The Suffolk Spinner (C#22)

Sunday 17 July, 101 Miles

Today was another of those Sportives I’ve written about before. This one, The Suffolk Spinner, was more local to me and covered many of the roads that I regularly ride on. But starting from a different place (Otley College east of Ipswich) meant that the character of the ride was rather different. The event is one of the Cycling Weekly Series – I rode the inaugural one last year and quite enjoyed it. I’m feeling a tad lazy at the moment (you can find out why below) so here’s what the organisers had to say about it in their marketing blurb.

“The Cycling Weekly Suffolk Spinner proved successful in its first outing last year, so it’s back by popular demand. Exploring historic Suffolk by bike will be a pull for repeat visitors, and for newcomers to the sportive who want to experience the county’s rolling rural roads and short and punchy climbs. The tour through the series of scenic villages and swooping, free-flowing roads starts in Otley, before you head out in the direction of the coastal heaths on a long anti-clockwise loop through the region, passing through Wickham Market and soon reaching the quaint village of Orford and banks of the River Ore.

From then on, you’ll head north towards Saxmundham, not before taking a minute to stock up on energy drinks and foods at the first feed stop around the small village of Snape. Continuing to dart around the unspoilt Suffolk country lanes, you’ll pass over the enchanting old bridge at Snape Maltings, towards Dunwich, and from here you’ll notice the course straighten up as it takes to a series of Roman roads. Watch out for roaming peacocks as you head towards the old market town of Framlingham and back out onto the straight roads, which make up most of the rest of the course. With no major climbs to slow you, these long straights make for easy miles to tick off as you can go hard on the way back to ride HQ, where there will be a finisher’s medal and cheer waiting for you.”

A fairly accurate description in my view but I didn’t spot any roaming peacocks. Plenty of other enjoyable eye candy though. I managed to get in a small group with about ten other riders and we shared the work pretty well which meant we were able to maintain a good speed – even when riding into the moderate headwind.

There's a real buzz about riding in a group which shares the work. What we do is called ‘through and off or chain ganging’. Basically we ride in a line and each rider takes it in turn to ride on the front. When you’ve done your turn you pull out to the side and ease down to the back of the group re-joining the line at the end. As the lead rider pulls off the second rider ups the pace ever so slightly. In this way the group as a whole maintains a higher average speed. But the trick is for the front rider to avoid any temptation to speed up too much and blow others off the back. The riders in the line benefit from shelter and slipstreaming which can reduce the effort they need to keep pace by up to 20%. Great concentration is needed as you ride a mere few inches from the wheel in front of you. Get it right and there’s a real sense of flow and smoothness. Get it wrong and you are likely to hit the rider in front of you causing an almighty pile up. IF anyone’s interested in seeing how it’s done there’s a good video on the Interweb here.

Well, what we did today must have worked because I posted my fastest century time of the year so far – 5:21 for the 101 miles at an average speed of 18.9mph. That’s actual riding time i.e. excluding a stop at the feed station. There were actually three feed stations on the rout but we were making such good progress that we didn’t bother stopping at the first or the last. The elapsed time, i.e. including stops, should appear shortly when the organisers have collated the timing data. So, that's why I'm feeling a tad lazy. Recover time!

Deer and Denver (C#21)

Thursday 14 July, 104 Miles

Well there I was riding along in a world of my own. I was engaged in a little spot of virtual Taffy bonding when without any warning, a roe deer leaped out of the trees and landed right next to me. So close that if I had I twitched my left elbow we would have made contact. In that split second, which seemed like minutes, I thought I was about to hit the tarmac. I leaned frantically to the right in an attempt to gain space but expecting at any moment to be bumped off by a serious lump of venison. I don’t know who was more surprised – me or Bambi. But incredibly, Bambi leapt in the opposite direction back into the trees. So I escaped unscathed. Was this an omen for an “exciting” ride?

Anyway, back to the virtual Taffy bonding. By dint of my father’s family being Welsh as well as having lived in that glorious country for several years I consider myself to be a little more than an honorary Welshman. And I’m proud of it – anyone who studies my bike frames closely will realise that. So, the virtual Taffy bonding was with Geraint Thomas who yesterday excelled at the Tour de France with a great bit of riding in support of Chris Froome who was in the yellow jersey. The Froomedog had managed to get the jump on his rivals and gain a few precious seconds. G, as he is known, realised what was happening and after some really hard riding managed to close the gap on the breakaway and join in the fun and help his team leader. The effort of doing this, written across his face, was a vivid illustration of the commitment from a true professional.

By an amazing coincidence I just happen to be reading ‘The World of Cycling According to G’. This is not your usual cycling bio; instead G shares his views on all sorts of riding issues and also on some of the people he has ridden with. All with a good dose of G’s trademark humour. Here is a man who really seems to have his feet firmly in his pedals. I can think of a few other riders who could learn some lessons from G. So I say to my compatriot – “Cymru am byth! Boyo!!”

The focus for my ride today was Denver and that elusive sign (C#14). And following the recent trend I rode the route the other way round. Success too, I managed to find the sign and then after taking the obligatory photo set off southwards for a glorious ride across the Fens along the side of the River Great Ouse as far as Queen Adelaide. Now there’s a place name to conjure with. I’ll be back to find out more.

The riding, under blue skies with cotton wool white billowing clouds, was simply outstanding. A light tail wind meant that I maintained a steady speed before turning and riding gradually eastwards back to the Brecks and home. Once again I found the immense scale of the fenland landscape simply breath taking as I could see for miles and miles in every direction.

All too soon I was back on ‘home ground’ and reflecting on a great day’s riding. And thankfully no more encounters with Bambi either.

Into Horseracing Country (C#20)

Thursday 7 July, 115 Miles

With the prospect of a reasonable day’s weather the chance to ride two consecutive centuries was just too hard to resist. So I decided to head over to East Cambridgeshire and ride round the heart of horseracing country in the vicinity of Newmarket. And taking a leaf out of yesterday’s ride I decided to follow my ‘usual’ route in reverse. Two things soon became apparent.

Firstly, although there wasn’t much wind today there was a breeze that was noticeable. Quite pleasant in terms of keeping me cool but strong enough to just register and give my legs a little bit more to contend with. This meant that the longer, outward part of the ride was going to be mostly into the wind. The plus being that towards the end I should have the benefit of a slight tailwind.

The second thing I noticed was that when I originally rode the route the other way round I must have added in quite a few loops and twists to get the total mileage up to the required hundred. So this meant that after an hour’s riding I was still fairly close to home. But gradually the distance built up and I was eventually south west of Bury St Edmunds and heading for the horseracing countryside around Newmarket.

The landscape in this area is quite unique. There are numerous stud farms and the fields, when you can see them behind well-manicured hedges are usually double fenced often with, no doubt, expensive horseflesh grazing serenely within. Everywhere has a looked after and tidy feel – so tidy that it’s unnatural. The estate mansions are discretely located, usually not visible from the road, and their entrances are barred by often ornate high security gates. Occasionally there is a guard house complete with a security guard to discourage nosey parkers such as passing cyclists. From time to time signs appear to announce a particular stud farm. I can’t think of anywhere else in England like this. The air positively reeks with the smell of money. Even the road surfaces are unusually smooth and free of potholes. Do I like it? Mmm, I’m not sure. But I do appreciate the contrast which, to my mind at least, makes me appreciate our more natural countryside even more.

One of the great things about this ride is the opportunity to enjoy a bit of gentle hill climbing in the rolling countryside. So I ride up and down, back and forth rarely following a straight line – a bit like a yacht tacking – and pick out a series of climbs to stretch my muscles and give my lungs a bit of a workout. And it’s really invigorating too in the warm sun. All too soon I am approaching the fringes of Cambridge so it’s time to turn north east and head over to a friend’s house for a coffee and a gossip.

Then, with the benefit of a tail wind, I make fairly rapid progress back towards Bury and home. On the way I pass Ampton Hall. This is a fine house, built in a sort of Jacobean style, after the original hall burnt down in 1885. The entrance to the hall boasts some rather ornate gates. Passing the hall is a milestone as it means that I now have less than ten miles to reach home – unless I go off piste as it were.

So today I can celebrate two milestones. Twenty centuries completed; one third of my goal. And with 115 miles ridden, the longest century ride of the series – so far. Oh, and when I got home I found out that Cav had won his third stage of this year’s Tour. I’m all made up as they say!