A shorter day today due to the importance of getting everyone onto the ferry in Portsmouth. Joe (the boss) from our fabulous support company Greenrock was notably on edge this morning. “We simply HAVE TO make this boat or it’s all over” he said repeatedly. The traumatic events of yesterday were a sharp reminder of how easily things can go wrong.
In yesterday’s Blog I referred to an injury ending another Road To Lisbon dream. I didn’t elaborate on the fact that the injuries were the result of an accident as we had been asked not to share any details until the family had been informed.
Stephen Watters came off his bike approaching the lunch stop and unfortunately broke his arm in two places as well as damaging his already replaced hip. No other vehicles or people were involved! By all accounts he miss judged a turn, it can happen as easy as that.
I had the pleasure of cycling with Stephen on days 2 & 3 and enjoyed his company very much. Stephen is on the right as you look at the picture of us tackling the climbs on day 2 in the rain.
He is in good spirits as he prepares to go to theatre and sent us all a lovely message of support and good luck along with this photo from his hospital bed. We all wish him the speediest of recoveries.
The Alarm woke me at 05.00h this morning, there was lots to do. Coffee first then stretch, finding the knots and other painful places and then applying enough pressure to squeeze out the oxygen and get the blood flowing to the affected area without screaming in pain.
A shorter route was planned today as we had to board the ferry as a group. An earlier start was also factored in at 07.00h to leave room for the unexpected.
Just as the group headed out I received a signal that I wasn’t quite ready (if you get my drift?). I’m eating much more than I am used to which is necessary given the physical exertion every day but it does change one’s routine somewhat.
In the end I was last away some 10 mins behind everyone.
I couldn’t believe how quickly I caught up with some riders, on not slow riders. They had missed a turning and lost some time, that was the only feasible explanation.
I latched onto the back of them and almost immediately they done it again. They flew past a left turn while descending. I called out the error as I made the turn and decided to wait for them to catch up, got a nice photo in the process.
We soon caught the slow group and started to bunch up. The roads were busy and communication was difficult. It is much safer to ride in smaller groups and not annoy the motorists so much. I didn’t feel safe so I pulled over to talk to the support guys. I had noticed how vigilant they were this morning, clearly worried about getting to the ferry on time.
It was decided that I would be “tail end Charlie” and help anyone who had any problems.
I sat at the back cruising along and then Michael got a puncture on a blind bend. I shouted to the rest to continue as we pulled over. It was a dangerous spot so for the next 30 mins I was a traffic controller as Michael wrestled with his rear wheel.
Back on the bikes and with about 30 Km still to go to the only refreshment stop today we put our foot down and tried to make up some time. We arrived to find everyone still there and Joe a little more like his old self as we were introduced to his lovely wife Laura, 2 x very young kids and the family dog 😊. Everyone set off together including Michael.
I gave them a 5 min head start then got back on Grace and headed after them.
Next I stumbled across Robert who had stopped to put his gloves on and been dropped by his group. The same group that clearly had navigational issues as they were now bringing up the rear again. We soon caught them as they stopped at a junction to question the accuracy of their various devices.
Not long to Portsmouth now and we had made good time so the pressure was off. As we climbed to the top of the hill where a huge monument to Lord Nelson is situated we were greeted with a wonderful view of Portsmouth harbour down in the distance. A real sense of achievement washed over me as I took it all in.
A few wrong turns and shouts of “Guys, you’re going the wrong way again” later we eventually arrived safe and sound at the ferry terminal to be greeted by the other cyclists and support crew. A friend of mine from Mallorca that I had trained with Rainer Beening had driven down from Bournemouth to see us, stopping off to pick up some bike supplies for us on the way. A very nice gesture, thank you Rainer.
After what seemed like an eternity hanging around in sweaty cycling clothes we started to move. The day bags were packed this morning with everything we needed for the crossing as we wouldn’t have access to our luggage on the boat. We took our bikes and joined the queue.
I still struggle to convince myself that I got here on a bike, but here I am and looking forward to some prolonged rest. Next stop Santander!
Distance covered 99.3 Km
Climbing 1,167 M
Moving time 04:53:50
You can see a graphic reconstruction of the route here https://www.relive.cc/view/989663102
Summary:
A pretty easy day cycling only made a little tougher by the constant stopping and starting. I was happy to help out.
Difficulty rating 4/10