Although
the dress code calls for
suit jacket, shirt and tie
to be worn (in a nod to the
bike's commuting day-job)
it's a serious race - this
year won by a three-times
winner of the Tour of Spain.
On 8th November 2003 my
sister-in-law, Jane Allen,
died of a heart attack in
her sleep. Her family have
since been helped immensely
by CRY's work in the area of
bereavement support and
screening and have raised
some impressive amounts of
money by running long
distances. I felt I might
be able to use the race as a
platform to raise some
further funds and profile.
It was a beautiful, crisp,
early autumn day with a
slight headwind but no rain,
which was a relief: a track
with some fairly exciting
descents and fallen leaves
could become evil when wet.
The sight of 600
well-dressed cyclists (some
very well dressed indeed -
there was also a prize for
best outfit) running to
their machines to unfold
them and head off around the
course was quite something -
as if rush hour at Waterloo
station had been
transplanted to Oxfordshire.
The race itself was great
fun. Being able to ride as
fast as possible knowing
there are no cars coming the
other way, or buses likely
to pull out in front of you,
is liberating. It's a
difficult race to pace
yourself on - not a sprint
(you'd keel over after the
first of two laps if you
tried that) but you also
don't want to finish with
too much "in the tank",
knowing you could have
pushed harder.
It's also quite a bizarre
experience as you race to
the best of your ability
chasing not a pack of lycra-clad
athletes, but seemingly a
group of civil servants!
When the results were
published I found I'd come
in 217th position out of 550
finishers which I was very
happy with given that my
training amounted to nothing
more that pedalling a bit
faster on my route to work.
A follow-up email around
friends and contacts, with
an action photo in novelty
sportswear, managed to
elicit even more sponsor
money and I was thrilled to
raise more than double my
target of £250.
The total now stands at
£521 plus Gift Aid -
www.justgiving.com/RichardHinkleyCycling
Richard Hinkley
