21st Dorset Downs 100km Audax

This was the ride that Pippa had unsuccessfully been trying to put me off!! Having done it I can now see why - Mamhead hill is easy compared to Bulbarrow Hill!

Having picked up Robin & Pippa we made our way to Dorchester for our (Robin & mine) hardest ride todate!! We started off from the carpark just beside the castle. Don was also there, so I set off with Don and left the Wheelers to it as I was still shattered from our trip up to London on the Saturday.

I also met up with a friendly chap called Alan who was pretty fast so we cycled together to the first information control in Loders,where we caught up with Robin, Pippa & Don again. We then cycled together as a group which was fun. Through West Milton to Hooke, Rampsham onto Holywell then followed the signpost to Maiden Newton into the lunch control at the Southern Counties Lodge Clay Pigeon Caravan Park (You wouldn't catch me staying there we could hardly hear ourselves think as it was so noisy with the quad biking circuit right next to the cafe!! But as you can see at least the loos were very posh! Having been pampered we then rode on to Glanvilles Wootton, Holwell, Kings stag to the next info control at Fifehead St Quentin where we all ate jelly babies to tackle the next hill (Bulbarrow!!)

Well I am not ashamed to admit defeat and walked up half of it but then so did Robin & Don so I wasn't alone!! But I did manage to get some cracking pictures of the views which of course I would have missed had I been grunting all the way up on my bike!!

Very happy smiling faces at the top of Bulbarrow Hill - and a very relieved Don arriving!!!

After that is was still fairly undulating - the B3143 to Dorchester was fantastic, it was just like a rollercoaster enough of a down to let you coast almost to the top of the next rise - awesome!! Then back to the Cafe for the end where we had a very refreshing cup of tea - unlike one chap who ordered two puddings - one of icecream & peaches and the other of pie both with lashings of canned whipped cream - yum yum (he soon polished them both off much to our amusement!) Maybe next year I will ride up Bulbarrow Hill (or maybe not!!).