D
davek
Guest
The thought struck me out on the road yesterday, that 300km is the kind
of distance I would consider a long way even if I was driving it in a
car. And there I was, doing it on a bike.
Admittedly, from about 180km onwards, my legs were on autopilot and I
had mentally switched off - if I had thought about it too much, I would
have had to give up. I reckon the next step up, the 400, will be a case
of just keeping that momentum for an extra few hours and I think I had
enough in reserve that I could have done that yesterday, if necessary.
But as soon as I got off the bike at the finish and sat down with a cup
of tea, my brain registered "you've finished!", and I promptly fell
asleep. (Hats off to all you 600 veterans - that would definitely be
beyond me at the moment.)
Really enjoyed the ride, though. The first bit, the night stage (3am
start), was quite funny - the route stuck to the (mostly well-lit) A2
from Rochester all the way to Faversham. Riding as a bunch we got some
amusing "wtf!" type reactions from the assorted young Chavs and
Chavettes on their way home from their night's clubbing (too bemused to
assume their normal hostile stance towards cyclists - I think they were
actually quite impressed).
It was light by the time we reached Margate (about 6.30am), but there
was an icy fog that made it very chilly indeed, and after stopping at
the first control it took a while to warm up again. But by the time I
reached Hythe (the fastest riders would have already been in Rye by that
point), the sun had come out and burned the fog away (so much for the
promised rain) and it was turning into a beautiful spring day. And so it
remained for most of the rest of the ride.
Slightly strange route - partly rural roads, partly busy main roads -
but the scenery was mostly lovely. I was particularly impressed by
Ashdown Forest, which I have never visited before. The road just seemed
to keep going up and up through the woods, appearing to level off before
turning upwards some more. Eventually you come out right at the very
highest point where you are rewarded with some truly glorious views.
After that, the route started to get a bit lumpy - the kind of roads I
hate riding on, which just undulate over small rises and dips, enough to
prevent you keeping a good rhythm but not enough to be classed as hills.
Then at about the 275km mark we hit the "sting in the tail" - Ide Hill.
Not as bad as I had been expecting, to be honest, and I got up it OK,
but still no fun at that stage of a long ride. Nice views from the top
again.
I assumed it was going to be more or less flat for the last few kms, but
I had forgotten there was that lumpy bit between Sevenoaks and Meopham,
so was faced with one final demoralising uphill slog before a long,
gentle downhill coast to the finish line.
I arrived back at the scout hut a few minutes after 8pm (just as it was
getting dark enough to need lights again), after 17 hours on the road,
exhausted but thoroughly pleased with myself. I'd like to have been a
bit quicker (partly so the organisers could pack up and go home - though
in fact there were still six other people out on the road when I
finished) but my main challenge yesterday was getting round in one
piece. I'm still a bit tired today but in surprisingly good condition -
my knees are a little tender and my achilles tendons are a bit sore too,
but no muscular problems to speak of.
Roll on the 400 in June!
d.
of distance I would consider a long way even if I was driving it in a
car. And there I was, doing it on a bike.
Admittedly, from about 180km onwards, my legs were on autopilot and I
had mentally switched off - if I had thought about it too much, I would
have had to give up. I reckon the next step up, the 400, will be a case
of just keeping that momentum for an extra few hours and I think I had
enough in reserve that I could have done that yesterday, if necessary.
But as soon as I got off the bike at the finish and sat down with a cup
of tea, my brain registered "you've finished!", and I promptly fell
asleep. (Hats off to all you 600 veterans - that would definitely be
beyond me at the moment.)
Really enjoyed the ride, though. The first bit, the night stage (3am
start), was quite funny - the route stuck to the (mostly well-lit) A2
from Rochester all the way to Faversham. Riding as a bunch we got some
amusing "wtf!" type reactions from the assorted young Chavs and
Chavettes on their way home from their night's clubbing (too bemused to
assume their normal hostile stance towards cyclists - I think they were
actually quite impressed).
It was light by the time we reached Margate (about 6.30am), but there
was an icy fog that made it very chilly indeed, and after stopping at
the first control it took a while to warm up again. But by the time I
reached Hythe (the fastest riders would have already been in Rye by that
point), the sun had come out and burned the fog away (so much for the
promised rain) and it was turning into a beautiful spring day. And so it
remained for most of the rest of the ride.
Slightly strange route - partly rural roads, partly busy main roads -
but the scenery was mostly lovely. I was particularly impressed by
Ashdown Forest, which I have never visited before. The road just seemed
to keep going up and up through the woods, appearing to level off before
turning upwards some more. Eventually you come out right at the very
highest point where you are rewarded with some truly glorious views.
After that, the route started to get a bit lumpy - the kind of roads I
hate riding on, which just undulate over small rises and dips, enough to
prevent you keeping a good rhythm but not enough to be classed as hills.
Then at about the 275km mark we hit the "sting in the tail" - Ide Hill.
Not as bad as I had been expecting, to be honest, and I got up it OK,
but still no fun at that stage of a long ride. Nice views from the top
again.
I assumed it was going to be more or less flat for the last few kms, but
I had forgotten there was that lumpy bit between Sevenoaks and Meopham,
so was faced with one final demoralising uphill slog before a long,
gentle downhill coast to the finish line.
I arrived back at the scout hut a few minutes after 8pm (just as it was
getting dark enough to need lights again), after 17 hours on the road,
exhausted but thoroughly pleased with myself. I'd like to have been a
bit quicker (partly so the organisers could pack up and go home - though
in fact there were still six other people out on the road when I
finished) but my main challenge yesterday was getting round in one
piece. I'm still a bit tired today but in surprisingly good condition -
my knees are a little tender and my achilles tendons are a bit sore too,
but no muscular problems to speak of.
Roll on the 400 in June!
d.
