Remember, remember, a map

Well, the day started off a little later than planned with the usual directional aid from the sun and the wind, which should have worked quite well if I took a watch out and kept track of the time. Once the sun dissapeared from the sky that was the first sign things were not going to plan (basically to get back home while I can still see the road). So, about 20 miles from home and only a rough guide for directions (London 33 miles, Hemmel 16 ? on a signpost) I set off, fortunately with a back wind, down the A14, alhough it's not the best of roads to be riding in sunlight. With 2 lights on the bike (both rear) flashing away like a christmass tree I did not feel too alarmed at riding down a dual carrageway. With cars thundering past I only recieved one blast of the horn from a white van driver, which summed that up and carried on praying the light would not fade too quickly. In the end I managed to get back while I could just see the road with a couple of lessons learnt.
1 - Always take full lights out if you run the risk of getting cought out in the dark (a puncture would have delayed me to the point I'd have been on the phone for the recovery vehicle !)
2 - Take a map if you don't know the area, unless you have plenty of time to leasurely ride around in circles.
Days ride - 266TSS, 301Wavg, 324Wnorm, 3624Kcal, 56.3miles, 3h 7m (3h 24m lapsed - inc food stop)