Tuesday 29 May 2012

Norfolk 100

What is it about 100 that seems so much bigger than 98? Whenever I was asked about the impending Norfolk 100 I freely admitted to feeling completely daunted by the 3 digit nature of the challenge. From the perspective of a total amateur on a touring bike that number of miles in a day feels like the very outer edge of sanity....Quite a lot of our lovely friends and supporters clearly felt the same as their most common reaction when reminded of the forthcoming challenge was to exclaim " you are definitely mad/ bonkers/ insane " etc.
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.


Friday 25 May 2012

Animate Objects in our Path

Maybe one day we will stop having our "good ideas" but maybe at that point life would be become a little boring .....
The good idea for Sunday 20th May was to combine a viewing for an agricultural machinery sale near Ely with a full luggage practise ride for France . Logistics were as complex as ever - starting with a pre - sparrow fart departure with tractor and trailer for Shaun. (He sends his apologies to all those caught in the 10 mile traffic queue on the A14). The mid morning saw Lesley and I driving our intended bike route in reverse in the bus. This involved Lesley driving and me screeching very last second instructions based on my blurry vision ( glasses at home ) of a biggish scale map. Apologies to alarmed pheasants and partridges.

Late morning we charm our way past security at the sale venue which we finally located in a village some distance from Ely, rescue a very frozen Shaun and head to Ely proper for warming soup (remember this was before summer decided to make her presence felt).

After insulting the looks of the resident riverside Muscovy ducks , swearing at the weight of our luggage and wondering just how far we would have to cycle before our feet defrosted we wobbled our way along the riverside path and headed for National Cycle Route 11 . We remembered to cross the river before launching ourselves South on the cycle route proper. We admired the straightness and flatness of the path and agreed that the weight wasn't so bad as long as it was balanced. We took time to pose on the throne like sculpture along the route and took care to avoid the cow pats liberally dotted along the way. About a minute later we both spotted the authors of the cow pats and simultaneously noticed the rather larger brown beast standing on the path. When Lesley exclaimed " shit it's got testicles" we knew we had a problem Houston. To our right down a steep embankment was the river . To our left down an equally vertiginous slope was a bramble filled ditch. Gates fore and aft were a long way away and we could not outrun the bull in either direction with or without luggage. Tacitly we agreed that the only way was steadily forward making neither eye contact nor alarming moves. Not so easy in a high viz bright yellow jacket but if there is only one option best to grasp it with confidence.


(The bull is on the far right!) We passed close enough to admire the skill with which his nasal piercing had been performed and to marvel at his all round bulk. Like Persephone we did our best not to look back and even though we could hear no thundering hooves the next gate could not come quickly enough. After safely reaching the other side we agreed that our hearts could not have been beating faster if we had just ascended an alpine pass.

After deep breathing exercises and customary map reading discussions we headed in to fenland proper and agreed that a good caffeine stop would be the charming looking pub 20 miles or so along the intended route. Sadly the welcome from the manager did not match the exterior charm of the premises and we vowed never to darken its doorstep again. On arrival home, I looked it up on Tripadvisor and found that we were not alone in our experience of lack of hospitality. I can live without being harangued by a man who must have been an extra in Dark Shadows in a genuine 70s brown striped shirt.....and I guess many others share that view.

The rest of the journey was fairly uneventful by comparison but definitely taxing on stamina and map reading skills. It was good to pick up parts of the Cambridge to Norwich route and reminisce about kamikaze stewards and veteran cyclists on that sultry ride last October.We felt it was very sad that in mid May we were wearing all our winter kit and saw no need to remove any layers at any point.

So 66 miles later we are glad to have completed the baggage trial but both admitted to feeling a bit daunted by what we might have taken on with both the Norfolk 100 and Le Mans. If winter persists simply carrying enough spare clothing will be a real issue for France. The charity shop challenge will be a daily necessity.

At the time of writing the 100 is 24 hours away, my bike has had an emergency service at the wonderful Borwell Cycles in Norwich, summer and a strong easterly breeze have arrived and I am s**t scared....... Watch this space.

Sunday 13 May 2012

Good hare day

If this were a Hollywood movie we would know that things have to go wrong, that set backs have to be overcome and courage mustered before a final happy resolution. I am really hoping that the last 2 weeks fit that part of our plot line and that we can now move on in a steadfast way towards our goals.
The first goal is the Norfolk 100 which I have to say is scaring me witless. My series of tumbles knocked my confidence as well as denting my arm and causing my fitness to retreat to December style levels. So for lots of reasons it has been with some trepidation that I have hauled myself back on board my beloved bike. It is so good that I have huge support and encouragement from Lesley. I think a solo me might have crawled into the bike shed and stayed there!
I managed a couple of round the blocks before last weekend then on Bank Holiday Monday with warnings of dire weather ringing in our ears , Lesley and I headed East with a view to putting miles under wheels for the first time together in a wee while. Lesley was trialling her new paniers as preparation for France and we both found that luggage and head wind combined made for a bit of a challenge. We started by aiming for Loddon via Hempnall and Seething Ling. Just North of Hempnall we had the most magical encounter with a group of mad may hares. They were clearly having a great time larking about in a maize field and were completely unaware of our presence. So much so that 2 ended up running straight down the road towards us and came almost within touching distance before swerving off back to the field. I have never seen hares face on so close up . We felt very priveleged and also slightly smug as about 2 minutes before this we had been overtaken by a serious roadie chap - head down pedalling fast- who would have missed the entire hare show. Being a tortoise has many benefits.

Our initial loss of blood sugar was swiftly remedied at Rosy Lee's in Loddon then back into the head wind to see how close to Lowestoft we could get without having to swim. More hares popped out of hedgerows to check us out. Definitely a good hare day.

 We battled on through Haddiscoe and took an executive decision based on weather and family commitments to turn back West slightly earlier trhan planned. After a scary flirtation with the A134 we found some idyllic back roads to take us above Beccles and Bungay and lead us to the very welcoming Earsham Hall tea room where mixed bean soup revived us in body and soul. The rain arrived as soon as we left for home but it was made bearable by the thought of a waiting hot shower.
We were pleased to have clocked up a good mileage but neither of us are under any illusions about the fact that 100 miles is a very long way and that trying to average 70 miles a day with luggage is going to be a test. Onwards and I hope not too much upwards.