I always love coming ‘home’ to Norfolk. I moved to Manchester in November 2017 and while  I love the city and have some lovely mates, It’s always great to go back to the county where I was born, raised and spent the majority of my life.

As a grass up the middler, I love to ride on quiet, country lanes away from the traffic so that I can truly relax and escape. Norfolk is perfect for this. A relatively small population in a large, rural county means that there are lots of places where you can be totally alone. And unlike Manchester, it only takes a few minutes to escape the city away from the 4×4’s and BMW’s!

Martin is one of my favourite cycling companions and a mentor to me in lots of ways. I met him while working for Sustrans and have become great mates ever since. He’s a cycle tourer and loves to explore the world by bike and I love hearing his stories. Dancing naked with 3 other tourers in the middle of the Sahara Desert is one of my favourites. He also has a knack of rattling my cage and persuading me to get out of my comfort zone!

We cycled out on our road bikes to what I like to think of as the ‘British Riviera’. Beautifully quiet, country roads surrounded by fields of golden corn and wild flowers take us to the coast and one of our favourite cafe’s at Winterton-on-Sea. Stunning views of the coast and great cake! The coast road can be a little busy at times but compared to Manchester, it’s really nothing and we are quickly back on quiet, country roads. The miles tick off quickly as we catch up and share stories. A perfect day in the saddle!

If you are heading to Norfolk, make sure you take your bike. You won’t regret it!