December (and 2019) done and dusted.
The annual Saga CC festive fifty (plus extras) got me over the line which, admittedly, was seemingly becoming a step too far with the combination of work commitments and endless rubbish weather this past 3 months completely destroying my motivation to do anything outdoors!
The plan with this ride is always a fifty miler with pub stops so I had to factor in grabbing an extra few miles to get the distance I needed. As we meet at the same place every time and usually drive to this point, simply riding instead was more than enough to get the job done.
That said, it meant leaving the house at about 0740 in order to get there. But having not ridden outdoors for a month and it being dark and cold at that time with wet, claggy roads, this took a lot of mental effort for me to achieve! But I did it, and even got to the meeting point early in the process, the empty roads and lack of wind making this so. I even managed to nab another veloviewer square on route to meet the lads!
It was largely familiar roads for the entirety of the ride with only a couple of newer ones but it didn’t really matter- I was grateful to just get out!
The cafe stop at Woodhouse Eaves was a new one, just shy of 50 miles in but actually local to home. One hour, a smoked salmon and scrambled egg bagel, two bottles of Prosecco (shared obviously) and a sherry later, we set off and immediately made our way up beacon hill, a mile long slog at 8% average that steps up in stages which makes getting into a rhythm very difficult.
Factor in a belly full of food and drink and it didn’t make for the most comfortable of climbs! But we eventually made it up, no records broken, and pressed on to Belton some six miles down the road for “festive stop” number 2- the Queens Head in Belton. At this point I was nearly 58 miles in and all I had to do was simply ride home from here, just five miles away. Of course, before I did so, I felt it only right to partake in a couple of pints of the black stuff and discuss plans for the forthcoming year’s rides which, if they pan out, will be epic.
I peeled off from the rest of the lads at this stage and made my way back home, 62.9 miles to the good. A great ride out, much needed and a great end to the year.
(Copying to YRT thread)
. Had cut a few miles off the early section due to slow average due to headwinds . But working out the distance at the cafe I would be near . Headed home climbing the last hill before before home I was fiddling with the Gps checking the milage and I managed to press stop at 61.7 miles !!
. Restarted the Gps and rode past home to loop back to add another 1.3 miles to round it up to 63 miles
