Ok here goes!! Some bulliet points of highlights for me!!
-Early start heading out into the cold misty drizzle weather fitting I thought with all the talk of Amercian werewolf in London
-Lots of thoughts of the day ahead while travelling mainly hoping the new chap was going to resemble some overweight pensioner on a Raleigh chopper
-On arrival greeted as always by the Wonderful edEdwards household
-Meeting up with new and old faces ... My hopes were soon dashed I have seen more meat on a anorexic sparrows left leg than what was getting geared up :shock:
-Now this was always on the cards .... Me with my new machine that has not missed a beat in 3 months decides within the first 3.6 miles to shat itself!! couldnt believe it ...My horror I fell off the back ..I sweated ..I wiggled wires please dont be Ed to come back first to find its me thats broken down ...Thankfully it was Carl !! By the time Ed arrived my Electronic piece of Shit fired into life and we got going .... Me rolling my eyes at Ed pointing the problem to be in Karls direction!!
-about a mile on we had a full electrical break down .... I had to laugh really , Five pretty competent bike people just looking at it thinking hmmmm what the hell do you do? So we wiggled wires and pull the battery out ..always works ... AND IT DID!!
-So off we went heading into Wales , Now in true Ed style why would we go down the boring flat rodes when we can climb 3000ft in killer climbs to get there!!
-I was starting to think my Heart rate monitor was stuck , Did find Zone 8 though!! Riding with whippets soon hit that the realism climbing is best at your own pace to last the day!!
-Arrival at the pub ...The temptation to steal the landlords sandwich:shock:
-Riding along with the group of youngsters for a while , Impressed with the age of the nipper (10 max?) and the chap riding without a saddle (over the pass?)
-Now with the legs already hurting from getting onto the pass I was really chuffed to be told we had climbed most of it when I thought we were still getting to it ...Mainly helped by some good banter chats with Ed. The final push was much steeper when Ed left me to git my teeth and push on my own .... Once I got to the cattle grid I was pretty wowed by the view but a little shocked that it still was going up!!
-The view at the top was worth it , Truly stunning and worth the 3 year wait
-I loved the faces of people in cars that look at you like your mad!!
-The decent off the pass was incredible by far the biggest buzz I have had on a road bike ...Smooth dry tarmac ...stunning scenery and mental speed!!
-The smell of Karls brake blocks ...Brilliant
-Puncture after cake stop (first road puncture ever!!)
-After the cake stop it was hard going ...long winding climbs and the legs were dying.
-Massive thank you to Mark while hitting the wall and dropping off the back seeing the group getting further and further away he looked over his shoulder see me in trouble and dropped back too ... rode a while having a chat then full of beans again he towed me back up to the group ...THATS what makes riders RIDERS !!
-The dash through Hereford in near dark conditions ...Pretty scary !! :shock:
-The retro train firing on all cylinders to get back to the house ..that was digging deep!!
-The look on Karls face on arrival ...We didnt have to say anything we knew how we both felt !!
Massive thank you to Ed and the lovely mrs for the 5 star hospitality we really are spoiled with the food ... The starter was just ace !!
Also thanks to everyone else for making a fantastic day
