I woke up at 6am this morning, tip-toed down the stairs so that I wouldn't wake the rest of the family, then got dressed into my cycling kit (my event number, 3353 firmly pinned to my top) then set about getting myself some breakfast, packing my Camelbak and doing some basic stretches. I was buzzing.
I set off around 6.45am, heading for George Square where I would have to register and load my bike onto the lorries that were transporting the bikes over to Edinburgh. It wasn't until I had turned on to Springburn Road that I had my first taste of the weather to come - a strong gust of wind and rain battering me as I tried to pedal along the busy road. It soon stopped, but that was only temporary.
The George Square process went along fairly smoothly and I was able to catch the first train out of Queen Street. This good fortune was soon ended when we arrived at Haymarket to be advised that the lorries that were bringing our bikes were delayed and wouldn't be with us for at least 10 minutes. 40 minutes later, we were still waiting.
When we finally got our bikes, we headed off down to Roseburn Park, which is right next to Murrayfield Stadium, for the start. 9.45am was our revised start time and with no rain or wind, we were pleased to be finally on our way. The weather soon turned however, the wind quickly becoming a major factor in the days events while the rain never really became heavy, but was always present in the wind, keeping everything damp generally being quite annoying.
Anyway, off through the cycle paths of Edinburgh, through Barnton and up to Kirkliston. By now there were only small groups of riders and I was already feeling the pace. I began using the riders ahead of me primarily as motivational targets (I would challenge myself to cycle fast enough to catch up to the rider up ahead of me) and then as rest stops (if you sit behind a rider, you are shielded from the wind and therefore use less energy to maintain the same speed). I continued this cycle of chasing down the next rider, then sitting behind him/her for 5 - 10 mins so that I could catch my breath, then overtaking them to move on to my next target.
Linlithgow came and went which signalled the start of the one part of the event that I was not looking forward to - the climb up into Avonbridge. This was a long, long, looooong climb, not particularly steep, just constantly uphill, constantly spinning granny gears, constantly trying to avoid the mental head wind that kept threating to blow me off the bike. By the time I made it to the top, my legs were like jelly and my resolve all but disappeared. A wee slice of malt loaf later (cheers Chisp) and I was back in business and enjoying the brief respite out of the wind (deep dip in the road with huge hedges on the left hand side - perfect protection).
That enjoyment only lasted a little while as the next part of the course was through open hilltops of Lanarkshire, with no protection anywhere to be seen and were were just cannon fodder for the wind. It was lucky that there was many cars passing along that route, every time another gust came along it was all I could do to stop the bike from swerving and wobbling either out into the road or into the ditch alongside it. Not fun.
When I got to Coatbridge, I knew I was in the final section of the course. By now there were hardly any riders around me, so picking a target to chase up to was pretty impossible. I was able to hop onto the wheel of a few of the riders who passed me, however. A rider would come past me and I would crank like fury to catch his/her wheel then sit behind him as long as I was able to and then miserably watch as they gradually pulled away from me, only to find another rider would soon arrive behind me (I was finding it impossibly difficult to maintain my speed when I didn't have anyone to set the pace).
The last couple of miles were relatively easy. The wind was less of a hindrance in amongst the built up areas and I knew the route I was taking and how far I had to go. It was a lovely feeling crossing the line at George Square and I was even happier when I stopped my stopwatch and saw my time: 3hrs 40mins.
As pleased as I was with the time, I was happier still when Cris and Derek and later Iain came to meet me for a victory pint. A few celebratory drinks later and I happily boasted that I would cycle back home. As it was, I managed to cycle as far as the taxi rank at Buchanan Bus station, but they'll never know that. ;o)
A good day out, in some pretty awful weather. I'm pretty satisfied with my effots today - guess its time for another beer and then a bit of sleep.
Daily Total: 54.92 miles
Overall Total: 1715.4 miles
