Falling Short

The planned ride of an imperial century was downgraded to a metric century as the weather, the wind in particular, but also the cold, knocked the stuffing out of me. THis was the literal high point, looking down on the Talla Reservoir - and in truth the two main climbs, taken steadily (being over to Innerleithen from the A7, and up to the Megget Reservoir and over to Talla), were pretty straightforward.

But in 73 miles of riding, having around 50 of that into headwind, as the hills did weird swirly stuff to it... my head just went. Couldn't be bothered. It just wisnae fun anymore, and life's too short. So I'm not feeling too bad at 'wimping out'.

I called in reinforcements sat in a bus shelter at Blyth Bridge, and plodded on a further 5 miles to wait for salvation in the form of the roofracked car at Whitmuir Farm over a coffee and cake. I'm not proud. I'm also no 'really' a masochist (though I should have paid more attention to the weather reports). Windchill meant things were below freezing, and most of the ride was also spent only knowing my feet were still there because the pedals were turning. Towards the end my fingers were dropping off as well, and every bump in the road was shooting pains right up the arms. And I was getting utterly fed up of being passed too closely, at too high a speed, by my motorised companions on the route.

But there are plus points. I was using this as a test of where my fitness is, knowing I'm riding the Bealach Mor sportive in September, and knowing how much that hurt 5 years ago. I want to be in a better place. My legs feel fine; my shoulders aren't too stiff; the bike was a dream; my arse isn't sore in the slightest; and there was over 4,000 feet in the ride. Okay, there's a lot more in the Bealach, but this is an early season start. I was also riding this solo, so nowhere to hide - whereas when it comes to the sportive I have a plan to leave as early in the window of leaving as possible, and latch onto successive groups of riders who pass me for a tow for a while (until we hit the climb, then it's every man for himself). Oh, and I did it with the 500mm lens on the camera in a bag on my back in case of wildlife - I'll be somewhat lighter-laden for the Bealach. And I didn't fall off on any wet cattle grids.

Oh, and huge thanks to Valerie and Walter. My sister's girlfriend's parents live on the route - I reached them after 36 miles and ended up with my socks drying and warming on the stove while I tucked into some homemade soup; a roll; some salad; a cake; and coffee. Lifesaving at that point given the cold and wet, and set me up perfectly for the Megget climb.

All in all, nice to get out - slightly disappointed with the distance, but there will be better weather and more opportunities (next probably in a little over 4 weeks doing the Golden Road loop on Harris - which is about 60 miles or so).

How to recover? Well I'm showered, so ready to head out shortly for cocktails, and then a cracking Japanese meal. And best of all, having had two days off, this is the weekend only just starting!