BANK HOLIDAY RIDE

HELLO STRANGER...

This past weekend has been a bank holiday in the UK...and we had typical British bank holiday weather. That means of course Cold....Rain and Wind. Yes..we had it all! 
I had planned to go for a ride with both Peter Calcutt from the Backpackers club and JD one of the original Team 219 members. 
Unfortunately Peter had to pull out at the last minute due to a minor family crisis so it was just JD and I who met up at the Studland ferry for the short trip across to the Purbecks. 
This was just the third time that JD and I have managed to meet up for a ride this year...(almost like strangers) health and weather just getting in the way.

ROAD AHEAD CLOSED

We were not alone on the ferry.....lots of other riders had the same idea as it was a holiday weekend....and the ferry was almost jammed with riders of all disciplines. 
After alighting from the ferry, JD and I waited for all the holiday traffic to clear the ticket booths before we set off towards Corfe castle. 
It was bitterly cold and I was glad that I had decided to put on my leg warmers...winter socks and long sleeve merino wool  Shutt top (is this really the month of May??). 
When we got close to the castle we came across road closed signs that appeared to block our route ahead.  

A BETTER VIEW OF THE CASTLE THAN THE LAST ONE  I POSTED

Adopting the same plan that we used in France last year....that is, just carry on....as there is almost always a way through for a bike, we were not disappointed. 
Work was being carried out on a small bridge and the road was fenced off, but one of the workmen pointed us to a small footpath where we could wheel our bikes around the obstructions and within a few minutes we were back on our route. 
Passing a local campsite it was interesting to note that they had a sign outside announcing that they were closed due to all the pitches being water logged. A great pity considering the income that they must be losing over the holiday period......

WAITING NEAR THE TOP OF CREECH HILL

We saw lots of other riders as we made our way along what was effectively a closed road due to those bridge works near Corfe. 
Not having to worry about cars on a nice country road is a great experience and would be the number one attraction for me in riding a closed route sportive. 
As we rode along in the direction of Creech hill we joked that we would just ride to the bottom of the hill and turn around there as neither of us fancied the ride to the top. 
We cycled around the bend at the bottom of the hill and both stopped. 
As we took a few sips of our energy drinks our conversation went along these lines: 
JD. "You didn't mean it about not riding up the hill did you?" 
ME. "No"
JD. " I didn't either"

JD REACHES THE TOP OF CREECH

Next minute we were both spinning along up the hill. 
This hill does seem easier to ride on a cool day than it does in the heat of summer, but it is always a good workout. 
I got to the top and leaned my bike against a road sign and waited for JD...it was a short wait. 
A few gulps from my drinks bottle and JD joined me at the top.
After a short break...an energy bar and a few more gulps from the bottle we were heading down the hill touching 45mph before reaching the bend at the bottom. 


All in all we had a good ride even though the weather made it feel more like riding in February than May.
It was a pity that Peter couldn't join us, but hopefully there will be plenty more opportunities for the three of us to get out on our bikes and share the simple pleasure of a ride together.