street, then the long flat run onto Pattenden Lane and back. The Weald at midnight is a different place. The lanes that are busy with tractors and delivery vans by day belong to you alone. Over the whole ride I was passed by three vehicles. Three.

Cadence sat in the low 90s, power hovered around 100 watts on the flats, and my heart rate barely crept above 105. Proper Zone 1 and 2 riding, the unglamorous foundation everything else is built on. I rolled through East Peckham, along Gravelly Ways and Green Lane, and past Stilebridge Lane, where, for once, no dog gave chase.

Then came Church Hill.

I hadn’t planned to go hard. But there’s something about a climb in the dark, with nothing but the pool of your own light ahead of you, that makes it hard to hold back. From Lower Farm Road the road tilts up and keeps going, about 100 metres of climbing in two kilometres. On the steepest part, the 800-metre Church Hill climb segment, I averaged 308 watts for three and a half minutes, with my heart rate pushing up to 170 by the top. That was good enough for my third-best time ever on it, at well past midnight in October.

Then the reward: over the top, back down the other side, and an easy spin home to let the heart rate settle.

The numbers

• Ride: #1129 on Strava, ride 258 of 2026, day 138 of the streak
• Distance: 37.1 km
• Moving time: 1:40:36 (1:45:19 elapsed)
• Elevation: 245 m
• Average power: 83 W
• Heart rate: 111 bpm average, 170 max
• Cadence: 92 rpm average
• Highlight: Church Hill climb – 0.79 km, 65 m, 3:29 at 308 W (3rd best)
• Conditions: dark, clear, 6.6°C, 89% humidity, light westerly
• Year to date: Distance 21,121 km, Elevation Gain 215,938 m

The route

Download the GPX (start and finish trimmed for privacy)

Ninety minutes of quiet, steady base miles with one sharp, honest effort in the middle. Not a bad way to see in a Wednesday.