Farnham century

Feeling no ill-effects from last week’s epic down to Devon, I upped the commute mileage this week with a lap of Richmond Park each evening on the way home – now in full light at last. Amazing how the hills in Richmond Park seemed so insubstantial after what I’d experienced in Somerset / Devon. The monotony of riding laps of Richmond Park is as much a mental challenge now as a physical one, but I figure training in either aspect is going to be useful come June. It’s amazing how many cyclists are out and about now – in fact the huge increase in the number of commuters on the roads is actually becoming a complete pain the a***. The front of the queue at traffic lights is complete mayhem in the evenings, and there are plenty of people doing very silly things. The drivers should be praised for their patience, as many of the cyclists are showing none whatsoever.

After a late and boozy Saturday dinner with the Gilbey’s, I was slightly dreading my Sunday ride, and would have preferred to have lazed around the house, or taken the dog for a stroll. But, I dragged myself onto my bike having drunk several pints of water and a couple of paracetamol. I actually felt pretty good for the first 25 miles, out past Kingston and along the banks of the Thames to Chertsey. Stupidly, I told myself that 100 miles isn’t really very far and that I could polish off the miles quite quickly with a minimum of fuss. 35 miles in and I was feeling fairly pooped and the miles seemed to tick by incredibly slowly for the next 20 miles. Took a wrong turn south of Farnham and inevitably that directed me onto the longest hill on the route so far – but in a weird kind of way, that served to energise me. My speed picked up again at around 65 miles as I turned East near the charmingly-named Titty Hill near Midhurst and took advantage of the wind in my back. A long climb out of Easebourne pushed my heart rate higher, but offered exquisite views North East across the route home. Although feeling tired, and crawling up any incline, especially back over the double ascent of the North Downs, the tailwind meant that I was riding at 20-25mph on the flat the whole way back - helpful as the ride ended up at 114 miles instead of the planned 100. I probably pushed too hard in fact, and have been feeling sore since I got home – a lesson that I need to ride within myself on the TdF itself.

Am getting a bit bored riding by myself all the time – the difficulty is finding someone of the right standard – not too quick and not too slow – who is around at the right time of the weekend and is happy to ride the distances I want to cover. I console myself with the thought that riding alone, taking the brunt of the wind full on, will mean that it will be relatively easy once I come to ride with a group, and take shelter when I need to. Next Sunday I’m entered in the Squires and Spires sportive with Tommy, so the company will make a welcome change.


Weekly totals
Commute – 134 miles
Other rides – 114 miles

Funds raised to date £2018.