Despite preparing everything the night before it seemed to take ages to actually get to leave the house on Sunday morning. So with Sara at the wheel we finally pulled out of the drive at about 08:40, fortunately the journey to the Darwin school did not take that long and we turned into the school car park and I jumped out and made my way over to the entrance to find Registration. The organisation was excellent and my race pack was quickly obtained and I headed back to the car. Some more time was wasted getting help with attaching the 'Transponder' to the front wheel but soon enough I was freewheeling towards the start. I checked my watch and it said 09:22 so with some hesitancy I edged towards the mats and when told to go I tucked in behind some other bikes and headed over the line. As I started to peddle I remembered I had not started the Garmin but having gone only 50 meters or so I pressed start.
At this point I my plan was I would stay with this start group and feel my way into the ride. But quickly a couple of the riders went away from me and the others were clearly slower than I could cope with so within the first mile I was going past riders and not holding back as planned. My complete lack of knowledge of the route meant every incline or descent was taken with caution and now much of the route is a blur. Except some of the hills! The only really memorable hills were Star Hill which was the last major climb and never that bad except that it seemed to last for more time than I had hoped! And the Wall that was memorable because of the sudden change of terrain at the top which was without trees and therefore exposed and relatively flat and you felt the wind.
After this climb I think there was the longest descent which at first I was cautious with but realised that the road was straight so went for it. I recorded a 1 min 57second mile! Mostly achieved without much peddling and getting myself tucked as low and aerodynamically as possible.
During the ride I had tagged along with various groups, none were particularly friendly but in the second half I was with a small group of three others and it was useful to ride with others who seemed to know what they were doing. But as we reached the Sevenoaks area it broke up and after that I was on my own until a cyclist who was not taking part started talking to me. The distraction of talking to him helped and despite the last five miles being pretty painful in terms of general fatigue it was good to tough it out.
Earlier I had stopped at the first feed station located in a village hall. I left the bike leaned against the hedge stopped the Garmin and went off to find some cake. Imagine my disappointment when I discovered that the nutrition on offer was a sports drink and a green unripe banana. So I headed for the toilet and then was quickly back on the bike. The second feed station was packed with bikes and I decided that after the disappointment of the first I was not going to stop. My plan to keep my energy levels up was a combination of a water bottle full of a self made up maximuscle energy drink and the Ride Shots, energy gels. The ride shots were actually pretty good despite buying them for just 29p because they were use by the end of February. The first one caused me to bite my tong as I was chewing it! The plan became to take one every thirty minutes. This involved removing my right glove and delving into the back pocket to extract the jelly shot. At first when the bag was full this was pretty easy but it became harder and harder. Also I became more proficient at putting my glove back on whilst still peddling. Look Mum no hands!
Clothing for the ride was my winter kit; thick gloves, overshoes, gore head band and Buff round my neck but without a jacket - at times I was too hot and others felt too cold. One incident certainly warmed me up despite being on a descent! Following about 5 or so other riders the road ahead was blocked by a car. The down hill was not that quick but the road surface was both wet and covered in mud from a tractor so without much grip I applied the brakes but was still going! Fortunately the car moved aside and we all made it through the gap.
My bike was brilliant. I saw plenty of people stopped with failures of some sort or other, but mostly punctures. As the ride was dirty the pretty much constant grinding of the dirt on the chain was a concern. Also everything seemed to creak and make strange noises on the long climbs as everything was under stress but the chain never gave up on me. The hugely expensive carbon aero bikes were commonplace but their weight and speed advantage was questionable. A few titanium bikes were noted and I continue to ponder the possibility of such a purchase. At the risk of sounding big headed I noted also how inexperienced other riders seemed when dealing with slow moving traffic. I have become so accustomed to just staying alive despite white van man's best efforts on my London commute that a few four by fours and the odd moment at junctions hardly rate on the scale. Nowadays I rarely unclip at junctions managing to balance virtually motionless and this was required at a few crossing points on Sunday. I realise that this is very much an acquired skill of a regular commuter in the London traffic.
I wish I could say I rode every inch of the way but on the smallest of inclines I made an error in terms of gear selection. The route had taken us downhill for some distance and I had freewheeled without considering my gear. It then went up what seemed a short incline to a junction. No real issue I thought except that the route was actually a left turn and as I suddenly realised that this side exit had a very sharp incline I started to peddle but was clearly in the wrong gear. Panic started to set in so I hastily unclipped, and walked the 10 feet to the junction and remounted. Every other inch of the route was cycled.
The weather was as good as I could hope for. It was bright and sunny to start and around Biggin Hill the roads were dry. However there was also a steady breeze and in many places the roads were wet and in a few were flooded. By the time I finished the bike was completely filthy and I was splattered with mud and dirt from following the wheel of others. Then as I crossed the line to finish it started to rain. Perfect timing.
So it was over! I don't ever remember feeling so drained as I stopped peddling, unclipped and looked at my Garmin. It reported 4 hours and 15 minutes after starting and 65 miles later - I was not sure if I was able to react to that in terms of it being good. I found my phone and called Sara - brief conversation ensued 'I have finished. So come and get me'. About 10 minutes later I sent her a text apologising for being so rude! I left the bike in the bike park and headed inside. I had left my bag with Race Control and in it was a bottle of drink and a banana. I walked to the school canteen. The drink went down without touching the sides so I was into the queue for a huge slice of chocolate cake and mug of tea with lots of sugar.
After consuming this food I was reminded by another cyclist of the need to return the chip so I went out into the rain to remove it from the wheel. The registration area for chip return was busy with people but my completion certificate could not be located so I headed out and bumped straight into Sara who was following various lycra clad men around on the basis of looking for me!
And now on reflection I am both pleased with my effort but equally concerned at doubling the distance for the Dragon Ride. It was a much tougher route than the sportive ride we did in the autumn. And I am fitter now than I was then. However a good plan has to be to get some long rides planned for the spring that take in these local hills.
