Notts rider Keith Stewart writes for the club’s Official Site on his epic trip from Nottingham to Amsterdam raising money for Prostate Cancer in the Football League event…
Today I cycled from Northampton where I stayed overnight, to Stratford (London) via Milton Keynes and Stevenage.
I got lost travelling through Northampton as my Garmin was telling me to travel on their ring road, which was far too busy. Although the cycle lanes through Northampton are in a fairly good state (much better than Nottingham’s cycle routes!!!).
I found myself in a bit of a mess trying to work out where I had to go. As expected the countryside between Northampton and Milton Keynes was exceptionally good with the route taking me through very quiet country lanes.
Milton Keynes I found had probably the best cycle routes I have ever seen with little junctions to have to stop and cross over, and for a change found it a pleasure to cycle through a city. The country lanes from Milton Keynes to Stevenage, again were exceptionally good, with some spectacular views to take in.
I arrived at Stevenage around an hour before expected and so I enjoyed a bit of a rest whilst I waited for the Stevenage fans to arrive, as they agreed to cycle the last 37(ish) miles to London alongside me.
I was glad to see the likes of Steve and ex Stevenage player Neil Trebble again, along with a couple of new faces. Shortly before we left for London we filled up our water bottles from the Stevenage back room offices and had our pictures taken from a local photographer.
The trip from Stevenage to London took us a short distance through cycle lanes and country lanes until we arrived at the canal/river, where all we had to do was follow “National Route 6″ cycle lane down to Stratford (supposedly).
The cycle lane was diabolical with parts I would have struggled with a mountain bike! There were several parts that split into several routes but with the signposts missing so we had to guess – Neil often told us that he used to live round this way so he knew which way to go … yes!
We also ended up lost on every occasion. We finally arrived at Leyton around 7pm where Steve, Neil and co stopped for their hotel, and I carried on myself for the remaining 3 miles to Stratford where I checked into my hotel, had a shower, then headed off to the Football Cafe to meet up with some of the other riders.
Shortly after meeting up at the Football Cafe, I learnt that there was a big group of Ipswich fans (around 70) that were meeting at the Jamie Oliver restaurant for something to eat – so I decided to tag along and have a chat with some of these guys.
Read more of Keith’s diary on the Official Site throughout the summer.
You can also still sponsor Keith by visiting: https://www.justgiving.com/NottinghamPCUK or by donating via text.
To donate £5 TEXT - NOTT98 £5 to 70070
To donate £10 TEXT - NOTT98 £10 to 70070
To read more and view more images/video’s of the London to Amsterdam event organised by Prostate Cancer UK and The Football League, simply do a social network search (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, etc) for the hashtag #l2a