That was to decide whether I am REALLY going for it or chicken out. The test involved the highest climb on the route (Yad Moss – 610m) – twice. The first half was really good and fast, probably thanks to me not being tired, nice weather and – most mportantly perhaps – having a tail wind!
The return, on the other side, was really sad. It rained like hell, I got wet to the bones, shivered, fell into a ditch full of rtunning water and had to tackle the head wind on top of it all. I made it to the end (what choice did I have – the car was waiting for me there) but I became painfully aware that I MUST – really MUST be prepared for a rainy condition or I’ll be totally ‘dead’. I think I know now what to do – so that was a valuable, if somewhat painful, lesson!