Well I finally got of my fat arse and completed a reasonably long distance day ride on my bike. It was a hard but enjoyable 60 mile ride which is 10 miles further than my previous long ride and I managed to do it in a shade over 6 hours (not including my stop for lunch and two pints at the Tarka Inn).
The weather on the day was not great as there were a few showers and once I got passed Bideford the wind became a bit of a pain. I can never understand the wind in Devon as on the outward leg I was heading into wind so I thought, great when I turn around at Ilfracombe the wind will be behind me. No such luck, when I turned around I still seemed to be cycling into wind but at least I had a good down hill stretch from Ilfracombe to Braunton.
There were two nice down hill bits the first as soon as I left home and the second just after turning around a Ilfracombe when I was half way. Only downside was that for the last 30 miles I
knew that when I finally got near the end I had a horrible hill to climb but it was a nice achievement when I reached the top by the Green Dragon.
I did see a few strange sights down the Tarka trail, the first obviously being the North Devon Traffic Jam when the sheep escaped from the field and decided to have a jaunt down the Tarka Trail.
However I think the most disturbing sight, of the day, was as I passed Chivenor on my way home. The RM had decided to go out on a long run, unfortunately being RM they had forgotten their clothing and were running along the Tarka Trail in their undies. Needless to say I increased the speed of my peddling to regain some sense of normality.
The last 15 miles were really hard as my back started to hurt although my legs were ok, I think they had just got into a steady rhythm so were quiet happy but the back pain became really draining. Needless to say I got a great buzz when I came over the final ridge and saw the Green Dragon and Langtree.
I managed to raise a little for H4H through sponsorship, I still have a little to collect in but I am hoping that when everything comes in I will have raised at least £2 for every mile cycled.
The surprising thing was that the next day I wasn't suffering as much as I thought I would although on Friday the tendons in my right knee were aching a bit. The little bit of aching was worth it though as it was a great bike ride and I definitely feel that I have achieved something that a couple of years ago I would not have been able to do.
Since the ride things have been reasonably quiet as the weather has been so crummy I haven't really been able to get out and do much and since Friday poor little Beth has had a vomiting virus which she has passed on to Debbie so my two Ladies have been ill all weekend, I really hope that that little man doesn't pick it up.
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