That was chilly. I ECE'd the shorter event to make it a 200 from home. Pushed down to Lichfield by the wind. Excellent route to Stonehurst, it's somewhere I visit quite often, but approaching from a different direction made a nice change. I was in and out of a couple of groups without finding a pace that suited, played leapfrog with three guys on road bikes, riding a lot faster than me and navigating slower. Punctured a few miles before the control, which seemed to take ages to sort, long enough for the rest of the field to pass, I struggled with the stupid little tyre levers off the multi tool, I have no idea why I always have decent ones in the tool bag, low sugar and cold maybe. A quick turn around at Stonehurst in the hope of making some time up, that was probably a mistake, I may have speeded up with a better rest and some hot food. The rest of the ride was against the clock, the favorable wind back to Lichfield was a help. But it wasn't very helpful on the extended route home, Abbots Bromley, Burton, Derby. The last couple of hours daylight were quite bright and pleasant, followed by a couple of hours in the cold dark. Home pretty much on the time limit, I'm not sure yet whether a few minutes under or over, I'd normally be disappointed by that, with the weather and the extra 30km ridden I'm satisfied. I'm not sure why I enjoyed it, but I did. Thanks Jethro and team.
