Essex Coast Ride Report

It was a simple mission – 60miles cycling from Southend via East Hanningfield, Maldon, Steeple, Bradwell, Burnham-on-Crouch (brief ferry crossing) and back to Southend. It rained early in the morning but cleared by the time the ride started. 20miles in and the sunblock came out.

The ride itself had about 500 people taking part and the majority opted for the shorter 35mile route. So the long ride was fairly solitary other than the occasional handful of riders to overtake. The more experienced riders showed their form early on and passed by at a pace that I had no hope of matching. My average by the time I reached the ferry was 15.7mph over the 51miles.

During the long wait for the ferry over the River Crouch, I acquired some sunburn on my upper arms and on my legs just above the knee where I had not reapplied the sunblock. Doh!

From the ferry it was a clear run back towards Southend and I passed a few stragglers. They had the last laugh though as 2.5 miles from the end my rear type punctured. After languishing beside the road changing the tube, I had to limp home from there as my tyre only had enough pressure to make it ridable. Cornering had to be taken very slowly.

So I dropped the speed off and got in at just under 4hrs 10mins. But at least I got there!

It was a good day out and I raised over £200 for a very deserving cause. Thank you to all my sponsors!