Bike ride to Bournemouth

I must admit that I was a little apprehensive before joining Teri and her colleagues for a bike ride to Bournemouth. They are all in training for a weekend of cycling in France and have been doing some serious training miles, but Teri reckoned that I’d be able to keep up with them.

It was a bright and sunny day when we joined Teri near Beaulieu Road Station in the New Forest.

Teri snapped some photos of us arriving where she was waiting.

I was confident that I would be OK for the first leg of the ride but was conscious that I needed to save some energy for the afternoon.

Morning coffee stop

We stopped for a morning coffee break at the Beachcomber Care in Barton-on-Sea (New Milton). I ate a snack bar that I had with me but decided not to buy anything else to eat. However, I did drink a delicious hot chocolate.

Lunch in Bournemouth

It was then a short ride to our main destination: Bournemouth. What we hadn’t realised was that it was the annual Race for Life 5k and 10k event, so the area was very busy. We managed to make our way down to the seafront where we had chips at Harry Ramsden’s.

There was just enough time for some photos!

It was a beautiful day, so Teri stopped and took some pictures of the sea views.

Afternoon ice-cream?

I was starting to feel tired by the afternoon and was not cycling as quickly as I had been. Some of the others were also flagging and some riders needed a ‘comfort break’. We stopped by an ice-cream van, but no-one actually wanted an ice-cream.

Teri had more energy than me as she has been riding more, so she cycled ahead and snapped some more pictures.

I had been considering cycling out to meet Teri and her colleagues and cycling home, but I had been concerned that it would be too far. In the end, I think that was a wise decision as I was shattered by the time I stopped. There were a few hills in the last section that I found tough. They’ve reminded me how much training I need to do before Castle to Coast and RideLondon. I’d better plan another bike ride or two!

Have you got any long cycling events lined up? How’s your training going?

What have I been reading recently?

Build it and they will bike: the Bicycle Architecture Biennale – in pictures