It was a very early start, on a lack lustre day in May that I rolled up in east London with a few good friends. The plan?, to cycle around the circumference of London over 2 days. Bags deposited, clothing for the day donned, bacon sarnie scoffed and we were off.
The route quickly took us toward central London and before we could say ‘feed-stop’ we were crossing Tower Bridge with great views of central London and the The Thames. The weather lifted, waterproofs were bundled into jersey pockets as we looked towards the Kentish countryside; the hills were coming, we know them well!
The feed-stop was a welcome break, coffees, bananas and more chocolate than I’m going to confess to here. But Box Hill was coming. There was familiar territory for some of us as we passed parents’ driveways, brother’s houses and nearby various friends. The miles slipped by. Or so i thought…Somehow the last few miles as I felt “i’m nearly there” just went on forever! As we rolled into Windsor Race course I realised I was about to embarked on the next phase of the Adventure; find your tent.
It’s not like a festival. Its very VERY organised. Soon enough, after a posh shower I was sat, glass in hand, reminiscing about Day 1. A hot supper then off to my Tent Street for the night.
Day 2 started well. Soon after we started off lessons in hydration, having good friends and paracetamol were underway. I was dehydrated and had a pounding headache, urgh! Well looked after, we got to first feed stop. I ate and drank everything and soon started to feel better. The day improved. More old stomping grounds for some, some fabulous climbing and countryside to cycle through.
We worked well as a team sharing the lead so we all got a bit of respite off the front as we headed back to more urban spaces. We rolled under the ballon arch and towards the friendly faces placing medals over our heads.
We did it; 187 miles. 2 days, 4 tents and 4 huge smiles.