I could have ridden down the M3 and M27 but I decided to take the scenic route through Alton, Selbourne and pick up the A3 to Portsmouth, especially as Red Funnel was having some strikes and the Portsmouth Whit Link ferry has 15 minutes quicker crossing.
The scenic route was good, as I hadn't ridden with loaded panniers for a while and the Alton road has some nice bends, if your a local you'll know what I mean, so in all it was a good test of weight distribution and my riding skills.
Checking in at the ferry terminal was nuts, they say get there 30mins before, great I though I can have a coffee etc, then the moment I took off my lid, I got told to proceed onto the ferry, so I was getting the ferry before the one I was booked on. This seams to be a typical thing, as bikes can be squeezed in at the last minute - brilliant!
The ferry crossing was great, and the Solent was calm. One thing that I had trouble with was, on the ferry they wanted me to park across behind a van, and with my poor health was a bit of a challenge.
Once off the ferry, I was only 30-40 minutes ride to the campsite.
Upon arrival I had this feeling of De-Ja-Vue, yep I had stayed here before!
Back in 1985 a friend of mine and I was in the Cyclist Touring Club, and each Sunday we would cycle around 50miles, so we decided to stay to go camping on the Isle of Wight for a week. The funny thing is, this was the same campsite.
