We left fully kitted out with snacks and drinks to keep us going and were on the road at around 7:30am. A nice early start avoiding much of the traffic.
Setting off from Marlow we headed out to Henley, Wargrave, Sonning, Wokingham, Crowthorne then back Twyford Way to Henley. The first 40 or so miles were pretty flat and we were making good time and feeling pretty comfortable despite my ludicrously tight hamstrings (must do more stretching).
We were stopping for breaks every hour for around five minutes to stretch out and take on some food to keep the energy levels high. My lower back gets extremely uncomfortable sat on the bike for so long so a few minutes of relief every hour makes the world of difference for me.
When we do the big ride the plan is to do the same every hour and then have a longer break every 3 hours for brunch/lunch/tea. I was keen to implement this today and suggested that we stop in a coffee shop somewhere nice around Henley at the 3 hour mark. Visions of sitting outside Cafe Rouge watching the world go by half an hour were keeping the legs spinning and the miles clocking up. We got to Henley but far too early - only 2 1/2 hours in and decided to press on. Surely there would be something equally as good up the road!!
What I didn't know is that Heath was keen for us to tackle a quite nasty climb, through Pishill, which isn't really steep but just seems to go on forever. I must admit that I found the going tough and not knowing when the appropriately named Pishill would end was extremely demoralising. It was one of those situations when you are knackered and your hopes get raised as you think that the top is just around the next corner but instead of the top there is just more road to climb with an increasing gradient. This kept happening until I was in my lowest gears and running out of puff and then I saw a road sign which signalled that the misery was about to end.
I caught up with Heath at the top (who had blasted off ahead of me) and he had managed to pop a spoke and now had a slightly buckled wheel which wasn't looking good. I was knackered and in need of a break so we pressed on up to Christmas Common a few miles up the road to try and get into the pub there where we were too early last time for a sandwich and a cold drink - the food is excellent there so my spirits were raised.
Unfortunately we were again too early and had to make do with filling up our water bottles from the hosepipe next to the dog bowl. Some things never change. Deflated we rode on to the next town Stokenchurch with the hope of finding somewhere half decent to rest for half an hour or so.
Riding into Stokenchurch there were around 100 or so Harley-Davidsons parked outside the pub as there was a local ride out happening and they had organised a big hog roast at the pub for the Harley riders. We parked up our bikes and gate crashed the party desperate to get hold of some freshly roasted pork (and crackling) in order to restore the energy levels.
To say we got some odd looks would be an understatement as we quickly realised that we looked somewhat out of place. We were surrounded by the typical rough looking biker sorts with leather jackets and all the gear and then there was us with lycra shorts, tight cycling tops and funny cycling shoes. Whilst in the queue it was gently pointed out that this was for "Harley Riders" only but I explained that we also came on two wheels and were starving. This seemed to generate a degree of sympathy and when asked whether we had any chrome on our bikes we dutifully lied telling them all that our bikes were chromed up to the max and then we were in. Five minutes later I was gorging on said pork bap (with crackling) and a happy camper. The food also consisted of roast potatoes, stuffing, burgers and sausages. Not exactly what a sports nutritionist would be recommending I am sure.
Upon leaving the pub it was now us who felt like the fat boys as our over indulgent lunch felt like I had a football stuffed down my top. Another important lesson learnt in not overeating!!
From Stokenchurch we doubled back to Ibstone and then made our way back to Marlow via Fingest. Heath lost another spoke on the back (I'm sure it was nothing to do with the extra weight after lunch!!) and we made it back in one piece - 68 miles covered. Not a bad effort.
Feel in shape now for the ride, will probably do a spin class or two this week to keep the legs ticking over. Can't wait to get stuck in.
Still collecting....
Bike Stats
Distance Covered: 68 miles
Moving Time: 4hr 40m
Total Time: 5ht 53m
max Speed - 38mph
Avg MOv Speed - 15mph
Feet Climbed: 3,647
Max Gradient: 9.7%
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