Tri-Vets 100 mile

Well what a day never to be repeated I hope. Thanks however go to Dave V for not only researching the route so well but for guiding us so swift and so sure. Dave lead the first group off at 8am and I am so glad I went with such a trusty leader. We were not the fastest but I have to say the surest. On the way back from Lingfield we too got caught in a horrendous downpour but not as bad as the hail etc that followed in the afternoon. We did take shelter under some trees with good protection only to see the loan Mark and Ruth flash by in the heavy rain. As the rain eased we set off for Horley only to catch Mark who by now had decided to cape up. Dave said come on guys lets see if we can beat Mark back to Brockham. Alas as expected Ruth leading flashed by followed by Mark. I advised Dave that I would chase and got on their wheel to try and get warmed up and so the three of us ended up at the cricket ground for lunch some ten minutes before my group arrived.

The weather Gods kept sounding their alarm over lunch break with claps of thunder. Never the less the well organised David encouraged this small group of 5 including Brian 82 to set forth and we did. The hail and cold rain caused me to say to David that if this carries on much longer I will abandon and return to base and go home to a warm bath, this was at around 55 miles. How I carried on I dont know but we did and we made it!

I have never eaten so much cake in my life and so many ladies worked so hard at making them. Thanks to Mark for having the initiative to make this event happen. Only he in my opinion has the skills and perseverance to do this. Thanks also to Simon L for all the hard work put in and to both Maggie & Liz for the massive hard work put on all day to keep us fueled up both for distance and warmth. As it so happend I thing mugs of soup would have been good also but who expects such weather in flaming June. Good to see the Squirrels beavering away they are the backbone of CTC.
Sorry that Jeff did not ride but wasn't he good on the whistle! So glad also to hear that Ray made it home OK, what a wonder boy at 90yrs.

Team ONE as I called it (being the first to set off) can be seen below. Dave V, Dudley, Brain, and excellent back marker Alan.