Both Chris P and myself completed our 55 mile bike ride for Force Cancer Charity on Sunday.  The event was well organised (the feeding stations were fun, especially the cheese and pickle sandwiches at 35 miles) and the route was clearly marked so there was no excuse for getting lost.  Then, after the horrible summer that we’ve endured so far, the sun decided to shine and everybody looked happy!

I briefly saw Chris and his ‘posse’ at the pre-ride breakfast (kedgeree or porridge) but we cycled the route separately; Chris in a group with his friends whilst I huffed and puffed along with whoever was going at my speed at any given time.  It was a wonderful ride, apart from Longdrag Hill (ugh and double ugh!), through some glorious ‘undulating’ Devon countryside and, for the most part, on quiet country roads.  I did the last six miles ‘fixed’ onto the rear wheel of two considerably quicker female riders (purely for motivational purposes, I assure you) and actually rode to the finish ’molto rapidamente’.

These ‘sportive’ rides are great fun and I can recommend anybody who likes cycling to up-grade to an event like this. Of course, the reason for the bike ride is to raise money for cancer treatment, not idly wobble around Devon roads, and this year’s ride has so far raised approx £ 40,000.

Now, it’s time to start looking for another ‘sportive’ in a month or so!

Eyes fixed on the weather forecast, Chris and myself are now waiting for pedal-off (or whatever the appropriate term is) on our 55 mile ride at 08:30 on Sunday morning in the company of 1,098 other cyclists.  Chris, who has completed this event before, has cruised around East Devon’s roads, practicing on the nasty uphill bits so that he can crest Longdrag Hill (what an evil sounding name to a cyclist) in style.  I have taken a different approach and concentrated on building up enough mileage to ensure that my derriere can actually cope with 55 miles.  I’ve avoided the big hills as I detest them but, unfortunately, that doesn’t make them disappear! Does anybody remember the utterly stupendous road laying machine in the “End of the Road” episode of Thunderbirds?  It carried nuclear warheads to blast through hills and then laid a perfectly flat motorway as it passed…complete with road markings.  I want one of those, I want it now and I don’t care how much it costs!

I did manage 30 miles last Sunday and then cycled into work on Monday, which is 13 miles each way.  However, I had forgotten that a container of South African wine was due into our warehouse.  Unfortunately, this container was not palletised (d’oh) so I helped to unload it by hand…that’s a lot of 16 kilo boxes.  The last mile of my ride home is uphill and felt particularly ’challenging’.

If anybody would like to know more about the Force Cancer Charity, which supports oncology services at The Royal Devon and Exeter Hospital, or make a donation, then you can visit their website at forcecancercharity.co.uk.

News from the finishing line to follow next week!