REBELS WITH A CAUSE

James Shrubsall rises up to the challenge of a three-day odyssey through unruly Norfolk

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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.

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 Way' title came from, and no, for Star Wars fans I'm afraid this isn't some sort of Jedi pilgrimage. However, even Luke Skywalker couldn't fail to be awed by the rebellious types the county has thrown up over the years. Queen Boudica for example, who led a rebellion against the Romans, slaughtering 70,000 of the occupiers and their supporters; or the lesser known Robert Kett, who sided with the commoners after landowners began partitioning off their land, leading an ultimately ill-fated rebellion in Norwich that nevertheless gave the defending royal army a run for its money.