Well this was fun. I started out for a road trip at 11am with a pal from Gower Riders, heading for the R10/6b and hoping that the weather warnings on my phone would turn out to be precautionary. This would be quite a jaunt, but we’re keen to explore new courses away from our familiar dual carriageways and set out for our road trip.

This was my first visit to the course — a second for Jeff, three years after his first. He had returned from that trip saying what a good course it was, how it could be a real quick one in the right conditions, so it had been a long time on our combined to-do list.

So we got to Ludlow in good time and decided we should drive around the course by car. It’s a simple out-and-back course on a Shropshire A-road, with a very good surface throughout. We figured it was approximately 6 miles out and 4 miles back (more on that later). Jeff was not wrong with his reconnaissance visit in 2015 — a couple of mild slopes here and there, but nothing to worry about.

We got to the HQ, which was about four miles from the start. Signed on and decided that we’d drive out to the start rather than ride there from the HQ. The conditions were cool, dry but very windy. The 6-and-4 configuration of the course would have meant a 6-mile ride back the HQ after the event if we’d left the car there.

It seemed like the right decision and this was reinforced when a pre-race puncture forced a tube change in the starting lay-by. That put a bit of pressure on the warm-up routine (such that is was), but there was no hassle. Jeff was off at 2:22pm and I followed seven minutes later. We had ridden together at a midweek event a couple of weeks earlier, Jeff being two minutes quicker. Comparing the two courses and taking account of the wind this time, I was quietly hoping for sub-27 minutes on the day but not really thinking it was possible.

So here we go, a gentle down-slope at the start would help me get into a rhythm. I like to do arithmetic while riding, to help distract from the physical stress. I’m not really sure it helps with the overall performance but it’s in my DNA and I’ll never be able to stop myself from doing it. So there it is — 27 minutes for 10 miles, that’s an average of 2m 42s per mile.

One mile down, 2:23 on the clock. I’m 19 seconds up, pulse 130 bpm, power 251w — that’s a bit steep bit it’s skewed by the starting effort. I feel fine but I know I’ve had that down-slope to help me.

Mile 2, 2:12, another 30 seconds gained. Pulse 142, power 218w. These are more like my “par” figures. Still feeling OK.

Mile 3, 2:55. That was tougher. MUCH tougher. No elevation to speak of, other metrics normal, but the wind was giving me a real buffeting by now. Similar for the next two miles, declining power and splits in the 2:55-2:59 range. Five miles on the clock but I’d not reached the turn yet. My early gains were now gone (13:25 to this point), breathing hard, this has got difficult in a hurry!

On the outward leg I passed the finishing line, looked down to see 1.72 miles on the clock. Aha! Half of that is 0.88 miles so that means the turn comes at 5.88 miles. Jeff is seven minutes up the road and he’s quicker than me. Those seven minutes will be worth almost three miles for him. So that means we’ll pass each other with around 4.38 miles on my clock. I look up, can’t see him, then suddenly he’s there. We pass with my clock on 4.40 — he must be going well.

None of this stuff matters, it just goes to show the different world I go into when riding these events. It’s a distraction from the pain but it’s probably also a distraction from the concentration I need.

Enough of that, let’s get to the turn! Oh no, there’s a slope ahead. I’ve never been a climber. It didn’t look like a hill earlier, but now it seems like one. And it shows. Plus the wind seems particularly hard now. Mile 6 takes me to and through the turn. It also take 4:06, which is a HUGE deficit on the target time. Some massive recoveries are needed over the last four miles.

Mile 7, 2:15. It’s good but I need another three like that. It wasn’t to be. The remainder were all in the 2:39-2:42 range. Finishing time 27:45.

Limped back two miles to the car, just keen to get back to the HQ. Felt like I’d been battered for 30 minutes. I’m nowhere near my form of last year, can’t expect to be after the winter I’ve had. This was a very good hard training ride.

Back at the HQ we were met by a friendly bunch from Ludlow CC who treated us to some gorgeous cakes and coffee. Many of the entrants had been put off by the weather warnings, only sixteen riders taking to the start. That’s OK, more cake for us!

Best of all, I was very grateful to receive advice from the organiser who pointed out that my saddle was WAY too low. He’d watched me from one of the junctions and observed my dreadful riding position, noting how the low saddle was causing my knees to flare out. Hardly the most aerodynamic set-up. The usual caveats applied — make the changes gradually, adjust other things to take account of the new height. Wise words of course, but that was enough for me. I’d just done a 27:45, my slowest 10-mile ride for five years, but I came away with a spring in my step and a keenness to get back to a midweek ride with Port Talbot Wheelers!

For Jeff it was a 25:05. About a minute down on his times on the R10/22a, but this was a slightly slower course and very blustery day.

My thanks to Dover Disney and all at the Ludlow Cycling Club. It was great to meet some new friends — we’ll be back to see you all soon.