This is a bit overdue, but I haven't had a chance to post
since Sunday.
So, on Sunday I did the White Cliffs Challenge - a 100 mile
round trip, starting in Dover then heading out across Romney
Marsh to Rye before doubling back up past Ashford to the
southern outskirts of Canterbury then across to Sandwich and
down along the coast through Deal back to Dover.
After getting up at the unearthly hour of 5am and scarfing a
bowl of porridge, I got a lift down to Dover with two chaps
from the club, and we met up with another at the start. It
was a chilly but sunny morning with clear skies promising a
fine day's cycling. The start was supposed to be 7am but
after milling around for a bit we trundled off at about
7.20, latching on to the back of a group from another club -
a club that takes its riding very seriously.
About half a mile into the route, the lead riders missed a
turn and when we all regrouped it was our rider, Mike, at
the head of the bunch - where he likes to be. Mike has only
one way of riding, and that's as fast as he can go, so we
soon settled into a pretty brisk pace as we got over the
initial undulating terrain out of Dover, and on to the pancake-
flat expanse or Romney Marsh, assisted by a moderate north-
easterly breeze at our backs.
The first checkpoint was at Rye, 38 miles into the course.
We reached it with barely 1hr 40mins on the clock - an
average speed of nearly 18.5mph, which is bloody fast by my
normal standards, especially over that distance. I tried to
take my turn at the front but couldn't maintain the pace for
long so mostly sat in the bunch and let the serious racing
boys do their thing.
After the checkpoint we let the fast riders go off first but
we caught up with them waiting by the roadside less than
four miles down the road - one of their riders had come off,
falling head-first into another rider's front wheel, causing
a bit of a pile-up. Fortunately, no serious injuries done to
the faller (she just got back on her bike and completed the
course - somewhat ahead of me, I might add) but the wheel
was a write-off, so they were waiting for someone to come
and collect the wheel's rather disappointed owner.
We carried on at our own pace - around 15-16mph, which was
still pushing the limits of what is comfortable for me,
especially as we were now riding into the wind (which
suddenly didn't seem so 'moderate'😉.
The hardest part of the ride came at around 65 miles, up
Crundale, between Ashford and Canterbury. This is a nasty
little climb in three stages, each of increasing steepness -
the last part really rears up on you quite sharply. I took
it easy and when I caught up with the rest of my group I
learned that one of them had actually fallen off and had to
walk the last part, so I felt quite pleased with myself for
having made it all the way up by pedal power alone.
By the time we got to the outskirts of Canterbury, I was
feeling pretty knackered and was sorely tempted to just turn
off and head for home - about 10 miles away. I had drained
both my bidons and eaten the last of my bonk rations. My
legs weighed a ton, my bike weighted two tons, and I was
scraping around for reserves of energy, desperate for a cup
of tea and some proper food. But the next control wasn't for
some way yet... I was OK going downhill but as soon as the
road started to incline upwards even slightly I would just
fall off the back of the group. Fortunately, they all very
kindly waited for me so I didn't ever fall too far behind
and it kept me motivated to carry on (and it was a good
excuse for them to have a rest themselves).
Next control was at a pub at around the 80 mile point, where
squash and cake were provided. This was also where we caught
up with a lot of the people who were doing the shorter
versions of the ride (100km and 50km), which explains the
odd spacing of the checkpoints (there was a final control at
around 90 miles).
After that it was mostly pretty flat for the rest of the
way, apart from a long but gentle uphill slog just before
Dover, and once we turned south just before Sandwich we had
the wind at our backs again. I eventually limped in over the
finishing line in a time of about 6 hrs 45 mins, exhausted
but happy.
The weather stayed fine for the whole day - indeed, I was
very glad that I had the foresight to leave my waterproof
behind and instead pack a small bottle of factor 30, which I
applied at regular intervals. Unfortunately, I forgot to do
my legs so my thighs are now pasty white on the top half and
lobster pink from just above the knee downwards. It would be
amusing if it weren't so sore...
Still, a most enjoyable outing and one to look out for again
next year.
d.