It’s really early, and I’m really nervous. I’m on the IOW ferry and I’ve never been as worried about a ride as I am today. I’ve had to take myself away from the others just to calm my brain and stop listening to that voice of failure echoing round my head. Not that I’ve ever failed this before. This would be my 7th round the Island ride. My 4th supporting the Blue Ninjas in their quest to raise money for Naomi house.
But today is different. Today my mind is playing a game. Today I keep reminding myself how unfit I have become since lockdown. how hard I find hills now that I rarely ride them and how tired this ride makes me on a good day, but the start of term pressure has been just relentless and I am already exhausted. As you can imagine, with all this going on in my head, even getting to the ferry has been a battle.
The calm waters, the silence and the time reflecting on why I was there did the trick. We were here to raise money for an amazing hospice that enable children to get the very best out of their last days. I was there to support those who were committed to the cause but struggling with the ride - just like me! And we would do this together!
I’ve written before of our reasons for the ride. If you’ve not read my previous post, I would recommend it, then come back to read how we got on. Here’s the link -
Just thinking of Phelan and his family gave me the courage and determination to continue.
We arrived at Cowes, took our now customary detour to the car park of Waitrose to regroup and get photos, then headed out towards Ryde. We were a much smaller group in total this year and with no brand new riders so the decision was made to amalgamate the slower two groups. This gave me opportunity to ride alongside Jane who was powering a tandem round with her husband. We used to work weekends together in my previous life as a radiographer and had spent much of the ferry ride reminiscing about the ‘good’ old days.
We made great progress, with little need for the photo stop regroups we’ve used in the past as an excuse to ensure everyone was rested and ready for the next leg of the journey.
The huge hill out of Sandown was the exception to this. I can honestly say I really didn’t think I was going to make it. I could hear every deep thud of my heart reverberating through my ears as well as my chest as I rounded the final bend of that hill. I just made it to the entrance to the viewpoint before nearly throwing up. I tried to push the thoughts of giving up back away while regaining my breath. The others kindly gave me time to get sorted before we attacked the rest of the hill and headed of in the direction of Ventnor and our lunch stop.
I couldn’t believe it when we got there at least an hour and a half quicker than normal. And the faster groups were still eating too. We took the opportunity for a group photo, before waving the others goodbye and grabbing ourselves some lunch.
The next stage was the hard one. The ups and downs of Military road. We had, by now, split back into two groups. My group taking it slow and steady, not worrying about the time, just making sure we got to the finish.
We got to the Needles, tired, sore but determined to finish. When refreshed enough to continue, the three of us headed back towards Cowes. I am always in awe of this group - the ones who struggle, who could easily give up, who see their colleagues race off, full of energy, when they themselves have only just arrived, yet are still prepared to carry on. They will plan to get to the finish even if it’s on the last boat home. This time, I knew exactly how they were feeling!
But we did it. We got to the tiny launch that had replaced the chain ferry to get across the River Medina. Elation written all over our faces, partly as we were finally sitting down, but mainly as we realised that we still had time to get to the pub for a quick celebration before embarking on the same ferry as the others. Then there was the relief that we just had a little further to go before we could call it a day.
So many emotions!
When we got to the pub, I was treated to a long cold pint of Coke by Steve, which tasted like pure nectar.
It’s always hard to know what battles others faced that day. None will have been as hard as those faced by Phelan and his family or by those who work every day at Naomi house. Thought the day had been hard, the journey back to Southampton was, as always, filled with celebration. And we were rewarded for our efforts not only with a medal but also a beautiful sunset.
Thank you Steve for all your efforts organising the event. And yes, count me in for next year.
