One Last Jolly...

Mike has his bike back now, all fixed up and sorted along with his new clipless pedals. We went out for an acclimatisation run on Wednesday, just a leisurely trip around Portsea Island. The bike seems much better and Mike was especially pleased as he managed to clip in and out of his new pedals without falling off, (unlike his practice session in the lounge).

On Sunday we were invited by Rob to join him and some of his cycling buddies for what was described as a "gentle 50 miler". We  met up in Rowlands Castle at 9am, (no Andy as he was otherwise engaged).

From there we set off for Chichester and picked up another rider, before heading inland towards Compton. Leaving Chichester Mike suffered his first puncture. At this point I realised that his tyres are actually significantly thinner than mine and that the spare tube that was carrying was too big for his wheels. Fortunately the others were better prepared and sorted him out.  A reminder that we need to organise ourselves and carry appropriate spares and tools on each of our bikes for the big ride.

We arrived in Compton at 11am for tea/coffee and cake, then pushed on through Petersfield. At Stroud, we began to disperse. Rob and Louise headed off towards West Meon, the rest of us turned south towards Clanfield. By this time Mike was beginning to flag a bit, not surprising as he has not been able to ride for 3 weeks. 

By the time we reached our respective homes Mike and I had both covered over 50 miles. We had tackled a some (for us) challenging climbs, and made pretty good time, all of which is encouraging. So once again, thanks to Rob for organising the route and inviting us to come along.

This will be our last proper ride before the event itself. In fact this time next week we should be  in Stoke having ridden 60 miles across Greater Manchester. Its all getting a bit real now...