The first event I entered was the Wiltshire Wildcat, which had three difficulty levels - short (30 miles), standard (61 miles) and epic (81 miles). In a bold move while signing up, I decided to enter the longest distance, figuring that I could probably ride one of the shorter distances if I needed to on the day.
The event started at Salisbury Racecourse on Saturday morning. I was subsequently told that this part of Wiltshire is fairly flat. The elevation chart (see above link) and the aching in my legs suggests otherwise!
I overcame the first obstacle at 6am (less than 2 hours before registration opened) when I discovered that the bike did fit in the back of my car as hoped. Winning at life!
When I arrived at the event, though, I realised just how much of an amateur I am as I stood there on my own trying to work out what everyone else was wearing so I could decide what kit to take with me. I got to the start line and, while listening to the safety instructions and deciding that I was not going to be the ridiculous guy that missed direction signs, overheard somebody talking about their glasses. That was the moment that I realised I had left mine on my passenger seat (I wear cycling glasses to protect my contact lenses) and had to race back to my car to collect them.
Once I finally got underway, things started well. I got to the first major hill, the biggest of the day, and made it to the top with enough energy to grin at the strategically placed photographer. Going down the other side of the hill, however, I discovered that my brakes were not going to stop me in a hurry. Fortunately, at the bottom of the hill was the first feed station - which I did manage to stop at - and a friendly bike mechanic who was able to supply some brake blocks at a reasonable price. His diagnosis of the problem was that the brake blocks were, to use the technical term, "f***ed".
My head swimming with cycling jargon, I got back on the road again and things continued to go quite well. About 3 hours into the ride, I found myself on my own. I saw a hill to my left and hoped I wouldn't have to cycle up it. That was when I realised that I hadn't seen any direction arrows for a while and that I was in fact the ridiculous guy who had missed a direction sign. To add insult to injury, the extra section I had added was quite hilly.
I found my way back on track and to my delight didn't have to cycle up the hill I was keen to avoid. Annoyingly, though, the next one I had to ride up was even worse than the one I had just seen.
The third section, after the next feed station, was probably the toughest. That was the period during which I got annoyed at the lack of flat roads in Wiltshire, at the changeable weather (other than the wind - that was pretty constant), at yet more fields, at still being sat on a bike, a bit more annoyed at the lack of flat roads, and the distance I had to travel to get to the next feed station. This was also the stage of the event that I realised 81 miles is further than 120km.
I did, however, get to the next feed station with a sense of relief and determination to get this thing done. I watched a girl crying her eyes out at the prospect of yet more hills and a marshal try to reassure her that there were only two left. At that moment I was just relieved it wasn't me.
On the final stretch, I started chatting to another cyclist. This made the rest of the ride far more bearable (note for next time!). What was ridiculous about the conversation was that he was much quicker than me when descending hills, but that I was quicker than him at climbing them. The conversation therefore lasted a few minutes before being interrupted by a downhill section before being picked up again at the same point at the top of the next hill and so on.
It was a relief to finally cross the line. I didn't manage it in a particularly good time, but I did so with a sense of having accomplished something and taken a huge step towards feeling more confident about riding four stages of the Tour de France this summer. I learned a lot that I would not have been able to do riding on my own!
If anybody fancies a laugh (and/or to see my funky shorts in action), the event photos are available here.
Next weekend might be a rest weekend (I think I have earned one!) - but it probably won't be.
Shout outs:
Thank you to everyone who has helped me so far. I would like to give a shout out to Loz for sponsoring me - I am very grateful for your donation.
To anybody else reading this, please visit my fundraising page: http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/TomHoldaway. A donation of any size will help a lot.
Thank you for reading!
No comments:
Post a Comment