Adventures in Modern Cycling No. 10: The Gridiron 100k Randonnee'...

I did it...
It took me five hours...
The weather was boring. Grey sky, occasional drizzle and a head wind to make the last few miles a little more grueling than necessary...

I encountered the following livestock:

• Donkeys.
• Horses.
• Pigs.
• Sheep.
• Cows.

The strangest bicycle on the ride:
It was manufactured by the Saint Etienne Bicycle Company. The strange bit about this bike, rider aside, is the gearing. Two gears, pedal forward for the high gear, pedal backward for the low gear. I found it truly disturbing to watch this bike being ridden up hill.

At the checkpoints I ate the following biscuits:

• 1 Custard Cream
• 2 Two Digestives
• 2 Bourbons

Washed down with coffee..
A brief over-view of each stage:
Stage 1: Boldre - Hyde. Not as bad as I thought.
Stage 2: Hyde - Colbury. I'm surprised at how well I'm doing.
Stage 3: Colbury - Boldre. Arrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrggggg the pain...

The pleasant aspects of the ride:

• The many, many compliments the 'Dobson' attracted.
• The general bonhomie of all the participants.
• The organisation by C.T.C. Wessex who run the event.
• The donkeys with 'pudding-bowl' fringes.
• Finishing.

The most impressive riders (to me at least) were the ones who turned up on 'fixies'.
Truly they are super-beings.

I'm going to put the Dobson away now till the new season starts next year.
Will I do this ride again.?
Hmmmm... Tricky question...