Well, at least the first
view of the day from our kitchen window showed that it was not raining. There were clouds, and those
clouds were scurrying quickly across the sky that also indicated that it was
windy. Strangely for the last day
of April, that wind was coming directly from the east, the trees just beyond
our little garden were added proof of serious activity there. The garden thermometer just
outside the back door though, was slightly up from the last two mornings at
10C. Put together and it came to
mean that we would go out on our bikes.
That was what we had
mentioned in our prayers at bedtime… ‘No rain please’.
We both know that we are
pretty far down on the ‘To Do Jobs’ for the big man in the sky, at least for
lesser mortals like us that just want to have fun for a couple of hours.
Our plan had been to set the
alarm for the usual weekday training
time so that if it was a dry day, then we could get out on the bikes before the
weekend traffic built up to the impossible to ride out safely level. We wanted
to test ride the Arundel standard distance triathlon bike course. The start of
that course is about two and a half miles from our home but sticking strictly
to the plan, we chucked the bikes in Petra
the Peugeot (our van) along with the ‘Stuff’ stacker box that neatly holds;
bike helmets, bike shoes, glasses, gloves for Steve and neoprene and velcro
wrist supports for me. We left home just after 6.30am and parked outside the
Castle lower gate entrance, which is close enough to the start of the Arundel
Tri bike course.
For anybody who is still
thinking about entering this event; do it and quickly. It is a super event with
spectacular scenery. The bike route is hard enough and it would be a lie to say
it was anything other than a challenging course but if we are to be sensible; I
am seventy seven and three quarters years old, so if I can get round it anybody
can wouldn’t you say. It is pretty much endlessly hilly but not mountainous. It
has several long drags like Long Furlong and the next section from Findon to
the Washington
roundabout, passing Chanctonbury Ring. Then it undulates until Amberley Castle before it turns nasty to climb
back over the downs to return via the lovely downhill back into Arundel.
It was windy this morning
and after leaving Arundel the first five miles was head on into that east wind.
From turning off the A27 the
next six miles had a cross wind.
Miles 11 to 19 had a tail
wind but also some lumpy little hills.
Mile 19 to the end of the
course was back into the head wind that slowed the best descent a little.
Our fastest mile was 1.58
The slowest was 7.56 but I
won’t say where that is, in case it spoils your fun.
Overall time was 1 hour
51mins
Average 12.5.
To anybody who read as far
as this; you are a very sad person!
I have not ridden that
course for quite some time sticking mainly to my comfy little home course with
very little traffic which also means flat, where you can ride on the big ring
on the 15 all the way if you want. When Steve put forward the idea for this
morning, I seriously thought that I might not get all the way up that last big
hill but I did, not with my eyes popping out of my head either. So all in all I
was very happy indeed with the morning work out.
Back into Arundel we loaded
the bikes and kit again into Petra and then
Steve wanted to go to Starbucks in Broadwater, Worthing
to buy some of his favourite coffee for home use. This trip was called for
because he had got there solely for that purpose the other day but had just had
the coffee and forgotten to buy the packets for home use!!!???
So like a cat returning to
the spot where it caught a mouse last Thursday, he had to go back to that
outlet. Other Starbucks nearby do not hold that particular blend. Actually it is one of the best coffee spots
in miles because the building was formerly a bank and one of the rooms inside,
at the back of the shop is the old vault which is kinda fun.
