Misery Mersey roads ride reports
Well my usual be prepared went out of the window when my bars started creaking Thursday, "yep cracked again" so I ended up changing them at the last minute.
I had flipped my stem earlier in the week to give me a better position on the Tri bars, but I should have done this months ago and got used to the position, the different position meant that I virtually had to break in my Brooks all over again
couple that with the boil on my backside and well I wasn't bloody comfortable, the extreme riding position also means the muscle groups are altered and my glutes were in agony after the first 100 miles, so much so that towards the end I was riding every slope out of the saddle
my arse feels like it's been fisted by Mike Tyson still wearing his boxing gloves Despite all this I started optimistically and wanting to do over 300 miles, and perhaps went off too
quick well, I did the first fifty at evens and at 100 my speedo said 18.7 a preliminary 100 mile time of 5h29m was on the finish board a personal best for me by over 30minutes.
After that it all sort of went downhill with my glutes and thighs burning my sit bones feeling like they had been kicked in by a mule and the temperature dropping in the evening, I really struggled in the night, the long lap circuit down to Telford and back had a very poor road surface, ribbed for extra
pleasure pain
it was that tarmac that constantly vibrated the bike and also had quite a few potholes on it, when they switched us to a shortened version because the Quinabrook circuit was flooded I commented that I was glad because I hated that bit
Ibuprofen the long distance cyclists friend helped me stay on the bike
and I just kept plugging away watching the average speed drop but still on target for 300.
The camaraderie from other riders teams of helpers was a real moral boost cheering us on and shouts of "dig in" and "keep it rolling" really did help take your mind off the pain
I reached my 300 mile target just before they directed us to the finishing circuit, this drag up the A41 was a real slog and the potholes just demolished any sense of will power my backside had left in it, I was now crawling along at a snails pace and by the time I reached the finishing circuit I just wanted it to end, "actually thats a lie, I wanted it to end about 2am in the morning, praying it was really 1.17pm and this was an eclipse"
as we finished the first circuit past the HQ we headed back up the main road on all I can describe as an awful bloody drag of a hill, after passing this I mentally calculated that even at my ever slowing pace I would have to ride this bit a second time.
No I bloody wouldn't
at Alton just after Brura I found a great little pub and stopped for a pint of Ale and a packet of crisps
and a seat that wasn't brooks shaped.
Two old guys at the bar said they were old Anfield CC riders/members and asked how I had got on in the Mersey roads?
"err I'm actually still riding , just adjusting my finish time so I don't have to ride that bloody hill again"
That really got them laughing and he said "thats what I like mad enough to ride a 24, but willing to stop for a beer on the way round"
Unofficial stats-
my computer registered 344 miles but preliminary finish figures were all lower than people expected
100 mile time = 5h 29m
distance at 12 hours = 180 miles
average = 16.4mph @ 74rpm
max 32mph @144
I rode my Dads old Lambert Proffessional on a 72" gear 49 x 18
Do's and don'ts
Do prepare youself and your bike/ Don't ride for 24 hours in a new position
Do take painkillers with you/ Don't be surprised at how painfull it is.
Do enjoy the weekend/ Don't enter go for a little tour.
Do take adequate lighting/ Don't let anyone talk you into entering
Do arrange what you want to carry / Don't forget how painfull it was so you don't enter again
It was an excellent ride very well organised and stacked full of people willing to help you day or night
but don't let me enter it again
