Can I go a while back?
This was in 1976, the year of the Great Drought, when the heat was stifling

. I was only in my mid-twenties then.
130 miles, from somewhere in the Welsh Borders, to Bradford. I think it took about 15 hours and I was physically sick at the end of it, and in bed the next couple of days. It included several serious climbs including the Long Mynd and Holme Moss.
Actually I had no idea at the time how far I'd gone, nor for years afterwards (no odometer or computer you see, and Google and the like were years in the future!) It was only a year or so ago, I realised I could re-trace the entire ride (as best I could remember it) on Google Maps - that's how I arrive at the 130 figure.
Nowadays of course I regard 40 miles as a Very Good Day: 30 is more realistic.
