Earlier in the year I had signed up for the Tour o’ the Borders, it seemed like a good idea at the time. It was, but not in the way I expected. I had signed up for the classic 86 mile route. Up for an early Sunday morning drive to Peebles and it became apparent that the weather was once again not going to play ball with high winds and torrential rain. Still, I was on my way now might as well see it through.
The upcoming difficulties started at registration where they advised the we not tackle the 86 mile route and do the shorter 50 mile route instead. They were allowing us to go ahead however and make the decision on the road.
I found the other Lifescycle riders and set off with them. We rode together until we hit the first hills and as normal I got dropped as they raced off into the distance (hills are definitely not my string point). Resigning myself to another long ride on my own, something I am getting used to, I plugged away. Reaching the split on the route, the decision had to be made, long route or short. I was not the only one with this dilemma, with a large group of riders congregating at the junction. Choosing the long route I again set off, it was to be a short venture. Finding an open plain which had now become a wide river as the river had burst it’s banks I was again confronted by another group of riders deciding what to do. I immediately ventured onwards, across the river which was about quarter way up my wheel. The winds blowing down the valley meant that I was riding leaning about 45 degrees. Without any real incident however I got across and headed for the first food stop.
Again a large group of riders had assembled, deciding what they should do. It was here that I decided to go with the general opinion and advise and do the shorter route. In the short ten or fifteen minutes of my stop my return over the river saw it now reaching my water bottles. It is a strange feeling cycling through water, with your feet only clearing the water at the top of the pedalling stroke. In hindsight it was stupid and I should have pushed the bike across, however it was fun and it was part of the experience that made the day what it was.
The rest of the day was more of the same, high winds, rain and flooded roads. By the second half of the ride I was actually feeling really good. I got hooked up with two other riders and rode together ‘chain gang’ style with them for a while, not only keeping up with them but taking my turns at the front also, until again getting dropped once we hit a more serious climb.
The last 20km of the ride back into peebles and I decided to push myself, not letting up or relaxing the whole way, TT style trying to keep my speed as high as possible and not dropping below 20kph. It was tough but as I rode back into the start/finish area of Peebles High School was actually feeling quite good about my riding.
Given the conditions on the day I should have hated it. That however couldn’t be further from the truth. It was one of my most enjoyable days on a bike. Maybe I like the adversity. Maybe I like riding in conditions where others are hating it. I am not sure but it was damn good fun.
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