Well that didn’t really go to plan now did it! I guess that’s the sort of thing that happens when you don’t apply your own standard of planning everything out properly and then following that plan through. Only myself to blame then.
So what happened and what did I get from it? Well the ride I actually did was really good and I loved just about every minute. I set off from home with all the stuff I usually throw in a pile actually sorted out properly and all in it’s place and planned. I had a proper feeding strategy to practice, a very, very optimistic pacing schedule to attempt and means of recording everything for analysis afterwards.
The route itself wasn’t really suited to the task. It isn’t “well sign-posted” as suggested on the trail website and I would suggest that attempting it is vitually impossible without a good map and compass or a gps - probably both! The trail is best viewed as a load of “sections” that are very different states of repair, marking, care or over-growth, rather than the one continuous trail that the authorities are promoting it as. It isn’t a continuous trail by any stretch of the imagination and I found locked gates, barbed wire fences, electric fences and head high over-growth across my path at regular intervals.
Sounds a bit crap doesn’t it? Well that would be an unfair assessment because the majority of what I found was really great south-England riding. Some peachy singletrack, fast descents, some tough climbing, good views - or should I say wonderfully beautiful views - and some great countryside. With a bit more work and a great deal more trail users it could be great. If that happened then it would be quite easy to describe it as just like the South Downs Way but with singletrack!
I decided to start from the mid-point and use my car as a pit. Therefore riding out to one end, and back, refueling and filling my hydrasack before doing and out-and-back to the other end to complete the ride. It started ok, a bit of bushwacking almost put me off in the first two miles but after that I started to experience some fun trails and settled into a solid ride. The first end came way too soon; a good ten miles or so sooner than expected! Which kinda threw me and left me wondering if the trail managers had their measurements wrong or need more signs. Basically I reached a section that was walkers only (and styles in tight spots would have made it virtually impossible to continue even if you’d have been happy to ride on a footpath, which I try not to) and I couldn’t find any alternative on my gps mapping or signs to affer an alternative. I turned and headed back for the mid-point and my car.
On the way back I was still riding really, really well. Infact I was riding at such a pace that I expected to blow at about two hours, then three, then four…
…it didn’t happen, I just kept knocking out solid pace. It was scary as I’ve not ridden like that since the early part of 2006 when I won the 24 hour in southern Spain. I was kinda starting to wonder if I could ever reach that standard again; now I think that maybe I could and this has given me hope that maybe I just needed to get my head back to get my body to return, we will see. I’m real happy with my fitness, it’s really coming back to me and I’m now looking forward to getting in my first solid Winter of training since 2005/2006.
Almost back to the car and I had a small spill, nothing major, but my gps took the brunt in a big way. Means of navigation gone and knowing what I did about the trails I’d seen so far I decided that a solid 5 hour training ride was way better than a solid 5 hour training ride followed by getting lost in Dorset and going home in the dark!
That, unfortunately, was the wise choice and so I took it. I feel a bit dissapointed that I didn’t take a map as back-up, but I guess I do have faith in my sponsors so why would I? Just unfortunate then. Very, very happy with my riding though and I can now have a good day a Cheddar Sportive this weekend rather than crawling round jaded as I would have been had I ridden for 12 hours or more…
