Isle of Wight - Review

The last ride of the season - and what a way to finish off the season before I head to Cuba, off course..!

Stayed over at Ryde and chose a starting point near to the hotel. Nothing to brag about the hotel (Abingdon lodge hotel). Quite expensive to any comparable hotel and the service was well below par (no one to man the desk for almost the entire day on Sunday..!) The only positives to come from this chapter would be the decent breakfast and the opportunity to sleep before the ride.

Was at the starting point by 8:30 - smallbrook stadium. Swiftly pass the registration and off the saddle before 9 am. We were given a map and asked to follow the bicycle signs all over the island. It was then I realised that this was not the usual marshaled, sign posted, tailor made route, but this was a normal round the island route we had to follow. In other words this route could be replicated anytime of the year. All we had to was to follow the bicycle signs (blue bicycle with white background indicates clockwise and white on blue is anti clockwise) and reach back where we started.

A great read - The Rules

The Rules..

Top picks :

Rule 12:
The minimum number of bikes one should own is three.  The correct number is n+1, where n is the number of bikes currently owned.  This equation may also be re-written as s-1, where s is the number of bikes owned that would result in separation from your partner.

Rule 37: The arms of the eyewear shall always be placed over the helmet straps.  No exceptions.  We don't know why, its just the way it is.

London Duathlon (Review)

Well, this was the most anticipated event, ever since i was bitten by the triathlon bug last month. Since i am not a keen swimmer, this was a perfect opportunity for me to push  myself in the two disciplines i love doing - Running and Riding..

The day itself was picture perfect - Clear blue skies dotted with pure white clouds. Picture a perfect sunny day , and today was such a day. 

This day being the only day in the year when Richmond park is closed for vehicular movement, the traffic near the park was quite heavy. But once inside, it was very well organized, except for the bit where in we had to carry our bikes over a temporary bridge, although the view from the top of the bridge was quite spectacular as as the riders and runners went past us below, with the park in the back ground. Apart from that the only other criticism i would have would be the dearth of stalls (only a couple of Maxifuel stalls and 2 other sporting equipment stall) and no Goodie bag at the end of the event.! :(. Being a global event (as i think it is) it was nowhere near the the sheer amount of publicity and stalls that were prevalent at the London Triathlon this year, although the triathlon is definitely a much bigger event as such.

London - Windsor (review)

A fantastic ride. A starked improvement in the ride level as well as the organisation from Bike-Events. Much more refreshments areas,in fact too many perhaps. But on the whole a fun day. 

Costume Spotted : A man in a spider man costume.

Ride Facts : total distance cycled - 50 miles (from home and back)

Ride completed in - 2Hr 30Min

Average Speed - 15 Miles/hour

(In depth review in due course..)