Prior to the race I made two pledges to my generous donors, namely that I would finish the ride and also that I would take photographs during its course. I have collated those pictures with my account of the day and included some notes of cultural, historical or touristic interest to you my generous donors and frineds. Dorset is rich in History and teeming with splendid locations. These pages are also intended to allow my friends and readers all over the world a look at the English County of Dorset, where I now live, work and play.
With two courses available - a shorter one of 26 miles (truly, that must be for whimps!), and another longer one of 56 miles (this one for real macho-macho-men!!!) - I chose the 56 mile long course, which is the same distance as the "London to Brighton Bike Ride", yet another charitable event that takes place in early June. Although some of the course was on main A roads, the majority of it was ridden on country lanes, which showed the beauty of Dorset at a glance, not to mention ensured saddle sore.
I chose to do the longer one as an self-endurance test (did I say something about real macho-men? weeell, forget it). Although I cycle to work every morning I had never ridden such a long distance before. Training in the weekends prior to the ride soon showed that 56 miles was going to be hard work and sore bottom (oops! Excuse me?).
The weather was fine on the day, overcast and slightly humid, but overall very pleasant for cycling. The famous English rain did not show up at all, and I guess that we were all glad about it. There is nothing like the combination of summer heat and humidity to make the practice of any sport almost unbearable.
Both the start and finish lines were at Broadstone Youth Centre. On arrival I signed the registry book and once a few formalities were completed I headed towards the exit. Now there was no turning back, it was too late to regret my decision to take part, but we were not allowed anyway. The markings on the road said it very clearly: "NO ENTRY". There was only one way to follow - that was FORWARD.
And with that, I started to ride. The first miles saw me riding past Springfield Road, where I attend horse riding classes at Rushall Park Riding Stables once a week. I frequently ride "Lad" or "Biscuit". The instructor, Richard owns the stables and the seventy or so horses that live in the surrounding fields.
The voyage continued towards Littchet Matravis. The organisers had placed a marshall on each junction so that the route was always clear and easy to follow. I have heard no reports of participants being found astray in Dundee, Denmark or any other distant location beyond the Dorset borders. About 70 volunteers provided marshalling and catering help during along the course, and some other 30 provided other technical and medical help - a great effort altogether.
Some miles down the road I reached the World's End. Had I gone too far? Not really, it was actually the World's End Inn, a pub which acted as the first check-point. Here I refuelled with some orange juice and collected the first stamp in order to certify the successful completion of the ride.
Click below to go to the second stage.
