After a not so nice night in a cold tent and a lot of car noise, the brave men and women were getting up at 5 in the morning …
I was a little less brave and took breakfast around 6:30. A tasty English breakfast buffet with coffee and orange juice: it compensated well for the too few hours of sleep.
Weather forecast: less wind and coming from a nicer direction (West) and higher temperatures (around 16 °C): time for lighter clothing, my Cronos (my employer) livery.
On the menu today: 140 km from Ascot back to North London (Lee Valley Athletics, Edmonton) and crossing the Thames at the lovely city of Marlow.
I was a bit afraid of riding another 140 km after the 160 of yesterday. But, surprisingly it went better than the day before. The protein recovery drink apparently did its job; back wind in the first quarter and riding in little groups certainly also helped. In a first group I even met some fellow countrymen!
The first 100 km consisted of mostly quiet roads, beautiful nature and some lovely cities. Car drivers were sometimes not very cautious and impatient.
And faster than expected we reached the vicinities of London, – not unexpectedly – a bit too busy and with heavy traffic.
With a feeling of “is-it-finished already” we arrived back at Lee Valley Athletics: lots of cheers of supporters and volunteers and as ultimate reward a medal ;-).
In total: nice event, good job!