The Quatro, Crash Bang Wallop

This week has been mixed. I had a relatively lazy week with only one turbo session as I tapered for the Quatro Sportif on Sunday.
The Sportif was my longest planned ride yet at 82 miles. I was a little nervous even before I got to the start and was confronted by 200 or so seemingly serious cyclists with all the gear etc, some of the local cycle clubs had teams out so for some it was actually a training run rather than a sportif.
I set off in a group of 20 with a few colleagues from work but less than a minute in one of them had a chain come off so I slowed up to wait for him and never saw the other 17 or so again.
The route was pleasant enough, having started in Wollaston we headed across Northamptonshire and down towards Olney, Milton Keynes and then turned back toward Bedford. Initially I was OK on the flat but kept getting left behind on the hills. It was fairly clear where the fitter riders strengths were; I just had to stick to my plan and rather than getting carried away and trying to stay with the others just use the lower gears to make sure I didn’t blow out too early on the trip and let them go on ahead.
As we got towards Milton Keynes I was enjoying the ride but I was feeling a bit out of rhythm, I was cycling with another rider and I think he was just a little too slow for me so I just eased away and found my normal cadence. I found this much more comfortable and my breathing was much more stable.
After 30 miles or so we had our first food break, a nice set up with a service tent and loads of food. I had about 10 minutes and caught up with a couple of colleagues who had left me behind about 10 miles back. The restart wasn’t as bad as I feared and I was soon back into my rhythm, and the next 20 odd miles soon went by.
As we got to 55 miles or so I started to have a few shoulder issues and some pins and needles in my hands. This was the first time I had experienced this and I put it down to particularly bad roads with lots of rough tarmac and pot holes, but it does tell me I need to do some work on my shoulder strength.
The second food stop was at Kimbolton at about 60 miles; I was really comfortable and was quietly confident that with the exception of my shoulders I would have a strong last 20 miles. However as I pulled out of the station the wind was right into my face and it was a really tough pull along the valley back towards Rushden.
After about 5 miles I came a right cropper, I’m not exactly sure what happened but I think I was doing some arm stretches and at some point lost control of the front wheel which turned hard right and I went straight out the front door at about 15mph.
I hit the ground really hard and it took me about 2 minutes to get up and back to my feet, even then I had double vision, something I’ve never had before, I actually thought that my sunglasses were scratched and effecting my vision but I took them off and it made no difference! Another cyclist came to my rescue and stayed with me until I was able to remount. I have to say I was very sore and it took some time before I was able to get back in the saddle.
The last 15 miles were tough, the fall had banged me up pretty bad and my left shoulder and hip were very sore, but my friendly co-rider stayed with me, gave me pain killers and between us we managed to get home, not an easy feat when it seemed to be head on into the wind all the way.
The finish couldn’t come quickly enough but I’m really pleased I did it, not only because it’s the furthest I’ve been so far but also because I have proved I can get back on even when in pain which is what I will have to do In Canada as there is no way out.
After the ride I noticed my helmet had cracked and there were some stone sized holes in the side, I must have hit my head quite hard so it goes to show the value of wearing a helmet. I’ll need to get new one.
The trip home was interesting; by the time I arrived on the front drive I had stiffened up and was really sore. The family were all at the house and helped me unload the car, run a cold bath, get me changed whilst I just tried to keep mobile, fed up on a great roast dinner and took drugs to help with the pain.
As I write this on Monday morning I am still a tad stiff, my thigh has a large bump on it and walking is to say the least a challenge but my back and shoulder have eased a little. Overall though, despite the fall, I am really pleased with yesterdays ride, I felt strong and was comfortable and with a few shoulder exercises 100 miles shouldn’t be too much of a problem. And as Zoë reminded me this morning at least I wasn’t sleeping on a pad in a tent last night!