Great ride out today. Cold yes, slippery yes, however it turned out to be a cracking morning when the sun came out and warmed everything up. Eight of us set out on todays route, planned for around 40 miles at a steady pace. It was cold to begin with, however we were all pretty well wrapped up, including Mark with his "bank robber" style face mask and Trevor with his balaclava. It was a lovely route today (chosen by the route wizard "Andy" who knows about every road in Cheshire it seems) and I felt pretty strong on the bike today. Granted the route wasn't as hilly as normal (still around 1800 ft of climbing), nevertheless, I felt fit and strong almost from start to finish and was happily bumbling along around 18mph on the flats. We stopped halfway at a garden centre cafe, where I had the largest sausage barm going (had six sausages in it) which gave me a good base for the second half. One of the members - Trevor - had a rough day today. Coming off the back of a cold, the normally speedy and fit Johnathon was grinding his way through todays ride (hats off to him) and we dropped back to help him out and keep him going. He was hurting (and I've been there believe me). If there was an award for sheer guts and determination, he would have won it. Overall, I'm pleased with how I did, considering I'd not been in the saddle for around 3 weeks, had jet lag and didn't sleep so well the night before. Total distance 43 miles, Average speed 14.2mph, Ride time 3hrs 23mins, Ascent 1823 ft, Calories burned approx. 3200. Further to the comment below, click here to see an excellent google map with loads of cyclist friendly cafe's across Cheshire.
We're always stuck for new cafes. Somewhere that serves HUGE sausage barms is bound to go down well. You'll have to start posting up where these places are.
ReplyDeleteSee the hyperlink above. Have posted an excellent link that our club secretary distributed on our forums. Phil
ReplyDelete