Yesterday marked several momentus milestones for me;
1) turning 21 (again)
2) more cake than one girl could wish for
3) the most swear words said in a day
4) the most hills climbed (ever in history!)
5) my first (almost) century ride.
I met Gary, Mark and Gareth at "8am" - for a change I was there first and we pondered the route we were going to take given we were meeting Nathan at 9, so tossed up between going up Salthrop or Broad town hill to start. Neither of them gentle starts to the ride. Broad town won, well we conquered it - so i think we won.
Then we got a nice decent into wroughton, I even let go of the brakes a couple of times! ;) got to the bottom after seeing Gareth and Gary disappear down the hill like bobsleighers - Gareth topping 43mph - nutter. Mark was somewhere behind making the first of many many wee stops (it's his age)!
We then went on to meet Nathan who timed it just right that we almost reached the top of croft hill before he whizzed down the other side! Shortly after Nathan's arrival, Gary had to leave us due to back problems, which he'd been concerned fromt he beginning and got worse going up Broad town.
Then up another feisty hill - Brimble hill, on through chisledon and out towards "Snap" this was Gareth's first time up it, Mark had taken Nathan and I separately up it a few weeks ago....we could see another cyclist in the distance about to start the ascent, and Mark and I had a silly idea to try and catch him - as if! I tried to get a head start so raced off a bit - you'd think being the lightest i'd have a weight advantage and get up the hills first!? You'd be wrong. It starts gradual and before you know it you're in your lowest gear spinning your legs through treacle with a wall of tarmac in front of you. The guys had all past me by now, Gareth just a few yards ahead, Mark way off up the hill, zig zagging across the road like a drunk! I couldnt see a fucking thing as my glasses had steamed up from my gasping of air so they came off - I preferred the foggy specsc and not seeing!!
Finally we all reached the top with Hi-5's and whoops followed by slumping over the handlebars! "Again?" I said.... :D The reward for the climb was a cool descent back down into Aldbourne?? I think... out towards Wanborough? I don't recall too much of the journey as it was blurred by hills and sweat and tears!
I'd requested that my favourite piece of road be included (as it was my birthday n'all!) and Mark didnt disappoint. The piece of road is just awesome, its a clear stretch of road through a beautiful valley into Lambourne that if the wind is just right you can just fly through at 25 mph for miles and miles. Today wasn't as fast as the wind wasnt quite right but it always makes me smile going through there.
After this there were more hills, a massive one into Ashbury that my chain flew off at the opportune moment! Mark showing off coming back down it to do an extra lap! Tsk.
When we reached the Newbury turning, Nathan parted company with us as he had to be back for 1 (I think this was buillshit personally, he knew something we didn't) so he went off and we carried on towards Newbury, where Mark made a special effort to find every single hill he could!
Just when we were discussing how long we'd need to stop for in order to get home before 3 there was this hissing noise of air coming from Gareth's bike - cue the siliest comment of the day "What's that??" umm, just a guess, but think it might be a puncture?? :P
So after watching Mark and G set about fixing the tyre (I obviously offered to help, but they didn't want showing up by a girl) and make helpful comments and laugh at how inappropriate it all looked with mark and Gareth bother bent over a wheel pumping air into it in, obviously the innuendo's were flying! Got G's bike back together and about to set off and more problems, his rear wheel has some how buckled, so after a bit of hodge podge, removing the rear brake we decide to carry on. What i liked best was the rain that started while we were waiting around!
After what felt like anohter 40 miles of hill we finally got to Mark's parents in law where there was a lovely fresh from the oven birthday cake waiting plus another that "Jim'll made" :) so we drank tea, ate cake and filled our boots for half an hour or so.
We got back on the bikes and started back.. the first couple of minutes back in the saddle hurt! I dont remember much of the return journey, it was raining lightly the whole way which wasnt too unpleasant to be fair, but when we got back to Swindon and Mark said "I feel as strong now as I did when we started" I could have stuck a banana in his spokes!
What better way to spend my birthday - cake, cycling, great company and I didnt even notice the rain for the last couple of hours!! Fair play to Gareth for doing the last 50 miles with only a front brake and a buckled back wheel!
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