I've been cycling a long time. Last year after a disastrous ride I stopped, that is apart from commuting. My leisure cycling just stopped. Until the other weekend.
It was the last weekend of April and the previous weekend (Easter) had been glorious. Not so for this one though with Storm Hannah forecast I was looking for any excuse to cancel. I'd paid but was willing to take a loss to get out of this ride, a ride I'd planned with my best friend to break the cycle (so to speak). No excuse was forthcoming so I was committed.
The ride was a 100km from Wadsley in Sheffield to Paris. No not Paris France - Paris near Homfirth. I rode out to the start which was an extra 10km. This ride was my first Audex.
Audax is a cycling sport in which participants attempt to cycle long distances within a pre-defined time limit. Audax is a non-competitive sport: success in an event is measured by its completion. Audax has its origins in Italian endurance sports of the late nineteenth century, and the rules were formalised in France in the early twentieth century.
It's wasn't to bad in the first few km but then the storm rolled in. The climbing combined with the headwinds and the driving rain made the first half incredibly difficult. The weather improved for the second half but the continuing climbs and the fact that the first part had taken out so much from me made it tough going. Still we made up some time on the flat sections and made it back within the allotted time.
It was hard going but I felt it was a decent achievement. So has my mojo returned? I can't answer that yet. I'm cycling most days so it's not like I've given up but my love for the ride out may need some more work. We'll see over the coming months.
1 comment:
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