TRAINING RIDE 12 - Just short of the century

And for once that's 'miles' I'm talking - 97 to be exact (or 157km).

Yes I made it, thanks much to Nick, my riding partner, and Sarah, our eating partner!

However, had it not been for Nick's pacemaking I rather think it would have taken me longer than 8 hours, that's assuming I'd even have attempted such a distance alone. Then again, at times we had quite a battle with the winds, especially on our return. But then again I guess a tail wind going evens out against a headwind coming back. It pains me to say that the fact the weather didn't turn out as nice as was forecast probably only helped our cause, as we certainly felt the few short bits of sunshine we did have.

Not letting early morning rain dampen our spirits we set off at quite a pace. Riding with someone else was a new experience for me, a nice one at that. Time and distance pass more quickly and on the quiet country roads we were able to ride side by side, chatting as we went.

Who would have believed it when in the middle of nowhere on a lovely rolling stretch of the Wolds we just happened to bump in to Nick's neighbour, out for a Sunday morning stroll with his father? What a small world it is!

To think that it was possible to cover I would say 75-80% of the distance on deserted country lanes was very fortunate and certainly made for an enjoyable ride. Much of it being new territory to both of us also maintained our interest. Although not reaching Hornsea our original target, due to one missed turn, Skipsea was still a very worthy substitute on the East Yorkshire Coast. Very much a caravanning and B&B holiday destination it appears to have been badly affected by coastal erosion.



Benefitting from riding in Nick's slipstream for parts of our return route again enabled us to keep up a good speed. Although several inclines, first out of Langtoft and then out of Thixen, really tested what stamina remained. Then came a fairly steep and twisty descent to Kirby Underdale, leaving only the flat plains of York between us and the finish.

Very demotivating was the sight of 2 consecutive signposts stating 12 miles to York, probably half an hour or so apart. There's nothing quite like feeling as though you're not getting anywhere! But then again, however far you go, the final section is always the most mentally tough...and so again it proved to be. But at least this time there was a sense of having achieved quite an 'epic' ride.