That was another great experience — The Shark in
sunshine!
I have to say it beats it in the rain we had last year.
If anyone needs a kick up the backside to get out on their bike and realise they need to train harder then this is it — an early-season leg-breaker, lung-burster of a ride across the grain of the home counties, from central London to the south coast. And back. By the end you'll wonder where all your winter miles went and you'll be back out and training hard by the time you've recovered. Which will be a week on Thursday
I rode this last year and set out to beat last year's efforts by riding slower at the beginning hoping to keep more in the tank for the grand climbs of Toys and Hogtrough ... the reality was that I matched last year to within 10 minutes, and the final two climbs were as brutal on my flatlander's body as they ever were
I rode with a long list of people, all of whose company I greatly enjoyed, but none for very long — I seem to climb slower than most, but descend quicker, inadvertently yo-yoing around several groups. I think it's a gravity-effect
The delicious Ivan-e-strone stew made for a special breakfast (I tend to ride fasted for the first 100km, but this extra-hilly ride saw me break that much sooner), and the hall was buzzing when I got there — the sun made for a very different experience to last year.
The flat sections were surprisingly quick, for me, proving that I have too much potential of the anti-gravitational capacity and should always aim low. The depressing regularity and apparent ease with which too many riders passed me up the hills on the return leg suggests that there should be a minimum-height requirement of 5-foot-10, and minimum-BMI of 22 for anyone entering this event, just to keep things on an evenly fair basis. Weighted rucksacs should be assigned to those who fall outside these requirements, IMHO
Unfortunately, the Sunday traffic was in a few places markedly heavier than last year, I thought, and the lovely weather seemed to bring out some really poor driving — it was only a few places, but the close passes and general risk-taking were abysmal and one was very nearly life-changing! As a counterpoint, the vast majority of the route beyond the confines of the M25, and a good part within too, were on quiet lanes and B roads and were lovely to ride.
I have never really minded riding in the city, I quite like it, and most drivers were happy to leave room — the run back to Greenwich three of us picked the pace up and it was a nice, swift retour that reminded me that even if I'm rubbish up the hills, I'm still okay on the flat and LEL's mostly flat, right?
Thanks to Ivan and all the ACH helpers for putting on another great event