I rarely struggle to get to sleep, reading a couple of pages of a book will be sufficient time to help me drift off to sleep usually to be woken by Jan who suggests maybe I should put my book down and turn out my bedside light.......literally every night!

However the night before my Isle of Wight adventure getting to sleep wasn't the issue. From the very early hours of the morning I found myself struggling to stay asleep with what I can only really describe as a level of childlike excitement. I was awake before my alarm went off, and literally sprung out of bed to grab a shower and get ready.

I have almost always struggled to engage any form of stealth mode getting up early and inevitably I woke Jan and Archie (our dog) as I got ready. After a kiss for Jan and stroke for Archie I headed downstairs to ensure the bike was packed, and within a few minutes I was on the bike heading out of our cul-de-sac on the way to Lymington.

The cycle to Lymington, having ridden this route on many occasions before, was lovely. Cold and dry felt like perfect conditions for the day, but on the ride to the ferry I was struck with a feeling that something wasn't quite right. Assuming the early hours would be dark, I worked out that the light levels were far better than I was expected. My first thought was therefore that I was late, it being much lighter than expected must be because I was up later......a quick check of the time on my phone and I was on schedule, but I was left with a slightly unsettled feeling that this might be the first of a few potential problems.

I arrived at the ferry terminal at Lymington with plenty of time to spare, and to my surprise 'Red' the bike and I were the first passengers to be allowed onto the boat. Leaving my bike next to the bow doors I headed up to locate some breakfast, a gourmet meal of black coffee, toast and honey plus a croissant. I settled into the lounge, consumed my food and enjoyed the views as we left Lymington and undertook the short journey across the Solent.

Breakfast consumed I tracked down my route text on my phone, to find to my mild horror that what I assumed was a route around the Isle of Wight was in fact a short journey from Yarmouth to Freshwater. Technology is not an area of expertise I possess, but from previous views of the island on google maps the perimeter roads plus the signage on the roads would make my ride simple even without the support of Satnav and Buble (who had come along to provide emotional support for Satnav).

First on the ferry meant first off, and before I knew it I had left the small town of Yarmouth and headed off around the island in an anticlockwise direction. As long as I kept the sea to my right in theory I was going the right way. My research had also led me to take onboard advice about the direction to take; the wind direction was a factor to consider (a cold, gentle northerly was the order of the day) but the southern section of the island is considered the most challenging in terms of hills. My simple thought was that it would be better to take on the hills earlier rather than later in the day, and with my hearty toast / honey based breakfast I really enjoyed the first 20 miles or so which included a series of hills around the south west of the island.

As I rolled downhill into Ventnor I decided to stop and enjoy some food, second breakfast for fans of Lord Of The Rings. Sat on a bench overlooking Ventnor seafront I reflected that the first leg of the ride was great, steep hills almost effortlessly completed. As I sat and nibbled a peanut butter based wrap I talked to a few elderly people who had just walked from their coach to also enjoy the view.

Snack consumed I had to ride a small way back up to the town centre to pick up the next road to Shanklin. At what I thought was the top of the hill I discovered that the road was closed, lots of red signs and cones, so I took a quick stop to allow me to check a new route on my phone. This was reasonably straightforward on a map, but did involve more hills. As I finally rolled into Shanklin the sun came out, adding a degree or two more warmth to the morning, and from Shanklin I headed north to Sandown which allowed me to take in yet another road closure and associated detour.

Sandown seafront was lovely, if a little run down, and from the beach I continued on my way anticlockwise towards Bembridge which allowed me to enjoy more roadworks. These in particular gave me the opportunity to get lost and see the village and in particular its old windmill from three separate roads! Once I'd finally got myself out of Bembridge I stopped for a bite of lunch (third breakfast) and continued on towards Ryde and then East Cowes to take another ferry, the East Cowes Floating Bridge.

As I added more miles to my day I am sure my average speed was reducing slightly, but Cowes was at least three quarters of the way around meaning I didn't have too far to go to get to Yarmouth and the ferry home. Almost all the island felt similar in many ways to the Isle Of Purbeck, lots of farmland, not much in the way of anything else apart from caravan parks, small villages and towns and very little traffic.

Riding downhill into Yarmouth I realised that I had smashed the cycle, and for a split second I thought I might be able to catch an earlier ferry. A quick check of the time on my phone and I realised it was just before 3pm, but as I tucked the phone away I looked up to see the ferry very slowly pull out of Yarmouth. Whilst I'd taken a couple of hours less than I had planned (in my worst case scenario) I now had a two hour wait until the next ferry (the one I had booked originally) to get home. Two hours turned out to be the perfect length of time to consume a donut or two and to recharge before the ride home from Lymington.

With the additional rest stop I was almost fully recovered once I rode off the ferry and headed home. 94 miles was the total for the day; slightly more than I expected but I can blame my lack of use of satnav and / or road works and diversions for adding the miles onto my day. There might be a lesson here I need to take about preparation, especially important as my next cycling challenge is to head home from Lands End at the end of March!