Spring Saddle Sportive

And so it begins, training for the big ride to Paris at the end of July.

Yesterday, I took part in the Spring Saddle Sportive at Newmarket. Unfortunately, the weather was not very spring like. The bike got a good wash hitched to the back of the car during the 90 minute drive to Newmarket in an arctic 2º C.

Pit stop. A quick 1o minute break after 23 miles.

To be fair, it really didn’t feel that cold and I braved it in my short cycle bib much to the envy of my fellow cyclists who clearly checked the forecast and came in their longs.

For the first 30 miles everything went reasonably well, but then disaster struck… PUNCTURE! Unfortunately, I didn’t have a spare inner tube with me, so roadside puncture repair was needed. Not easy trying to glue things in the rain but 30 minutes later I was back on the road.

I got another 5 miles down the road before the repair failed. Off comes the wheel again and another go at a repair. No good. One last repair attempt, but still no good. What to do? Call help and get brought back to the start in a car or cycle the last 5 miles with a flat rear tyre?

Clearly, my ego got the better of me and so I carried on gingerly and nursed the bike to the end. At least the weather improved at the end, it stopped raining and it was a barmy 5° C.

Lessons learnt: