1st challenge 20 mile walk round Avebury...add in a crazy impulse...result 1 broken body
The crazy idea...to cycle from Reading to Avebury, do the walk and cycle back.
I started out at 01:30 Saturday morning to give myself plenty of time... my first assumption about the route.. that it was basically flat.. was destroyed by about 10 miles. That and i couldn't see my hand in front of my face, let alone the myriad of potholes, dead animals, live animals darting in front of my wheels, made me wonder what I'd let myself in for. the one silver lining of it being so dark was i also couldn't see the hills in front, therefore avoiding the inevitable..oh shit moment of being confronted by a particularly steep looking stretch of tarmac. 4 hours, 42 miles and countless caffeine loaded energy gels I arrived at Avebury...way too early.
Faced with sitting in the cold and wet or cycling in cold and wet i chose the latter and pottered around the village until it had reached a more respectable time.
Upon arrival at the pavillion I was greeted by a couple of chaps, one of whom (later turned out to be Nick Harper) offered me a much needed hot cup of tea! (thankyou very much)
I had been a little concerned that everyone would be in their little groups but as people started to turn up, everyone was really friendly and willing to chat. A good start to the day. Registered and got given my (now prized) walkers badge before turning my attention to the one thing that had kept my mind occupied on the way down.. bacon sarnie.
The walk started with a fitting song written and performed by the aforementioned Nick, surrounded by the beautiful stones that make up the circle. then it was down to business. following a good pace set by the walk leader, we set off through the undulating countryside, with music stops along the way. Weather perfect for walking and good company throughout.
Lunch was at Barbury castle, with another fine round of songs by the Fixx boys, Nick Harper and the ever-entertaining Chris Summerill.
Sitting down was probably a mistake though as the aches and pains had set in already, making the final 6 miles slightly uncomfortable, though i was aided by the cheerful encouragement of a kind gentleman who had seen me starting to struggle.
The first stone sighted was one of the most welcome sights i have seen, although we were sent the long way round by a team of smiling marshalls, (no doubt at our exhausted and in my case slightly bedraggled appearance). collapsing on the grass back at the field, everyone seemed to be still smiling with the odd audible groan, as necessity made them get up again. The 'Avebury Rocks' walk ( a phrase coined by a lovely couple that I met) was in evidence as people wearily limped to the beer tent or in many cases to get a perfect hot cup of tea.
A special mention must be made here for the gentleman who can be easily considered crazier than me who RAN round, who appeared remarkably fresh, putting the rest of us to shame... so well done to him for his efforts to raise money.
The music in the evening was brilliant though I only stayed until Chris Sumerrill have played his great set. then deciding that the lack of rain and wind, with a bit of early evening sunshine, made it the perfect time to set off, I creaked onto my bikeand tentitively set off. Despite the agony that walking/moving had brought, cycling seemed not too bad and with a very friendly tailwind(almost unheard of in cycling circles) negotiated the ups, downs, and one very nasty hill, made good progress back to Reading. That and the fact that thought of crashing horribly were outweighed by the need to crawl into bed and therefore I was braver on the descents than before, meant that I completed the journey in a shade over 3 hours.
So having navigated through dark, steep country roads, I arrived in Reading only to be nearly knocked off my bike by some ditzy driver who jumped a red light!!!!
So 92.3 miles cycling and 20 mile walk later, I fell asleep as soon as my head hit the pillow. . . .
Fast forward and I'm still struggling to move, deep heat has become my new best friend and energy drinks are still the order of the day. HOWEVER, I had a great day, thanks to Katrina and the rest of the LHS team and anyone else who had a hand in the organisation... 1 challenge down, 2 to go. (hopefully my aches and pains will have gone by the time Snowdon Rocks comes around)
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