HCMF Meet at Bartley Heath.
The Gridiron 2017.
Sunday 8th October.
I was very happy to complete this year's Gridiron. It was the ninth time I have ridden it in ten years.
At the start I met Tessa and two of the riders who were on my Dutch holiday earlier this year. After a few miles I teamed up with a young lady, Melissa. I gave her some advice & she tucked in behind me until the first checkpoint, it was nice to have her company. Riding at a gentle pace I was constantly being passed by other riders including many Alton riders sporting their Owen's jersies. Later I met Tessa a couple of times and also Freja, Frank, Janice and Dan at the two checkpoints.
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| St Leonards Barn Ruins |
There were many animals on the roads so we had to take care. There were many ponies, cows, pigs and sheep. I spotted a couple of buzzards and at St. Leonards the jackdaws were roosting and nesting in the old barn ruins.
It was quite cool at first, but the day was gradually warming up with the sun coming out so I dispensed with my cap, arm & neck warmers. I decided that as I was not suffering any ill effects I would carry on. The middle section was the hardest and I walked short distances on four hills. I could have done with some of the lower gears i have on some of my other bikes. Nevertheless I was happy with my choice, Paris, as he was so easy to ride elsewhere.
I chatted with two members of The Wanderers Club from the Isle of Wight asking them if the knew Hilary. They told me she was on the ride, but sadly I never met her.
The next 10 miles were much easier but when I got to Crow Hill I realised I needed to stop to feed and sat on a gravel bin by the side of the road watching the many other riders puffing up the hill. I ate a whole packet of Haribos. They gave me enough energy to follow the correct route round Burley, many other riders cheated going through the village. With just 6 miles to go I had another break, sitting on the grass at the side of the road, once more giving the thumbs up to riders coming past as they asked if I was OK. There was certainly a great camaraderie amongst nearly all of the field. There were a few who were in such a hurry that they squeezed past when it really wasn't safe.
By the time I got to Lymington I was pretty well exhausted and had to walk up the last hill to the check in.
Here I was greeted by Clyde, and his good lady, who seeing my distressed state went and got a cup of tea for me with two sugars! We chatted for about 20 mins while I recovered. As I went outside I heard a shout, it was Andrew & Simon who had just arrived. After a brief chat I headed for home.
This was the worst part of the day, I headed for Lyndhurst only to realise that this was a mistake queuing traffic for miles, I revised my route and went via Beaulieu, later on the motorway more jams so I went through Eastleigh & Twyford and was home in about 1 hr 20 Mins. (I did message Andrew to advise he should avoid Lyndhurst.)
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| Neck Wear |
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| Musette & Water Bottle. |
This year
the Wessex
CTC presented goodies at the finish, now I know why the price had
gone up to ten pounds.
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| Medal & Carnet. |
I had a nice arm bath when I got home then collapsed in front of the telly. This morning apart from feeling a little tired I am thankfully very well.
Happy cycling to you all who enjoy it.
Gridironman.
