I’d ridden this sportive last July and what with a puncture and a bungled tube swap I’d finished in 5hrs 28m – more of an audax time than a sportive one. That was my 1st ever sportive – this was my 2nd. The plan was minimise breaks and push hard so as to get under 5hrs for the 110k ride giving me a bronze for my age group.

Several hundred of us gathered at Theale and we were sent off in smallish groups, the 190k riders and the 110k mixed in together as you are allowed to swap route partway through if you want. I said hello to a couple of people from the Vegan Fitness forum and then set off with one of the earlier groups, swiping my time card on the way out. We soon picked up speed and my heart rate went with it, this was much too fast for me so dropped off the back of the bunch and found my own pace for what I knew to be quite a hilly first stage rolling up over the downs to Farnborough.

I climbed half familiar roads waiting for the next bunch to pass me but appreciating a slight but consistent tail wind. After a while I passed a couple who I guessed had hung on to the tow too long and seemed to be paying the price, then another rider and a couple more. This was rather heartening and I’d reeled in at least 10 people before the frontrunner of the next group flew past me at what must have been 20mph uphill and reminded me of my place.

Somewhere near East Ilsey a Red Kite drifted on motionless wings just feet above the field on my right, magpie corpse dangling from her talons. One look at my Vegetarian Cycling & Athletics Club shirt and she had an attack of conscience dropping her breakfast and drifting off empty clawed. (Or maybe she just realised that bit of roadkill was not at it’s best.)

I hit 62kph on the descent over the Ridgeway and down Chain Hill into Wantage without quite needing a change of shorts. The wind seemed to shift and become part headwind during the couple of miles heading West before the climb up Hackpen Hill to the first checkpoint, this was fine by me as the checkpoint was the most Westerly point on the 110k route.

A banana, squash and some dried fruit for my pocket, a visit to the hedge, I was in and out of the checkpoint in less than the 10 mins I was allowing for.  Downhill most of the way to Lambourn with the wind against me then the 2 routes split with the 110k heading East and the 190k West. A fastish run down the pleasant valley to Welford where we swung south again for a bit of a struggle through some lovely lanes, past the site of last years deflation, down to the 2nd checkpoint at Ball Hill. Banana and ready quartered orange went down a
treat and I was off on the last leg with the wind behind me but sufficient route knowledge to know of lumps to come.

Sure enough we turned into the quiet lanes paralleling the M4 and climbed the first of the notorious (notorious amongst a few knackered locals anyway) Boxford Alps. I misremembered this series of short climbs and was caught out by there being a 4th, still I was well on schedule for my 5hrs and the main thing now was to keep the aching legs turning rather than let that ‘it’s in the bag’ feeling be an excuse to relax.

We skirted Thatcham then more tailwind to assist most of the way back to Theale. Over Red Shute Hill, a last short climb just a couple of miles from the finish then an annoying 30 second wait to cross a busy road, we’d seen so little traffic all day this came as a bit of a shock. Into the finish to swipe my chip and collect a certificate saying 4:38:28 Bronze.
I felt more like I’d just ridden a hilly 200k audax than just half the distance for the rest of Sunday but all in all a great day out and one of the very few sportives that gives ALL the profit to charity.