Suffolk Coast 8th August

[Mike!]

Anyone doing it?

It's my first big one since starting commuting in April.

I did the London to Brighton about 6 or 7 years ago but nothing before that or since so it's a big ride for me.

I know my legs will be fine but am very worried about my right knee surviving 60 miles!! My last long ride of 35 miles was very painful for the last 5 so i'm hoping it survives a bit longer next week!!

My knee has given me problems for years (started when i used to play 5 a side) and i really should get it looked at!!

 

[Rezillo]

I'm doing the 60 to give my boss some company. Can't quite believe I'm writing this so casually as two years ago, that distance was a milestone for me that I was worried about doing for weeks beforehand but now it's a reasonably regular ride.

Don't worry too much about your knee. The ride is well-supported if you get into problems and while there are some low hills, perhaps more than you would expect for Suffolk, the main problem can be the wind speed. The route is mainly orientated sw/ne and the return leg has some flat and wide open sections usually against the prevailing sw wind.

Looks as if you will need some cash for refreshments.

John

 

[Mike!]

Glad to hear it's not just me doing it!!

I know i can do the distance and am not worried about the ride at all - just the damn knee.

It's given me problems on a 5 miler to work this week so i've rested for a couple of days now and will just have to see how it goes.

If you spot a bloke with a heavy knee brace on a Voodoo Limba that'll be me

 

[Rezillo]

Ok - there wiill be three of us at first but my boss's wife will be turning off to do the thirty miler.

We will be two, er, older people, one on a Trek, me on a red Orbea (or possibly a black Ridley triton if it is raining). We might also be a bit slow unless my boss is underplaying his claimed speed.

John

 

[Rezillo]

Glad to hear it's not just me doing it!!

I know i can do the distance and am not worried about the ride at all - just the damn knee.

It's given me problems on a 5 miler to work this week so i've rested for a couple of days now and will just have to see how it goes.

If you spot a bloke with a heavy knee brace on a Voodoo Limba that'll be me

How did you get on? There was someone with a heavily bandaged or strapped knee waiting to start around ten past eight near the front of the start group I was in but I was too far back to speak to him.

John

 

[Mike!]

How did you get on? There was someone with a heavily bandaged or strapped knee waiting to start around ten past eight near the front of the start group I was in but I was too far back to speak to him.

John

I was in the lead group waiting for the off at 8am so could have possibly been me!

I passed the half way point in 1hr 56m which i was really pleased with, i really suffered on the back half and had to stop in Dunwich to take some pain killers for the knee but finished in 4:04:56s. I was aiming for under 5 hrs so am really happy with the time! Can hardly walk on it now though.......

Did you see the guy that crashed in woody part after Southwold? He hit a tree stump and didn't look good, hope he's ok.

 

[Rezillo]

It probably was you - good time with a dodgy knee!

I found I was useless at going slower than my normal speed. Not that I am fast, far from it, but the idea was that my boss could draft me. However, without constant checking, I kept leaving him behind on gradients and having to slow to a crawl for him to catch up. At one point what I thought was the sound of his bike behind me was not only another rider but a whole group of them and he was at the back!

Didn't see the woodland crash - was that in Dunwich forest or the bit near Minsmere? There was a bloke lying motionless in the main road at Leiston by a stopped car and a small group of people. We stopped to check what was happening and he started to talk saying he was just winded. No idea if he had fallen or been knocked off but an ambulance had been called already so we carried on.

John

 

[Mike!]

Unless you ride together a lot or are very evenly matched it must be hard to keep together.

I had a chap offer to lead me as i think he could see i was struggling, it was much easier but i couldn't keep with him anymore than about a mile! I think around 80% of the ride i was on my own!!

The crash was in the part near Minsmere, a whole bunch had stopped, he was covered in blood (a head injury does bleed a lot i know) and lying motionless. A car had stopped witha first aid kit and someone was on the phone for an ambulance so i continued as there was nothing i could do. Fingers crossed it looked worse than it actually was.