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jonny
@middleofnowhere
Ha! Thanks to @dancing james I will never be able to look at an energy gel in the same way again.
Superb ride all round. DJ applogising in advance for being slow up the hills then riding away from us on Star Hill and then every other long climb on the route. The beautiful spring weather at the start, then the first spots of rain as we climbed Chrurch Road, turning to a steady drizzle for the spin down Ide, filling in to a refreshing light rain on the way up Bayleys, to the frankly biblical (ok, maybe a little hyperbole there) final 15 miles, filling shoes and rendering brakes next to useless.
Actually the rain reduced braking was a blessing in disguise for me. That pothole I hit had, as I suspected, put a pretty much terminal dent in the rim. I could feel the tick tick tick of a rough spot on the rim but the braking was so reduced that it never felt in danger of throwing me off. It was only riding back through town when it had dried enough for normal brake function that I realised how bad it was. I was getting such severe brake judder as that bit of the rim passed the pads that I was sacred of losing control of the bike. Wheel was due for replacement anyway so no big loss.