Andrew completes Chase the Sun…AND SOME!!!
Last month SCC member Andrew completed the Chase The Sun UK South endurance cycling event.
Although the event is a very demanding event covering 205 miles from sun up to sun down, Andrew was determined to set himself an even greater challenge.
His plan was to convert the challenge into a personal 24 hour event by riding to the start line on the Isle of Sheppey in Kent from Stevenage in Hertfordshire!
There are several Chase The Sun events that take place annually on 21st June. The rides are from coast-to-coast to celebrate the mid-summer longest day of the year.
These endurance events take place each year in England, Scotland, Ireland and Italy.
Andrew set off from Stevenage at 8pm in the evening of 20th June arriving in Milford-On-Sea in the Thames Estuary to start the main event.
Andrew didn’t have the start from Kent that he had hoped for as it took him longer than he expected to check-in at the event and to exit the starting pen. This impacted his strategy for eating plenty before the riders were released.
Andrew was pleased to meet many other entrants that he recognised from the Mallorca 312 and the Herts ride.
The route went through the City, bisected South London, covered some of Bradley Wiggins’ Olympic time trial route before heading off into the countryside. Then onwards to the Vale of Pewsey, climbs in the Mendip Hills, Cheddar Gorge and eventually concluding in Weston-Super-Mare.
The weather on this day was particularly hot so a key factor for successfully completing the route was keeping hydrated.
At one stage as Andrew was tackling three 25% gradient hills in the heat he began to wonder if he was going to have enough pace to complete the route by sun down which would also mark the deadline for completing his personal 24 hour challenge. He managed to keep going and maintain speed and was very pleased to finish with 22 minutes to spare. His total mileage was 311.5 miles covering an elevation of 14.134ft.
