I’d planned the route months ago, or rather Strava had planned it for me; however, the silly summer hot spell meant I was constantly putting off the ride, but finally temperatures were back to normal, so it was all systems go!

Pre-ride

I made sure I took my battery pack because ‘if it isn’t on Strava etc. etc. ‘ along with 2 x bananas, 3 x gels, and a quantity of energy powder destined for a mid-ride bottle refill (except my cunning foil wrap of powder idea turned out to be not so cunning after all when it later exploded over me and the bike). I also took the precaution of melting some lanolin for application to the necessary parts of my anatomy before I left home!

The ride out

I’d told myself to stick to 15mph but a few miles in I discovered that I seemed to have a ‘Cinderella sweet spot’ (not too hard; not too soft!) in terms of cadence so I settled into 82rpm and completely ignored speed. Although it was ostensibly side-wind all the way there was at times a smidgeon of headwind plus a few long hills for good measure. All went smoothly but around midday I dropped my original destination (Thurston, east of Bury St. Edmund’s) in favour of Barrow when my stomach sent me a message that it required food! So I ate in the splendid Weeping Willow after securing a small bank loan.

The ride back

I left the Weeping Willow feeling pretty strong and was tempted to slip into my normal pace but a little voice in my head said ‘Don’t do that stupid sh*t John!’ so I didn’t. With the worst of the hills tackled in the morning and with almost no adverse wind I was soon able to relax in the (fairly) certain knowledge that barring some unforeseen disaster I would actually make it home. Having instructed my Garmin to follow the same route back it didn’t so it was a shock when the Newmarket Stallion statue on the Stetchworth Toll roundabout sprang into view which meant a speedy and unexpected run down the A1303 towards Bottisham.

Observations

• A bit annoyed I hadn’t stuck to Plan A as on getting home it was clear that the original 120 miles would have been well within my capabilities.
• A route that takes you through the centre of Cambridge requires maximum concentration (checks notes: TOURIST SEASON!)
• The cadence thing was a minor revelation as it provided an excellent discipline for not getting out of your zone.
• I averaged 83rpm and 16 mph so a tad quicker than my expectations.
• 75 miles in, I found myself whizzing past another old boy up the long climb from Fulbourn to the Babraham P&R, which gave me immense satisfaction!