The A5 would be my track as I headed to the town of
Bletchley, which is part of Milton Keynes.
The ride was more about endurance than seeing picturesque
countryside as with some of my previous rides. The A5 is a very long road that
gives you the opportunity to really open up and put some miles in the training
bank. The first 15 miles was pretty uneventful until reaching the town
Dunstable. Going through the high street would see my first near fatal event
occur. Powering through the high street at around 25 mph my shoelace must have
loosened on my trainers as it got sucked in to my chain and was starting to get
mangled (this felt a bit like final destination). This was a big problem
considering the speed I was going and that my trainer was locked in the bike
clips. Slight panic came over me when my foot was getting yanked backwards up
the chain. The situation got worse. Just as I was trying to rectify my
predicament (and save my life) in this very busy high street the deafening
sound of the emergency services sirens blared. This meant that the busy traffic
in front started swerving over to the side of the road in order to let the
ambulance through and on its way to save lives however, the last thing I needed
at this point was to see lots of cars pulling over in front of me at strange
angles when I did have full control of the bike, my foot getting mangled and
balance becoming a real issue………….a brief stop, 10 seconds to compose myself
and correcting of the lace and chain thing and I was off again.
More miles down the A5 and still pretty mundane pedalling. I
think I counted 4 sets of golden arches before I got to Bletchley. A worrying
sign of the modern day fast food culture.
On arrival to Bletchley after about 30 miles I was greeted
by the town sign saying welcome to the town of “codebreakers”. I passed
Bletchley Park where visitors can explore some of the iconic WW2 Codebreaking
Huts and Blocks and marvel at the astonishing achievements of the Codebreakers
whose work is said to have helped shorten the war by two years. http://www.bletchleypark.org.uk/content/about/
No dramas on the way back to report but it was very hard
work and I really felt the last 10 miles but my mission was complete on
returning home to achieve the longest ride to date and longest time on the
saddle.
The ride was incredibly cold as well. One of the coldest I
have had so far. These long rides in the cold are also causing a serious
circulation problem in my feet. When I returned home and took my shoes and
socks off there were huge white patches on my feet that looked like huge
blisters but this was just where the blood had drained out. I think I need to
do more feet exercises whilst on the bike for that long or at least find some
form of enhanced protection to cover or insulate my feet.
Here is the full detail of ride for those to view - http://www.strava.com/activities/97854466
but top line stats are here:-
Distance – 57.5 miles
Time – 3 hours 32 mins
CONTENT!
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