5 am is a dark time and Mark seems puzzled to be on his bike at such a time in the morning.  As we left Aylesbury we were in high spirits and were not put off by the task ahead. As we rolled out of Aylesbury we were daunted by how dark it truly was as we left the street light behind we had our eyes out on stalks trying to see the road ahead, periodically being blinded by the oncoming traffic which must of been surprised to see us. 

Our route into Oxford had us finding one of the only local climbs which coincided with the first light of the day. We quickly left Oxford behind and headed for the A34. After an hour and forty minutes of riding we met our support car for the first stop and quickly replenished our bottles and food supplies.

We made good time on the A34 not meeting to much traffic and taking advantage of the smooth roads. The climbs over the Ridgeway gave us less trouble than anticipated. We arrived at Newbury 20 minutes ahead of schedule here we made the second stop of the morning for more drinks and snacks. Newbury was a third of the way through the route and we were both pleased to be ahead of schedule and off of the busy dual carriageways.

As we started to head out to Andover I started to feel a dip in my riding form and hoped this would pass and after climbing the first of the big hills of the day at 14% incline my legs had come back to me and we both entered Andover in good form. We made steady progress through to our lunch stop at Middle Wallop

Our lunch was a brief half hour but we were entertained by some helicopters taking off from the Army base. From this point the terrain changed from here there was no more flat riding for the next 75 miles.

Salisbury was the next big town to pass through we passed through with ease and quickly took in the climb out to our next stop for drink and food. We now had 20 or so miles to go till Blanford. The roads were quite open and twisty and Mark found some locals in a tractor and he eagerly gave chase for the next five miles much to the bemusement of the small child watching him following them up the climbs. Not being able to keep the pace with Mark I had a little laugh to myself as Mark and the tractor began to back the traffic up and I began to find myself surrounded by cars.

The next stop was Cashmoor which was at the 100 mile point and we were able to de layer to shorts for the first time in the day.  From here we had a nasty head wind which would stick with us for the rest of the ride.

Blanford came round quite quickly but buy now we just seemed to be always climbing and never really descending, who knew you had to ride up hill to the coast? Of course Mark was in his element but I was finding it tough going and was looking forward to the decent into Weymouth. After a few more climbs and a few small villages we made our way onto the A35 and we were back onto dual carriageway. As Mark surge forward I suddenly hit the wall and I rapidly slowed down and was beginning to find it very hard going. Mark made the last refill stop a long way ahead of me and I slowly rolled in a long time later in desperate need of sugar. Not wanting to be defeated so close I took a rest and then followed mark down into Weymouth. I meet him and the bottom of Portland hill where we made our way up in thick mist and like on all hills mark danced away and I watched as the mist engulfed him. At the top of the mile long climb I was down to the last two miles to the Bill and I was determined to catch some time back on Mark but it never happened and I rolled to the end of the road buy the lighthouse with Mark already looking like he was ready to ride back home!

The ride was completed in one day - 150 odd miles being completed in under 10hours!

Thank you to all those who supported us on the day, as well as everyone who helped organise such a fantastic fundraiser. A big thanks also to all of you who donated money towards our ambitious £1000 target (were nearly there!). One more big shout of thanks also has to go to Mountain Mania Cycles of Tring who made sure our bikes kept rolling problem free.

For photos from the event visit our gallery click here

Chris
bucksmtb.co.uk Team XC Rider
 

Somewhere enroute. Chris leading Mark


Ah the smaller quiet country lanes. Mark left, Chris right


Finish! Mark and Chris at Portland bill, 150miles in under 10hours!




For more photos from the event visit our gallery click here