I quite fancy having a go at a European End to End but two things stand in my way:- I'm quite old now and, always a lightweight, I'm out of practice.
I have a crude plan in mind, essentially three successive SaddleSores, but haven't carried out any detailed planning at all. A sensible-sounding first step is to ride a SS to see if I can still do it. I made a crude plan, home to Perth (Scotland) and back but not enough miles so home, Exeter, Perth and back, 1100 miles. I decided to do it on Thursday when other bits of my life were quiet, leaving "when I get up".
Despite it being November, well before sunrise, I decided that summer gloves and summer buff would be fine. I corrected that mistake at Exeter.
Riding north, I figured that, if I got to Perth in daylight or not long after, I'd be fine to ride back home arriving between midnight and 2am.
Obviously that didn't work out because Scotland is further north than England, d'uh, and the sun sets earlier up there. I've always found it depressing to be riding west into Wales or north into Scotland when it's already cold and dark, knowing that I'm only doing it in order to turn round and ride back again when it'll be even colder and darker.
My age is no longer measured by counting trips around the sun, it's measured by the number of times I use the phrase "I don't care". When I reached Hamilton (Scotland) an hour after dark with 60 miles left to go, I don't care won the argument and I found a comfortable bed for the night.
On Friday I rode home from Hamilton (Perth just isn't that exciting) with my odo reporting trip mileage of 1025.
So lessons learned:- PLAN THE RIDE!
My first thought when I called the ride was "I'm too old and useless for this, time to do other things, crochet perhaps" but on reflection I realised that I'd simply neglected the planning.
I should have trimmed the route properly. I only needed to reach Hamilton, not Perth. I should have paid attention to actual, local, sunset time and timed my departure to fit in better. I should also have reminded myself about the "I don't like" part of after dark. Riding home in the dark is a completely different matter, I have excellent lights and riding home is always faster and easier than riding away.
I haven't yet decided whether or not the End to End is on but my next SaddleSore will be planned in much greater detail.
I have a crude plan in mind, essentially three successive SaddleSores, but haven't carried out any detailed planning at all. A sensible-sounding first step is to ride a SS to see if I can still do it. I made a crude plan, home to Perth (Scotland) and back but not enough miles so home, Exeter, Perth and back, 1100 miles. I decided to do it on Thursday when other bits of my life were quiet, leaving "when I get up".
Despite it being November, well before sunrise, I decided that summer gloves and summer buff would be fine. I corrected that mistake at Exeter.
Riding north, I figured that, if I got to Perth in daylight or not long after, I'd be fine to ride back home arriving between midnight and 2am.
Obviously that didn't work out because Scotland is further north than England, d'uh, and the sun sets earlier up there. I've always found it depressing to be riding west into Wales or north into Scotland when it's already cold and dark, knowing that I'm only doing it in order to turn round and ride back again when it'll be even colder and darker.
My age is no longer measured by counting trips around the sun, it's measured by the number of times I use the phrase "I don't care". When I reached Hamilton (Scotland) an hour after dark with 60 miles left to go, I don't care won the argument and I found a comfortable bed for the night.
On Friday I rode home from Hamilton (Perth just isn't that exciting) with my odo reporting trip mileage of 1025.
So lessons learned:- PLAN THE RIDE!
My first thought when I called the ride was "I'm too old and useless for this, time to do other things, crochet perhaps" but on reflection I realised that I'd simply neglected the planning.
I should have trimmed the route properly. I only needed to reach Hamilton, not Perth. I should have paid attention to actual, local, sunset time and timed my departure to fit in better. I should also have reminded myself about the "I don't like" part of after dark. Riding home in the dark is a completely different matter, I have excellent lights and riding home is always faster and easier than riding away.
I haven't yet decided whether or not the End to End is on but my next SaddleSore will be planned in much greater detail.
.