Route Summary:  Total Distance 63.3 miles   Total Ascent 1093m (3587 ft)

On Sunday the 18^th August I rode the 63 mile distance at the Sodbury Sportive with my dad acting as my domestique. I was nervous about doing the ride as it was 20 miles further than I had ridden before!

When I set off I was very excited because I love a challenge and knew that there were some big climbs in the first quarter of the course. I think that I started a bit too quick but soon settled into a good rhythm. I was hoping to achieve a bronze time and when my dad stopped to help a man with a broken chain I thought that this had gone. Once we got going again we upped the pace and before we knew it we were on the first climb of the day called the Hawkesbury Howler that had a maximum gradient of 14%. Then came the Alderley Grunt and Thresham Tester with maximum gradients of 20% and 19%.

At the halfway point my legs felt good and my dad told me that we were back on for a bronze time and if we pushed a bit harder we stood a chance of a silver time. This really motivated me and I started pushing harder than I had on any other ride. At fifty-one miles we did a splash and dash at a feed stop knowing that making silver would come down to minutes over the next hour.

The final 12 miles were a real struggle as I had to keep the tempo up to make my goal time. Just when I thought we were home and dry we turned a corner and saw another big hill. I used the last of my energy and made it to the top and pushed on to the end of the ride.

At the finish I outsprinted my dad and arrived with a time of 4 hours and 41 minutes and beating the silver deadline by 12 minutes. My position was 152^nd out of 300 riders doing the 63 miles!

I was overjoyed at completing my longest ever ride and did not mind the three-mile ride back to where we were staying. I really enjoyed my day in the saddle, even the climbs, and am now planning my big ride for next year………….. Alpe D’Huez!