Many Moons ago I did the Salisbury 100 and every 25 miles was a Food stop. Got to the 25 mile mark and as me and my two mates left the stop- we got in with 5 Club roadies. This must have been about 1993 or 4 so was a while ago. We three were on mountain bikes and the 25 to 50 mile mark did not even have a slope in it or if it did it must have been downhill. It was my first experience of a pace line and we blasted the 25 miles with the mountain bikes taking their full turn pulling. 59 minutes later and we pulled into the halfway stop and could not believe the speed we had got up to.
All that was dashed though as at the 50 mile mark was a compulsory 20 minute stop. 2 miles later and you hit Brassknocker hill and we lost the Roadies. We may have had heavier bikes but we had lower gearing. That Brassknocker is steep. Other remarkable thing about this ride for me was the 80 mile mark and I almost bonked. Had a lot more respect for road bikes after that and also learnt not to hammer with the roadies- You will pay for it later on.
__________________
How long was I in the army? Five foot seven.
Spike Milligan