120 Mile Goal

Another cycling-based post but bear with me. The destination de joure was Hampton court palace (again) and I know splicing French words into a post is passé but c'est la vie. So Ealing, Brentford, Kew, Richmod, somewhere, Hampton, got lost again, Esher, Kingston, Twinkenham, Richmod and back again a not-too-shabby-smidgen-under forty miles.

For the last five years now I've been taking part in the Dunwich Dynamo, it's not a race or a charity event or anything that would suggest a purpose. It is, however, a nice, overnight 120 mile ride which is great fun, challenging and leaves you with a sense of achievement that's virtually unparalleled!

It really isn't nearly as crazy as it sounds and I've managed to get to the end every year other then the last. They pick a day, mid summer and we always get clear skies, last year it rained. I usually go with a group of friends that are so fit they make you feel inadequate as a human being, they essentially consist of lungs and muscles and very little else! Tho, I introduced a not-so-fit friend to this last year, telling him it would be fine as anyone can do this and it's never rained.

I was wrong, it rained then drizzled then rained some more, by the time we got to the 60 mile half way point we were all soaked through, my friend was shaking and I could see signs of mild hypothermia setting in. Most were eager to continue but “leave no man behind” my friend reminded me, so the two of us headed back on the train while the rest continued (just as the rain stopped, I might add).

About seven hours later, he was still shaking but I told him to have a hot chocolate (should have been enough to get him home) and shower and sleep whilst I did pretty much the same. By the time we met up for dinner the following evening (even tho we both had a decent lunch) we were so hungry that we managed to crank up a £60 bill at our local Indian restaurant, leaving nothing for the doggie bag.

Over the coming weeks, expect me to peddle more cycling-based posts and like last year, this year is an open invite, if anyone wants to join me in doing this (what are the odds it rains two years in a row?) drop me an email!