110KM, 4Hr 41Mins - Home to Box Hill .
With my Three Peaks challenge looming, only just over a month away I have finally decided that potentially I should be doing more than just my regular 25 mile a day commute to make sure I wasn't going to blow up moments into the epic ride. It was also a chance to fully test out my newest kit addition, the Beeline!
The route that I chose for the day was a 112 kilometer round trip taking in Box Hill at the middle point, which was a slightly dubious decision. It was also a route I had never ridden before and so I would be relying 100% on the Beelines GPS.
“In hindsight spending nearly 5 hours in the saddle in 27 degree heat with zero shade is a genuinely good time to break out the sunscreen”
I set out, full of beans and excited for the day ahead, jersey pockets bulging with gels and bars and both bidons full to the brim. Thankfully Mother Nature decided to continue the unbroken run of good weather, however this did raise a slight issue that I probably should have seen coming.
In hindsight spending nearly 5 hours in the saddle in 27 degree heat with zero shade is a genuinely good time to break out the sunscreen. Thankfully it currently feels like it will just be a tan, albeit one that will make me look a bit of pillock in the office on Monday.
One early highlight of the ride came around 30Km into the outward journey where a couple in a soft top were blasting out some cracking tunes, that I thought I was bopping along to in my head. As it turned out I was quite obviously dancing along while stationary at the traffic lights, to the point where a big bearded Irish bloke came and gave me a fist bump and said 'keep on doing your thing', not quite what you expect in London!
Box Hill was suitably uncomfortable when I got there and I think I would have been overtaken by people riding a unicycle my speed dropped so much. However I made the summit and recharged with some not bad coffee and Lucozade.
The Beeline was a surprisingly good addition to my set up, as people who know me are aware I have a similar sense of direction to a drunk person at the end of the particularly heavy night who has just been hit on the head with a large blunt object. The fact it didn't give full turn by turn directions meant that I had to think a little bit harder, which inevitably ended up with me taking some interesting detours, but once I had gotten the hang of it I found myself looking down far less than I do when using Google Maps. This meant I felt a little safer and could take in more of the Surrey countryside! All in all, a bit of a win and it has now passed the test to be included in the Three Peaks ride.
After a 30 minute sit down in the sunshine at the top of Box Hill, where I managed to drop my bike in front of about eleventy billion much more professional looking riders, I decided it was time to head home. The return ride was uneventful, only being notable for the fact that my average speed was a fair bit higher than the outward journey... I wonder why that would be?!
In summary, the outward ride was 55.5Km at an average speed of 21.7KmH and the return journey was 54.5Km at an average speed of 25.4KmH. I feel pretty fresh afterwards, with the exception of the awful tan lines. Fingers crossed I still feel good for the commute tomorrow!