Made in Essex?

We did our best to take advantage of Matt's knowledge and skill and tried to think of intelligent questions to ask about our preparation and "training" for the Norfolk 100 and for France.He agreed that our carefully worked out regime of a couple of 20 miles ish rides during the week and a longer ride of 50 to 60 miles at the weekend is about right. Phew. At least our intentions are good even if living up to them is sometimes problematic.
Bearing all this in mind when Shaun expressed an interest in visiting the Munnings Museum in Dedham it seemed like a an ideal chance to head in that direction and cadge a lift home. We reassured ourselves that we would go as far as we could and that Shaun would always pick us up if we got stuck/exhausted. Of course we are both fuelled by stubborn determination as well as cereal bars and bananas...so in our hearts we knew it was Dedham or bust!
Despite the clocks springing forwards we managed to leave pretty much on schedule. Relevant maps had been consulted and packed and a hit list of villages to pass through drawn up. Having basked in bright sunshine for several days it was disappointing to set off in chilly cloudy conditions. I was glad I opted for winter style layers including the obligatory 2 pairs of socks. Even with those precautions both of us suffered frozen feet for most of the journey.
The trip can be described in 3 sections. The first third to South of Diss was fine - we knew where we were going and cruised happily along despite the feet.
The middle part involved Stowmarket which , to be honest , was a bit grim. We hit our 30 mile customary wall , had to consult the maps more times than we like and ended up cycling the length of the High Street several times before alighting on a Costa for caffeine and croissant ( a crucial part of the France training regime). We opted out of a visit to the Wimpy. Neither of us had seen one for several decades let alone been in one.
The sun came out at last and we found ourselves in mid Suffolk proper. Our spirits sank a little as we realised that this part of East Anglia is by no means flat and our route was dominated for some time by RAF Wattisham. We had visions of being tailed by a drone as we skirted the intimidating perimeter fence- stopping several times for map consultations to ensure we didn't end up in a minefield..
The hills surrounding Hadleigh looked daunting from a distance but were fine in reality.The town is delightful and further endeared itself to us by providing a flat section of route on a disused railway track which is part of National Route 1.
Much happier now we glided down to the Stour Valley admiring the chocolate box cottages accessorised with Porsch Cayennes. We narrowly avoided heading down the A12 in the wrong direction and before we could think major East Anglian artists we were in Dedham. Despite being fed misinformation about some of the welcome party being in Flatford ( the wrong side of the river) we managed to rendez vous in the car park by Dedham Mill. Lesley and I had first done a tour of the village and ascertained that the Museum doesn't open until April. I also did my first splat with grown up pedals in another part of the car park. No one saw so it doesn't really count ?  My pedals had engaged when I hadn't asked them to , I panicked, couldn't disengage , had to choose between a soft landing on a BMW 4x4  or a less soft one on tarmac sprinkled with gravel. For insurance reasons I chose the latter and a small part of rural Essex will be forever in my elbow...

That's life and bikes and we made it ! Hooray!