West Country training ride

Henry and I went for a ride (Saturday 29th March) in the windiest conditions I have ever been out in. We started from Bath and headed down toward Bridgwater via Radstock, Shepton Mallet and Glastonbury. It was horrible, with the wind so loud in my ears I could barely hear myself shouting at Henry to see how he was getting on. Once we hit the A38 we were going nicely, and at least it was flat. I don't much like hills anyway, but hills into a headwind - no thanks.

The A38 has been resurfaced recently so this bit should be quite nice when we do it on 29th June on our way from Lands End to Bristol.

We turned off towards Bath onto a road that was more like a rollercoaster, with more hills, and valleys funnelling the wind into directions I could barely believe. It seemed like a headwind again, and it was raining fairly continuously.

I got through about 4.5 litres of Zym Endurance and boy did I need endurance. We managed 80 miles and I have to say it was a bit of a struggle. Towards the end I had really had enough of trudging up hills against gravity, the wind and with the rain being blown horizontally at me. A shot of Power Gel helped, but I did not really enjoy the last few miles.

We didn't get a chance to do any exercises like the rest of the group did just before Easter, when we flew up and down the A31 in a group, chain ganging. That was a great ride.

Hopefully the weather will pick up and it will be more pleasant to get out on the bike. For now I need to do some maintenance and cleaning, and get the body used to being on the bike for hours. Eating is a major issue, and I need to practise what I preach, and eat more when riding. Liquid alone is not enough. Flapjacks and a bag of salted nuts and raisins was excellent for me before.

I should mention at this stage that the fundraising from individuals appears to be going well, so I should like to thank all my friends and contacts who have sponsored me so far, and hope that more people add to the list. A special thank you goes to my friend Richard who has been hugely generous and donated £1,000 - I bet no-one person beats that !!!