CHALLENGE FIVE;
CYCLE; LONDON TO SURREY 100 - COMPLETED - 29/07/2018.
To be perfectly honest, I really don't have a lot to say about this event...
The timing of the event came when I wasn't really in the best of mind frames and it was probably the least enjoyable of the challenges I've done so far for a multitude of reasons;
1. Atmosphere - or as it was - lack of it. This challenge really is a battle between you & your head - cycling is easy enough and your legs will turn as long as you tell them too, I knew that given the London to Paris cycle a few years ago but there weren't many crowds following the event and this was exaggerated as you headed out towards Surrey. Nobody, zilch, nada.
2. Weather - it was a pretty dark day anyway at 6.30am as we got ready to crack on but from about mile 20 onwards, it absolutely chucked of rain. Not great, not wise, not warm, just not enjoyable at all.
3. Crashes - unfortunately, as the weather continued to be poor, the roads became treacherous and the final 40 miles of the cycle took a painstaking 4 hours - not through a lack of speed on my part but due to standing around waiting for crashes to clear. Unfortunately any ambulances could only come from one direction (as they could not arrive facing on coming cyclists) and the hold-ups were unbelievable, I stopped around 40 miles in for a coffee at one of the checkpoints as I was freezing and got chatting to a few folk - this was at 9.30am following a 7am start. At 2pm, 5 HOURS later, I met the same people at the 80 mile mark as we waited for another crash to clear. The stop-start situation did not help the legs or the attitude and I really couldn't wait for it to finish ha..
All 3 of us did cross the line however but unfortunately my flag was absolutely soaked (along with everything else that was in my bag) and thus I couldn't take any photos of it which really capped off a miserable 9 hour event that really should've taken no more than 6 and a half.
Roll on 2019.
The timing of the event came when I wasn't really in the best of mind frames and it was probably the least enjoyable of the challenges I've done so far for a multitude of reasons;
1. Atmosphere - or as it was - lack of it. This challenge really is a battle between you & your head - cycling is easy enough and your legs will turn as long as you tell them too, I knew that given the London to Paris cycle a few years ago but there weren't many crowds following the event and this was exaggerated as you headed out towards Surrey. Nobody, zilch, nada.
2. Weather - it was a pretty dark day anyway at 6.30am as we got ready to crack on but from about mile 20 onwards, it absolutely chucked of rain. Not great, not wise, not warm, just not enjoyable at all.
3. Crashes - unfortunately, as the weather continued to be poor, the roads became treacherous and the final 40 miles of the cycle took a painstaking 4 hours - not through a lack of speed on my part but due to standing around waiting for crashes to clear. Unfortunately any ambulances could only come from one direction (as they could not arrive facing on coming cyclists) and the hold-ups were unbelievable, I stopped around 40 miles in for a coffee at one of the checkpoints as I was freezing and got chatting to a few folk - this was at 9.30am following a 7am start. At 2pm, 5 HOURS later, I met the same people at the 80 mile mark as we waited for another crash to clear. The stop-start situation did not help the legs or the attitude and I really couldn't wait for it to finish ha..
All 3 of us did cross the line however but unfortunately my flag was absolutely soaked (along with everything else that was in my bag) and thus I couldn't take any photos of it which really capped off a miserable 9 hour event that really should've taken no more than 6 and a half.
Roll on 2019.