This Sunday, our leader Nana had decided, was the four-hour day. ‘Getting your body used to the idea of a long time in the saddle,’ he said. ‘Not till those padded shorts arrive from UK’, I thought.
We were passed on today’s 92 km spin by a donkey hauling six bags of cement and two full-grown passengers. Our average speed over the journey was 21 km/h and the average when moving was 27 km/h. The donkey’s we didn’t measure. These are the trip data that today’s leader Nana and I exchanged over our end-of-training coffees at La Parisienne, Fajara. ‘GPS bores!’
We were hardly out of Sanyang, travelling south along the open coast-road to Gunjur, when rumbling in the cycle frame announced ‘flat tyre’. This was my third puncture since starting this new cycling fad a month ago. Our leader seemed to think it was rather too many: I was either being greedy or something was wrong - perhaps in the rim? As four bikers examined the rim and tyre in forensic detail, the donkey and cart passed by. Two cultures fleetingly in the same frame. Eventually, after Captain Nana had prised out a tiny sliver of glass from the tyre, and the inner-tube had been replaced, we raced on - leaving the donkey and its load far behind.
No falls today. Yesterday we had two – both caused by wheels in the close pack touching, unbalancing the rear rider. Terry says, ‘Focus on the small of the back of the person in front.’ But ‘in front’ measures only half a metre, and barely a second. So much concentration needed!
Most of the regular Sand-to-Sea riders are away now for Christmas. They’ll be too busy with Christmas traditions and feasting to be out on four-hour training spins. Personally, I’m looking forward to padded shorts and a new pump in my Christmas stocking.
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