Garmin Sharp Ride Out 2013
Here’s another of my blog posts that took me so long to write that I thought I’d better schedule it for a year from when it took place!
It all started when Stu’s dad forwarded us an email about the Garmin Sharp Ride Out. We think he’d received the email because he’d bought a sat nav for Stu’s sister, but we’re not sure. Anyway, we decided to fill out the online form and were surprised to find out sometime later that we’d both got places on the 50-mile ride. I felt quite nervous about it for two reasons. Firstly, because I’d never cycled 50 miles before. Secondly because of the date, which felt like an omen (Friday 13th!)
We had to get up early to get to Avon Tyrrell on time, but when we got there we found that many people had already arrived and were milling around the various stands. We signed in and bought some raffle tickets before heading over to the Garmin Vector stand. I was quite interested in the product, but I think my nerves were also starting to get the better of me. After standing for about 10 minutes, we had to leave as I started feeling very faint.
Interviews with pro cyclists
We headed into the marquee, which was a good decision as it wasn’t long before it started to pour. Not just a light shower, but really torrential rain that started to make me feel even more nervous as I’d never ridden my bike on wet roads before – eek!
As I’d not been feeling well, we found some seats so that I could sit down for a while. Shortly afterwards, our friend Andy (someone we met through karate) came and had a brief chat with us. He said he might join us out on the course later. I knew that I’d be so far behind that we would be unlikely to see him. Andy was volunteering at the vent, and he wrote a blog post about it later: http://www.cyclingactive.com/riding/garmin-ride-out-2013
The interviews with the cyclists were compèred by Dan Lloyd. He managed to pitch the questions at the right level (i.e. hardcore cyclists were interested enough without total novices like me feeling lost!)
Photos from my ride
Other blog posts about the Garmin Sharp Ride Out 2013
If you want to read about other people’s experiences at this event, check out these blog posts:
- http://www.stneotscyclingclub.info/the-club/members-exploits/290-garmin-sharp-ride-out-2013
- http://oldsite.southportcc.co.uk/SubPages/Various2013/Kevan_Evans_Garmin_UK.html
- http://www.fatcyclerider.co.uk/2013/09/garmin-sharp-ride-out-2013.html
- http://www.madeupname.co.uk/2013/09/garmin-ride-out-2013.html
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