My very first above 200 Km ride – and I am really apprehensive. It would require at least 11 hours – if I can do it at all..
On top of it, I have to get to the starting point (Long melford in Suffolk) at about 08:00, which means getting up at 05:45! It’s going to be interesting to say the least. The ride is described as ‘surprisingly challenging’ – I am absolutely sure that I would be happy NOT being surprised – just let me get through it in one piece.
So here is the first leg and the second leg. They are not really two legs, but just the two ‘circles’ of an ‘eight’ figure.
It’s Monday now (bless the Bank Holidays) and I had a chance to recover from the long ride. So here is what went fine:
1. I finished
2. I wasn’t DOA (Dead On Arrival)
3. I had company for most of the time (more on that latter)
4. I only missed my target arrival by 45 minutes.
Here is what went wrong (sort of…)
1. My new shiny GPS did not work as expected (more on that later)
2. It was VERY windy. Unfortunately, it felt as if most of the time it was against us – which is unlikely but that’s how it felt!
3. Climbing was hard – real hard!
4. My backside was not happy at all at the end.
5. I got sunburned on my legs and arms – but not too badly.
It was a lengthy affair. It took me 12 hours and 15 minutes to finish. As I said – 45 minutes more than I wished, but with the strong winds and my really poor climbing ability I hereby forgive myself. Although we did arrive last, we had another two hours or so before the OFFICIAL closing time, so that’s not too bad.
Climbing was a real pain. We climbed over 1000 meters overall, so I had enough places to observe my performance. Perhaps it was also due to the fact that John, my riding partner, was slim as a fiddle and had no trouble climbing faster than me. I was overtaking him on the straight and the downhill, but as soon as we hit a small incline I was pacing myself at the lowest gear while he zoomed upwards. Clearly – I must lose weight. There is no way I can go really long distances while carrying at least 12 Kg more than I should! The good new is that it SEEMS I managed to lose at least 0.5 Kg of FAT while riding this mammoth run. So – if I continue like that, I need about 20 such rides and I’ll be OK. 20?? My god – that’s another 4000 Km! Oh well, maybe I’ll do also some dieting and it will not take that long.
Oh yes – my new GPS. Right. I decided that I am now ready for a brand new gadget and went for the Edge 705. Beautiful machine that really has MOST of what may want in a cycling computer. I have tried it for few days on my commuter runs and felt pretty confident with it. Imagine my utter dismay when we are all ready to go at 08:30 and I turn it on … and the display shows me that it is still thinking that I am commuting – and in London. Gee – I need to RESET it. But how?? I am pressing all the buttons – not a chance. Start, Stop, Lap, Menu, Zoom – nothing! People are starting to leave and I don’t want to START last – it’s just embarrassing. So I just say to myself sod it – I have a backup: My simple (3£) wired speedometer and odometer to the rescue. It took me all the way to the first control (some 40 Km) to work out how to reset the damn thing. (Err… it was actually WRITTEN on it in red letters next to the ‘lap’ button – and of course I tried it at home several times – I still forgot). Never mind – I managed to reset it when we got to 50 Km, so that my distance calculations from that moment forward will be relatively easy (just add 50).
And I met John. He is 62 and lives in a small English Village (about 600 inhabitants). for 27 years he was a pig farmer – raising pigs for some relatively rich farmers. He would cycle to work every day 15 miles each way, would work 12 hours or so from 6 am (no overtime was paid) and also weekend (again – no overtime). Then, totally unexpectedly, he was laid off. Strangely, he felt relieved. The work was really getting to him mentally, and he found it harder and harder to cope. Really nice man – we may bump into each other again I guess.
So I did my first 200 Km ride. It looked so DAUNTING but now that it’s over it was like – ‘that wasn’t too bad now, was it’? Looking forward, I am now planning my first 300 Km to happen in July, and then we’ll see.
The certificate: