The oncoming car slowed to a crawl just ahead and pulled slightly to the side, despite there being ample room for us both to pass each other. Where I come from in the Home Counties, this would count as suspicious behaviour. What dastardly trick did they have planned? But as I rode past, the driver both smiled and waved. I did the same in return, probably with an idiotic grin of delight and surprise. This wasn’t the first time it had happened, either. These courteous drivers, combined with the open, rural scenery and a real scarcity of traffic on the back roads meant this felt far more like deepest France than anywhere in England.
But this was Norfolk. No French spoken here. We – me and my brother (and indeed colleague) Steve – were visiting the county to ride the Rebellion Way, a 232-mile loop curated by Cycling UK and launched last year.
“This felt far more like deepest France than anywhere in England”
The ride mixes quiet back roads, forest tracks, cycle paths and bridleways in a vaguely circular route that starts, officially, in Norwich and circumnavigates much of the county.
You might be wondering where the ‘Rebellion
