Today was the big day – the Manchester 100 Charity Cycle ride. Get up early and then cycle further in one day than I have ever been before! The distance is actually 102 miles. Waking up to find that my back was still causing problems was not exactly the way I had planned on starting the day but having missed the ride for the last 2 years because of injury (first year because of a broken wrist and last year due to a broken collar bone), I was determined to do it this year even if that meant lots of painkillers to get me through!

The route set off out into Cheshire. We were started in waves about every 5 minutes. We were given a map at the start line of the route, although to be honest, the course was so well marked that it wasn’t needed.

The beginning was a bit of a nightmare with there being so many cyclists around and also lots of cars both parked along the road and with people trying to get to the start themselves. The 100 milers and 100 kilometre riders follow the same course to start with and then later those doing the shorter ride turn off and the number of cyclists then thins out a little.

The finish line was a very welcome sight.

We were given a certificate at the end to prove we had done it.

Total time out was 10 hours of which 7.5 were cycling. Total miles cycled 102 with an average speed of 13.6 mph.

The link to the map can be seen here