Overcome with a new found, or rather rediscovered, level of fitness through a return to regular cycling I have done something which I may come to regret.
I have entered, with my son, one of those Sportive bike events.
In response to an upsurge in activity on two wheels in recent years there has been, released, a pent up demand for something more to do than just a few regular circuits or the usual run out to a cafe and back.
The Sportive model has filled that need for a challenge, professionally run and organised rather than the usual self imposed discipline and crucially the opportunity to establish a personal best over a specified distance. This continues the theme set by GPS Apps such as Strava. There are other Apps available but Strava is the most subscribed to and I have witnessed many a recklessly head down and frantic rider obviously seeking to top the leader board on a popular local circuit or just down to the shops and back.
The event we have put our names down for, Big 'G' ,is a well respected Sportive run by an equally well respected Hull based cycling club, named to commemorate and celebrate one of its most respected members.
It has been going a few years now and offers a range of ability and fitness graded routes in and around the picturesque East Yorkshire Wolds and with a brief crossing of the border into North Yorkshire.
It is extremely hilly with a number of long and steep climbs.
There is some payback to be had with a few long and exhilarating descents and some great views over dry valleys, towards the distant North Sea coast and across the expansive Vale of York but still hilly which imposes a level of difficulty for even the fittest of cyclists.
We signed up for the 105km route which in imperial terms is 65 miles but the metric distance sounds more impressively representative of the effort needed.
Our entries were accepted, although there were no qualifying conditions apart from having legs, a heart and your own bike, as numbers 450 and 451 out of a total permitted field of 800.
I had ridden parts of the circuit and driven most of it as part of my volunteer duties as driver for officials in a number of successive Elite Cyclist races over the last 21 years.
Powering up the climbs in a two litre car behind a peleton of 60 or so riders had I recall been a struggle requiring good clutch control and calculated speed often in only first or second gear on the steepest gradients.
Many of the hills on the Big 'G' are spoken of in hushed terms by those who know of them.
Most are cleverly avoided wherever possible by the taking of an alternative road even if involving a much longer detour during a planned ride out for fitness or leisure.
Whilst filling in the on-line entry, I did experience some real feelings of fear and foreboding at the prospect of tackling these climbs.
I may have noticeably improved my fitness but that does not make lugging my still portly frame up a hill any easier.
I hate any road surface other than a pancake flat one.
In preparation my trusty 33 year old racer was sent to the local bike shop to have a new chainset fitted. The Big 'G' website Q and A section recommended a range of gears from a 34 inner ring to a 50 outer with the caveated proviso that this should be enough for a fitter rider.
I took the advice offered and asked the mechanic, Steve, to meet this specification. He did have some reservations whether such equipment could be retro fitted based on the antiquity of my bike but after a bit of head scratching decided to have a go. Complexities would involve lengthening the chain, moving the front changer and making sure that the jockey wheels on the rear mechanism did not get snagged as the chain ran through.
I left my machine in the hands of an expert.
The other important factors of physical and mental preparation were entirely down to me and me alone.
(Part 2 to follow tomorrow)
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