Well this week has started really well, I managed a 50 mile ride on Sunday with the Chippenham Wheelers at quite a good pace, followed by a 61 mile ride on Tuesday, giving a total of 111 miles in three days.
The latter ride was a bit of an endurance test along with seeing what it was like to ride on busy ‘A’ roads for long periods of time. Thankfully, I wasn’t to bothered by it all, I think I just need to be a little more alert.
To be honest I found it a little boring, however most of that will be that I know the road. One of the main issues that was highlighted to me yesterday, was the state of the main roads, all the way to Hungerford I was finding myself having to ride about a metre from the kerb, just to stay out of the drains, the other issue, was the quality of the road surface which kind of introduced a buzzing sensation through the handlebars and left me with a tingling feeling in my hands, something a lot of people who have done the trip before have mentioned in blogs I have read. The total time taken for the 61 miles yesterday was 3hrs 50mins and I am pleased to report that my legs feel absolutely fine today, a sign everything is moving in the right direction. When I am on the ride proper, I will probably be in the saddle for 8 hrs a day, basically having to reduce my average speed to somewhere around the 12.5 Mph. All my life I have always been a sprinter when it came to any forms of excercise, so am having to really change the way I work. (in the words of my sister "It's not a race.........GO")