Fitness - what fitness?

Yesterday I went out with M for the first ride in the UK since I did the Audax in July. The weather was supposed to be sunny and 19 degrees, but at 8:30 AM it was foggy. Whilst we did encounter sunny spots during the ride I kept my waterproof on the whole ride.

I was on the Specialized Roubaix Expert. It was a brand new replacement frame compliments of the insurance company and Specialized after I accidentally dropped the old one and the carbon crossbar smashed against a step writing it off. This was the first time out for the new frame.

We did 51 miles and I admit it, I was whopped by M (I wasn't just going slow to make him feel good).

After 40 miles we reached Mont Box and I had to climb up the Hill at between 5 and 6 mph in my easiest gear (and I was riding a triple) and was overtaken by anyone and everyone. After tea M rubbed it in by sprinting back along Epsom Race Course and along the A217 between Banstead crossroads and Cheam with me struggling behind wheel sucking when I could (and there were times where I dropped off and M had to stop and wait for me).

I can forgive him as by the time I got to the top of Box Hill he was at the front of the long coffee queue (meaning I didn't have to queue up or wait any time for refreshment) and bought me a coffee and some sponge cake whilst I gulped down a gel.

When we left the Tea Shop at the top of the hill we passed an accident where one of the Kingston Wheelers Cycling Club had been in a collision with a car. The Police were in attendance and an ambulance had been called. He was lying in the road yelling about the excrutiating pain in his back. We wish him the best for his recovery and it definitely served as a reminder to us to ride carefully.

Changing the subject and talking about fashion and lycra (who was?), M and I followed two girls and a bloke for a few miles out of Cobham and up Hungry Hill (their red shirts said their sponsor was Optima, a tri club). One of the young ladies was well built (quite big built but muscled and toned, attractive in this case) but was wearing underwear under her lycra shorts. We couldn't believe the faux pas that’s why we had to follow behind her for so long to make sure we could believe our eyes.