Third time lucky…

The route (CLICK TO VIEW)

As a way of staying motivated to ride longer distances through the winter I am riding a Randonneur every month. This is a ride of a minimum of 200km in twelve consecutive months. Riding from November to February is particularly difficult. The start and finish of the ride are likely to be in the dark. Weather is often bad. Riding in cold temperatures with strong wind is arduous. Road conditions are bad – lots of mud and gravel and this year floods. Winter conditions are hard on the rider but also hard on the bike so mechanical problems are more likely.

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That was hard…and I don’t care who knows it.

On Saturday I rode an Audax DIY 100k.  It was a very hilly route so I get some AAA points to keep my AAA RTY going. (This basically means doing a hilly enough ride every month – RTY means Round The Year).  I use these little challenges as motivators to keep my riding going, especially through the winter months.  A combination of the route, weather, and road conditions made this a very tough ride.  In the second half of the ride I could have chosen an easier, flatter route but I doggedly stuck to my plan and completed all of the hills.  The elevation profile speaks for itself.

Today’s elevation profile

The weather forecast wasn’t good, but life’s too short to wait for a perfect day so I decided to go anyway.

Setting off from home

Fill That Hole

Today was very windy with frequent heavy showers. I decided a short ride was in order and set out along the B3157 which was blissfully empty as it is closed until March 28th.

The empty B3157 coast road

Right in the Piddle

After a break for the Festive Season I was ready to get out on my bike but after Christmas came the storms and the floods.

The South West was hit hard by strong winds which generated huge waves.

Storm waves on the Dorset coast