200 miles of learning

Earlier in the week I got a marketing email from Virgin Trains East Coast about cheap train fares on their network and it got me thinking about extending my training radius. My cycling passes are limited so being able to ride new places is tricky without making it an overnight trip but a fast train home opens up lots of possibilities. I’m already a fan of train-assisted rides, often taking the early morning train for century rides back from Peterborough or Rugby. You need to make a reservation for the bike too but Virgin have special carriages at one end of the train just for bikes. I’ve never known them to be busy but then I always travel very early at the weekends, when tickets are also really cheap. Top tip: make sure you walk through the train as you approach your destination to avoid the embarrassment of trying to jog along the platform in cleated shoes before the train leaves with your bike still on it.

During the Transcontinental Race I’ll need to be riding 300-400km a day if I’m going to be competitive. It’s crucial to do some similar rides to learn what happens over that kind of distance but rides much longer than 5-6 hours are actually detrimental to your fitness, so you can’t do them too often. I figured it’d be a good idea to get one in nice and early, to learn about the specific challenges before I start buying equipment. Hull is on the network and is almost exactly 325km/200 miles from London. I love it when a plan comes together.

“I figured it would be a useful learning experience to endure some miserable weather.”

Approaching the ride the weather forecast was looking pretty grim. 15mph winds and heavy rain but, thankfully, still quite mild at 13-15°C. There was a possibility to swap my pass for Sunday, which had a dry forecast, but I figured it would be a useful learning experience to endure some miserable weather. I won’t have the luxury of choosing dry sunny days during the race, after all.

I also decided to try and simulate a Transcontinental day by leaving with empty pockets and scavenging for food at petrol stations and whatever else I could find. I didn’t plan it this way but I also ended up going to bed late and getting up just three hours later, which is also typical of a day on the Transcontinental Race. I tried to travel light but had to include a battery pack to charge my Garmin, which wouldn’t last the whole ride. I also packed some emergency food – which I would try to pretend wasn’t there – and a more substantial multi-tool. Just as I was leaving I also decided to throw in a second inner tube and a third CO2 canister, given that wet autumnal conditions are the Puncture Fairy’s favourite thing.

The door closed at 4:30am but it would take another 20 minutes of faffing around with my Garmin Edge 810 before I could actually set off. It would crash as soon as it started and I eventually unpaired my phone, which helped. The route was almost exactly 200 miles so I didn’t want to start without it and end up riding 199. Lesson #1: Make sure your navigation tools are rock solid reliable.

At least it happened before the rain

43km into the ride, I’d cleared London and was out into the lanes around Ware. There were traffic calming measures that force cars out into the road and have a little cut-through for cycles. Normally I’d behave like the traffic and go around them but for some reason (tiredness, perhaps) I decided to go through the cut, where it was full of leaves and other debris. Bang! Hissssssss. Bollocks! I’m glad I grabbed that extra tube on the way out! I got that replaced and inflated it with my CO2 but it left the valve frozen open and too much escaped while I closed it. I had to use a second canister, which left me with just one spare tube and one spare canister for the next 280km. If I have another incident I’ll just divert to a bike shop for more supplies.

Time ticked slowly on and I was staying disciplined, keeping my heart rate low. This is something I really have to learn, instead of just smashing my way around the place on every ride. My breakfast stop was three hours in, at a petrol station in Royston I know from my Peterborough-London rides. Normally I’d grab sugary stuff but today I’d be needing more real food and a bit more protein and fat.

The breakfast of a cycling hobo

I gave myself 15 minutes to eat a sausage bap, take a comfort break and top up my water. Then I loaded the rest into my pockets and pressed on towards the darker clouds. I couldn’t resist a little detour as I approached Peterborough. I grew up here and it was quite strange to cycle through the town after perhaps 20 years had passed. The 12th Century cathedral is one the country’s most important surviving buildings from the time and it dominates the landscape as you approach. I also rode past my old school, hoping to get a photo of the place and of the outdoor basketball court where I spent my teens but it’s all now completely fenced off. A sign of the times.

“There was a 25km segment on Strava that a friend held the KoM on and I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to annoy him.”

Leaving Peterborough I allowed the ticker a few extra BPMs as there was a 25km segment on Strava that a friend held the KoM on and I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to annoy him. Sorry Rob. I cocked up the navigation a bit and ended up backtracking and looping a roundabout but he’s just slow enough that it didn’t matter.

The pave of Peterborough and its 12th Century cathedral.

Reaching Spalding after 180km and seven hours I started looking for somewhere to get lunch. I came to a crossroads and it looked like I was leaving the village so I turned off and found a fish and chip shop. Staff and customers were all very interested in what I was up to. “Rotten weather today. You have much further to go?”. I gave the Garmin battery a bit of charge as I ate and started goading Rob on Facebook. Then, as it was Friday, I had to respond to some work emails. All together I was there for around an hour, but I was already more than half way to Hull and had made good progress, so I didn’t feel bad about that. Once I got moving again I came across the actual town I thought I’d passed and rode past lots of enticing cafes and cake shops. I’d have sulked but I actually quite enjoyed my chips.

Character building

East Anglia could easily be confused for Belgium. It’s flat, featureless and very exposed. The rain comes sideways and the wind often feels like it’s coming from every direction at the same time. It’s difficult to explain – you need to ride there to appreciate it. By now the rain and wind were in full force and it was very cold setting off again. I tried to stay off the extension bars for a while because I find it uncomfortable trying to digest food while I’m hunched over. My hands were getting sore though from the battering of the rubbish road surface of the country roads, so I rode on the tops for a bit, holding onto the pads of the extension bars.

After 20km of dead straight, monotonous roads I was peering into the gloom desperate to spot a corner. Eventually I turned off at the foot of the Lincoln Wolds and quickly regretted it. Boredom gave way to frustration as I found myself on rural farm roads, completely covered in mud, shit, gravel and leaves. My pace dropped dramatically but it was also caking me and my drivetrain in gritty mud. The bike started making some awful grating and crunching noises and with 100km to go I wondered if it would last. I was in the middle of nowhere though, so there wasn’t really anything to do but press on. Lesson #2: If you’re going to train in these conditions you’re going to want a bike that can take a front mudguard.

The weather is grim up north.

On WhatsApp a friend in Lincoln offered to drive out and meet me as I passed by and offered to help me with supplies. I turned down everything except for a pair of dry socks. Before I set off I was tempted to pack some but decided I wouldn’t have that luxury during the race so I would stick to one pair. Once they were fully waterlogged I changed my mind completely. The thought of a 3 hour train journey in squelchy saturated socks didn’t appeal. Lesson #3: Spare socks earn a place in my race kit.

As I climbed up onto the Wolds the rain started to ease. The light barely changed all day so it was hard to tell if it was getting dark or not. Instead of rain there was a hanging mist everywhere, so I put my lights on again, nervous of burning up too much battery ahead of nightfall. Every so often I’d catch a glimpse of the view through the fog, but so briefly. The rolling roads of the Lincoln Wolds must be a lovely place to ride in good weather. I saw the lights of Grimsby and confused them for Hull. There’s something so comforting in that moment when the end is in sight, even if there was still 40km to ride. I had pre-booked a train from Hull at 20:03 and I had made good time. It was 16:45 when I passed a convenience store in Limber. Despite eating only a single bar since my midday chips I wasn’t feeling like I desperately needed food. Better safe than sorry though and as I had so much time in hand why not take advantage of it. The lady behind the counter asked if I had much further to go. “No, only 40km”. “That’s a long way” she said. “It’s all relative” I said, “I started in London”. “Oh, right. How many days have you been going?”.

The hit that caused the morning’s puncture had done something to the wheel and it’d been ‘rattling’ ever since. I checked the spokes; I checked it was properly seated and tight in the forks; I checked the valve. I couldn’t find the cause but it all felt solid. It was quite nerve-wracking though descending the Wolds, in the dark, with my front wheel sounding like it was about to disintegrate. I was also conscious of the battery level of my lights. I’ve not used them much before and never to exhaustion, so I tried not to overuse them. I had the front light set to flash, just enough to keep me safe but not ideal to see with. For the descents I turned it on to a fixed medium-strength setting, but it wasn’t bright enough to descend with confidence so I was cautiously slow. The light has an incredible output on the full setting but I do know it burns through the external battery pack in less than two hours, so that wasn’t an option. Lesson #4: Use good lights or it will slow you down.

The front light finally expired as I was crossing the Humber Bridge. It could’ve been worse but was still less than ideal. I was on a cycle lane crossing under and over it towards Hull city centre and was almost invisible to oncoming cyclists. I had a backup LED light for the rear but my front backup was on the Triban that was stolen last week. The rear backup was put on the front – better than nothing – and I set off on the final 10km into Hull, thankfully on a fast and well-lit cycle path along the main road. I added a small loop around the town itself just to be sure I’d topped 200 miles, because I’m shallow and it would’ve annoyed me if I’d fallen short.

I could really have used a front mudguard

I hunted around for somewhere nice to wait for my train and grab some food but wasn’t successful. In the end my post-ride nutrition was another milkshake and a bag of Revels. I caught an earlier train to Doncaster where I’d change for my 21:17 train to Peterborough. With the deal from Virgin I’d treated myself to a first class ticket, which meant decent legroom on the return – this is important when you’re 6’4″ – complimentary food and drink, and a lounge at Doncaster. It was a good upgrade and well worth the small premium.

It’s been a really productive day and I’ve learnt some really useful lessons. The biggest difference was pacing. I was amazed at how little food and water I consumed. I also felt remarkably fresh afterwards. Fresher than I would normally feel after a quick century. I presume this is all from keeping my heart rate low, which will be essential during the race if I’m going to sustain this kind of pace all the way to Turkey. My average pace was still respectable at 28kph and my total time not pedalling was 2h20m, which I’m also pleased with considering that included a puncture repair, some Garmin cursing, a bit of work and some friendly cyber abuse. It’s all looking very promising.

https://www.strava.com/activities/427633191/