The next morning it was raining, again. By this time, I no longer wondered about riding in the rain. In fact, I had come to see as just another day of bike touring.

My first goal for the day was King's Lynn. Since it was only 35 miles or so, I figured that I could go past there, maybe to Fakenham, if I had the energy. Alas, this was not to be.

Less than 10 miles outside of Spaulding, on a very small, unused road, I got my third flat in 2 days. Only this time, it was raining while I changed it. As it turned out, I was just outside someone's home/farm when I changed the flat. For the 30 minutes I was there, the two dogs who lived there would periodically come by, give me a good sniff, and scare me when then would put their wet noses on me. This episode passed with the additional benefit of a broken spoke.

I pressed onto to Holbeach, where I had been told there was a bike store. I found said bike store and had the very friendly mechanic, who kept calling me "mate," replace the spoke (without removing the tire!), true the wheel, and adjust the back brakes. I also got a replacement for the punctured tube I'd just had.

After Holbeach, I rode parallel to the main road between Spaulding and King's Lynn, even crossing it once. The entire time it rained and, after Holbeach, the wind came up and kept its thumb on me the whole way to King's Lynn.

The high point of the day was Long Sutton. This town happened to be holding an outdoor market on the main square when I rode by. I stopped and bought and ate fruit for lunch. I actually bought fruit three different times, moving off to the side to eat it. I also noticed there that I had lost by bungee cords but found a store there that sold them. Keep in mind that this was the high point! The rain, wind, and dreary Fens landscape made the rest of the ride feel like punishment for some bad deed.

I got to King's Lynn around 3:30pm, tired and ready to stop pedalling. This being a Friday, I thought I might have a problem finding a place to stay. I was prepared to get back on the bike and head out of town, if that was necessary.

The TIC couldn't find a place for me to stay after calling everyone in their book. After some hesitation, the lady made one more call after asking me if a "very basic" place would be OK. I decided that it would be OK and was sent to a B&B on the noisy main drag where I got a very expensive room with toilets and shower in the hall. It was probably the worst place I stayed and it was also the most expensive. Go figure.

King's Lynn is another town that has eviserated its old section and replaced it with an outdoor mall-type shopping area. It was uninspiring. The only thing that moved me there was this memorial tower to war dead.

After settling in, I walked around in the rain (it never did stop raining that day) and found an Indian place with excellent food. I had a nice conversation with the couple at the next table, as well.

Saturday, August 10: King's Lynn to Loddon
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