Exmouth Exodus

Rode the inaugural Exmouth Exodus last night - a 101-mile bike ride from Bristol to Exmouth. We finished in 7:06, average speed 14.2mph, which is a nice rolling pace for that sort of distance.

We left across the Clifton Suspension Bridge at 10:00 in parade formation. Out of Bristol I immediately got a flat, my second of the day. Bah, a friend gave me puncture cooties! Hooray for spares and insty-patches.

Off into the night we rolled, snaking around until we reached the first climb. It was great: hard, but measured and controlled: the first big climb where I've really felt that I was managing my work rather than just trying to get up it. Total sweat-fest. Thick mist at the top, then the descent of Cheddar Gorge. Fan-bloody-tastic, six miles of gradually-steepening switchy road with looming cliffs on either side. Took it totally hell-for-leather, all lights (and my groovy wheel lights) blazing, flicking the bike around like a motorcycle. Ended with a grin like a fox eating shit off a wire brush Very Happy

On across the Levels to the midway tea stop, by which time we were feeling a bit grey. Tea and snacks helped and we set off for the next climb at 04:30 after a bit of navigation fun ("no, *that* left!"). This one wasn't so good: I'd spent my energy a bit too freely early on and was reduced to cursing in the granny gear. Up on top there was a plateau that took forever to cross - I don't get on with totally flat roads - before another fun switchy descent through dawn woods. About now my knees were starting to pack in, your standard joint overuse worries.

The next bit was a blur as I was falling asleep - literally, jolted awake once by the bike trying to fall over! Scary stuff. Last climb: up onto Woodbury and everyone was slower.

At the top of Woodbury, we could see the sea, and that gave everyone new legs. The last eight miles were grimly silent before arriving, I dropped off the back of our bunch and had to mentally fight the knees on the way to the end. We got to the seafront and the arrivée cafe just after 07:00, ordered tea, fell asleep at our tables, and then ate American-sized mega-breakfasts while the sun burned off the dawn grey into a beautiful morning.

Good ride. Harder than the Dunwich Dynamo. More satisfying as a ride, less as a bit of street theatre. Knees will need strapping and anti-inflammatories, all of which I've done many times before. And my wheel-lights stayed together!

So that makes two centuries this year, a personal record. Very happy.