Well, it definitely was an experience!
A group of 5 of us, nicely coordinated on 3 Planet X Ti and 2 blue Ribbles, set off from Dartford Crossing just before 9 am, full of hope and enthusiasm, but gradually the heat & the hills took their toll, so we first lost Andrij and then Adrian. With this route, there's just no getting away from the fact that if you want to stick fairly close to the M25, it will be undulating. Also, at times, you end up going up a hill and then descending the other side, simply because there's no other safe road available. I had made good use of bike hike though to try and ensure whichever road used was the easiest, if there were alternatives.
Matt had the right idea of starting this early in the morning, and doing the Northern section first, but he's clearly a very strong rider, as he zoomed past where we'd stopped, quicker than I'd expected. Initially our moving average was around 13.5 mph, but thanks to Brian's power-house pulling ability, we got back towards 15 mph average towards the end, so despite the stops, I was very pleased to have got back to the bridge just before 9.30 pm. I think I'd recced about 60% of the route over the last month or so, and some other bits I vaguely knew the roads, but having to stop and double check the map certainly does slow you up. Apart from Martin & Brian missing a turn, we only went off route once and added about an extra ½ mile overall.
At times I felt a bit exhausted and so had to resort to artificial stimulants, although I ignored one lot of energy drinks which were sugar free and only 60 calories - what's the point of that? My stomach felt a bit iffy on the train back, but as I had chicken in black bean sauce waiting for me at home, I soon felt better.
Well done to everyone for your company and for your participation.