From Loughton, the route heads through Essex into Hertfordshire and on to Cambridgeshire where the first control point is after 62 miles at St Ives, on the outskirts of Huntingdon.
The route passes through Theydon Bois (pronounced “Boys”), home of the world-famous Theydon Bois Derby, an annual event that attracts thousands of visitors to the town to have a flutter on a series of donkey races. The racing donkeys are ridden bareback by local youths (Theydon boys?), who must be under 15 years’ old and weigh less than eight stone. Although the donkey jockeys must have some experience of horse riding, there are always a few who get thrown off on their way around the course, which, according to the local newspaper, “undoubtedly adds to the excitement”.
Sadly, Sheila will miss all this excitement as the 30th Annual Donkey Derby took place two weeks ago - which is possibly a good thing as there are still 890 miles to cycle, the clock is ticking and Sheila might have been distracted by the welly-wanging, hook a duck and face painting that accompanied the main event.
Leaving Theydon Bois, the route meanders north (obviously), narrowly by-passing Buntingford, Hertfordshire’s smallest town, and passing within a few miles of Chipping, home to the annual “World Sausage Tossing Championship” where a new “Great British Sausage Tosser” was crowned on 3rd June.
The first control point is at St Ives, to the north west of Huntingdon, birthplace of the humourless Oliver Cromwell and former constituency of pea-loving Prime Minister, John Major.
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