Today I did it. My ultimate commute…
I set off from home with the intention of cycling to Putney. It was a spur of the moment kind of thing. I had left early enough, earlier than I usually leave so I decided to give it a go. However after reaching Putney I decided to go the whole hog and try to get to Bedfont. The problem was, that I hadn’t rehearsed the route enough and even with my trusty G1 and google ‘My Tracks’ I still managed to add a whopping 5 miles to my journey. Halfway there my legs started to spasm when I tried to stretch them which was a worrying sign.
Nick at work told me that this was probably down to dehydration or a salt imbalance. I can attest to the former because I gulped down most of my juice as I entered the environs of Richmond.
The wind didn’t help my poor legs either and it made the going rather slow at times(okay most of the time). I battled against it though, and arrived around 2.5 hours after I had left :-(.
When I arrived at work I took a shower. As soon as I arrived in the office Charbel asked me if I had cycled in. My red face gave it away!
Now it is 4.30pm and it is fast approaching the time to leave. My legs feel tired but not too bad. My head has started to ache though. I wonder if I am still alittle dehydrated?
The aftermath…
Okay, so I probably will not do that commute for a while, at least not unless I leave at the crack of dawn and know the route by heart. I left work at 5pm just as it was starting to spit(thanks weather gods). Thankfully this didn’t last long. I zipped down to Feltham in about 5 minutes but was then thwarted by the level crossing. Damn trains are the bane of my life even when I’m not travelling on one.
I made a few wrong turns. The first time at Apex Corner and once again on the Lower Richmond Road. This time I stuck to the A205 and A3 which was a more direct route but involved a couple of scary junctions.
As I was cycling along Acre Lane my legs really began to get tired and what with the slight incline and the wind I slowed down to a paltry 10mph. I gritted my teeth, put my head down and counted the miles.
As I reached Camberwell it was great to see a ‘friendly road’ i.e. one that I recognised. Heroically I limped onto the A202.
I arrived home around 7.30pm which was rather disappointing as I had calculated that it would take 1 hour and 40 minutes based on my average speed to date. I didn’t take into account the fact that my legs would get so tired after cycling such a distance…
Statistics
To work
Total Distance: 45.60 km (28.3 mi)
Total Time: 3:20:55
Moving Time: 2:48:57
Average Speed: 13.74 km/h (8.5 mi/h)
Average Moving Speed: 16.19 km/h (10.1 mi/h)
Recorded: Tue Feb 17 07:05:47 GMT+01:00 2009
From work
Total Distance: 44.16 km (27.4 mi)
Total Time: 3:07:09
Moving Time: 2:32:54
Average Speed: 14.34 km/h (8.9 mi/h)
Average Moving Speed: 17.33 km/h (10.8 mi/h)
Recorded: Tue Feb 17 16:57:25 GMT+01:00 2009