November Done.
Talk about right to the wire!
This was literally the only opportunity this month I had to fulfil the challenge obligations and it was 50/50 whether or not I’d drop out. Looking out of the window at an extremely cold landscape and negative temperatures I had to muster every bit of motivation I could to haul myself out of the house!
Met up with some of my Saga CC compadres a little after 8am for our little pre-planned trip down to Lichfield. It was 2 below on arrival and didn’t really get much warmer as the ride started and progressed, reaching as low as -4 in more remote areas.
I was in full winter garb, including cling film round the tootsies and latex gloves under my winter gloves, for a little added protection!
This paid off, at least for a short while, when one of the crew heard that all too familiar “ssssssssssssss”........
Yep. First flat of the ride less than eight miles in. Turns out it was the valve itself that had unscrewed. As none of us had the tool to tighten it back in, we pleaded with Rob to just put a new tube in with a view to repairing the dodgy one at home.
Nope.
He insisted on fixing it there and then and each time he pumped it up and took the pump off- “sssssssssssss”
After about half an hour of faffing about with it, he relented and I gave him on of my spare tubes. Of course, the lack of movement in such conditions made starting off again a massive chore, as my digits were now borderline numb!
Several thoughts entered my head at this stage:
Do I make my excuses and go back to the car?
What the f- am I doing here?
Should I have just laid in bed?
Do I get to Lichfield and grab a train home?
Decisions, decisions......
I (foolishly) opted to just bat on and get to Lichfield, eventually warming up a tad, though not entirely, but enough to be able to cope with the frosty, slushy roads, freezing fog and poor visibility.
Arriving in Lichfield, two-and-a-half hours after starting and having only covered 28 miles, literally and ironically outside of a bike shop, Will got the all too familiar “sssssssss” treatment too.....
FFS!!!
We pulled in at a cafe some one hundred yards up, Will desperately trying (in vain) to fix his puncture while the rest of us thawed out. He soon came inside, defeated and despondent, too cold to attempt said repair. We talked him into taking his bike to the shop outside which he developed his puncture so that it could be fixed while we defrosted somewhat.
The cafe was nice- busy and a tad expensive but no complaints about the quality of the food which, for me, was a bacon butty with three rashers of thickly cut, “locally sourced bacon” washed down with a latte and followed by a cream tea. Ok wasn’t of Cornish standards but I was in no mood to quibble about the technical aspects of the dish!
An hour later, defrosted and ready to crack on, we fetched Wills bike from the shop- all fixed and with TWO new tubes- and pressed on with getting back to Willington.
It was no warmer despite it being midday and I just resigned myself to the fact that it was going to be another cold slog back to the warmth of my waiting car in Willington.
This half of the journey passed without incident, making our way through largely familiar villages and lanes, being mindful of the potential ice rink beneath our wheels!
As we crossed back over into Derbyshire, a bright yellow anomaly began to emerge from the sky which had a profound effect on our core temperatures. This anomaly I later found out was called “the sun,” apparently it appears in many parts of the world, sometimes for many hours a day, and on occasion it has graced these shores, though it is rare......
Enjoying the warming effects of this bright yellow sky ball, and conscious that following the pre-planned route would not deliver the miles I needed, I decided to split from the rest of the group so I could follow an alternative route to get the job done. I was also able to nab a couple of pesky veloviewer squares in the process, which were evasive for many weeks due to the roads being largely underwater. Today they weren’t, and the squares were got. However the “anomaly” had been replaced yet again by freezing fog and the old core temperature (and digits) began to plummet again........
On completion of these squares, I needed just 7 miles to complete the challenge and so I had to think quick to provide an alternative to what would have been maybe five miles back to the car. I was able to do this, and arriving back in Willington I was at 62 miles dead, so to get over the line I had to quickly circle the co-op car park to squeeze out what I needed to get it done.
Back at the car, 62.3 miles to the good and very chilly I was able to thaw out as I made the half hour journey home, pleased that I grabbed the point I needed by the skin of my teeth.
62.34 in a ride time of 3:50, but out for much longer than that!!
https://strava.app.link/DumgjFyE21
!!
