Action 100: Then there were two...

Lizzie Woodall writes...

It's one more weekend until the Action 100 bike ride; a 115 mile route from Bristol to London.

Last weekend I thought it was high time I attempted my first 80 mile day ride in preparation for the big day.

So far I've accumulated five training partners, including my original compatriot Ally and my boyfriend Joe. One of Ally's friends dropped out at the last minute and so did another acquaintance. So Balthazar, a local bike mechanic in St Werberghs and a whizz on the steep climbs, became the final member.

The full length of the 85-mile circular Avon Cycleway, plus the journey to get to the route, clocked in at a rather lengthy 100 miles, which I did not want to do just yet.

So myself and my three training partners headed anti-clockwise via the Long Ashton and Barrow Gurney link roads, taking a short cut to pedal, by my estimations, a distance of 80 miles.

But before we had even reached the route, Balthazar stopped to fix two punctures, and by the third one, had to call a taxi. So much for compatriots! Our team of six had dropped to three. Our speedometers read eight miles.

We headed on to the coastal town of Clevedon and stopped for flapjacks. The sun was out in it's full glory and we were cruising down the smooth roads. Then, a loud crack and an "uh-oh", turned the heads of Joe and I.

Ally's front chain ring had snapped (pictured right). His poor old Peugeot racer, aka Tabitha, had decided to call it a day. Ally called his fiancé. Our team was down to two.

Luckily, there were no further incidents on the rest of the ride and Joe and I made it to our favourite pub in Littleton-on-Severn, before pushing on through Thornbury and the delights of South Gloucestershire's rolling countryside. We took the Yate link back onto the Bristol-Bath Railway Path and headed back to Easton.

As if by magic, a lady on a bike with a huge umbrella was selling homemade lemonade in the park. Surely this was a mirage!

The day ended well with refreshing drinks, sunburned arms and the rather daunting thought of adding another 35 miles onto an already long ride...

Lizzie's sponsorship page: www.action.org.uk/sponsor/lizzierides1again

Lizzie's previous blogs:

• Another weekend, another training ride
• Ready for action?