Well, that was eventful. This ride doesn't do uneventful, but this was in some respects a bit too eventful. But still good fun, and those of you fence-sitters who keep not signing up, or did but had to bail, not only missed wind and rain (and it wasn't that bad, at least with waterproof gear that was actually waterproof- and some of mine wasn't either!) but really great fun. And hopefully, next year, there will be a midnight ferry on Friday night, as Extremely Early In The Morning Ride Around the Coast is a considerably less catchy title, and a 2am start makes the time drag rather more.
Back to the small hours of Saturday. Thanks (but no thanks) to Wightlink's timetable changes, the post-work routine to get ready for this ride was somewhat more drawn-out. Down to the Gunwharf terminal just after midnight, to find the remaining five members of the night's peloton (four from the other place, and JBB- lovely to meet you!), already getting acquainted/reacquainted). We were the only cyclists on the ferry so there was no danger of confusion with anyone else (there was a guy with a rather nice Planet X Pickenflick on the recce, so not impossible). Unlike the midnight ferry, which is usually fairly busy, the 2am sailing was very quiet, despite the best efforts of a somewhat enthusiastic canine. As per usual on this ride, we parked up at Fishbourne to let The Traffic get on its way before I did the safety talk and we played Dodge The Pothole on the road away from the terminal. Somewhat annoyingly, lost a few miles on the Garmin by not restarting the timer (am still looking for a way of editing the GPX to put the first part back in) but I knew the way to Tesco well enough. Shopping done, on we went, up to Seaview (for the titular aquatic vista that you don't get on the Randonnee, and which adds nothing to that ride's mileage), round to Bembridge, and then down to Sandown (well, up, then down, then up.....but that's the IOW). By this stage, the heavens had opened, and those of us who had extra rain gear had donned it. We stopped for a breather at Sandown (where the WCs were closed but offered a bit of shelter from the wind and rain), and then the Sunshine Trail. Which must be lovely in the daylight, not that I ever have ridden it then
Chris suffered the first deflation on the trail, and no sooner had we got to the end than Dan punctured as well. By the time we'd ground up Blackgang the sun had risen- well, it was light, anyway- and paused for the alfresco stop. Chris's stove provided a most welcome cuppa, once we'd worked out where to position it out of the wind so it didn't get blown out (as Jim Royle would put it, "12 mph wind my ****", more like 20 mph). Garmins with temperature readings reckoned it was sub-zero. I wasn't convinced, but we were all shivering- my gloves were damp, and I opted to keep them on rather than get the second pair damp as well- and the wind chill was nasty.
On we went, Peter opting to head north at the appropriate junction (he was going to turn back instead, but a look at the map persuaded him otherwise) and on the Military Road, yet another puncture, for Julia this time. Chris felt the need for an urgent call of nature, and we unfortunately lost contact for the rest of the ride, though the last-minute route changes the rest of us made certainly didn't help. Julia was feeling inclined to bail at Yarmouth, get the ferry and ride home (Salisbury area) from Lymington, so once we'd got the grind up towards Freshwater Bay, then the (somewhat hairy in the crosswind) descent down to there, out of the way, a route change ensued, as we picked up the official round-Island route, an off-road path to Yarmouth. Julia left us there, and the remaining three of us carried on to Newport- by this stage I was of the view that the most direct route was the best option- and I wasn't physically flagging, but the mind wasn't terribly keen on the schlep up to West Cowes, the chain ferry, the nasty little climbs in East Cowes…the stretch to Newport proved a better option. The NW wind was certainly strong, but we must have been more sheltered in the middle of the island, as our speed picked up somewhat. Dan opted to part company here- his wife was meeting up with him, and his brother lives near Newport, and after conferring with Colin, we opted to (a) go for the catamaran rather than the car ferry and (b) skip breakfast (I know, shocking behaviour....but thanks to that late start, and incidents, time was pressing). My impromptu routing to Ryde (follow the signs, basically) thankfully avoided the 'motorway' (the only dual-carriageway on the island, and one of the nastiest bits of road I've ever ridden on), been there, done that…before we got back on the canonical route past Fishbourne, up the ever-lovely Quarr Hill, and into town. Straight past the Wetherspoons to the pier, and we got the very next cat, which was already boarding, in part thanks to a helpful Wightlink employee who opened the barrier for us. And there, in the bike racks, was a familiar Super Galaxy, Chris having made his own way back round.
On the other side, we parted company- Chris for a train home, Colin to his waiting (and sadly ailing) car, and I had to ride all the way home :smile:
Many thanks to the hardy few that joined me, it was a triumph over (very mild indeed) adversity. 2020. It shall return. Oi! You, reading this, yes you, sign up next time. Double figure head count would be nice.....but I'd do it on my own (well, twice if you count the recce). It's a fab ride, even when it's wet and windy. Though at the risk of stating the obvious, you are guaranteed to have a headwind at some point, and if you can't stand hills, look away now.....
