22/06/2025
【Ｃｈａｓｅ ｔｈｅ Ｓｕｎ 2️⃣0️⃣2️⃣5️⃣ 】
Well, we did it!
We chased the sun all day! We didn’t get to it by sunset, but we did get to Weston-Super-Mare! Truly a day to remember, for many reasons!
The day started at 3am with a ride to the start, seeing the sunrise (then only getting over the start line just after 5am). The group started well, and ahead of our timing plan, making it to the first of 10 planned stops ahead of time. Knowing the heat was going to be a factor, we carried on steady. Unfortunately, crazy roadworks through London made the trip through there incredibly slow going and frustrating for all. This, coupled with our later start set us back an hour in our timings.
Everyone got to the lunch stop strong. We refueled, ate, drank and changed kit, all while getting support and love from our loved ones and community. A big emotional boost of encouragement and we were off again. This is when the heat of the day really kicked in and played its part. Many people battled with the heat, but pushed on. Our stops were regular and really efficient, well-stocked and full of support and encouragement.
Somewhere between 220km and 288km was possibly the hardest stretch for most with the heat really ramping up. Everyone had their battles, and there was a quietness to the group while everyone was digging deep. Many demons were slayed here!
Our last support stop with approx 45km was when it started to cool down slightly. We knew by this point we wouldn’t make sunset at the beach, but we were still riding steady and with a collective determination to do it!
Unfortunately, coming down Cheddar Gorge we encountered an illegal car meet, which saw a collection of cars and spectators racing up and down, doing stupid maneuvers and causing general chaos in the now dusky part of the evening.
All safely through there, we pressed on to the finish in the dark into a blasting headwind - just what we all needed after day of the heat we’d had!
Riding onto the pier at Weston-Super-Mare was a special moment - lots of cheers, smiles and emotion as we rode over the finish, having conquered (for most of us) the longest ride in a day.
The mental fortitude and resilience that it takes to do something like this is truly something unique. You go to dark places, your mind plays tricks on you, and you loose belief, all while thinking you can take on the world. It’s an emotional roller-coaster, that is hard to stomach during parts (in every way!) but at the end, when you’ve done what you set out to do, nothing beats that feeling!
Well done to everyone who pushed yourself beyond where you thought you could go. It is that place where you find ‘the power of I”, and where you go when you need to find that strength in real, everyday life
