Having said last week, that I was going up North with “The Emma” this weekend, a slight confusion on “The Emma's” part (Saturdays party, turned out to be afternoon tea on Sunday) lead to a bit of a change of plan and I've been at home all weekend instead. I'm still not feeling particularly energetic or enthused, so I've spent most of the weekend pottering around and catching up on odd jobs, instead of partying the night away. With the weekend free, the thought of a cheeky overnight "Bivvy" on the bike did cross my mind. But when push came to shove, I just couldn't be bothered, and you know what, having spent the weekend taking it easy I feel considerably better for it. There's no doubt that sometimes a change is as good as a rest, and I often find that spending a few days pottering around, making stuff and generally being productive, is incredibly invigorating and goes a long way towards resetting my batteries. To that end, Saturday morning I crept out early, leaving “The Emma” in bed sleeping off a night shift and spent the morning walking around one of my local off road running routes. I've probably mentioned before that sometimes it makes a refreshing change to walk, and it's surprising what you see that you don't notice when your running. Back home in time for a late lunch, I spent the afternoon, cleaning and servicing more bikes than is strictly normal. My commuting bike tends to take a bit of a hammering, being used and abused in all weathers, and I've finally got round to building a new rear wheel and swapping them over (the free hub on the old one has been on it's last legs for the best part of 6 months and like most things is now a discontinued item, so it was easier to just build a new wheel with a new hub etc than mess around trying to find bits to keep it going). While I had the bike stand and tools out it made sense to give my Audax bike a bit of a clean after it's recent epic outing, and whilst I was at it, the touring bikes been sat looking sad and lonely since my 500K weekend at the end of July, so that's had a bit of TLC too! That's the problem with having multiple steeds (although I suspect that there's plenty of people with more toys than me), they all seem to get dirty together and I'm a firm believer in regular cleaning, maintenance, and lubrication. A clean and oily bike's a happy bike as far as I'm concerned! Sunday morning, I meandered up to the allotment with a flask of tea and packet of biscuits and had a lovely, productive morning, tidying up, pricking out Sweet William seeds and generally pottering around. The Sweet Williams will join the Hollyhocks and Foxgloves in the cold frame for another few weeks, before being planted out into the borders at home ready for some spring and early summer colour next year, joining the Wallflowers that have been sitting patiently on the allotment all summer. The bit of rain we had last week has worked wonders on the allotment too, with everything already looking greener and healthier than it has for a long time. No matter how much watering you do, it's never enough, but a good few hours of rain makes a massive difference. Another bucketful of Tomatoes, a few more Chillies and another Cucumber from the greenhouse and a couple of punnets of Blackberries to join the ones already in the freezer followed me home after my productive morning, and even if I do say so myself, the plots looking really good at the moment! The glut of greenhouse produce needs using whilst we've got it and too that end I made a large batch of Pizza / Pasta sauce last weekend, and this weekends haul turned into roast vegetable soup. Onions, Peppers, Courgettes, Garlic, Chillies and Tomatoes got roasted with a bit of Olive oil and Balsamic vinegar, before getting whizzed down with a bit of Vegetable stock. Delicious! Whilst the oven was on it seemed rude to waste all that heat, so a lemon drizzle cake found it's way in when the veg came out. Delicious too! And whilst that little lot was cooking, the Blackberries got added to the ones from the freezer and a couple of cooking apples to make a few jars of jam. Although I think it's actually a jelly as it's been sieved to remove all those pesky Blackberry pips which get stuck in your teeth. Whatever it is, I know that it's going to be delicious in my morning porridge! Bank Holiday Monday I actually dragged my lazy backside out for a few leg stretching miles on the bike. Nothing too serious, just a local 50 mile loop that takes you around the outside of Basingstoke, picking up a few of the outlaying villages on the way. But I must say that it was lovely to finally get back out again. The late summer sun worked it's magic and rapidly drove the chilly early morning away, and whilst the first signs of Autumn are definitely on their way, it was still more than warm enough. Back home in plenty of time for lunch I spent a few productive hours baking bread to join yesterdays soup for tea, whilst having a bit of a tidy up in the gardens and cutting back the overgrown Honeysuckle that adorns the back fence (wall). And that's it, another weekend gone in a flash. I must say though, that I feel a million times better than I did at the end of last week and I'm really looking forward to getting back to a bit of running and cycling again. It's quite amazing the restorative effects a productive weekend pottering around and making stuff can have.
Roll on next weekend, there's running to do!
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I’ve had a couple of quiet weeks after the exertions of London - Edinburgh - London. The highlight of which was a visit last weekend from a long-time friend who moved to Sweden nearly 20 years ago. Which, whilst absolutely brilliant, isn't not much use as a topic for conversation here, unless you’re interested in my spending the entire weekend on the pop and sitting around reminiscing about the good old days. The weekend before I went to a wedding and I’m supposed to be off up North this weekend with “The Emma” for a party. Possibly all good things for allowing my tired old legs a bit of recovery time, but not ideal on the fitness or adventuring fronts, and certainly not good on the “Ow, my head hurts!” front. So, what am I going to witter on about this week then? Well, for a starter’s, I thought we could have an allotment catch up, but as everything seems to have gone into hibernation due to the ongoing drought, there’s not a lot to say on that front. Although we are overloaded with tomatoes, cucumbers and chillies from the greenhouse, which has been amazingly productive this year, and “The Emma” did a stupendous job of keeping everything alive whilst I was off gallivanting around the country, for which she should be congratulated. Then I thought that I might be able to bore you all by going into incredibly minute detail regarding installing a solar battery charger in “The Emma’s” garage to keep the car battery topped up, but as that turned out to be far less painful than I had expected, there’s not a lot to say about that either! So instead, now that I’ve had a week or so for my latest adventure to sink in, I’ve caught up on a bit of sleep, and had a bit of time to think about things, let’s have a bit of reflection on London - Edinburgh - London. For something that’s been the focus of my attention for quite some time, now that it’s over I’m not really sure how I feel. What I do know is that it was an amazing experience, and despite the effort required, the endless sweating and toil, the sleep deprivation, and the overwhelming heat on the last few days, it was an experience which I didn’t want to end. As I mentioned last week, being bought to a stop at the end was almost a disappointment. Despite the times where I'd been wishing for the end over the previous days, when it actually came, well, I didn’t want to stop! I remember feeling exactly the same way when I rode from home to Land’s End and John’ O Groats and back in 2016. On that occasion I was away for nearly a month and covered 2000+ miles, but the daily mileage was a lot lower. Although in my defence, I did carry all of my kit for the duration (including camping), so the bike was a lot heavier. By taking it slower I was able to see more of the country though, and it had more of a holiday feel to it than last week’s adventure did. But the feeling was the same towards the end. A desire to get to the finish on more than one occasion, but when the finish finally came, a sense of disappointment and desire to carry on. Maybe it’s the simple life. If all you’ve got to do is peddle your bike and worry about where the next meals coming from, then things are pretty easy. Or maybe it’s the freedom, the ability to stop wherever and whenever you like, to sleep under the stars, to lay on a village bench and close your eyes whilst feeling the sun on your face, to wake to a frosty or misty morning knowing that in a matter of hours the sun will have driven the cold away or burned off the mist to leave another gorgeous day of exploration? Or the fresh air, space, constant views and desire to explore. The constant amazement at what’s around the next corner or over the next hill, the feeling that everything’s new and exciting. Not the same 4 walls that you’ve been staring at for the last however many years, not the same job or the same TV programme, but something new every few seconds? Or maybe it’s just that feeling of satisfaction that comes at the end of a hard day’s graft, or at the top of a long steep hill, when you stop and look back at where you’ve come from or pause to see where you’re going. The distant range of hills on the horizon that you know you’re going to be slogging up in a matter of minutes, the glow in the dark of a far-off town or city still invisible behind the hills, but there non the less, the first smell of the sea on the breeze as you approach the coast? The exhilaration from rolling down the other side of that climb with the wind in your hair and the sun on your face, or the sting of the cold air on your fingers on a winters day that makes you feel alive and makes that brew when you stop, or reach your destination, seem so much nicer. On that vein, there’s nothing better than stopping to brew up when your away. Pulling into a farm gate, getting the brew kit out and sitting with your back against your bike, happily eating biscuits whilst waiting for the water to boil (preferably with water from that fast-flowing stream by your toes) and finally supping that hard earned brew, whilst watching the world go by for a few minutes. All heaven, but not what I’m supposed to be talking about today. Because LEL was all about completing those miles within the Audax timeframe and that meant pushing on, not sitting around admiring the sights. That doesn’t mean that there wasn’t time to admire those sights though, and there were plenty of new things that I saw that will stay with me for the rest of my life or have already been logged for a future revisit when I can truly enjoy them at a slower pace (roll on retirement, there’s a whole world out there to explore). Working up through The Fens on Sunday evening with the sun setting across the flat landscape slowly lengthening the shadows on the road and turning the sky from blue, to red, and finally to black. The long climbs and flowing descents in the heat of the afternoon as I made my way through the Scottish borders and the amazing sight of the sun setting to be slowly replaced by a bright red moon on the stretch between Eskdalemuir and Brampton. Likewise, the low early morning sun glinting off the sea, with an even lower bank of offshore mist clinging to the horizon, as I crossed the Humber Bridge on the final morning. And the broken lines of bike lights flashing away in the distance as we all made our way north on the first night, are things that will remain firmly etched in my memories. On a different note. With exertion and tiredness also comes emotion, and there were at least 2 occasions during my trip to Edinburgh and back that I found myself with unexpected tears in my eye, both of which were bought on by the kindness of strangers. As I may have mentioned last week, working through the heat of the afternoon on day 3, riding in the vicinity of a couple of overseas riders, we were all getting short on water having left the previous control some time previously. As we slowly worked our way across North Yorkshire, shops for a resupply had been in short supply. But, coming into a town (possibly the outskirts of Northallerton) I spotted what looked promisingly like a shop and diverting off to investigate my colleagues followed. Only for us all to be disappointed to discover the doors firmly bolted and the cupboard bare. Cursing my bad luck and considering my next move, I pushed on, only to come, meters later, to a lovely lady who had set herself up as an unofficial water stop and was busy dispensing the elixir of life to all and sundry who came her way. Stood on the pavement with her bottles of water she was certainly a sight for sore eyes and provided not only a water top up, which saw me through to the next control, but also a welcome chat and a bit of local route knowledge (hilly, then hillier, then a few more bigger hills!). There’s no doubt that without her assistance I’d have either had to stop, get the maps out and divert off route in search of a shop, or been in a right pickle as the sun beat mercilessly down throughout the afternoon. That little bit a kindness from that lovely lady taking the time out of her busy day to stand in the hot sun and help people that she had never met and would never see again as they passed by the end of her road hit me really hard in my tired state, and I fought for quite some time to hold the tears back as I thought about her kindness over the coming miles. A similar situation coming through The Fens on the way back, again in the heat of the day on the final afternoon, where two lovely local ladies were providing the same assistance, hit home equally as hard and really got me thinking about the kindness of strangers! People that don’t know you, have never met you and are unlikely to ever cross paths with you again, helping out those that are, by their own choice, out doing something unusual. Amazing! And whilst I’m talking about amazing, how about the hundreds of people that gave up their precious time to volunteer to make the entire adventure possible. Hundreds of people marshalling key points, checking brevet cards, providing mechanical support at controls, clearing dining halls and providing a friendly face to chat too, managing dormitories and sleeping facilities, bike parking, bag drops and the million other things that are required to stage such a magnificent event. And that’s before I even get to the management team behind the entire event who have spent the last 5 years working ceaselessly to make the whole thing possible and will begin again, almost immediately, to organise the next one in 2025. The selfless endeavour, the ability to remain cheerful and empathetic to tired riders, when they themselves had been working tirelessly for often ridiculous timespans. Never complaining, never tiring, just working endlessly to ensure that those doing the easy part and simply peddling their bikes, were looked after and supported at every turn. Again, just sitting here thinking about all those that worked so hard to make my adventure possible, brings a tear to my eye and a lump to my throat, and whilst I personally tried to thank as many people as I could as I briefly passed through their care, I don’t think that I’d ever be able to really express that gratitude fully. In fact, I suspect that the only way to truly do so is by returning the favour at some point in the future by filling the volunteer role myself! So far everything I’ve spoken about has been sweetness and light, but what about those horrible dark moments? Those moments when you think to yourself “what am I doing here”? Those moments when your legs are sore, your backsides in bits from endless hours in the saddle, it’s dark and getting cold and there’s still another 3 hours to go to the next control? Well, there were plenty of those too, and they were not always in the dark either. In fact, I seem to find the afternoon the worst part of the day in general. By mid-afternoon I’ve been on the go for longer than any normal person would consider sensible, it’s the hottest part of the day, and my circadian rhythm just doesn’t seem to like the afternoons. But what can you do? You’ve either got to face those dark horrible moments and their demons face on, or quit! That’s not something that’s unique to cycling either, long distance running’s just as bad. Your tired, your legs hurt, you’re hungry and thirsty, and there it is, a big f**k off hill! Sent just to torment you and push you over the edge and get you to quit. Or you face that challenge, push the suffering from your mind and push on, the reward will outweigh the short-term pain! And that’s where the mental game comes in. The general consensus seems to be that any endurance event is 90% the mental battle. That constant battle to succeed in the face of often overwhelming odds, and then 10% physical. Your body can go on pretty much forever as long as it’s got enough fuel to keep going. It’s your brain that’s telling you it hurts and to stop. So, you ignore it, find something else to occupy your mind. Think about that project that your planning, think about the last time you pushed through when your brain said stop, put some tunes on, look at the scenery (not so easy in the dark when all you’ve got is the pool of light immediately in front of you). Think about anything, but don’t let your brain win the battle of wills. “We’ve been here before brain, and on nearly every previous occasion I’ve won. We’re doing this so you might as well get used to it!” And you know what, if you can push those thoughts to one side it gets easier. And strangely the more you do it the easier it gets. You learn from experience that you can keep going, you know that you can go 36 hours straight without sleep and do it again the next day, you learn that you can run for 20 or more hours straight, you learn all the little tricks that help push those dark thoughts about stopping to the side, and you learn what you can and can’t do. And I’ll tell you for free, that there’s nothing that you can’t do if you put your mind to it and really want it, and that goes for everything in life, not just stupid endurance events. We’re just programmed as humans to give up if it’s too hard or difficult, and the more often you give up the easier it becomes to see everything as too hard and so the downward spiral begins! And that brings me on to the other topic of this week’s blather, motivation. Having had London - Edinburgh - London as a target for so long now (It’s been on my radar for the last 4 years and a specified target for the last year), now it’s over and completed what next? Whilst I don’t tend to have a targeted training schedule, preferring to just do things that catch my eye and imagination, I have known that long days and big mileages were going to be required, and as such lots of my recent adventures and outings have been focused on that theme. But now that’s done, were coming into the Autumn and Winter, so getting out there's going to become more difficult, and I’ve picked up a couple of niggling little injuries over the course of the summer that really need a bit of time to heal if I’m going to have a successful Autumn / Winter Running season, I’m finding myself asking what next, and feeling a bit deflated and unmotivated. I’ve had a couple of easy weekends and I’ve been avoiding the running for the last couple of weeks and focusing a bit more on the cross training (light weights and high rep bodyweight type stuff) with lots of stretching etc thrown in, in the hope that some of the little niggles will clear up. And to be honest it feels like things are slowly on the mend. My right knee which was very sore last week feels a lot better, and my left Achilles which had been giving me some real problems seems to be slowly getting better (at least I can get out of bed and down the stairs in the morning again now, without hobbling around like an old man). Oh, and the feeling is slowly returning to my little toes, which after 950 miles on the bike seemed to have gone numb and remained that way for the last 2 weeks! (I’m not sure what that’s all about, but I do know that it’s not ideal!) All those little things, on top of having successfully completed one of my biggest challenges to date and subsequently having to return to the general drudgery of work has left me feeling somewhat deflated though and sorely lacking in motivation to do anything. For the last few months every week has been focused on the next weekends adventure or challenge, the last couple of weeks though, nothing! And whilst I have got stuff in the pipeline, none of it is really catching my imagination or sparking that fire inside. I’m always worried about getting injured or hurting myself and having to stop doing the things that I love, so when I do pick up the odd niggle it plays on my mind. What if that’s the end of it, what if I can’t run any more, what if I can’t play bikes, how am I going to get back to full fitness? And that gets you down. Couple that, with that feeling of deflation following the completion of a big goal, a change in the weather and a loss of focus and I guess this is where you end up. Unmotivated, unfocused, and lacking in drive. Sure, I’ll get over this hump, it’s a common feeling post the completion of any big goal and to that end I almost knew it was coming. But it’s still a strange feeling, and a feeling that’s somewhat unexpected at that. You would think that I’d be basking in the glory of a job well done, not struggling for motivation, and feeling deflated, but there you are, that’s how it is! As I mentioned above, I have got stuff in the pipeline, there’s a double marathon weekend coming up (provided my Achilles is feeling better), there’s a 200 and 600Km Audax before the end of September, a 50-mile hilly ultra, and the London marathon at the start of October, so it’s a busy calendar, all of which I’m looking forward too. And all of which will hopefully help to get the old mojo back.
And to that end, I think I’ve waffled on long enough for today, in fact I’d be amazed if anyone’s still even reading. My waffling has however been fairly cathartic, and I often find that having written down my thoughts it helps to clear my head and get things straight in my brain, so even if you’ve lost the will to live, I’m happier. I’m off partying this weekend, so there’s not likely to be a blog update, although I have got some jam to make from allotment blackberries and the greenhouse needs sorting out, so if I’m feeling particularly energetic there might be a few photos to share. And if not, hopefully normal service will resume at the start of September with another big weekend and me back to full enthusiasm. Well, you'll all be pleased to know that I'm back, and whilst I haven't had time to fully digest my epic adventure, I've copied a ride report that I wrote to go elsewhere below. I will be back in the coming weeks to add to this in my more normal format, once my minds had a chance to digest all those miles and I've got the time to actually put all those thoughts to words. But for the time being; Sunday / Monday 7/8 Aug After an easy morning sat around in the sun and cheering off the early starters, my turn to depart slowly came around and I departed with the 13:15 group, not ideal for an habitual early riser, but not the end of the world either. As expected the group set off at a blistering pace, far too fast for me to sustain for the mileage ahead and I quickly let them go, drifting happily off the back of the fast group to settle into my own pace, only to gradually pass most of those that had set off too fast over the next few miles and were now paying the price. A steady first section saw me at St Ives for 17:00 and after a brief pause to refill my water bottles and grab a quick snack at the busy control, I pushed on for Boston. The flat roads through the Fens allowed for some fast miles and with the sun slowly going down the temperatures became far more bearable, leading to a magical sunset as the sun slowly sunk across the open countryside, setting the scene for what would hopefully be a brilliant week's riding. Boston came and went, as did Louth, with just brief stops at each and I pushed on to Hessle, crossing the bridge in the dark and arriving at the control at 03:00. My arrival at Hessle signalled my first dilemma and the decision on whether to grab a couple of hours sleep or push on. I'd always seen this as a bit of an issue due to my late start time. With 300Km done it made sense to sleep, although the control was still busy with the earlier arrivals and it would be light in an hour, so likewise it made sense to push on and aim for 600KM before sleeping, possibly getting me ahead of the main field? Decision made and after a quick brew and bite to eat I pushed on, heading into the hillier ground as the night started to give way to day. By 05:00 my eyelids were drooping and I stopped in a field gate, leaning my bike against the gate and myself against my bike and had a 10 minute snooze which did the trick and saw me though to Malton in time for breakfast. Again the control at Malton was busy and for the first (and last) time in the ride I had to queue for breakfast. As others have already noted the next leg to Barnard Castle had some brutal climbs and on more than a few occasions I made the decision to dismount and walk up the steepest bits. I'm not proud and would rather save my knees and energy for the bits where I can make a difference (what's the point in struggling up hill at 4MPH when I can walk up the same hill with half the effort at 3MPH?) Barnard Castle eventually arrived around 15:00, and a late lunch / early tea kept the hunger pangs at bay as I pushed on. I'll happily confess that the diversion on the next leg nearly broke me. Tiredness and the heat of the day were taking their toll and those climbs nearly finished me off, but I pushed on, enjoying the last few miles into Brampton. Brampton arrived for 21:00, along with the 570Km marker, and with most of those I'd arrived with pushing on to Moffatt, I took the opportunity to eat, grab a shower and bag a place in the empty dormitory for a couple of hours sleep, my first since setting off 32 hours previously. Tuesday 9th Aug I'd originally planned on 3 hours sleep, but was awake after 2, so got up and was back on the road again, heading for Moffatt by 01:00. Fully layered up, including my lightweight down jacket, the miles up to Moffatt were chilly, but with a steady stream of flashing red bike lights in front of me to follow / chase, it was an enjoyable leg. Steadily pushing along the smooth gradients, following the motorway and train line, before the final few miles through mist filled dawn valleys, to arrive at Moffatt in time for a breakfast feast. The climb up the Devils Beef tub from Moffatt, proved as magical in the early morning light as I remembered from previous adventures, providing some stunning views across the valley to revive tired legs and distract my mind from the task in hand. Followed by some easier miles on the cobbles that seem to pass for a road surface in this part of the world, for the run into Dunfermline. Sneak previews of the bridges off in the distance gave me a glimpse of the joys to come and something to aim for and by lunchtime I was across the Forth and heading up the busy slog of a climb to the control. I'll happily admit that I didn't enjoy the leg through Edinburgh at all. The heat didn't help but the endless cycle lanes, heavy traffic, terrible road surfaces and steep climbs weren't to my liking. Helpfully though I linked up with another rider for a few of those miles and between us we battled our way through the traffic, before a return to more normal service as we were spat out the other side, where we once again went our own separate ways, his pace being far to fast for my legs. A few more miles of steady climbing and then all that slog was instantly repaid as the long fast descent into Innerleithen hove into view and the speed under my wheels picked up. Descending through the beautiful valley roads into Innerleithen is another memory that will stay with me for years to come, as will the next stint through yet more outstanding scenery to Eskdalemuir. More fabulous food and an outstanding welcome (as they all were) from the volunteers at Eskdalemuir saw me ready for a final leg for the day, just as the sun started setting. And if the views from the miles before had been views to remember, the scenery as the sun set on the hills around me and the moon slowly rose at the start of the next leg were to die for. No matter how tired I was or how much my legs complained at the hills ahead, I was as happy as the proverbial pig, this is what cycling is all about in my opinion, and it was with a lightened heart that I pushed on into the dark, heading back toward Brampton. Picking up a flagging fellow rider in the miles before Brampton, a bit of mutual assistance and chatting helped pass those final few miles and I arrived back at Brampton for midnight, 22 hours after setting off, with another 374 km completed. Wednesday 10th Aug A solid 4 hours sleep and an extra brew with breakfast, saw me departing Brampton feeling fully refreshed and ready for another hard day at 06:00. After my sense of humour failure on the endless hills on the way up, I'd not been looking forward to this stretch (a feeling that seemed to be shared by everyone I spoke too). But in the cooler morning air, it didn't seem anywhere near as bad as the images my mind had been playing back, and despite a bit more walking on the steeper bits I was back in Barnard Castle for lunchtime, having enjoyed yet more of the best scenery the UK has to offer. Now, I know I always struggle in the afternoons (it must be a circadian rhythm thing) but again I found the leg from Barnard Castle back to Malton a real struggle. The heat made for hard going and the climbing just seemed to never end. In fact there was more than one occasion when I rounded a corner to be faced with another vertical climb that I wondered what I was doing there and it was only grit and determination that drove me on through the heat of the afternoon. A water bottle refill, when they were both almost dry and I was starting to get desperate, from a lovely lady by the roadside as we passed through, bought more than a tear to my eye and a quick snooze in the shade a while later gave me the energy to push on. Finally arriving in Malton for Tea at 18:30. Refreshed and fed, I pushed on, heading for Hessle, enjoying yet another stunning sunset and moonrise and fully enjoying the feeling of the tarmac smoothly rolling beneath my wheels now that the worst of the climbing was over and the stifling heat of the day had subsided. Back at Hessle for 23:00 the control was eerily quiet. I guess that by this time I must somehow have leapfrogged many of the riders in front of me, and after another shower I settled down in the nearly empty dormitory for a few hours sleep. Although, whilst I say it was a nearly empty room, there was still someone snoring loudly enough to wake the dead, but by this time I was so tired that the building could have collapsed and I'd still have slept through it! Thursday 11th Aug
Back on the road again for 05:00 I enjoyed an early morning crossing of the Humber bridge, complete with low laying mist out to sea, and the sun slowly rising, to herald yet another scorching day. The leg between Hessle and Louth seemed significantly hillier than it had been on the way up, but I made steady progress, arriving at what seemed to be a still sleeping Louth in time for a second breakfast. Louth to Boston passed without fanfare or remark, with the easier terrain making for quicker progress and I rolled in at 10:55 ready for a spot of lunch, only to be disappointed to find that it was still breakfast on the menu. Oh well “beggars can't be choosers” and porridge, toast and a banana is far better than a poke in the eye, so I'm not complaining. Lunch, breakfast or a combination of them all, my brief stop at Louth and warm welcome from the ever smiling volunteer cadre set me up nicely for a hot run across the Fens in the early afternoon. A run made far better by an ice cream stop in Crowland(?). I can't actually believe that I'd got 1300 or so KM in before I'd had an ice cream, there's certainly something wrong there! Picking up the cycle way out of St Ives, I found myself in the unfortunate situation of drafting a young lady on a single speed shopping bike for a while. Having ever so slowly caught her up, my tired legs just didn't have the strength to push past, and I just sat there for a while feeling inadequate! I must say that she had a fair turn of pace on her, but drafting someone on their way to the shops complete with shopping basket, come on me get a grip, and I eventually managed to drag myself past! Like the earlier stint through Edinburgh, I found the miles through Cambridge tedious, tiring and too busy for my liking. Miles that were only improved by a brief chat with a rider touring his way home, having packed at Barnard Castle (?) but who proved good company for a few miles and provided a welcome distraction from the rush hour traffic. A final hilly slog and another ice cream (that made up for missing out on previous days) saw me in Great eastern ready for one final push to the end and I was on the road, heading for the finish line by 21:00. Those last few miles, from Great Eastern were great. Fast, winding roads, took me back to my childhood, riding bikes with my mates, feeling the exhilaration of moving at speed and the wind in my hair. As far as I was concerned I could have gone on forever, but before I knew it I was being waved to a stop as the rear entrance to the final control hove into view. Just one more climb, just one more decent? No that was it job done, fun over! And what fun it had been. I'll admit that there had been hard miles, and there had been times when I thought “what the hell am I doing here”. But, those pale into insignificance against the views, the scenery, the memories, and the welcome and support received from the many hundreds of volunteers that gave up their own time to make my ride possible. What a week, 105 hours and 45 minutes, 1541 Km (952 miles) after setting off I was back where I started from, tired, sore, sweaty and looking forward to a shower, but with that feeling of contentment that only comes from a hard job well done. I'm sure that as time goes by and everything that I've seen and done over those hours is analysed by my brain, I'll have more to say about my ride. But for now there's 2 words that seem to sum it all up quite well and that's: Beautifully, Brutal. Or maybe; Brutally, Beautiful? Saturday 6th August (PM) Right, It's finally time for what will hopefully be the highlight of my cycling year. London – Edinburgh – London, 2021, is finally upon us. And yes, that is correct, this is the 2021 edition, postponed from last year due to the ongoing Coronavirus kefuffle at the time. It doesn't seem like 2 minutes ago, that I was sat nervously filling in my entry form. Pondering, as I still am, if I was biting off more than I could chew? But there's been a lot off miles under my wheels and through my legs since that cold, dark, day back in February, and I guess that I'm as well prepared as I can be. Although that doesn't mean that I'm not still racked with self doubt and apprehension over what's going to be a big undertaking, no matter how well prepared I am. The miles that I've put in over the last few months, coupled with the overnight adventures, will hopefully mean that my kit has now been finally tuned, and trimmed down to just what I need in order to survive over the coming days, and hopefully I'm not lugging loads of extra weight around unnecessarily. In fact, ever since I packed my bags and went out for that final shakedown ride last weekend I've been fighting the temptation to keep adding more stuff. Stuff that I know deep down will be pointless and unnecessary, but you try telling my brain that. There's a million “what ifs” floating round in my mind too. “What if I break a spoke? I haven't got any spares” - Well, the only time that's ever happened it tore out with half the rim too, so a spare spoke wouldn't be much use would it. “Stop worrying” I keep telling myself. “What if I get a tyre failure? I haven't got a spare” - Well, I've only ever had 2 tyre failures, both of which have been when fully loaded with camping equipment and on both occasions I walked to the nearest bike shop, so I'll just do the same again. “Stop worrying”. “What if I'm not fit enough”? - Enough already! But those nagging doubts keep on raising their ugly heads. To top matters off, I got stung by a wasp on the way home Wednesday night, and not a little sting either! The little blighter hit me square on the left knee on a downhill section of my commute home at about 25 MPH, and instead of bouncing off, the little sod grabbed on and got his stinger in good and deep before I could get a hand free to squash him. By the time I got home, my knee was twice the size, and by Thursday morning it had swollen up like a balloon, pulling all those finely tuned muscles every which way, and stiffening up to the point where it was a struggle to bend it. Hobbling around like “Jake the Peg” two days before your supposed to be riding a thousand miles isn't good for morale I can tell you! Luckily though, by Friday morning it had returned to a more normal size and today (Saturday) we seem to be back in the game! Wasp stings and other acts of God aside, every thing that I can do to make my ride as smooth as possible I've done. I've had multiple days away living on the road whilst covering long distances totally self supported. So, in theory, although this is further, it hopefully wont be too much harder, with it being better supported, with bag drops, manned checkpoints, food stops and a million selfless volunteers, all working tirelessly to try and make my ride as painless as it can be. I've got plenty of miles in my legs already this year in preparation (6200) and I'm used to long days both in the saddle and on my feet running. Likewise I've had plenty of back to back long days, so hopefully that wont be too much of a shock to the system. The only thing that I can't account for and my biggest worry is my start time (13:15). Which, as an habitual early riser, isn't ideal. I'd rather be away at first light than sitting around for half the day and starting when I'm starting to get tired. It is what it is though, and I've had a few long days out starting from work at lunchtime, all of which went OK, so hopefully this will be the same. And in fact, looking at the weather forecast it may actually be to my advantage. Granted I'll be setting off in the hottest part of the day, but I'll only have a few hours of high temps to contend with before the cooler evening and night descends. By Pushing through the first night (or as much as I can), hopefully I'll be able to take advantage of that with fresher legs and get some decent miles in on the first day. As the saying says though “No plan survives first contact” and with nearly 1600KM (1000 miles) of hard riding, spread across 5 days ahead of me, it's pointless trying to plan too much. I know from previous experience that trying to set a schedule or having too tight a plan in my mind, leads to stress, frustration and anxiety as soon as anything goes wrong. So I'm trying my hardest to take a “don't worry about it, deal with the problems as they arise and make the most of the experience approach”. Which at the end of the day is what I do best. If I can't control it, I don't tend to worry about it, or at least I try not too. I just need to break it down into manageable sections and deal with any problems as they arise and not before. Provided I'm ahead of the control cut off times that's all I've got to worry about! Oh, and the small matter of ensuring that I'm back before Saturday morning (by which time I'll be out of time anyway) as I've got a wedding to go to on Saturday afternoon that I can't really miss. (That's poor planning on your part “Kathryn Stinks”). So that's it, with the planning and preparations over and done with I travelled up to the start Friday evening (poor planning on my part as the M3 and M25 were manic). Ready to register and collect my number and Brevet card on Saturday morning, all of which was a smooth and superbly organised affair, and hopefully a window on what's to come.
And now it's just a case of “hurry up and wait”. I've filled my afternoon with a gentle 5 mile jog around Epping Forest, just to keep my legs moving and burn off a bit of nervous energy. Although it doesn't seem to have worked very well! And then tried, just as unsuccessfully, to relax and enjoy the afternoon summer sun! And now I'm sat in the van, amongst a plethora of other converted vans, all singing and dancing campers, and people planning on sleeping in their cars cuddled up next to their bikes. All of whom, like me are watching the sun go down, waiting patiently and excitedly for tomorrow and the start of what should be a great adventure! So, I suppose, that there's not really a great deal else to say, and even if there was, there wouldn't be much point, as by the time you read this it'll be all over anyway as it won't get uploaded until I get back home. Having either successfully been to Edinburgh and back, or slunk back home defeated with my tail between my legs. Either way, I'm guessing that it will take me a couple of weeks to get the blog up to date and for things to get back to normal, so until then watch this space and “Ready, Steady, Go” although I suppose that should actually be “Ready, Steady, Gone”! |
Paul PerrattOld enough to know better, young enough to still feel invincible, stupid enough to keep on trying the same thing again and again. Cyclist, Gardener, Runner, Hiker, Cook, Woodworker, Engineer, Jack of all trades and master of none, Anti social old git and all round miserable bugger. Archives
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