A bit late but… I also did the Pocklington Pedal with what must have been a record turnout for its third year.
Three things made a return from its first year- the length at a full 100 miles. The wind at a full 20+ mph. And the sad sign towards the end of the ride that says “Pocklington turn right, 3 miles” and you think ‘shame that we’ve nearly finished.’ But then you see the cheerful yellow event route sign just below it saying “no, turn left, 12 miles still to go” and that fills you with joy!
There were other distressing moments too. Like having to cycle very slowly past some plain-clothed police, as they were pointing flashing speed cameras at you (others reckoned that they were event photographers, but they weren’t fooling everyone).
And 5 miles into the ride, to my horror I realised that we hadn’t collected a transponder timing chip at the start to wrap around our wrist/ ankle/bike skewer and so feared receiving a DNS. But in fact the timing device was a delicate metal strip which was cleverly embedded into the back of your number plate. So to be sure of getting a time, I tore it out and bent it round the wrist.
Also made the mistake of wearing a favourite cycling jersey. We all have a favourite jersey- the one that gives you extra strength in the saddle. Mine is a Bianchi top as worn by Jan Ullrich when he came closest to beating Armstrong in the Tour de France a decade ago.
Trouble is, wearing a favourite jersey makes you want to ride hard from the start. That resulted in my last 30 miles being ridden in an energy-gel splattered haze, pleading with a kindly fellow rider- a diabetic on his first century ride- to cycle on and leave me behind.
So next time you’re doing an endurance event that requires going steady from the start, put on your most loathed cycling jersey as it'll dampen your enthusiasm and make you pace yourself accordingly.
Anyway, it was a super-organised event. The proceeds help the youngsters in the club and for once we cyclists owned those familiar country lanes (apart from that road through The Village of the Damned- Thixendale. We don’t want that road).
And the sportive’s slight carnival atmosphere with 300+ riders spread along the lanes made a nice change to a club ride. What more could you ask for?
Thanks a lot, Andy J and helpers such as Julia C.
