Matt and I crossed the finish line together in one of the biggest bike riding spectacles in the cycling calendar, the Ford Ride London-Essex after 100 gruelling miles. We were tired but pleased to have finished what seemed like 150 miles on a challenging day.
Matt and I managed to raise a combined total of £2,870 between us for Diabetes UK.
And just to prove it wasn’t just Matt and I moaning about the difficult conditions, here is the MyWindsock report for the ride. The blue line is the route with a tailwind in the first half of the ride and the red/purple line is the headwind in the second half. So you’ve done 50 miles, stop for a bite to eat and then turn for home. Only for it to feel like you are riding double the distance home. It was brutal, but at least it wasn’t the London naked bike ride that happened recently.
We had trained well and the time in the saddle was not that hard, apart from my shoes towards the end. Matt had one ‘blip’ with his diabetes along the way at about 70 miles, but that was fixed with some glucose tablets and a jam sandwich. I thought I’d seen Paddington Bear cycling past just before that, but it can’t have been or it would have been a marmalade sandwich. ;o)
Luckily we’d planned for this and Matt had supplies with him to combat this sort of eventuality. It was all part of the training that we started back in January with a bunch of rides that started at 30 miles and progressed up to 50 and finally 70 miles when we rode from Buckingham Palace to Windsor Castle and then home.
So now we know that Matt can do it. Well done Matt for agreeing to the crazy idea in that café that morning. I’m thrilled that we made it and donated so much money to Diabetes UK