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@mashton
Well what a way to start the day.
I was unable to sleep at 3am so so idly grabbed my phone and checked LFGSS, the first time that I had opened this thread. 3 hours later and I was out on the road, heading to Blackheath and picking up forumengers as I went. Lovely to see Joe rolling statefully through Peckham.
The East contingent arrived fashionably just on time to prompt a massive turnout to head off, accompanied by waves and cheery "Good Morning's" from all that we passed. Our illustrious leader took the front and fucked up the first piece of navigation. To be fair none of us on the front had a scooby doo of where to go; the plan of 'follow the barriers' only worked in part.
Down into Lewisham and we had our first experience of riding on the wrong side of a dual carriageway - MiddleOfNowhere happily leading a group of about four into the middle of the wrong way. Smiles got them through and we kept the pace up in the leading bunch. Any thoughts of the peleton stringing out were forgotten as the mile markers gave us our very own green jersey competition.
We were forced to bypass the Cutty Sark by a police presence but not to worry, we definitely made up the distance later on... A quick turn around Surrey Quays gave ample opportunity for some of the back markers to high tail to the Rotherhithe tunnel roundabout and rejoin the group. I am assuming that they had had some kind of mechanical that caused their pace to slow? A relatively traffic heavy section took us onto Tower Bridge and the half way mark. Buses on the bridge didn't stop the sprinters from putting dow the hammer for the points on offer, with adoubletap and Velocio looking good for the jersey; chalenged only by team MASH SF (dunno your names guys, but you ride strong and hard).
A quick pull to the top of the Isle of Dogs and our first major navigational headfuck. Some limbo under a ribbon and then the hive mind decided that we knew where to go. Turns out that we weren't far off the mark, with David shouting the final decision and the committing to it. A fast loop round the Isle of Dogs probably took a longer route than necessary, allowing us to make up for the lack of the tea clipper in Greenwich. Once again, when we got back to the top of the Isle, there was a back marker group heading down - a quick about turn for them allowed the group to rebunch, albeit briefly.
With only 5 more miles to go, the front group decided that the end was in site and that glory was worth a stint in the pain cave, or at least the grumbling grotto. The lingering traffic, mainly consisting of psychotic coaches, was no obstacle and son a red light left a front group of 15 to 25 riders with an unassailable gap ahead of me. A quick catch up with Gerald, who had been acting as back marker, confirmed that the rear of the massive pack had had a different ride from me, although from the grin on the face it was no less enjoyable back there - although, does he ever not smile?
Gav86 and I decided not to chase down the group but just to enjoy the last few miles at the front of the second bunch. Swiftly onto the embankment and the down hill entry confirmed to my legs that I would probably not be content to sit in the peleton, even though my lack of sleep was telling me it was a good idea. A brief panic as we thought that a police man was trying to send us over Southwark bridge. In fact he was telling us to ride on the wrong side of the road through the tunnel, which was a instruction met by whoops of exuberance and a quick burst of acceleration. Tunnels rock, but a lingering sense of safety kept me near the edge rather than taking the blind racing line. Thankfully the road was well and truly closed and a clear run to Parliament square saw me working on the front and starting to feel the burn.
No problem at all mind, since as soon as we turned onto Birdcage Walk the imminence of the finish gave me a rush of blood to the head and I managed to lead the sprint round the corner onto the mall and on to the timing gate finish. Coming through the gate was very nearly an emotional finish to a truly wonderful ride, with a outstanding group of friends, riders, hipsters, and unknowns. Chapeau to you all.
As it turned out, not everyone was able to sprint the mall but pretty much everyone found each other for a mass photo opportunity before the freezing rain began and settled in for my ride home.
35 miles in the bag, showered and back in bed for 9am with, most importantly: a big smile on my face, some great memories and a warm glow coming from the legs.
Bring on next year.