Eroica Britannia - The Ride (Part 1)

Having barely ridden my bike in the last few months; riding around Derbyshire was always going to be a bit of a challenge. Last year I was commuting to work fairly frequently and opted for the 55 mile route; it was superb and just the right level of challenge with the distance and climbs plus the fact my 1985 bike doesn't have very low gears. This year my regular commute is up one flight of stairs from breakfast to the office so things are a little different.

Pat and Christine pose with their 1930s tandem

Fortunately the options for Eroica include the easier 30 mile option for those who are riding vintage bikes that are harder work to ride (for example my good friends Pat Carr and Christine Tindale on their 1930s tandem - pictured below) and of course for those like me who are just not fit enough for the longer rides.

When I arrived at the show ground on Sunday morning to register for the ride I was relieved to find some areas a little less muddy than they had been the previous day. Heading to the registration tent were lots of cyclists tip-toeing through the mud with shoes gradually taking on the appearance of the soggy ground; I wasn't too keen to do that to my shoes so I pedalled across the mud covered boards and amazingly stayed upright and kept the shoes pretty clean.

Registration for the ride

I left the registration tent attached the number to my bike and pedalled back across the mud as onlookers waited for the slip. They were left disappointed as I and my kit stayed moderately clean but the tyres on my bike were now perfectly blended to the Derbyshire earth.

The back of the long queue to the start line

A quick trip into the centre of town across the footbridge and I joined the back of the queue heading for the start. At this stage we were not even in the road where the event started and there was clearly going to be a fairly long wait. Fortunately this is Eroica and not a sportive event so the riders were in very relaxed and friendly spirit and the half hour or so of waiting was filled by impromptu conversations about bikes, about the place, about where we had travelled from and of course about the ride.

A Mark 1 Raleigh Chopper, original flares and a brave rider

We walked around one last corner and along with the gentleman on a Mk1 Raleigh Chopper (in his original 1970s flares, the postman, a gorilla and a bunch of "soldiers" we were off and sauntered out of town cheered on by a surprisingly large crowd. The experience had begun and the next few hours would be a voyage of discovery and a social event as much as a bike ride....

The start line finally in sight

More to follow in my next post tomorrow....