Last Sunday we headed out with the group again for what we thought would be a fairly easy ride. A few minutes before the start it seemed like we'd have a small group, but then cyclists began to appear from all directions and 12 of us had gathered on the Quay, where Mike was presented with a spade.
We took a long route out of town, so 5 miles in and we weren't more than a mile from the start. The adventurous section began as we climbed a muddy debris filled lane out of Pinhoe. After sliding a couple of times I hopped off my bike as I didn't want to risk a fall. After walking a short section, I climbed back on to find Don stopped up ahead. A twig (later described as a small tree!) had got caught in his wheel dislodging his mudguard. Carrying on to alert the others, we came to a road closed sign. As there was no sign of the others, we assumed they'd got through ok, so negotiated the signs and carried on.
We found the others waiting at the junction and as Wolf went back to help Don, Mike wasn't deterred by the lack of seaside on the route. He soon created a 'seaside' effect by getting out his spade and throwing water all over Penny.
After being reassured that Don would be on his way again soon, we all carried on towards Killerton. On route, we stopped to see if there was any sign of Don and looking back saw two familiar figures on bikes - Roy and Pauline, who had apparently just missed us on the Quay and had been rushing to try and catch up! When we got to Killerton, the reason for Don and Wolf being delayed again became clear as Wolf had taken a tumble and had grazed knees and muddy shorts to prove it. He showed a true leader's spirit and after a quick stop for tea and cake, bravely led us on to Cadbury.
We'd never been to Cadbury before and I was rather nervous as I'd heard several mentions of 'the hill'. Heading out of Thorverton, Roy had a puncture but said he would catch up with us on the hill...which I had no doubt he would. A small hill first then the big climb began. We lost sight of all the others as the climb began and I was soon in my lowest gears, determined to take it slowly and steadily. I kept pushing on, hoping the top was near, but the hill seemed never ending! Ant was up ahead and I called up desperately hoping the top was round the next corner, but the response 'no' was not well received! It was a good job no-one else was around to hear the words uttered under my breath as climbed the final section! On reaching the top, I didn't have time to be pleased about making it up without getting off. I felt completely worn out and I couldn't even seem to get any speed up going down hill! Thankfully it wasn't too much further to our lunch stop - a beautiful balcony overlooking the hills at Geoff and Penny's.
I could happily have sat there all afternoon, but after enjoying a cup of tea we needed to head back. Luckily I'd expected some steep downhill sections after our ascent, so I was prepared and in my drops before a long steep descent. Had I not been, I am sure I would have been off the bike and walking! Unfortunately there were more uphill sections too and after the morning's exertions, I was tired and tackling the hills very slowly. A bit of a reality check given that the Olympic route we are training for has very few flat sections. We had only completed 31 miles and although that included a big hill and some challenging riding, I know that's nothing compared to what we'll face in September. We really need to up our fitness and pace if we're going to complete a 90 mile technically challenging ride!
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