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fussballclub
@|³|MA3K and @KRZ took a select group of us - and us being predominantly fixed skidding people - to Deal, overnight, for shits and giggles. 110 miles all in, from my front door, via Broadway Market to start proper then via The Greenway, Blackwall, Thamesmead, Dartford, Northfleet, Gravesend, The Medway Towns, Whitstable, and finally tracing the coastline to Deal.
The evening started off well with some excellent pizza and bumping in to my namesake @howradmichello. We left at 8pm sharp and followed the roads and then the Greenway down to the Blackwall tunnel where on the south side we picked up @blowfish and co before immediately puncturing.
Repairs made we continued along the thames path through the desolate landscape of Thamesmead where we had our second blowout.
Repairs made again we crossed our fingers and proceeded to Gravesend via some good riding along a dual carriageway where - remarkably - our group was gifted some excellent driving and no hassle at all.
The pace was spirited and it was clear a couple of the group might struggle but we held together at Gravesend and decided to have a backstop - me - to ride at the back with any stragglers and deal with any potential issues that might arise from losing contact with the main group. The group would then wait at junctions to regroup. This worked well for the remainder of the ride and also allowed me to slack off.
Once past the Medway towns the route really came alive again with deserted country lanes, tiny thatched hamlets and the odd un-paved road to liven things up. Stopping for snacks at Whitstable we picked up the coastal route where the temperature dropped due to being next to a very calm sea. It was about 02:30am.
We traced the coastal path to Reculver and stopped at the twin towers of the shattered St Mary's church as the sun started to rise - seeing the towers rise out of the gloom was a moment.
Fed again, the sun rose inexorably as we followed the coastal path through grubby Margate, posh Broadstairs anonymous Ramsgate for the final ten km to Deal. Emergency coffee was downed as some of us - ME - were falling asleep on the bike.
The final ten km ticked away until we arrived to zero fanfare at a deserted Deal. It was 06:30. Subway - seemingly the only cafe stop - wouldn't open for hours and our first train option was hours away. Amazingly though Deal has a pub - I shit you not - that opens at 7am, and by chance we found it, and fell upon their mercy.
Bemused, they agreed to serve us some egg and bacon butties and beers. The reason they open is because they are a guest house and in theory they only feed their guests, but they took pity on us and gave us a slap up feed. Turns out they are family friends of @Cazakstan. What are the chances?
Fed and watered we ambled to the train station and dragged ourselves home via groupsave to a wet and frankly cold, miserable London - anticlimactic but the group was clearly toast and sleep called.
Overall: 10 / 10 - A++ would ride again.