Day 4 - Bembridge to Cowes before cycling from Southampton to Reading

I was up at 5.15 as planned and ate my baguette before packing everything up. Tom had slept better and was up at about 5.45. We successfully left by 6.30am. It was a lovely start to the day, and only a short walk into the town, where I made use of the public toilets. We then saw a Tesco Express that was open so went in for water. I just needed water as was full from my big baguette I had eaten earlier and didn't want to have to carry anything extra - Tom was seduced by a couple of pastries. After filling our water bottles up we pushed on. Tom tried to give me one of his pastries but I explained to him again that I didn't want to eat now or carry anything for later. He ended up eating them both despite only really wanting one. We were back on the official Coastal Path and soon came to a really nice bay/marina area. We took a few photos before pushing on. The path took us through some fields and grassy areas before getting back onto the road. We then got to Seaview where it was now Tom's turn to make use of the public toilets. I sat overlooking the lovely beach (we were now on the north-east coast of the island). I could see Portsmouth in the distance - it was like the end was in sight. When Tom was done we carried along the Coastal Path to Ryde. There was a bit of up-and-down walking here before getting back onto the seafront. This was a really nice long path next to the sea and there were more dog-walkers than ever along with a fair few runners. Ideally we would have stopped a bit further on than Ryde but my Sealskinz socks were starting to feel uncomfortably tight inside my Salomon shoes so I had to stop to change socks. We had maybe covered 8 miles with 10 or so to go, and sat on a bench by the pier (which strangely had a train running along it). Tom took his boots off and I took my shoes and socks off for a bit of relief. I ate the last remaining melted jaffa cakes from my running belt before I put my still wet (I had tucked some socks I had worn yesterday under a bungee on the outside of my bag hoping they would dry in the open air) thinner socks on. We then put our shoes back on and left. I realised after a few minutes that I had left my watch on the bench so quickly popped back for this. There was a bit more up-and-down and walking along paths before we were back on the road. At one point we walked past some older dog-walkers and they mentioned that it might rain later. Tom said we would be on the ferry by then - they found this amusing. The road would lead us the rest of the way to Cowes. This last section was rapid with Tom setting a quick pace. There wasn't really any talking - it was a case of head down and see off the remaining miles. The fact that we didn't need to navigate and were walking on the pavement/decent grass meant that we reached Cowes before 12.30. We had to cross the estuary via the free 'Floating Bridge' which is a boat that gets pulled across the estuary via chains. It was a relief to get the bags off and sit down for a few minutes. When we were across to West Cowes we had a short 20-minute walk to the ferry. It was a really nice walk through the lovely town. There was a shop with a bargain bin of various clothing items outside. I went over and had a rummage. Tom was on the phone to Chris again and was laughing at me. After some deliberation I bought a £3 man bag that would come in useful for future trips. We got to the ferry just before 1 with the queue starting. We had maybe a 10 minute wait before boarding the ferry. Tom sat down on the floor whilst waiting. It was really nice to sit down on the comfortable ferry seats for the 30 minute crossing with Tom dozing off at one point. I took off my shoes again for the duration of the crossing. When we got to Southampton neither of us wanted to get up. We got off the ferry and went the most direct route back to the hotel. It was a hot sunny day now. We walked down the high street looking like tramps before reaching the hotel. They kindly gave us a much-needed jug of water to drink and we got the bikes out of the garage. After about 30 minutes, a good sit-down in the reception area and me turning the just-purchased man bag into a handlebar bag we set off. 10 minutes later I realised I had left my headtorch behind so left my bag with Tom by the side of the road before going back to fetch it. I was back with Tom having got the headtorch back within 15 minutes and we pushed on. The cycling was much easier than the walking and it wasn't too taxing to maintain a steady pace. At the top of the hill out of Southampton it soon became apparent that I had taken a wrong turn. We asked a guy for directions and thankfully we weren't too far off course. After a few miles we came to a petrol station, so I went in to ask the guy working there to conform where we were and looked at a map. We just had to pop up the road before getting back on track. Me and Tom shared a Lion bar for a quick energy boost before pushing on. We asked someone else at a junction and they confirmed that Otterbourne was just ahead. Surely enough we got to Otterbourne quickly and started heading back towards Winchester. It was nice to be back on familiar roads and it was easy to retrace our route from Friday. We got to Winchester and passed this in reasonable time. Next was the long road to Maidenhead. This was a seemingly neverending road and we stopped foir a much-needed quick drink at one point. As we approached Maidenhead it started to rain. When we got into the town it got a bit heavier before suddenly pouring down. We took shelter under a road bridge hoping that the rain would stop - I didn't know what the forecast was so had no idea how long this would last. I got my towel out of my bag to dry off and got my second jacket out to keep warm. About 20 minutes later it was still heavy and I was very tempted to sack off the bike ride and get the train back to Reading. We didn't have suitable clothes for cycling in these conditions, but had an idea of tying some large green bags (that I had found on the island this morning) around our waists that would keep our upper legs dry. We tried this out - it wasn't good but was better than nothing. Thankfully the rain had eased off a fair bit so we got going. We immediately got lost. I had had enough by this point and just wanted to get back home. Frustratingly we had to back-track a bit before seeing a signpost to Reading. From here on we were OK, getting back on to the road we were familiar with fairly soon. I was getting quite low on energy and was very tempted to stop at a petrol station for a quick snack, but knew that momentum was key and thanks to the rain delay would be pushed for time to get back before dark/get to the carvery on time. As we got back onto the main 2-lane stretch of the A33 the rain got heavier again. We were cycling at a decent pace now as thankfully it was downhill. Eventually I saw the welcome sight of traffic lights ahead and I knew we were approaching Reading. We got off the A33 and started making our way back to the house, glancing across to the carvery which still looked busy enough. A bit further along I had a quick look to see if my car was still there which it was (there was some confusion with Admiral as to when they would be recovering it). We got back to an empty house between 7.30 and 7.45pm. The first thing I did was put my phone on charge before having a quick shower and ringing up the carvery to see what time they closed. We had until 9pm to get there which didn't leave us much time. Tom then had a quick shower, I had a couple of phonecalls - one with Tyler (our mate who was keen for the carvery when we mentioned it to him last week). As we had got back later than intended him and our other mate Joe had got a KFC instead. I then had a phonecall with my dad about the car situation. He said I had to get all the stuff from the car as it was being recovered tomorrow. I was tired and not up for dealing with this so I kept the conversation to a minimum. After each showering and changing and me grabbing a bag and my car keys we power-walked our way to the carvery. We got there and ordered our meals with about 15 minutes to spare, before sitting down to a very well earned feast. Mission complete.