EF-Welwyn-Hitchin- Whitwell-Welwyn-EF (114.4km)

Today's club ride joined up with the Welwyn club, Shorter-Rochford and others for a tribute ride for Pete Bissell who recently passed away at the age of 21. He was the under 23 British RR Champion and was riding as a continental pro in France. His sudden death was a big shock to the cycling community in Britain and especially so for a lot of club riders in North London. Almost everyone in my club had known Pete since he was just a boy, so it was fitting that we join the tribute ride.

We were running slightly late for the meet at Welwyn track so had to push the pace quite hard early on in order to get there in time. When we did arrive there were about 50 riders in the Welwyn track parking lot waiting for the ride to start. After about 20 minutes of waiting and a quick announcement from Darren (who was especially good friends with Pete), we got moving. The icy conditions were a bit much for some in the early miles and a low speed crash brought down 4 riders. Our club guys decided to take the main road instead and we were the first up Digswell Hill.

Waiting at the top of the hill for everyone else to catch up for 10-minutes or so made most of us realise that it was best to split up the ride into various abilities. A group of about 30 of us took the lead and the other slower riders formed groups along the road behind us. By the time our front group arrived in Codicote, were were already far ahead of the other groups so we decided to keep going at our own pace.

On the Hitchin road I had a brief chat to Darren, expressing my condolences... these early miles were done at base pace and was a time for reflecting on Pete Bissell's life and what a great character we was. The mood changed when a car tried overtaking our group only to find oncoming traffic coming straight towards it. The lead oncoming car broke hard and veered off the opposite side of the road, but a car behind this one crashed into the back of it. It didn't seem as if anyone was majorly hurt, so we continued riding. The car that did try overtaking us finally had it's chance after narrowly avoiding a head-on collision, and accelerated past at a manic speed - some people!

After Hitchin Trevor went to the front and upped the pace for a few miles and I helped out a bit in the front along with Andy, Vince and Darren. One of the Shorter riders came up to the front and asked us to slow down as riders were dropping off the back like flies. Trev eased off, but only slightly. After a long, cold descent into a valley, we made a left onto a new road for me and up a hill called Gray's Hill... and it was bloody hard! I managed to stay with the front 5 riders until about half way up, but then went into oxygen debt and made a reluctant decision to ease off and drop back. One by one riders started overtaking me until I was riding in no-mans land - 15 riders cresting the hill, me, then a mish-mash of single and paired riders crawling along to the top.

I decided not to wait for others to catch me up, but instead take up the chase alone - bombing down the other side and then through a small village littered with speed bumps. The front group was out of sight, but I was aided by a slight tailwind and kept the pressure on as hard as I could take it. After about 10-minutes I finally saw the tail of the group and gave it one last big dig to catch on. Recovering at the back of the group I glanced back to see who had made the bridge as well - there wasn't anyone there.

The pace relaxed along the Whitwell road, back through Codicote and returning to Welwyn where half the guys turned off to have coffee and lunch at the track's restaurant. There were 7 of us left, all from Finchley RT. Stav and Nick had turned back ages ago. With 25-miles to go I was already feeling wasted and of course it is exactly at times like these that Trev and Vince go to the front... The pace was high and my legs were turning more and more to lead on every one of the small hills we climbed. I felt extremely grim on the last hill up to Potter's Bar as I hung on to the front two at 20mph.

Everyone expressed how complete devastated they felt (except, of course, the main instigators of the pain dealing!) when we arrived at our coffee stop. ! My body now feels beat up and violated....just nasty!


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EF-Brookman's Park-Radlett-EF (60.0km)

The Finchley boys are definitely upping the pace by a few notches! After doing a few long turns at the front I felt pretty tired - the excess of food and drink over the holiday period catching up with me. After the first hill, Trevor and Vince decided to cancel our little social gathering by turning the ride into a hammer fest deluxe!

Gone were the usual two lines - suddenly everyone was at 95% and hanging on to the wheel in front of them - one by one the unfit were dropping off the back. Shouts of "f****ing hell, EASY - so and so is off the back" kept coming forward, but Trev and Vince were having none of it. I don't know how I did it, but I managed to hang on all the way, even on the last flat section along Mays Lane when the pace was at 50kph+. Even Stav managed to stay on and surprisingly attacked everyone when the pace started slacking off. He didn't last long!

Arriving at the coffee shop, I was speechless and coughing badly. A few new years resolutions running through my head.......

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EF - Brookman's Park - Barnet - EF (38.9km)

Easy solo ride with effort on the hills only. Surprisingly quick time despite lack of pace. Was going to go out with the club at 10am, but I woke up too late... Saw them gathered at the coffee stop on the way back home.

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Training: EF-Ashridge-Ivinghoe-Bison-Shenley-EF

Another tough excursion into the Chilterns with a twist on the usual route, going through Ashridge Estate, over Ivinghoe from opposite to the usual direction, a detour through some flat country before swinging back and up over the dreaded Bison from the hurting west ascent. The weather was mild and slightly overcast with a light wind from the west.

The pace was mediocre over the first half of the ride and I contributed quite a lot of pace making at the front over these early miles. The ride through Ashridge was incredible - beautiful forest scenery and a few deer jumping across our path before passing the castle. At the top of Ivinghoe we'd lost Stav and Ben who'd turned back - they knew Bison was on the cards today!

When we did get to Bison, I immediately dropped back to ride it at my own pace, which worked out nicely as I managed to overtake a few riders on the way up - especially in the grueling middle section of 18% gradient. It felt like I was in a trance, dancing on the pedals. The pace quickened at the top and I'd caught up with the front riders on the descent.

On the straight, flat 5-mile road into St Albans we formed a nicely moving paceline and worked all the way into the town at 25mph. It was in St Albans, though, that I ran out of water (only took one bottle), so I knew I ran the risk of bonking over the next 20-miles to London. I didn't feel like stopping at a shop for a refill and then have to chase like mad to get back on, so I ground it out.

Kevin directed the group through the hills around Shenley and I could feel my energy fading quickly, though I did manage to stay on and even managed to take a few 5-minute pulls at the front. Eventually we made it to the coffee shop in Whetstone and everyone said they were knackered. Longest ride for quite a while, but came home feeling OK.

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Training: EF-Colney Heath-Radlett-Whetstone-EF

Damn Garmin GPS was on the blink today, so no stats :(. Nevertheless, a great club ride was had even though the numbers were a bit on the low side (8-9 of us). I helped out with the pace making for about 5km into the wind - tough work keeping up with the big man Trevor! He had a flat around Radlett and we stopped to help change the tube. The pace picked up on the last hill and run in into Whetstone. A good ride with no major pain after Thursday's big effort.

Distance - about 55km
Time: about 2 hours
Speed: sort of fast

2008 wrap up

Here's my top 5 rides for the year, though there are plenty that I'll remember for a long time to come...

The British Cyclosportive on July 1

Tour de France prologue in London (well I saw it anyway...) on July 7

A grueling summer club ride - the learning curve steepens! - August 5

My first race in many years - December 1

A very cold but rewarding club run - one to remember... December 23

Happy new year to all of you - let 2008 bring many more unforgettable rides ;)

Training: EF-Bulls Green-Welwyn-Colney Heath-EF

A really tough solo ride today. Decided to put the pressure on hard and ended up overdoing it quite a bit. Strange how a 77km ride can end up feeling like a 120km+ ride - it's all about the intensity...

Found a country lane that descended from Digswell hill on the way back, but wish I hadn't. It was a full on Paris-Roubaix style mud bath with loads of sharp corners and quick, steep hills that ran on for about 4km. By the time I exited this lane I was caked in mud. The last 30km were all into the wind and I suffered big time as I tried to maintain a reasonable pace - my HR shooting up very high.

The rest of the day has been spent in quite a lot of pain with aching muscles and butt!

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