Prudential London 100
Sue Bellamy
What a day August 4 was!
Having not slept for 2 nights before the Ride
London I got to Stratford on the Sunday
morning at 6 am.
I needed to be in my ‘pen’ by 7am for an 8.04 start. The atmosphere really got me in the mood for
the ride. Everyone was chatting and the weather was good which was a relief
after last year’s rain and wind. They
say there are no real hills for 40 miles, though Sayers Hill in Richmond Park,
for example, is not flat; when I came out of the park a friend replenished my
water and food supplies.
I got through the first cut-off point at Hampton
Court without a problem and off we went to the Surrey Hills, where we started
to get held up with accidents and the sheer volume of cyclists. More time to
eat and chat! I was not going to do Leith
Hill as I was worried about descending with hundreds of other cyclists but when
I got to Abinger I decided to go for it as I felt comfortable. It was definitely the right decision. When we rejoined the A25 lots of
cyclists were already on that road; they had been
diverted due to an accident. Some were
pushing their bikes up Box Hill but the crowd helped me do this challenge. I
had several friends and parents of babies I had cared for cheering me along and
there were some patients from a residential home enjoying their day out,
especially when we waved back.
Sue Bellamy in the Surrey Hills that day
I was delighted to finish in 8 hours. Coming over the finishing line along The Mall
was quite emotional, as last year at this time I had only just being diagnosed
with cancer. By the time the letter arrived saying I had a ballot place for
2019 treatment was complete. It was a
memorable day but I certainly won’t be doing the full 100 miles again; maybe
just the 46 next year! I put a lot of time into training for this day which
really helped.
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