Reliability Ride - 25th February 2007

Wind, rain, swearing and chocolate - a personal account of the reliability ride ...

Ivor designed a fiendish route for this years ride and looking at the contours on the O.S. map and the length, whatever way you looked at it, it was going to be hard!  With the forecast wind speed and direction being up to Force 8 north-westerly, it was going to be even harder!!

About a dozen guys set off on the long ride at 8.30 am sharp and even before we got to Looe people were taking short cuts or turning back.  Pretty soon I realised I couldn't keep up with the fast guys and resigned myself to a lonely ride.  Around Liskeard it became really hard and the swearing started as the rain sheeted down and the road, it seemed, only went up into a headwind. Thoughts at this time were of finding a short cut home but by the time I got to Callington there wasn't really an option but to continue on the original route.

On the A30 section I caught up with John and we decided to ride bit and bit across Davistowe Airfield.  How hard could it be?! Nearly an hour to do six miles!! An hour of cursing and not repeating a single word (well maybe twice).

After an eternity, we reached Camelford where the going wasn't too bad to Valley Truckle Garage where a stop for chocolate was in order.  Sometimes only chocolate will do.  Ten miles to Wadebridge with a cross-tail wind was probably the easiest part of the ride.

Back to the hut after 82 miles and 5.75 hours later.

The plus side, if there was one, was that I finished the ride, which is the point of the Reliability Trial and I didn't have any serious aches and pains which bodes well for the Dartmoor Sportive in May.

Rob