Lunch on the go!

Headed off towards Stalisfield but the first attempt was aborted. My son Nick wanted to come with me but after two miles his chain had come off three times and therefore is was soon apparent that his bike just wasn't in good enough condition for a ride. I guess for a 12 year old cycling to school everyday and purposely aiming for mud and puddles, I probably should not have been surprised.








The reason I chose Stalisfield for a destination is that having traced the Vant family tree back over 17 generations, the area around Ashford, and Stalisfield in particular, is a hotbed of Vants. Every Vant in Kent can be traced back to one man who got married in Plymouth in 1596 before moving to Lenham to undertake some restoration work on the local church. The churchyard in Stalisfield (about 6-7 miles from Lenham) has a few Vants buried there.




I decided to take Nick's bike straight into our local bikeshop and on giving my name, the owner then stated that his wife was best mates with a Vant in Stalisfield!! Small world!




I eventually set off alone in the afternoon and having got to the top of the Downs, I headed eastwards towards Stalisfield. A wrong turn led me back down the hill into Lenham and in the heat I made a quick and wise decision not to head back onto the Downs but instead crossed the A20 and headed towards Sutton Valance, my destination a couple of weeks ago. I'll save Stalisfield for another day.


















Whilst I did not stop for a pub lunch I did unintentionally have a few snacks along the way. I will award the fly and gnat a miserly quarter saddle however I did take in something else (not sure what) that may get a half saddle award! I must learn to stop cycling with my mouth open.





With Frances having passed llamas a couple of weeks ago, I too found some in Sutton Valance. They looked a damn sight more appetising then flies!







After a quick refuelling stop at a new farm team room just passed the llamas, I headed home taking this shot of our village church.

In the end, it was an interesting but hot 31 mile ride which on the back of my 11 miles on Friday and cricket on Saturday left me feeling quite weary by the evening.