Of course in between our wintry ride from Ely and Sunday 27th May summer arrived at full throttle. We don't often do temperate in this country anymore - it's either frozen feet for 66 miles or so hot and humid that you have to replace your entire body's fluid every 10 miles ..
It was an absolutely beautiful day. Bright blue sky and not a single cloud in sight. There was a great atmosphere at the start - very festive . We set off just before 7.30am as planned and joined the "mighty peloton" as we were described by the commentator at the start. Without being too cheesey it actually was a fine sight to see the streets of our fine city dominated by so many determined cyclists.
We made a good start and managed to negotiate both leaving the city and its light morning traffic and the surrounding clumps of club riders with calm. Our friend Simon who is a proper cyclist on a proper bike even managed to stay with us for 10 miles or so before shooting off in hare like fashion at the first proper incline. early morning caffeine hits meant that the first comfort stop after 25 miles or so was very welcome. By this time I realised that I would have to alter my usual regime of a sip of water every hour and possibly a cereal bar after 50 miles quite substantially. Before even reaching that first stop I had taken on more fluid than I normally do in 10 rides and demolished both power gel and said cereal bar! Yep it was hot already. As this was only the second time since last October that I had set off on a ride in just short sleeves it was clear that our lack of opportunity to train in anything other than sub zero temperatures could become an issue.
We carried on North towards the coast and couldn't resist a squeak when we first spotted the sea on the horizon just before Morston. It was blue and sparkling - a very rare sight in Norfolk and the whole coastline looked postcard worthy gorgeous. This is when it got "bumpy". No Noel, Norfolk is not flat and this bit of coastline does its utmost to prove a point. The compulsory half way half hour stop at Sheringham was not resented . It was a welcome chance to douse ourselves in cold water and refuel. The volunteers manning the post were all charming and dealt with us rather bemused and sunstruck cyclists with efficiency and good humour.
I was delighted when a chap who had done the same ride last year exclaimed in the food queue that " It's all downhill from here". He lied . Not a whopper of a lie but there were still a few undulations to conquer and my slightly stiffened legs were not delighted to encounter them. We also had seaside traffic to contend with through resorts such as Cromer and Mundesley. The challenge of dodging cars, fellow riders and ice cream wielding toddlers kept all our senses on full alert. It was good to hold on to the thought that each mile now was taking us nearer to the finish but the cooling sea breeze did seem to elongate that stretch of coast down to Horsey where we had decided to make the final stop.
The long flat stretch from Sea Palling to Horsey had definitely grown since I last visited it ( admittedly in a car) but at last the Mill really was around the next corner and we were greeted by my enthusiastic family and a fine picnic. We could not do proper justice to the food as we both get indigestion if we consume too much during a ride but the support and lemonade were tremendously welcome .
Spirits lifted once more we headed inland narrowly escaping a nasty encounter with a car after a cavalier "yes " from a steward when asked if it was clear . We rapidly realised that the heat was very intense away from the sea breeze and did our best to steer clear of the melted tarmac. This last part went by in a flash and a wee bit sooner than we expected we were heading through the Erpingham Gate back into the Cathedral Close. Again the atmosphere was fantastic and we joined hordes of equally jubilant and exhausted cyclists clutching medals and free drinks courtesy of Adnams.
Well we did it and on a touring bike and a mountain bike respectively. In the sleepless pre dawn hours of Saturday night it looked like a task fit for Hercules - not me. I am still struggling to get my head around it.
Another achievement for the day which I will not allow my family to forget is that I travelled 100 miles under my own steam with bare minimum luggage - i.e. 1 bum bag and 1 under saddle bag containing my repair kit.
A big thank you to all those who sponsored us. It certainly helped to encourage us to see it through.
So onwards to the next challenge - Le Mans. The packing pile is looking too big already and there is no guarantee of clement weather....But we will be on holiday so the pressure will be off.
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