Yesterday I took to the road on my trusty Kona dew drop to attempt my longest ever ride: the
Manchester 100K. Some of my pals had opted for the 100-mile route, and good on them! but as I'd not covered anything over 40 miles in a day before (and even then with some rests in between) I decided to settle for 62 miles for my first organised roady ride. And what a great event it was! There were welcome food stops at great locations, serving hot tea, at roughly the 20 and 40-mile points, the weather (minus the head wind for pretty much the last half of the ride) was perfect for cycling, and lots of lovely people were out on all different bikes, demonstrating varying levels of committment to lycra, and everyone enjoying themselves, even when it was hurting.
The first 20 miles went relatively quickly. I was getting into a rhythm, finding a pace I was comfortable with, trying to drop back from the girl with a pink top who'd overtaken me on the hill in the first 5 miles (did I really need to be chasing another rider with a full 55 miles to go!), and enjoying the weather/scenery/vibe. At about 19 miles, we came to the first pit stop. A very welcome hot cup of coffee and a slice of malt loaf later (though their cakes were very tempting, I managed to resist) it was onto the next 20. This section of the route passed through some very pretty villages. I was starting to feel it in my shoulders more than my legs, so trying to keep my back moving, and keeping a nice steady pace up while having a nosey round me and watching out for the racers who would occassionally whoosh past on my right. The 40-mile stop was very welcome. After a good long rest (The Kings Lock, Middlewich), including a nice cup of hot tea, my homemade sandwiches, and a packet of crisp, I felt ready for the final 20 and was glad to have bothered with the pannier and packed lunch, even if it meant a slower ride dragging more weight around. The last 20 miles showed me it's more about mind than matter, as it would have been easy to lose all enjoyment in the final miles by thinking about how far I'd come, rather than focussing on just how few miles there were to go. With the latter mentality, I was able to ride fast into the park at the end, to cheers from the small crowd of strangers who lined the finish.
Along the way I exchanged a few texts with the others: one friend racing in a pack with her club, maintaining between 18-20 mph! and another whose plan was to plod away around the full 100 miles riding with the attitude "we'll get there in the end - as long as it's before they pack up the certificates." For me, being on the road with all those cyclist was an experience. Hanging back with a few other riders, then bolting on ahead every now and again, trying to take the lead, but occasionally getting the bit between my teeth and bolting off after another fast group who had overtaken me and given me a spurt of energy as they passed! In the end, I made it round in 6 hours (with 1 1/2 hours rest time), so 4 1/2 hours. My average speed was 13.5 mph, which isn't bad considering the head wind, panniers etc. The only downside is that I have now added a fast, race-ready road bike onto the bike wish list. What is it with bikes!?
