Also saw St Pauls and went on top. Splendid view. Thought the whispering gallery very fine. Am doing a lot bicycle riding on the roads having bought a No 5 Speed Iron from the Rudge Whitworth Co Coventry. It weighs 21 ½ lbs with two rim brakes, constructor road racing 1 ¼ “ tyres on wood rims, low handle inverted brake levers, 93 inch gear and 7 inch cranks. It runs beautifully. Find English riders mostly use low gears. Am in great form, plenty of motor pace on roads, do about 50 miles every night after tea. Climbed every hill in the locality, Bread and Cheese hill and Chingford Mount being very stiff and have licked everything on wheels not exceeding one man power. Have thoroughly taken down a few of the young bloods around here. Haven’t met a real good rider so far. Have done 24 ½ miles in 1 hour unpaced on ordinary roads. Also 6 miles in 12 minutes behind car, car not fast enough, beat it badly up last hill approaching Chalkwell Park Southend, on the London Road. Also 20 miles in 40 minutes behind motor byke with Bread and Cheese Hill into the bargain; this was a cracker, and nearly burst me, very little shelter behind bicycle, as compared to a car.

Stopped half an hour at Stilton

The motorist named me at the Leigh “Elms” as the finest pace follower he had ever seen on the road; (possibly) started off at 5.45 am one morning to ride from ^^{rode from Leigh Elms to Chelmsford about 24 miles in 1 hour 10 minutes stopped 10 minutes at Dunmow} Leigh to Newcastle on Tyne about 325 miles via Chelmsford ^^{and arrived at Cambridge 46 ½ miles from Chelmsford at 9-15am (raining at Dunmow) 16 miles to Huntingdon 43 miles to Stamford} and Huntingdon, Stamford Bridge, Doncaster, Durham. ^^{Had a pint of old ale at Alconbury Hill where London Roads joins. 11-25am 23 miles to Stamford}. Got off my bicycle about six miles from Stamford lay down and slept for two hours, got into Stamford at 3pm when it started to rain, and rained well. I decided to stay there for the night; about 115 miles