Winford to Swindon

Passing through Bath City

Crossing a bridge over the canal

Lunch point

My first destination was Swindon as I wanted to bid farewell to a dear friend but I ended up having to stick around while waiting for my held up documents which is currently delaying and disrupting my plans.

Rolling slowly in a combination of pedalling, bike pushing and falling off bike as the heavy loaded bike makes balancing difficult, my first 102km took me 1.5days with a night of wild camping by a 'not so discreet (but its late)' foot bridge. Many warned me that the path after Devizes was impossible with loaded bike but I went anyway thinking what worse could happen. I had to get off to pushed my way through muddy terrain and it was nice to have the boats owners along the canal cheering me on.

I wished I had taken more photos but weather was not permitting and I was also too engrossed in experimenting this new escapade. When I get the hang of bikepacking, I'm sure my camera will be out clicking more often. But I really wanted to kick myself for not taking photos of the Caen Locks (amazing construction). This is also where I met Bernie who had to unlock each lock gates to lower his boat from the top to the bottom of the canal - long process! 

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