Good job I'm northern

Rapha Condor Recycling.co.uk's Ben Greenwood has been recovering from injury and rode the Tour of Wessex in May.

Ben's Diary
After about 4 months of waiting I was finally ready to take part in a proper event. Due to the Premier Calendar race being cancelled, the Tour of Wessex was run as a 3 day sportif based on the town of Castle Cary in Somerset.

After an epic 6 hours drive, which involved getting lost in Bristol, I arrived at the race HQ. Despite being an hour late I still easily beat my companion for the weekend, Matt Rowe, who got lost in the ‘Bristol triangle’.

Using Matt’s brand new Sat Nav we set off to find our accommodation. Unknown to us it was having an off day and took us to completely the wrong place. Eventually we found the house. Ready for food we headed to the local pub and soon realised we had entered a new world. Despite not owning a Ferrari or know anything about Polo or Royal Ascot we kept our cool and tried not to look too out of place, although even wearing Rapha clothing we were still seriously underdressed.

Day 1: Sportif Virgins
Somerset and Wiltshire 95 miles (153km)

And so it began. We were both excited about riding our first ever sportif and showing a bit of inexperience arrived a bit late.

The start was from 8.30 – 9.30 but we didn’t realise all the good riders would set off at 8.30. Eventually after much faffing we started at around 9.15 and immediately began to catch riders. The early part of the route consisted of many steep climbs. One of them looked more like a war zone with riders falling off, fixing broken bikes or weaving all over the road.

Not wishing to appear too keen Matt and I went for the old school technique of riding side by side half-wheeling each other. We stopped at the second feed for drinks, fig rolls and a hand full of jelly babies before enjoying the super fast descent through Cheddar Gorge.

One minute we were in the middle of nowhere, the next it was like riding through Disney land, the Gorge certainly attracts the tourists. The route then become much flatter, which pleased Matt briefly until we turned in to a horrendous crosswind which left us wanting to be in the hills again.

The last 10 miles were spent suffering in silence into the wind with about 20 guys sat behind chatting away. We made sure we dropped them on the last climb as punishment.

Day 2: Strength in numbers
Somerset and Dorset 103 miles (166km)

Day two and by now we were experienced sportif riders and were much slicker in our pre ride preparations. While eating breakfast in the hall, riders kept coming up to us asking to be in our group. Perfect we thought, we can sit behind them all day.

The ride started in rain at a pace similar to a Premier Calendar. This lasted until we hit the climbs after which point most of the other were exhausted. The route took us to the coast and provided some fantastic views. The rain cleared up, but the strong headwind back made the legs hurt. Matt was suffering with pain in his knee and decided to take it easy from the last feed leaving me and my new found friends to smash each other to the finish. After a tough day we relaxed by watching Gladiators in the evening.

Day 3: Where’s my wetsuit?
Somerset 95 miles (155km)

When I looked out the window in the morning it was pouring it down. When I started the ride it was pouring it down. When I finished, yep you’ve guessed it. Luckily the organiser took pity on us souls and decided the apocalyptic conditions were a good reason to shorten the route from 130 to 95 miles.

Matt had decided his knee need a rest and made a quick escape back to Wales leaving me to uphold the honour of the Rapha Condor Recycling.co.uk boys. With a few of my group from the day before, we set out into the maelstrom.

The 1st climb soon sorted out the men from the boys and we spent the next 4 hours in a group of four trying to keep our spirits up. The climbs were seriously steep and I was wishing for a 25 but no matter how many times I tried to use it, it still wasn’t there. The last 20 miles or so were pretty flat and into a gale force wind. By this point my pals had suffered enough and left me to plough a lonely furrow while they sat behind.

The closer I got to the end, the faster I went, just wanting to end the suffering quicker. The finish came as a big relief and the cheese on toast and cake in the hall was much appreciated. All that remained now was a 5 hours drive home, but this time I managed to avoid the pull of the Bristol triangle and got out alive.

The Tour of Wessex was a fantastic event which will be a great race if the Premier is on net year. The scenery was amazing and the terrain is more than challenging. On a personal note it was good to get through the weekend without any pain, and so bring on the racing.

Many thanks to Nick Bourne for organising a super sportif, and to his family for their hospitality. And Matt for leaving me to ride in the rain for 5 hours on the last day while he kept dry and warm.

Good job I’m northern.

Benji