South Riding 10: To Horsham

Breakfast was I the conservatory and at 7:45 the sun already felt hot. My first reaction was “this is nice”, followed immediately by “No. I don't want it too hot!” – for every up there is a down!

One of the best things about credit card cycle touring is the breakfast. It is only when I stay in hotels or B&Bs that I have a cooked breakfast and it always feels like a bit of a treat. Odd little things – I always start with orange juice, always enjoy the orange juice, but never drink it at home. Why? ... I have no idea. Perhaps it is a matter of ritual. Away from home I take my time and slowly, rather deliberately get ready for the day. At home I go into the kitchen and grab a bowl of muesli and a cup of tea. It is a matter of habit (breakfast is probably the most habitual of all meals). The advantage is that you do it quickly and easily because you don't think about it. The down-side is that you don't think abut it. Perhaps I should learn a lesson, slow things down, pay attention and add some variety.

Anyway I got on my way in may calm breakfast mood and the temperature perfect – a warm summer day but not too hot. Even better the my route to Horsham was lovely cycling: small quiet roads twisting through wood and farmland. Past Rusper, I even had the exhilarating luxury of a long, fast downhill, where you could enjoy the sensation of air rushing past. Brilliant! For the first and only time on my ride I felt like a cycle tourist, enjoying the beauty of the countryside. 

Into Horsham and of all the places on my journey this is the one which is most changed. Riding from the station to the town centre I am a little baffled: the road seems to have changed, loops further East. There are new office buildings and the Carfax, which always seemed like the natural focal point of the town, is hidden behind new shopping precincts. I look around trying to picture how it as it was when I lived here but it is very difficult. I soon abandon the effort and just look at what is in front of me. What I see is rather pleasant: a bustling, prosperous town with enough of its older buildings intact, mixed in with the new. 

Of all the places on my tour it is probably the one that I would not mind living in again. But I don’t really believe in going  – only in journeys of remembrance.