This was a Sportive I was really looking forward to doing along with many others from SWNC, my friend Gina was joining us too so I knew it would be a fun day out,especially as good weather was predicted for the day.

Little did we know it was going to be such an Epic ride but not due to the distance !!

It started with Epic queues to get into the car park, then Epic queues to get signed on, but that did not dampen our moods as we excitedly  set off on the Epic 70 mile route.

The first 40 miles was a  great ride along some nice quiet scenic roads and then we arrived at the Reedham Ferry and saw the mega Epic queue and it all went down hill from there 🙁

The estimated queuing time for the Ferry was 2 hours !! we tried to work a way round it but there was none, unless like Gina you could just ride home. Gina was sad to leave us but she made the right decision as she was home before we even got on the ferry.

After such a long wait I was feeling very cold, and found it really hard to get going again, we had all lost a little of our enthusiasm too, which made the next 10 miles really tough , then we all seemed to perk up and  I thought only another 20 miles and we shall be done and have our medals and a beer.

But that was not to be, as by the time we finished they had run out of Medals, how that can happen I am not really sure unless you have been greedy and let more people register on the day.

None of us could be bothered to go for a beer either as the 2 hour ferry wait had made it a long day, so a disappointing end to what could and should of been a great day

They did say they would post our medals and I admit that I didn’t believe they would but 3 weeks after the event I have my medal………. and its a real Epic one 🙂

Its been a year now since Geoff bought me my bike, he was preparing to go off on his travels and I was wondering what I would do with myself,so the bike came along to help me fill my time, little did either of us know how much it would change my life 🙂

Soon after getting my bike I joined SWNC for a club ride, which almost killed me, I still remember getting home and lying on the kitchen floor thinking I might die !! but that one ride had me hooked and I was determined to keep going and to conquer them Norfolk hills, yes there are hills in Norfolk !!

Luckily the club was very friendly ,helpful and full of encouragement even though I moaned at them sometimes when I struggled to keep up 🙁 but this just made me more determined and I pushed myself harder and harder as I loved this social group riding.

Then I discovered the Bike Sportives , the first one I did was the Wiggle No Excuses, riding with a small group and my friend Gina the atmosphere was fantastic and  I loved every second.

Needless to say I could not wait to do one of these events with Geoff and I finally managed to do the Boudicca with him after he returned from another mega trip 

So far this year I have done five Sportives and have two more booked  I have also been to Rutland twice and conquered the Rutland Alps and done four 100 mile rides. Amazingly I have also been to mallorca and loved biking up those long slow climbs.

A grand total of 3300 miles biked in one year, with my biggest climb being 1793 ft and my longest ride has been 106.

Geoff is now preparing to go off and bike down the Elbe River and although I still feel distraught when he goes away I know I wont be too lonely because I have my lovely bike, biking friends and Sunday Club rides to look forward too….. oh and I have that half Marathon to train for !!!

I booked to do the Boudicca sportive after enjoying the wiggle no excuses so much and I thought a local 100 miles would be a good step up from 80 🙂

It was also a good opportunity to do an event with Geoff, who has recently returned from his epic ride from Hanoi to Singapore, I was also desperate to do some real riding with him.

When doing these events all you really ask for is good weather and we were blessed with the hottest day so far this year 🙂

We didn’t quite get the early start we had aimed for so at around 8am we lined up with a whole bunch of other riders from SWNC, we made an impressive sight all in our lovely new club jerseys.

Starting off in such a large group made it a very fast start and in fact Geoff got carried away by another group,it took me almost 40 miles of riding before I caught him up, by which time he was well and truly in the doghouse !!

After the first feed station, where we re-fuelled on bananas, malt loaf, cheddars and fig rolls, the group thinned out as the 100 milers took the route out to Thornham.

The ride to Thornham was very enjoyable although a few of the roads were less than comfortable to ride on, it was nice to chat to other riders as we passed, most commenting on my very matching bike and gear, once seen never forgotten !!

Soon we had covered the 69 miles and arrived at feed station 2, this was not so good as most of the food had gone and I actually could not drink the energy drink provided, it was just not to my liking 🙁 this was not a major problem though as I still had some of my own energy drink and an energy bar to see me to feed station 3.

I had the feeling not many slower riders did the 100 mile as other riders were very thin on the ground between 69 miles and the 3rd feed station at 88 miles, where It was very disappointing to find that they had completely ran out of food here but again we had a gel to see us through to the end.

By this time we knew the actual mileage was going to be 106, nothing to bother us but we did pass the information on to a few people so it didn’t come as too much of a surprise to them.

Amazingly we finished with a moving time of 6hr 50 making it 15.5 avg speed for 106 miles,

Got to be happy with that 🙂