Saturday took us through Hampshire up to Basingstoke, where we camped on the floor at a friend's flat. The roads weren't anything like Friday. Unfortunately the National Cycle Network hasn't extended that far yet so we were stuck on A and B roads most of the way. They were mostly straight and undulating with long gradients - so pretty boring, and busy. Probably more akin to what we'll see in Argentina than the Wiltshire lanes of the day before.
Sunday we took the NCN route 23 all the way from Basingstoke to Reading. It's a great route which keeps you off main roads all of the way, and even includes some unpaved sections. We hardly met a car all day! After a quick pizza lunch, we jumped on a train back to Ealing.
So that's the training done. We survived (though Marion's bruise count is in double figures), learnt a bunch about how to optimise our packing and, most importantly, really enjoyed it which bodes well for September. Bring on Argetina!
(That's me, trying to get the bike through one of the gated sections on the cycle network route 4 near Reading. It was impossible without lifting the bikes over - take note, cycle network people!)
Things we didn't have that we will take to Argentina:
Bungee cords
Zip ties
A puncture repair kit and spare tubes (yes, we failed to remember either of these on this trip)
Compressible pillows - Inflated water bags just don't cut it.
Lots of spare space for food
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