If you have ever wondered if travelling for 5 hours, cycling for 5 hours and returning home on a 5 hour trip is completely mad, you would be correct.
28th April saw me do exactly that!
Primal Europe launched their Ride Out back in February and with my name third on the list, I decided to travel down to Plymouth on Friday night and stay in a Travelodge.
I had seen the elevation stats. 5200ft of climbing & 70 miles. This was far more than I had done since October last year at the VO2 Autumn Sportive. Could I do it?
I woke up on the Saturday morning feeling fresh after having a couple of rest days beforehand, drank some Truestart Coffee and drove to Primal's head office in Sisna Park, Plymouth.
After putting my bike on the rack, I headed inside and met James (Director at Primal Europe) who showed me some of the new items coming soon to team kits. (*Secret* Laser cut fabrics) and discussed the route. In the mile journey to their HQ, I had been up two or three inclines in my vehicle. These inclines were steeper than some of the main roads down in Kent that I cycle regularly and that made me nervous.
As more riders turned up I donned on my Epoch jersey, new Onyx Evo bib shorts and Onyx arm warmers. Get in Shape Socks finished my kit. (those that braved the elements) it was still quite a thin turn out and unfortunately had to ride alone until I got to the food stop at 34 miles. James was right, the views though were breathtaking.
However chilly and windy it was, the hills leading down to Tavistock were fast, swinging around the twisty bends of the back lanes, feathering the brakes was one of my best experiences on this bike.
A massive thank you to James and Judith Smith from Primal Europe for putting on this event, providing massages and a BBQ to fuel my journey back to Kent. I hope there will be another one next year, but please make sure the weather is better.
Coming up next month. Myself, a team of 7 and 500 others take part in Chase The Sun 2018 so all of this hill climbing has been a great experience to make sure I have prepared as much as possible for the 9255ft of climbing. I have been taking my training really seriously since I got the new bike with a power meter and oval chain rings. Let's just hope nothing else will go wrong and I can make the 205 mile journey across the UK.
28th April saw me do exactly that!
Primal Europe launched their Ride Out back in February and with my name third on the list, I decided to travel down to Plymouth on Friday night and stay in a Travelodge.
I had seen the elevation stats. 5200ft of climbing & 70 miles. This was far more than I had done since October last year at the VO2 Autumn Sportive. Could I do it?
I woke up on the Saturday morning feeling fresh after having a couple of rest days beforehand, drank some Truestart Coffee and drove to Primal's head office in Sisna Park, Plymouth.
After putting my bike on the rack, I headed inside and met James (Director at Primal Europe) who showed me some of the new items coming soon to team kits. (*Secret* Laser cut fabrics) and discussed the route. In the mile journey to their HQ, I had been up two or three inclines in my vehicle. These inclines were steeper than some of the main roads down in Kent that I cycle regularly and that made me nervous.
James assured me that I had never cycled anything like what I am about to climb and he was right! In the distance from HQ, I could see some hills. What a beautiful view. Although, all I could think was 'It may not be so beautiful when I get there!'
James managed a briefing, talking through the signs, road layouts and the fact we were taking part in all of this for charity. Every penny of the Ride Out was going towards St Lukes Hospice in Plymouth, an independent charity who provide end of life care.
As more riders turned up I donned on my Epoch jersey, new Onyx Evo bib shorts and Onyx arm warmers. Get in Shape Socks finished my kit. (those that braved the elements) it was still quite a thin turn out and unfortunately had to ride alone until I got to the food stop at 34 miles. James was right, the views though were breathtaking.However chilly and windy it was, the hills leading down to Tavistock were fast, swinging around the twisty bends of the back lanes, feathering the brakes was one of my best experiences on this bike.
Then on the way up through Okehampton over the roughest part of the course with a major set of potholes and rough roads (I felt like I was back in Kent). The pit stop was a welcome relief where I met up with three other chaps, some boiled new potatoes and scrummy flapjack. I was sure this would keep me going for the next 34 miles.
Having climbed 3300 feet already, I knew the second half was going to be just as tough. We hadn't yet hit The Moors properly and all I could see was misty hills and darker skies in the direction of travel. The B3212 climb heading towards the Miniature ponies was probably the toughest. 12% gradient over half a mile was painful, but one of the chaps from the pit stop caught me up and for next 25 miles he was kind enough to give me a low down on the area and the roads/hills we were to expect. We had a few spots of rain coming down from Dousland, but I was glad that stayed away for the rest of the ride. The trip back from Yelverton was straight, but lumpy, every time I got to the brow of a hill, another little hill popped up, along with cars travelling far too close and it was a bit demoralizing, but I managed to get to the finish.
My favourite part of this ride was hitting the Princetown side of The Moors. Hitting some descents at 32mph was again breathtaking and really gave my legs a rest after flying past the likes of the The Highwayman Inn and the Warren House Inn said to be the highest pub in Southern England. I got back to Primal Europe HQ in 4:18. What an achievement (for me at least). Sitting down with some of the other riders I had met at the start, we were still waiting for Marco who did the whole course on a Trek MTB big KUDOS to him.
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| Marco and myself chat before the Ride Out (Picture courtesy of PrimalEurope) |
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Coming up next month. Myself, a team of 7 and 500 others take part in Chase The Sun 2018 so all of this hill climbing has been a great experience to make sure I have prepared as much as possible for the 9255ft of climbing. I have been taking my training really seriously since I got the new bike with a power meter and oval chain rings. Let's just hope nothing else will go wrong and I can make the 205 mile journey across the UK.
Safe riding.
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