by Date: 17th February 2013
Distance: 82.7km
Average speed: 23.9km/h
Link to ride on Strava
After getting a place in the ballot for RideLondon, I thought I should definitely step up my training! I started off in Stanford-le-Hope at my in-laws, and did a loop going via Basildon, Billericay and Brentwood before coming down and completing a few mini-loops around Linford. This took me just over the 50 mile mark, half the distance I’d be doing that August. I remember being absolutely knackered – the route included Langdon Hill which is a steep hill and easily the hardest hill I’d faced up to that point. My average speed for the ride was just under 24km/h (15mph), which was OK but I’d have to get a bit faster as my target for RideLondon was 6 hours, which would require an average of 16.6mph. My hill climbing also needed a lot of work, what with having to face Leith Hill and Box Hill!
I ended up doing this loop a few times in training, thanks to my in-laws for helping look after the kids! Several times I was out in the rain and snow, several times I did wonder ‘why am I doing this?’!