Buttered Brown Shrimps and Coastal Wind

(NB - the ride is tomorrow, this was written last week)

For my last full week before the ride I went to Norfolk on holiday. I managed to fit in a three hour ride (with a little rest stop at a seafood shack for buttered brown shrimps on toast - yum), a two hour ride (with a short pub stop – cheating, but I was on holiday!) and a one hour ride. Who said Norfolk was flat? Probably the same person who claims the ride from Dieppe to Paris is flat!  I’d definitely class it as rolling countryside, with the emphasis on rolling. Good practice for the thighs though, and almost my last chance for decent length rides.

Riding in the countryside is so much nicer than London. If you remove the fear of the sudden opening of car doors in your path, the endless potholes and manhole covers, and the teetering at red lights – suddenly cycling becomes almost pleasant! It also meant I could unclench my fingers from the brakes and put my hands on the central part of the handlebars which eased some of the pressure on my wrists and arms.  I inadvertently added extra protein to my ride, however, by swallowing a few midges along the way. Must remember to keep my mouth shut while cycling! And I must learn to lift my eyes from the road and take in the scenery. Norfolk has very pretty countryside and some lovely villages but my eyes were constantly glued to the road looking for danger. I must make time on the ride to Paris to soak up the scenery.

Norfolk was disappointingly cold and windy. Riding in gusty strong winds is no mean feat. I hadn’t realised how much protection from the wind you get from hedges until I started cycling past some patchy, scraggly ones – in the areas without sufficient foliage you get a proper cross blast of cold hard air wobbling you off centre. The coast road itself had little protection and it was much harder work pushing up the rolling hills into an on shore wind.  But it got me thinking about the weather for the ride itself. Every time I set out in different conditions I say to myself – I hope it’s not snowy/raining/windy/bakingly hot like this on the actual ride. Ideally I would like dry, no wind, cloud cover (I’m rubbish in the sun), warm (but not hot) conditions. Keep your fingers crossed for me! It’s less than a week until ride day.

CP tucking into brown shrimps on toast

CP says I’m match ready for the Dash! It’s all in the mind. He also reminded me that I'll burn 6000 calories in one day which means I can fill my face all the way through the ride, and for several days before (to be fair, I've been putting in some practice on the calorie consumption front, my appetite has really grown doing all this cycling!). The Dash is so close now, I am elated and terrified in equal measures.

AMBITIONS

To drink from my water bottle without slowing to a snail’s pace

ACHIEVEMENTS

Holding the middle bit of the handlebars

I'M JUST £250 SHORT OF MY FUNDRAISING TOTAL - PLEASE SPONSOR ME IF YOU CAN