Wow. What a day. What a truly amazing, unforgettable day. Certainly a "once in a lifetime". Some of you may already know what happened but if not, here it is...
I am going to have to keep this brief (I am practically falling asleep on the laptop-promise to write more tomorrow) so here goes...
I set off in wet conditions in the last group (group X - they went in alphabetical order, so you can easily figure out how far down the field I was! If nothing else, there would be plenty of people to aim at). By this time I had freezing fingers and toes and was praying the weather wasn't going to be horrible. However, it soon warmed up and the sun came out and the first 40 miles or so were very enjoyable and passed mainly without significant problems. Then this happened...
I cannot believe that anyone in the whole field of 3,500 people anticipated this happening! (or was really prepared for it) The actions of a mindless few threatened to spoil the whole event for the rest. Spraying the road with carpet tacks is irresponsible and very dangerous. Never mind punctures, this could have lead to crashes and as it was on the fastest part of the course, maybe even fatalities. We have been lucky. I only hope the police can find the culprits. Bearing in mind that local people lined the whole route and to a man cheered us on, this is definitely not an accurate reflection of the local people of Perthshire.
Eventually, after a long, cold break, we got going again. I managed over the big climb and got in some good groups on the way home to the finish. The route definitely has a sting in the tail!
For me, the facts are something like this. I eventually finished the event. I managed to cycle the whole 81 mile course (some earlier riders had to be re-directed and didn't get this opportunity). It took me approximately 6 hours in total, of which I was stood around for about 2 hours, so in reality just over four hours.
My timing chip says I took 05.52.48 and I timed that I was stood from 10.02 to 11.50, so working that out I was riding for about 4hours and 5 minutes. Either way, much faster than I anticipated. With this I am really pleased. I feel very proud and a great sense of achievement. I will sleep well tonight and it is in no small part due to the people that have donated to the project that I have such a good feeling of success. Thanks to you all.
Sleep well (I will) and thanks again,
Colin.
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