I started at 0745hrs and being on a recumbent carved up the route somewhat to make it more recumbent friendly. Meaning riding on mostly A roads where possible and missing out any gratuitous climbing.
Progress was swift as I clocked my first sub 12hr 200 miler (in terms of moving time) as I got to Pocklington just after 2100hrs. Setting out on the ‘easy’ route towards Thirsk via York and then onto the A19 the day riding on mostly main A roads and on my own had taken its toll and I was bored s***less, with hindsight I should have packed some headphones to listen to some music.
Got onto the A19 and immediately spotted a Mercure hotel, the time being roughly 2230hrs and with 371km done I decided to call it a day. See if they had any rooms which they did and after a bath I went to bed just after 11. With hindsight, I should have cracked on to at least Barney. Recalling that my first day riding on PBP I had ridden for 20 hours before stopping to get some sleep.
Up and out on the road by 0600, I made good progress getting to Barnard Castle just after 1000hrs. Here though I had my lowest point of the ride wondering what the f*** I was doing. No doubt that LEL is a well organised event but for me the only inclination ever to ride I felt was because I was a member of AUK and was duty bound – there was no passion from me and this played on my mind, nay bother I tried to gather my thoughts as I sipped on a warm cup of tea. Had some breakfast, then went to go out on the bike and it started to rain, so went back indoors and the menu changed to lunch so I had some lunch as well – this would be a mistake…
‘Time to go’ someone shouted as the clouds parted, the rain stopped and a group of us bundled out the door just before midday. The climb up and over Yad Moss was superb and was one of the highlights of the ride, far better than the climb up and over the Roc on PBP. Got to Brampton feeling good and had some more food and this is where the problem started. As I swallowed the final bit of food I had a real dull pain right behind my sternum, I had indigestion before but this was different and was far more painful. I went and sat on the bench outside the eating area trying to burp to get rid of what it thought was trapped wind but nothing was doing. The problem was that along with the pain I also could not breath properly making full use of my diaphragm.
Nay bother I thought, I recalled that the ride profile from Brampton to Moffat is fairly easy and got on the bike. I made good progress but roughly 30k in all of a sudden felt sick and stopped under a bridge which was the A74(M) and was threw up. The problem was still that the pain did not go away and now my throat felt like it was on fire and became raspish when I breathed.
I pressed on making good time and got to Moffat. When I got off the bike though I felt unsteady and after getting my card stamped had to cut the controller off telling me with everything was as I just wanted to know where the toilet was. I threw up again, this time though it was far more violent as I painted the toilet bowl with my stomach contents which included a fair amount of blood/stomach lining. I can only assume that the copious amounts of food I had at Barney/Brampton, some orange juice and my carb drink had played havoc with my digestion – shit.
I cleaned the toilet and then myself and went and got something to eat, a bit of stodge being a jacket potato and some beans. Being that Moffat was a two-bit town the plan was to get to Edinburgh, stay in a hotel and then the following morning depending on how I felt either head south or pack. I booked a room at a hotel only a couple of K from the control and set out again remembering from the ride profile that you had the climb up the bath tub but was then mostly a descent to Edinburgh – which incidentally the 20k descent from the bathtub is probably one of the most fun bits of cycling I have ever done.
Picked up a Canadian rider about 8k out who was lost and got him to the control. Got my card stamped and headed to the hotel getting there around 2330hrs. My breathing now sounded Darth Vader – ish and I still did not fell right.
Went to bed and woke up early just after five. I still did not feel right there being a dull pain at the back of my throat and my stomach kept on making weird noises. I rested and went down and got some breakfast eating more stodge being beans on toast and some cereal and then went back up to the hotel room. The next control for me closed just after 1200, but overall this control would not close until later on that evening on account of the later starters. My thinking being that I could spend the morning resting, get to the control after time but make this up as the ride progressed and being fairly certain that once I got to Barney would once again be Mr Speedy as I made my way over the Humber and onto the Flatlands. On the other hand, I still did not feel right, I have had various ailments before when doing an Audax, mostly muscular which can be managed but this was the first time that my ‘engine’ had been effected. I did not want to risk the unknown riding through the borders so made the decision to pack. I got the afternoon train home from Edinburgh getting back to home to London early evening Tuesday.
Now as I write this my gut still does not feel right and because of what happened to my throat I have developed a dry cough so in hindsight I believe I made the right decision. Could I have gone on? Yes, but the risk of riding through the borders with me the way I was would have been too greater risk imo.
Anyways, highlights for me were Yad Moss, the descent off the bathtub, the controls such of which were spectacular – BC being the main one being an old-style prep school. And the volunteers could not do enough. Thanks again.
My rear mudguard is SKS Raceblade PRO XL. I have Thor seat and my seat angle is arround 4 degrees higher than with original seat. Clearance between the mudguard and the bag depends on load. With empty bag it may be ~1cm. With bag full it is ~2mm and sometimes touching. The bag is not touching mudguard itself but rib going over mudguard and holding it in place.
