Herts 100(k) plus there & back added up to 82 miles and a little over 3,300ft of climbing, averaging 12.5mph – it felt like there was more elevation, but it’s a rolling course (north Herts does roll more than you might think – nothing extravagant, but it’s pretty non-stop).

This was the first wet/chilly ride of the year – as I’ve been off the bike for so much of it – but the gilet did what was needed to keep the worst off (it rained for maybe 25% of the time; the cold was mostly wind-related). I was amused by how many riders ended up waiting under trees etc – I finished ahead of a much stronger group who just kept stopping whenever there was a raindrop.

I had forgotten how wonderful a hot bath is after getting chilled (I’m not riding hard enough to try icing my legs, thank you).

Average power down a little – 126w: maybe because I’ve been out on the bike more than usual this week (most hours out on the road in a year; this is my longest ride (bar RL100, which is a rather different thing) in over a year. Overall I’m pleased with it – the key is hours out on the bike right now, and the speed is coming back with the hours (up from 11.5mph on a similar route a couple of months ago).

Heart rate monitor failed to work, despite electrode gel; will try another monitor strap to see whether it’s that. I keep thinking about getting a wrist monitor, but DC Rainmaker’s views seem to suggest they aren’t quite there yet for cycling.

And food … well, this time I did stop and eat at the feed stations – not a lot, but I ate (fig rolls, bananas, cheese) and took two bottles of Skratch Matcha drink for added carbs. I also finally remember to set my Garmin to beep at me every 20 minutes, to try and remember to drink. So, well below requirements overall – I need to eat more breakfast, I think.