Summer Holidays Ride 2024 暑假單車遊 2024

Summer in the UK is quite short, only lasts for about three months. By August, the sun starts setting after 8 p.m., and soon the days get shorter again. A few days ago, my son suggested we should going on a long-distance cycling trip given the slightly longer daylight and the fact that school hasn’t started yet. As he was so excited, I should have no reason to say no. However, in view of the pain in my right wrist, which probably caused by tendonitis, that haunting me for a few months, a long ride might make it worse!.

While I was hesitating, my wife came into rescue and reminded him about my injury. She went on joking that he should take care of this “old man” and suggested we just go for a short ride nearby instead.

英國的夏天日子不算長，只有短短三個月，踏入八月，下午八點後便開始日落，又回復日短夜長的日子。早幾天兒子提議趁日間時段稍長，而且仍未開學，不如一起來個長程的單車一日遊。難得他有這個興趣，我理應義無反悔的應成，但心想近幾個月右手腕隱隱作痛，相信是筋膜發炎所致，勉強踩長程車，一不小心，可能手尾會更長！正當猶豫如何回應，太太即時為我解困，説我有傷在身，叫他好好照顧我這個老人家，只建議到附近走走便算。

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Today, my son took the lead, guiding us along the River Thames to Raymond, then across the Teddington Lock Footbridge through Teddington, Surbiton, and finally to Esher. Just as my wife suggested, the 10 kilometer plus route was an easy and relaxing ride. I originally planned to return home for lunch with my wife, but my son, enjoying the nice weather, suggested we should go a bit further after having a pasta lunch at Little Italy in Sunbury.

今天由兒子帶路，先沿 River Thames 踩去 Raymond，再取道 Teddington Lock Footbridge 經 Teddington、Surbiton 到 Esher，行程依足媽媽所說，十多公里行程輕鬆完成。原本打算回家與太太一起食午飯，兒子竟說天氣好，要踩遠一點，提議我倆先到 Sunbury 的 Little Italy 吃個 pasta lunch。

Not only did we enjoy the “Best in Town” Ricotta Ravioli and Carbonara, the Italian owner also made my Black Americano with crushed ice, which was incredibly refreshing.

除了吃了 the “Best in Town” 的 Ricotta Ravioli 及 Carbonara 外，意大利老闆亦特別為我的 Black Americano 配上碎冰，真的非常涼快。

On our return trip, we could have taken the same route home, but since it was almost rush hour, the narrow Hampton Court Road would have been very busy with traffic. So, we decided to cross the Walton Bridge and return to Hampton Court Palace via Molesey on the other side of the River Thames.

The first Walton Bridge was built in 1750, connecting Shepperton to Walton-on-Thames. The bridge we crossed today is the sixth generation, which officially opened to public in 2013.

回程本可跟原路回家，但因已差不多到達下班時間， Hampton Court Road 一段窄路會非常多車，於是改經 Walton Bridge 到 River Thames 對岸的 Molesey 返回 Hampton Court Palace。

第一代的 Walton Bridge 建於 1750 年，連接 Shepperton 到 Walton-on-Thames，而今天經過的大橋已是第六代，於 2013 正式開放使用。

Looking out from the Walton-on-Thames side, the current Walton Bridge bears a slight resemblance to the Omishima Bridge over Seto Inland Sea in Japan, though on a much smaller scale, of course!

從 Walton-on-Thames 那邊出口遠望，這一代的 Walton Bridge 頗有點日本瀨戶內海的 大三島橋 （Omishima Bridge) 的影子，規模當然就小很多！

From Walton Bridge back to Hampton Court Palace, there were two options: taking the A3050 or following the riverside footpath. I initially thought the footpath would offer better scenery and help us avoid traffic. However, I overlooked a very important detail—the footpath is a gravel trail. Even though my son was on a mountain bike, he started complaining halfway through. As for me, riding a road bike with 23mm tires, the discomfort was beyond words! In the end, we decided to give up our original plan and switched back to the main road for the final stretch.

由 Walton Bridge 返回 Hampton Court Palace 有兩個選擇：一是經車路 A3050 或沿 riverside 的 footpath。原本以為後者景色較佳，亦可避免與車輛爭路，但怎料想漏了最重要的一點，這 footpath 是條碎石路，即使兒子騎的是 mountain bike，走了一半，已令他叫苦連天，試問我騎的是 23mm 輪胎的公路車，屁股上那種痛楚又怎可以筆墨來形容呢！終於在最後一段路，我們決定改變初衷，走回馬路！

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Today, we only rode about 40 kilometers, but I’ve never felt so physically and mentally exhausted before. Crossing Kingston Bridge towards the end was a real struggle to me, though I was too embarrassed to admit it. Looking back, the last time I rode was in November of last year, and my fitness has clearly declined. Probably I’ll need to train more in the future to get back in shape.

今天只騎行了約 40 公里，但論身心疲累是我從未遇上過，在尾段橫跨 Kingston Bridge 時簡直有種掙扎的感覺，自己也不好意思說出來。回想對上一次踩車已是去年十一月，身體狀況可真的變得非常差，怕且未來的日子要多加鍛錬了。

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If you are interested in my rides in UK, click here for more details.

有興趣看看我其他在英國的單車遊，可按這裡。