That’s a bit more like it

Just back from a great ride out with the Tour de Force. A beautiful day for cycling, with little wind, (mainly) dry roads, and sunshine – hooray! After the winter we’ve had, this extra warmth was really appreciated by everyone, and spirits were noticeably high from the off. Although temperatures were only around 14C, compared to recent months where temperatures have struggled to get to 5C, it felt like a summer’s day.

The riders met up at Godalming station and the plan was to head out south and loop back east and north to take in some of the North Downs. I was a bit late arriving, having mistimed my cycle down there, but luckily spotted the TdF peloton turning out of Godalming onto a minor road just in time. The first half of the ride was fairly easy-paced, with a couple of longish stops for punctures, but no-one was complaining about hanging around in the unfamiliar warmth of the sun. Following a brief refill of hot chocolate and toasted panini in a picturesque café by a fishing / camping site - picturesque that is if you purged the unsightly caravans from your view of the lakes – the pace quickened a bit and there was some tidy group riding, with proper paired-up drafting (well done Steve, your coaching is starting to pay off…).

The real test of the ride was to come after 40 miles – especially tough for those who hadn’t ridden that kind of distance before. Turning north from the outskirts of Cranleigh there is a particularly menacing stretch of steep stuff that reaches a gradient of over 20% towards the top (double chevron on the OS map!). At this stage most of us have already misjudged it, believing the peak would come a lot sooner, so just when your body is really starting to hurt, the road steepens further and requires a final all-out lung-busting effort up the wall to the summit. The last time I’d ridden that climb I’d already had over 100 miles on the speedo, and was desperate to stop, but was forced to carry on climbing given the two cars behind me and no space to pass. This time, although I’d already completed about 75 miles, it was a whole lot easier, but still a hard grind. Of course, the reward for such energy-sapping graft is a stunning descent off the top, down into Shere through dappled sunlight cast by the beech and fir woods (which is even more amazing in autumn).

The loop was a little shorter than originally planned at 50 miles, but with the ride there already in my legs and the return to Putney still to come, I wasn’t complaining. Clare did really well on her first half-century, keeping up with the pack and showing a lot of improvement already. She also managed to tick off another first – falling off her bike, while stationary with her feet clipped in. To be fair to her, it was on the difficult 20%+ climb, and having run out of puff, unclipped one foot to put it down, only to fall over in the other direction. I didn’t see it (damn!), but now she’s broken her ‘clip-in fall over’ duck, just like every cyclist has to as a rite of passage. Rick Wates continued a long Wates tradition by falling over at standstill at a junction (again).

Although alone for the return to Putney, it was quick and enjoyable, with a slight tailwind to help me along at over 20mph most of the way. Slightly slower than that (!) over the punishing climb out of Shere onto the North Downs, but overall felt much better than any ride I’ve done over 50 miles so far this year. Finally home after 120 miles. Finished with a cold bath – Paula Radcliffe says it helps recovery – I say it was unbearably cold and is still unproven!

Good news is that my knee pain (see last week’s entry) has shown no signs of reappearing. I went to see a physio anyway during the week – she was as mystified as me – but said there appeared to be no damage to cartilage, tendons or ligaments, although control of my knee was poor due to weak glutes (new exercises to perform on a daily basis) and my ITB was very tight (back to the excruciating, self-induced pain of the foam roller). Very relieved to get a clean bill of health though.

I finally got a call from Holdsworth Cycles to say that my commute bike was ready for collection after a full service and a long wait for delivery of a new rim. The bike is now in excellent condition, with a new chain, cassette, front ring, gear/brake cables, brakes and a rebuilt rear wheel! Almost like new. What I love about Holdsworth Cycles is that they clearly take a lot of care over the service – granted they had my bike for over two weeks, but returned it in concours condition. I’m sure the mechanic had waxed the frame as I hadn’t seen it look that good since I bought it, and he’d also filed down and rounded off the broken edges of my mudguards which I’d snapped trying to bend them beyond their natural elastic limits! Nice change to be able to ring them later and compliment them rather than having to complain about the level of service as I've had to with lots of other companies.

And bmycharity, the fundraising website that the TdF (and I) are using, having previously sent notice that it was to close for lack of funding, has been saved by Help for Heroes, and is therefore to continue trading. Phew!

So a good week overall. Feeling positive.


Weekly totals
Commute – 89 miles
Other rides – 120 miles

Funds raised to date £1403.