Another 110 Km under the belt – and I think I did it at the record speed of 20Km/h on the average. I am certainly improving!
Some highlights. I managed to start with a large group of experienced riders and managed to keep up with them for about 20 minutes 🙂 They (and me too!) were averaging 26-27 Km/hour and I was very proud to last however long I did… It’s clearly the uphill which distinguishes the boys from the men – and I feel very much the former when it comes to climbing hills.
The weather, overall, was OK. We did get the occasional shower and some unexpected hails, but it was not long lasting and I dried up relatively quickly. I was cold, though, most of the time (especially my feet!) but not actually freezing, and I was pleased not to have taken any extra layers of clothing.
On the way I met a nice guy who was doing his first Audax ride. His name was Morris and he played football for many years. It showed. Perhaps lightly less experienced than me, he not only coped, but clearly had to wait for me on several occasions. He must have decided that my company is preferable to shaving some minutes of his arrival time.
Then there were two people with just one leg. I have never seen one-legged people cycling before and I was amazed at their dexterity and endurance. More embarrassing was the fact that they would overtake me after every break we had. All – except the last one where Morris and I managed to finish the course perhaps one or two minutes before them. Quite inspirational!
Oh – and there was food and cakes – all FOC. Of course, donations were welcome, so I contributed few pounds to the fund, but the food was just great.
Having recovered from the ride, I managed to get to Oxford and see Shani, including a nice meal at a Chinese. That was great and I enjoyed the company – and the food.
The certificate: