Saturday 23 February 2008

St Lawrence, West Wycombe



Today I visited the seventh church in my Jenkins challenge, which also ranks seventh in terms of distance from home. That leaves five to go.

This turned out to be one of the tougher Jenkins outings so far. It is my longest trip on the bike yet, at more than 40 miles, and involved some of the most challenging climbs.

Reaching seven out of twelve churches means I've crossed off 58% of the destinations. I started with the nearest, and I reckon I've done about 40% of the total distance, and 36% of the climbing.

The route I had mapped out beforehand took me via Hambledon, and would have brought me back through Marlow. In the end I decided to avoid even more hills on the return, and came back through Loudwater instead. I expected a grim journey, from High Wycombe to Loudwater on busy roads. However, I discovered a cycle path that avoids the worst. I imagine this will prove useful in future, when I want to reach destinations beyond High Wycombe, without having to brave some daunting climbs.

The weather was a bit warmer today than it has been recently, but it was overcast all day, with a suggestion of rain from time to time. It was also quite windy. Oddly, whatever direction I was travelling, the wind seemed to be in my face.

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