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I see your point - I suspect I could physically have ridden faster than I did, but was being cautious because I didn't want to end up in a crash. I have a friend who did crash and broke her bike, so I'm okay with the compromise I made. And everyone else out there had to make their own risk judgements in the abnormal conditions. Mental attitude to unpleasant weather is just as much a part of a cyclist's form as their physical condition - look at Wiggins picking his way down wet descents when he's spooked and what that does to his times. In my opinion of course. Anyway, sorry my first reply was a bit snarky, but your post did sound a bit like the rain only happened to you. No hard feelings.
h2o-
No hard feelings taken. My original post was a comment on another post that observed that some of the later starters had to put up with the inclement weather for a greater proportion of their ride. My neighbour, for example, started an hour earlier than me and finished in 4 hours 20. My riding time was 5 hours 10: he's a stronger rider than me for sure, but not that much stronger.
But my point was: I could handle the first hour of drizzle, and I can certainly cope with cold temperatures. But how often does anyone face conditions like that? I entered this thing to test my strength on a bike, not my ability to ride in a hurricane.
And it's no good alluding to what Wiggins has to put up with; he's a pro-cyclist and I'm a mere hobbyist. I do it for fun, not to compete.
The_Kindness_of_Trees
No, I didn't fulfill my potential on the day at all: I felt too good by the end of it; I under performed because I was too concerned about crashing or developing hypothermia . In hindsight, I just have just gone for it. I would have been better off doing that, in fact.
I'm well used to the vagaries of the weather, but this was something else, the sort of day you don't expect at the time of year. Rather than testing my endurance, it simply tested my ability to put up with the cold and the wet, like an autumnal hike across Dartmoor might do. I didn't sign up expecting that, but that's just my bad luck.