Following R52

Only about 30 miles in total this weekend, but two very pleasant rides, following regional cycle route 52 to the south-east on Saturday, and to the west on Sunday.

Regional route 52 is fairly well signed, but I can't find any reference to it other than the signs out there on the road. After following them, I've tagged the relevant ways on Open Street Map. By the middle of the week the changes will have been rendered, and I can have a look at the cycle map to see how it turned out.

There was an almighty thunderstorm this morning, before I left, but while I was out the weather was fine. Both routes were fairly straightforward to follow, although I'm a bit confused about a couple of parts, and I will have to revisit to join up the dots. Yesterday was the easiest riding, and today involved a few steeper climbs. The route took me over some roads that were new to me, as well as some familiar roads from a different direction, and the bluebell woods near Burchett's Green were a major bonus. They should be looking even better by next week.

Class struggle

Last week I provoked quite a reaction from an American friend when I described myself as "middle class". He equated this with describing myself as "middle income" which is not the same thing at all: at least from an English point of view.

Sadly, it looks as though I have failed to make the Sunday Times Rich list yet again this year, but then I don't see income as a very important factor at all in social class. I suppose career choices play some part, but it seems to me that the way we see social class has more to do with family background, education, lifestyle, and so on.

Thankfully, it's hard to see any link between social class and cycling. At least I can't think of any way that encompasses bike messengers, David Cameron, Alan Bennett, Vicky Pendleton, and all the different kinds of cyclist that I come across on the roads.

However, we were discussing all this as we drove past Sainsbury's to do the weekly shop at Waitrose - and that probably says more about us than we would like to admit.

Weekly roundup

Not too shabby an effort this week at 61 miles, after a rather pathetic 31 miles last week. The better total was mainly down to a ride of over 40 miles on sunday to reach the 11th church in my list, which was then supplemented by three shorter rides during the week. Given the improving weather, it might have been more, but I had meetings in London on a couple of days, which pretty much wrote off any chance of getting out on the bike on Thursday or Friday.

However, being in London on Friday meant that I could meet up with an old friend ("old" in the sense of "long-standing", I hasten to add) who is a keen cyclist, and offered his support in attempting a century later this year. It's a daunting, but tempting prospect, and I can't quite believe that I am giving it serious thought.

There seem to be astonishing numbers of cyclists on the street in London. It's hard to tell whether that's just because I am noticing them more than I used to, or because the number really is increasing. I guess a bit of both. It almost justifies this chirpy clip of Lily Allen.

OSM Cycle map

Showing some lovely wiggly contour lines near Salzburg.

A beautiful evening

A short ride, of eight miles on a beautiful evening up to Cookham Deane and back. The ride there is mostly up-hill, which I took fairly slowly, but it makes for quite an exhilarating return journey, with very little effort involved.

The weather has definitely improved, and there were lots of people grabbing an early pint in the pub gardens.

The other sign of the changing seasons was the number of insects in the air - particularly noticeable speeding through the woods on the ride back. I have spent the last few months perfecting the technique for taking out a hanky to wipe my nose without falling off the bike. It seems I must now learn to ride with my mouth shut.

Chenies

Almost 43 miles covered today, to visit the eleventh of the twelve outstanding English churches that I am aiming to reach by bike this year. This is St Michael's at Chenies in Buckinghamshire.

Intending no disrespect to the good people of Chenies, the church itself is pleasant enough, but no more remakable than most parish churches. I think Simon Jenkins included it among the top 1,000 on account of the monuments in the Bedford family mausoleum, which are apparently quite outstanding. He is perfectly entitled to do so, of course, and we understand that he tends to see churches as museums, but since the mausoleum is private, and rarely accessible by the general public, it seems a bit of an odd choice to me.

Nevertheless, the 12th century Aylesbury font is worth seeing, and it provided me with an excuse for a very pleasant outing. The weather was kind all day, and there was even some sunshine on the way back.

It has taken me three months to reach 11 out of 12 churches on my list, which equates to 92% of the total. The remaining one will involve the longest distance, and the most hills, so there is still 15% of the mileage, and 23% of the climbing to do; and then I will have to think up another quest.

Open Street Map

The Open Street Map project uses Wiki principles to collectively build a map. Contributors gather information by walking, driving or cycling the area; from GPS traces, out-of-copyright maps, satellite imagery, and the like.

It lacks the detailed satellite imagery and route-finding capabilities of commercial products, and some areas look a bit thin, but elsewhere, including this part of the world, the results are already pretty impressive. Places like central London even more so, and things seem to be moving forward pretty quickly.

Even better: because it is all based on an open philosophy, there is tremendous potential for specialised spin-offs. For example, Andy Allan has produced a version designed specifically for cyclists, which is here, and there is also a London tube map by Steve Chilton.