The first sportive is a post on The Hickensian

Yesterday I took part in my very first sportive, The Circuit of the Cotswolds, with 70 miles (112km) and 4000ft of climbing it was the hardest ride I’ve done yet. The weather was forecast to chuck it down all day, but it held out, and even treated us to a sunny start! The route was gorgeous – very picturesque and worth the climbing for the views of the Cotswolds.

The first 30 miles or so flew by, probably because I was busy nattering. I then started to feel sad that we were doing it too fast – not reasons of saving energy, but just because I wanted to make it last longer. It’s rare to get so much time to be cycling with my friends, usually its snatching an hour or two inbetween all the other things you have to do when you have a family.

The last 10 miles or so started to hurt a bit however, so in the end I was quite glad to see the finish line. With recent events, training had taken a back seat, so I was very pleased to have achieved what I had and have so much fun in the process. Now the next milestone is the 100!

Finally, thanks to your generosity, I also managed to raise £1100 for Helen and Douglas House – thankyou!