Controls: Stamford, Ancaster, Lincoln, Brigg, Market Weighton, Castle Howard, York.
First audax ride of the year and the first on the training plan for pre qualification for PBP 2019 – need to do a 600K ride by the end of the Audax year (end Sept 2018) to be able to register from January 28th 2019, as opposed to 1st June ish.
200K ride from Stamford to York with Neil Richardson. I had chosen a route that went due north out of Stamford then up to Ancaster, west over towards the Humber bridge, over it, up to Castle Howard, then back South and East into York.
Neil and I had a good days riding, we rode very well together as a duo, chatting and frequently having a laugh whilst both taking the wind in pretty equal measure. Beautiful weather, with a pesky headwind for most of the ride. My legs started to fade a little North of the 5th control (Market Weighton) on the way up to Castle Howard, and I had to pull back a little and sit on Neil’s wheel for a bit, continuing to eat frequently.
A very quick stop at Castle Howard to neck a coke and a piece of tiffin before nailing it to our final destination at York train station. We were under a little time pressure as we were booked on a train at 18.20, and had bike spaces reserved, so we didn’t want to be late. We rode quickly and I felt strong again riding with Neil.
Got on the train no problem, bikes loaded, we had a couple of train beers on the way back to Peterborough and chatted all the way back. Got picked up by our respective wives at Peterborough. Great day out.
