100 miles

Last weekend I took part in the London to Southend bike ride in aid of the British Heart Foundation. At 59 miles it is slightly longer than London to Brighton, but with 3,000 riders – instead of the 27,000 on London to Brighton – it is a much more sensible field allowing for clearer roads and faster progress. I had decided I would ride up to the start in Victoria Park, complete the ride, then ride home. That would make for a round trip of about 100 miles.

Getting to London early on Sunday morning meant I had a choice of river crossings, none of which I’d used before – the Woolwich foot tunnel, the Greenwich foot tunnel, or the Rotherhithe Road tunnel. I’d read that the Rotherhithe tunnel was safe for bikes if you stayed on the walkway, but that pollution from the cars could make it a very unpleasant experience. However, both the foot tunnels have lifts that operate only during regular hours and would definitely not be working at 6.30am on a Sunday morning. That meant walking down and then up the stairs at either end hauling the bike whilst wearing cumbersome bike shoes. In the end I opted for the Rotherhithe tunnel figuring that at that time of day on Sunday, the traffic would be light and the pollution would not have had time to build up. That turned out to be a good call, as it is an easy ride and made the journey to the start very straightforward and direct. I was fascinated that the tunnel bends at the start and again at the end and have since found out that this is so that when it was originally built, the horses could see the light ‘at the end of the tunnel’ and make a bolt for freedom too early!

The ride from Victoria Park to Southend was delightful, passing through some of the better parts of Essex. I stopped at Battlesbridge for a comfort break and some refreshments, where I got talking to a guy riding a Thorn Audax bike – identical to the one I’d just ordered. I’d never even seen one on the road before, so that was a little spooky.

The last few miles into Southend became hard work as the winds were very strong across the open farmland we were riding through, however, arriving at Priory Park we were met by a large crowd of people cheering and clapping to receive our medal, certificate and bottle of water. That was a great feeling!

For many that was the end of the day, but for of course, I still had to ride back home. I got chatting to a guy in full Saxo Bank pro race gear, and on a very expensive full carbon bike and who was obviously fairly new to cycling. He was moaning about how much his rear end hurt. I didn’t have the heart to tell him that his ultra stiff pro-bike was probably contributing to his woes! He looked good though ;-)

The ride home was uneventful, although I had to contend with the very strong headwind the whole way, and there were a couple of very heavy, sharp showers which I confess I sheltered from. I met up with another guy at the Dartford Crossing also making his way home, although he had cheated just a little by taking the train from Southend to Upminster.

All in all though a good day, and I proved to myself that 100 miles isn’t so scary, and is possibly a daily distance for next year’s Lands End to john O’Groats ride.