Our Route
First 15 miles
Everything was going smoothly for the first mile then disaster. Graeme had his first ever puncture. We'd passed one of those kerb sweepers and it threw a piece of glass which ended up wedged through his back tyre (typically the harder of the two to remove) Graeme removed the tyre like Superman, no tyre levers for him - bare hands and adrenaline were doing the trick lol. Eventually we were on our way again and we felt like we'd successfully completed a rite of passage with no casualties! The next 10 miles or so were great, taking in a few minor hills and the scenery. In Hockley Heath before making the turn towards Lapworth a Marshall was warning of the amount of glass on the roads. Stupidly worrying about dodging the glass I nearly got myself taken out by a car. Not sure who was more scared, Graeme or the driver. Anyway, lesson learnt, all is well and as Graeme said 'we can fix a bike but we can't fix you!' The first stop of the day was at the Navigation in Lapworth. Chance to get some more fuel inside, ensure a decent fluid intake and listen to lots of men discuss their list of cycling triumphs with each other. Couldn't help wishing we'd got John O'Groats to Lands End under our belts already so we could join in ;-)
Lapworth to Wellesbourne
On our way again and we spent part of the next section marvelling at the chosen cycling outfits. One guy we passed actually had a pair of work shoes on - crazy! We were already seeing people suffer in the heat and we were grateful for the flattish route as we continued through Warwickshire. Some short sharp hills kept the route interesting but two long flat runs gave us a chance to play around and use the drop bars whilst pretending to be part of the Peleton (in my head - can't speak for Graeme). At one point we actually found ourselves in the middle of Solihull Cycling Club doing their Sunday route. It was an experience being in a pack but too scary for me. Was happy to have been able to keep up though. The next stop came in order to consume more food and drink with a chance to chat with other cyclists about how the route had been so far whilst surreptitiously checking out each others bikes.
Wellesbourne to Lower Braille
It had all been going so well! We knew the next stop would be for lunch so obviously we were quite eager to get there :-) 3 miles in we hit a decent hill and the temperature was getting higher too. Not sure if we were slightly delirious in the heat but somehow we managed to miss a marker and so the nightmare began. We found ourselves on a national speed limit road with a multitude of signs warning how many fatalities had occurred on the road in the last year. Must say seeing the signs over and over kind of spoiled the fun of that downhill and hitting37.8 mph! Once we knew for certain we really were off the route we had to decide how we were going to get back on track. Not wanting to face the long drag back up the danger road we decided to get onto a quieter back road and double back on ourselves until we saw signs for Lower Braille which was our next stop. Little did we know that we would be faced with a 2.5 mile hill that would nearly break me. Tired, hungry, off course and in pain Graeme took control. He can motivate me like nothing else. Calling out ' George is so proud of you', 'you've faced the most pain possible', 'laugh in the face of this hill', 'nothing can beat you'. He never expects a reply. He also deals with my tears well, which I know others find hard. Especially knowing I'm in pain.* He lets me get on with it and then he praises me when I've achieved it even though its a massive achievement for him too. Once the end of that hill came we never spoke a word as we cruised down to Lower Braille. The tears were dried by the downhill wind and I can't quite explain the relief felt on reaching the village hall car park.
Special lunch mention
Thank you to the WI ladies at Lower Braille Village Hall. The cheese and pickle & tuna and cucumber rolls, amazing lemon cake, bananas, chocolate and pints of squash were perfection. Graeme is specifically grateful for the plasters that we applied to his nipples in the car park to stop his bibshorts from rubbing them :-)
Lower Braille to Hook Norton
The lunch stop allowed us to get over the 5 mile detour and catch up with other cyclists and the stories of those who had to drop out along the way. The heat was a serious factor for most people who couldn't continue. Feeling good again with drinks topped up we knew it wasn't far until the next stop. Looking back we should have realised there was a reason for this. I was about to have my second melt down of the day. This time the 2 mile hill touched a gradient that broke me. I had seen everyone getting off their bikes to walk but I've never dismounted before. It kills me to admit defeat but I had to walk the top section of the hill. Even though I'd cycled past a fair few male cyclists I was pretty inconsolable and stayed in the slump beating myself up until the next stop :-( Graeme was again incredible on that hill. He cycled!!! to the top then turned round came back to hug me and to tell me how amazing I'd been (even with my failed attempt).
Hook Norton to the finish!
Our biggest mistake was not stopping at Gibraltar it was the cause for my third and final melt down of the day. Graeme was fighting a losing battle with his motivation. I had to stop and eat quickly. I was on the side of the road sobbing in that stupid can't catch your breath way trying to eat so we could continue. The last 10 miles seemed like 20! Every mile we travelled seemed to be pushing the Finish another mile further away! The best feeling was the marshal who clapped us through Oxford Centre whooping and shouting '1 MILE TO GO WELL DONE!' The finish was a collapse into a sweaty happy heap and downing a celebratory bottle of water followed by some yoga :-)
The Proof!
Serious hat hair!
It feels incredible to say we've cycled 86 miles. The 82.3 miles recorded were completed in 7 hours and 3 minutes. Very proud of ourselves and now thinking about getting our first century completed :-)
*It has been noted by a few that some people reading WheelchairToSaddle won't know my story and therefore understand the enormity of the challenge set. I shall at some point add my story to the blog.
Check out the route on my strava
