The (nearly) acid test!

This weekend we set out to see if we could do the daily distance of our challenge, on two consecutive days.
We started out yesterday (Sat) morning at 8am. Our route took us down to Purton, just west of Swindon. It included some pretty steep hills and ended with a slog over the North Wessex Downs. We broke our journey in Marlborough with a hot drink and cake, before cycling back up out of the town and on to Purton. The day was cold with irritating drizzle, and we were very glad when we arrived at Graham' parents, having completed 101 miles. After a hot bath and a lovely filling supper we felt repleat but tired. It's amazing how cycling long distances creates such a large appetite & also makes sleep come very easily... If it wasn't for the preceeding endurance test, I would recommend it to those who love food but dont want to put on weight & maybe also to insomniacs!
After a substantial breakfast on Sunday we set out at 8am on the return leg. Due to the weather forecast (head wind of 15mph with gusts of 25mph) we made the return journey slightly shorter at 89 miles. As expected the wind slowed us down & I struggled on the larger hills, having to accept a low gear & plod along. There was one particular downhill run with a good road surface, and we were able to get up quite a speed (38 mph) which was good fun, & a little scary!
At one point we met up with a cycling event and although the fast cyclists passed us, we did overtake some of the slower cyclists. As we left their route some Marshals tried to tell us we were going the wrong way!!
We arrived back at St Albans at 4:30pm feeling somewhat tired, with legs that couldn't follow simple instructions - like 'bend', but we felt we really had achieved something, and the hills, rain & wind sets us in good stead when we set out in just under 3 weeks.