Tour Of Wessex

Day 1

Spent the majority of the first stage in the grupetto with Emily. Was really good to ride with a lot of cyclists (the etape entry has now reached 12,000 participants), although there weren't many organised groups going at our speed.

Got let off the leash for the climbs of Cheddar Gorge and King Alfred's Tower. Cheddar was good, despite being held up in a group that was following a very slow-moving tourist bus. King Alfred's Tower was a tough climb, with several ramps of between 15-18%. The rest of the stage was largely unremarkable, but I completed my longest ride to date. Until the next day, that is.

Distance: 173.5km
Time: 8hrs 23min (7hrs 26min riding time)
Average Speed: 20.7km/h (23.3km/h riding time)
Total Climbing: 1,867m

Day 2

Went off like a scalded cat from the start and found a good group that was hurtling along. Nearly lost the back wheel completely on a corner with loose gravel at about 25km which caused me to rein in the speed just a little.

The first climb came just after the 1st feed station at Cerne Abbas, and was a lot steeper than the listed 10%. After that it was a long drag into the wind to the south coast which was wholly depressing to grind out on my own. The coast came into view with a brisk descent into East Lulworth before heading for the firing ranges on the coast and the second main climb. It was fairly easy to find a rhythm on the ascent and take time to look at all the tanks strewn near the road which had been blown to bits.

After the 2nd feed, I found myself pedalling into a headwind on a long, straight, boring road for 2-3km and I could feel my spirits dwindling. Towards the end of the road I was caught by another rider who was working really hard to bridge to me. Once he reached me he sat on my wheel for a little before we agreed to work together to get home. It was a real pleasure to have someone to talk to as we pedalled along, and to form a mini-chaingang along the long drags back to Somerton.

Distance: 188km
Time: 7hrs 46mins (7hrs 11mins riding time)
Average Speed: 24km/h (26km/h riding time)
Total Climbing: 1,941m

Day 3

DNS

The combination of being very saddle sore, needing to pack up camp and get back to London and, to be honest, the prospect of riding 80km into an ever-strengthening headwind to North Devon to climb Porlock Toll Road meant that the appeal of not starting was too great. Was a little gutted to watch the remainder of the peloton roll out, but the rest was greatly appreciated.

Things I have learnt:

• Riding 100 miles is tough. Need to do a couple more before the etape
• Doing this on a compact would've been really difficult. Chapeau to all those that made it to the top of King Alfred's Tower on 34x28 (And especially to Chris in the tent next to ours who managed it on 34x25)
• There are bikes far lighter than mine
• Energy gels are definitely needed. Felt empty in the last stretch on Sunday, but couldn't put any more solid food in
• This type of cycling is a battle of the mind as well as the body. Thoughts of abandoning crept in at random points, but once I'd fought on to the next feed, descent or group my mood improved immeasureably.