A lovely post and it is true that cycling in England (outside London anyway) is enjoyable as described. Winding country roads with fairly decent tarmac and almost no cars; random pubs dotted around, usually on a river or pittoresque setting for a lunch stop; shade and wind protection from trees and hedges. The winter weather makes up for the lack of hills: when you're fighting 50-100kph winds it is not dissimilar to climbing l'Alpe d'Huez. I got wind chill just looking at the photo of the Seven Sisters.Photography and cycling, two of my interests combined perfectly.
A Cyclist on the English Landscape (Published 2021)
Grounded by the pandemic, a travel photographer spent the year pedaling the roads around his home, resulting in a series of poetic self-portraits.www.nytimes.com
NYT is free but you may have to register if you've used up all the freebies.
His native Australia is easily one of the most stunning and enjoyable places to cycle, especially road (once you get out of the metro areas). Its issues are unique to its fauna (human or otherwise), fun anecdotes can be found here: https://www.bicycles.net.au/forums/viewtopic.php?f=13&t=17399 such as the latest "angry brown snake snapping at bike" sightings.
I had the same experience returning from the Blue Mountains to Sydney on that giant potholed Western "Motorway" with all three lanes at 130kph bumper to bumper. The rack shook so much the back of the bike detached from the rack and flew into the wind, flapping like a tail.
