I had taken part in the London 100 the previous 2 years, in fact it was getting a place on the first one that started me cycling. My target time the first year was 7 hours, this time I knew it was going to be 5 hours considering the calibre of people I was riding with. I must admit when Darren put on Facebook who was in team B (Ant, Dan &Vic) a little bit of poo appeared in my pants. Nothing ventured nothing gained I thought and was really looking forward to it as the London 100 will always be special for the reason above and of course it led me too join VC Melyd and to be part of a Melyd Team was great.
We got our start time, EIGHT EIGHTEEN, which was a little later than expected and there was a little disquiet in the camp but in the end we decided to stick to the designated start time and no more was said ha ha. 25,000 riders and we started bang on our time, as I had previous years which amazes me. The organisation was phenomenal and to think that the streets of London were closed for cyclists is mind blowing, this country can get its priorities right sometimes.
We got off to a flying start, flying past riders like they were standing still, this is unusual for me and I was buzzing, this was a bonus to starting late, but that was a matter of opinion and I always try to look on the bright side, very similar to Dan’s outlook . We went through the tunnels at speed near the start (not sure what there called), it would be rude not to make noises for the echo like you did as a kid, so thought I would do one of my famous animal impression that’s usually done to annoy Mat Acton, but Dan was on the front and I realised I was breathing through my [ ‘eyes’ ] and had no spare breath, Ant thought I was doing a bad train impression, oh well.
The first 40 miles went in a flash and we had averaged 22 mph, from previous experience I knew we were on target to average 20 mph and do the 5 hours I could only have dreamed of a couple of years earlier, this made me happy. 50 miles had gone and was still feeling good, we stopped for a toilet break at a feed station, big mistake, this was too delay us by 15 mins and I managed to lose the others, things were starting to go wrong. I continued on my own but with out the same enthusiasm. Shortly after I came to Leith Hill. Things were about to get worse, I wont dwell on that experience but I hope the fact he was doing something he loved and was surrounded by like minded people will give his family some comfort, but I doubt it, RIP Mr Green.
During the wait on Leith Hill my legs had started to fill with lactic acid and they just didn’t feel the same again. 75 miles in I heard DESTROY THEM, it was Dan, it turned out they had the same experience on Leith Hill and we had only missed each other by minutes. Dan my legs are [ ‘not feeling ideal at this juncture’ ], don’t wait for me, go on ahead I said, but he was having none of it, he dropped back and brought the others to me. All had more in their legs than me, but wouldn’t go on ahead.
Dan Ant & Vic dragged me to the finish, still going at an average pace of 20 mph but they could have gone faster. We all crossed the line together, some in more pain than others.
What a ride, what a club, what a team, proud