The OVW representatives set off on Saturday afternoon and Dave W had done some good work on the logistics by booking a hotel close to the start. A walk over to the arena to pick up the goodie bag and a pub meal and a pint followed. The hotel was full of cyclists and thankfully put on breakfast at 0530 which meant my can of rice pudding was not necessary!
A short ride to the start, getting to the pen half an hour beforehand. However, a series of unexplained delays meant we started 30 minutes late, I was glad of the bin bag I'd put on to keep warm. The first 5 miles were like a roller coaster, with short steep hills and descents. It became obvious pretty quickly that I was slowing Dave up so we split up, probably to the relief of us both! The next 20 miles set the trend with continual climbing and descending on heavy, country lanes. This meant that group size was 10-20, no sign of the 40+ chaingangs seen on the Velothon.
I'd brought two inner tubes as I feared tacks and my worst nightmare came true as I suffered a double puncture with big carpet tacks. I got off and changed them with the help of the motorcycle marshals. (free inner tubes and track pump carried!). I then set off again only to puncture a third time when a local farmer decided it was a good day to cut his thorn hedge! This time I was helped by a 'domestique' - these were a number of riders in the event who had the job of providing assistance when necessary. I'd now had 40 mins of stops in 40 miles and the groups that were coming past were 1mph slower than I'd hoped for. If a railway station was close by, I may have taken the train!
The constant undulations continued. The public were generally fantastic but there were protest signs in a few villages about the road closures. At about 70 miles we had 10 miles or so of relatively flat roads. I'd foolish paid no attention to the parcours, apart from noticing there were a few hills towards the end but the last 15 miles were an absolute sufferfest. I was relatively okay as I'm lighter than I've been for years and I overtook loads of riders ( some for the 3rd time!). My no stop strategy ( apart from punctures) worked, with 2 bottles, 2 bananas, 4 gels and a crunch bar. Good organisation again at the finish with a free beer and food stalls.
It was a well organised event and much harder than Ride London and the Velothon. I'd not prepared for it ( apart from one club run!) and so was pleasantly surprised to see I got stronger as the day went on. I did 5:23 and just under 6,000 feet of climbing in 100 miles.
