It occurred to me that I had not reported back on my weekend of cycling. How remiss! Well here it is.
Saturday was the sportive, with 37 miles including a couple of rather sharp Cotswold hills. However the challenge was Betty. She had been through the night before, left us some standing water and a terrible headwind. It was hard going for the the first 13 miles and being tall, it is a challenge to find a wheel to jump on so you can get some shelter. Then when I found a little respite within some hedges the blast as you passed a gateway very nearly knocked you over. Because of the longer routes sharing our Feed station, it came at 13 miles. It didn't really feel long enough to say you had earned anything. But we got over our lack of merit and enjoyed some rather delicious Cherry cake. We met a cyclist riding with his springer spaniel on his back, very cute but he must be heavy.
The hills came after that and there was some swearing and puffing but we got to the top and enjoyed some amazing scenery. The last 3rd found us heading for home with a tailwind. The joy of being able to pedal at 20 miles an hour with it feeling like hardly any effort is required, was a delight. The organisers popped a short rise in just 7 miles from home (best explained by my friend who arrived at the top a few seconds behind me and said 'that was a sneaky little bar...ard' ) but we were soon over the Avon and heading back into the racecourse. A wooden medal and an alcohol-free beer were given to us as we crossed the line. Well you can't have everything!
Sunday morning and we were a group of 9 riders (one was lost to watching a football match) heading out into the Vale of Evesham for 45 miles of slightly undulating roads. I remembered where we were going (with a little help from the Garmin) and we made our way along the lovely country roads past picturesque cottages and churches. The Vale is an interesting place to ride, the undulations are very gentle but you often find a headwind. The remnants of Betty's wind was still about and we took turns on the front to share the workload. Our stop was in the pretty Worcestershire village of Broadway at a cafe with excellent coffee and 10 flavours of doughnut. A lady, who said she was a member of a running club so knew what we needed, kindly offered to take our group photo. Back on the bikes and more beautiful countryside, more headwind and mostly considerate road users ( there is always one entitled idiot who likes to lay on the horn and let you know you have held him up for a few seconds). Another few more undulations and a bit of a tailwind brought us back to the garden centre where we had parked and another refreshment stop. I had managed not to get us lost, not to lose any of the group and bring them all home happy with the ride. Job done!
My birthday half!
Folkestone HM Race Report - BRUTAL!