Gently Bentley 200km (Audax)

This is probably what I needed. A solid ride, lots of kilometres, lots of short efforts.

If you ever find yourself with that need here is my advice.

Enter Gently Bentley. Get in GC Denis’ team. Make sure Bidders, Noel, Amir, and Sacha are also part of the team, let them do their thing, and try to hold their wheel. 

That’s it. Adam and GC Denis will take monster turns in the front, the others will add their bit and you’ll get a solid ride, lots of kilometres, a lot of short efforts, jelly legs and brain hypoxia. 

Guaranteed. 

Excellent training.

I blew up at kilometre 120. Jelly legs.

Unfortunately for me I caught up with them again at kilometre 130 and they were mean enough to slow down to keep me there for the rest of the ride. Me and my jelly legs.

The lack of oxygen in my brain made make a mistake at the last control. Somehow the last sprint was mentioned and I implied to everyone I had been thinking about it.

My problem was that I had been thinking about it for a while and I couldn’t remember what the last sprint was.

Yes, me and my jelly legs were thinking on how to beat them all in the last sprint. Yes, I have ridden Gently Bentley 8 times (I checked), every single year since 2019. Yes, I couldn’t remember the last sprint. Yes, my comment, which I can’t remember now, left it very clear to everyone I had been thinking about the last sprint.

It must have been a severe lack of oxygen in my brain. 

It was the Esher sprint!!!! The worst sprint if you have jelly legs.

I didn’t care. I was determined to beat them all. 

Should you visit A&E hours after you suffered a severe lack of oxygen in your brain?

The Esher sprint came and I was last wheel of the group (which proves that race kraft is not affected by lack of oxygen in the brain).

The problem was that in the last ramp everyone and their cousins thought of themselves as sprinters. The GC riders (too many races watching Pogacar), the TTers (too many races watching Ganna) and the rouleurs (too many races watching van der Poel).

The sprinter was fourth.

Great result considering the jelly legs and the lack of oxygen in the brain.

The ride in Strava: https://www.strava.com/activities/17819359647/ 

Take care of yourself

Javier Arias González

KW - Wargrave

The moment Sam W. decided this ride was a bit too fast for him and decided to do his own thing I suspected I was in trouble.

I haven’t ridden with Sacha before but just seeing him riding in the first few kilometres I knew he was a strong rider.

Still, “third is the worst I can do in all sprints in this ride”, I thought. That was my natural positiveness and optimism in action.

An optimism that lured me into taking turns at the front with my riding mates.

Not my wisest move. Why would you do that if you know that you are in trouble?

I got away with it though. At least until the coffee stop. 

As soon as we got to the first ramp after Wargrave I was going backwards. Not long after I signed Sacha to pass me and told him to carry on, I was going to drop and ride solo. 

Now, on my own. I set a crawling pace home.

Unfortunately for me GC Denis and Sacha waited for me at the end of Drift Rd. 

“Third in the sprint I thought”. Not sure who took it. I was literally minutes behind.

Despite words mentioned indicating otherwise, I interpreted their gesture of waiting for me as noble, friendly and caring.

They slowed down the pace, allowed me to sit at the back of the trio, and looked back every now and then to make sure I was still there.

And I was. For the most part. Every now and then a gap opened but they waited for me. Over one of the bridges GC Denis opened a gap. Sacha stayed with me and rode in front of me to close it while GC Denis slowed down. 

I was so impressed that I decided I was not going to sprint at the final sprint. And, believe me, I don’t make such a decision all that often.

As soon as we got to Sunbury-on-Thames GC Denis moved to the front and upped the pace. I was at the back holding for my dare life.

He kept accelerating. Going faster and faster. My heart rate was going up and I was starting to get excited.

But I told myself: You have been sitting on their wheel for the last 25km. Don’t sprint. It wouldn’t be good sportsmanship, it would be bad for your reputation, it wouldn’t be fair. Leave it up to them.

We passed the mark I use to start my sprints and I stayed at the back. Ready to enjoy the show.

Sacha moved to the right and accelerated. Somehow I was still on his wheel. 

Next thing I know is I was thinking: “Fuck it, I’m sprinting”.

And I took it. Not my best sprint. Definitively not my most honorable sprint, but I took it.

This was an expensive ride from the reputation point of view. I’ll be lucky if Sam W. doesn’t report me to the Kingston Wheelers committee for false ride advertisement (I posted the ride as K2.5, it felt to me as K1.5, although it probably was a traditional K2) and that final sprint probably destroyed any possibility of anyone thinking that I am a fair sprinter…

But that sprint made it up for being third at Drift Rd. Totally worth it.

The ride in Strava (my longest ride in three months!!!!): https://www.strava.com/activities/17731174062/ 

Take care of yourself

Javier Arias González