Right, this is the last leg of my charity ride. I hope that so far it has proved interesting and fun.
By this time of the day, after with so many miles in my legs I began to feel the strain. Also the food in my tummy was taking a toll and the road started to streeeetch before my eeeeeeyyyyyyyeeeeeeesssssss...... It must have been the well-known Spanish "siesta" malaise...... I could hardly see the rider in front of me................................. the road was becoming bluuuuuuurreeeeeeddddddd............
And then... all of a sudden... It must have been an hallucination... no, it's not true...
Were we surrounded by tanks? No, in fact we were crossing the Army tank training range at Bovington.
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Not far from Bovington is Moreton, a small village, barely a handful of beautiful houses put together, also the burial place of T.E. Lawrence (1888-1935), best known as Lawrence of Arabia. He was killed here while ridng his motorcycle as he was stationed at the Bovington Camp, where the Royal Armoured Corps is based.
Also nearby is the Tank Museum, where almost 150 tanks are displayed, including the first one ever to be built, "little Willie" in 1915 (possibly some innuendo there?). Also, if you are interested in military museums, also worth mentioning is the Royal Signals Museum, located near Blanford. In addition, the Keep Military Museum posts displays of the Dorset and Devon regiments and the wars over the last 250 years. |
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We certainly were crossing a dangerous area. Suddenly, the danger became also apparent in the heavens above!!! A surveillance craft flew above us.
My eyes followed the enemy aircraft until it disappeared behind some bushes on a nearby field. Curiosity killed my cat and I put my bicycle aside to investigate that misterious location.
There was no doubt anymore. For the first time in twelve hundred years Great Britain was being invaded, and they were arriving on gliders!! Was it the Germans? Was it the French? I thought I'd better disappear before my presence was discovered, and so I headed for the finish line back in Broadstone, where the ride started so many hours earlier.
In the last miles of the course we rode along Wareham Forest, a beautiful flat terrain full of pine trees and other conifers. The road was flat and I reached my top speed on the bicycle, 31 mile/h. We finally rode past Wareham and back into Littchet Matravers. From there just a short trek and we were finally back at the at Broadstone Youth Centre.
Kind volunteers from the organisation offered fruit. I think that I ate much more than I was supposed to - as I was SO hungry. I was now happy that the ordeal was over. It was time to put the bicycle back in the boot of the car and drive home - I could not stand cycling one more minute!! I had to rest for the whole day!!
The whole adventure seemed like an achievement. However, the greatest accomplishment was gathered by the generosity of my friends and supporters. You, my generous donors contributed with
Some data about my performance (courtesy of my bicycle's onboard computer):
Distance: 56.73 miles
Average speed: 12.3 mile/h
Duration of the ride: 4h 35min 11s
Maximum speed: 31.0 mile/h
Links:
The Macmillan Cancer Relief Dorset Bike Ride
The Macmillan Cancer Relief Fund:
Office for South and West England
6 Regents Court
South Way
Andover
Hampshire SP10 5NX
Tel: 01264 343800
Fax: 01264 343806
Original photographs by Javier Molero. Other photographs taken from various sources.
My many thanks to Anita Brady for her proof-reading and style contributions.
