Day 8 Eastbourne to New Romney - Broke Bike Mountain

Before setting off this morning we checked the the altitude profile for the day. Other than a 550ft climb out of Hastings, the rest of the day had inclinations and falls of less than 30ft! To say that this was a hilly and stressful day would be...well...about as wrong as you could get.

The day started early with a quick trip to the 1960's as we encountered a large group of scooter riders sporting fluffy tails. Then followed a cruise through Bexhill (stopping briefly to watch a fleet of boats failing to move due to the complete lack of wind) and Hastings before the mammoth climb for the day. My body is clearly now feeling the fatigue and it was actually a very tough climb despite not being the worst we have encountered as of late. But of course, a 550ft climb means a 550ft drop the other side!

I've often sat and wondered what would happen if I hit a deep, angular pothole whilst screaming downhill at 30mph on a fully laden bike. Well...today I found out! It turns out that the bike holds up pretty well, no major damage done and in fact, I think that the gears actually work better now than they did before! However, what did take a battering, oddly, was the rear light. Somehow, the impact ripped the light casing apart and scattered across the road. Due to the speed I was going and the fact I was on a 12% downhill decline, it took some distance to stop which meant a depressing walk back up the hill to recover said casing and search for two AA batteries which were cunningly camouflaged against the tarmac. A quick roadside repair and the light is now as good as new apart from a crack which will possibly compromise it's resistance to rain in future!

Just after Fairlight Cove we came across possibly one of the few places in the country where you can capture sea, beach, road and field all in one photograph! As such, I have featured this incredible find in today's picture.

Today was intended to be little more than 40 miles in length because Dad's annorak came out when he realised that we would be going past the Romney, Hyth and Dymchurch railway. With a diversion pre-planned, we headed off to the bottom end of the line at Dungeoness. Here can be found a pub, some unusual dwellings (it would be wrong to call them houses), the railway station, a lighthouse...and a nuclear power station! Not the most inspiring place I've ever visited.

Most evenings over the last week have involved a pub, some beer and some pub grub. Today posed a problem. The only pub in walking distance doesn't do food! With desperation looming over us, we resorted to the recommendation of our host to try the local Greek restaurant. If you struggle to imagine what a Greek-Cockney sounds like, then this is a must visit establishment! Regardless of this interesting quirk, the meal was incredibly good and washed down well with a much loved danish lager!