A couple of weeks before the event, I had the perfect excuse to call it all off when my ride partner, a fanatical Liverpool fan, though the Champions' League Final was a more important occasion than riding 100 miles with his Coffee Club mate! But just as with Connery, for some reason I decided, I had to do it; after all, when would a Devon cyclist have such an opportunity to ride so far over such flat land.
The Saturday before the ride was the day to register and an opportunity to test the route I would be cycling to start; thus avoiding the closed roads, the A1 and the extortionate parking charges the East of England Show Ground proposed charging for the privilege of parking on their grass!
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| The 'cycle path' was not really fit for the Venue |
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| Registration at the East of England Show Ground |
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| Registration complete .. this is my number The same which ever way you look at it! |
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| My steed, this will be its longest ride |
The day of the ride begins well. I enter the start gate from the wrong direction, but this at least ensures I am at the front of the peloton, even if I get a few strange looks. This actually turns out to be an important advantage when food and water unfortunately soon starts to run dry at the feed stations for later riders.
As for the ride, well it was a different from anything I've done to date .. no hills! But strong winds over the Fens made for an interesting experience. I think I prefer the hills, at least you can see them!
So that's it, no need to do another one .. or is it another case of never say never again?!
