Chase the Sun 21

The original Chase the Sun, is an annual 330km ride from Minster in Kent to Burnham on Sea in Somerset. You leave Minster at dawn and try to ride to Burnham before the sun sets on the Saturday closest to summer solstice. There is also a Version in Northern England and one in Italy.

So, back in November during yet another long Zwift session with my mate Ade, we were talking about looking for a challenge to aim for in the New Year. I had talked about Chase the Sun with mates a few times but never got much further than “how far!?!”, “you’re joking, right?” or “good luck with that”…

But not this time, Ade said “sounds good, send me the link” so I did, then about thirty minutes later I get another message, “all signed up, Amy will drive the van, support us and bring us home after we finish!”. Ade even ordered a new bike, but we won’t talk about that. As I write this, it’s still not arrived!

That was that then, in for a penny and all that and after all, how difficult can riding 330km in a day be, right? And after all we had ages to train for it, right?

Another lock down started, more working from home, more Zwift, a Festive 500 (mostly on Zwift), more Zwift, a few winter rides and more Zwift…. We were doing 5 hour Zwift session, regular rides up Alp du Zwift (on one occasion we did it twice in one ride) and lots of Zwift events, training was going well…

Then life started to get in the way a little, a major restructuring for me at work meant over two months of stress and resulted in me (very luckily) finding and starting a new job. Ade was crazy busy at work, we still weren’t able to meet with people that weren’t in your “bubble”etc etc and before you know it it’s March!

I was starting to get out more which was great and had started riding with K20 which made getting out for longer rides so much easier (thank you!), Ade was still on Zwift.

We had a mid week planning meeting and organised some points along the route to meet Amy, her brother James and Ade’s dog Bruce our unofficial mascot!

The date for the ride was rapidly getting closer, I was doing regular club runs now and getting some pretty big rides in the bank. Ade still hadn’t done a road ride outside! Two weeks before CTS we get a 200km ride in the bank, Ade’s longest ride ever by a long way and it was one of those rides, (many) punctures, tyres cut to ribbons, ran out of inner tubes, an off… but we got round! One more 100km ride together the week before and that was it, CTS was the following Saturday…

Friday evening, we drive to the Abbey Hotel, Minster to register, pick up our coveted event ribbons (riders tie the ribbons to their saddles to make them easily identifiable) and the socks I’d ordered for us both. We said hello to a few other riders that were there as well. Then back home for a few hours kip.

Saturday morning, 03:00, a very early breakfast and then we’re on our way to the start of Chase the Sun. It was busy, lots of people unloading bikes, final checks, riding to the start and getting ready to start. A quick text to log in and we ride around the block to the start where groups were setting off at intervals of a minute or so. It was a drab grey, cool start to the day with a light breeze and the weather pretty much stayed like that for the rest of the day pretty much ideal!

04:45 and we’re off, just 330km to go!

We made our way out of Minster and off Sheppey, heading towards London along some lovely roads. A few groups were forming up and we were riding in a pretty large group for a while. With all the recent rain we quickly started to see people on the side of the road with punctures. There were a few floods too, none of which were too deep but usually caused more punctures for some. But we were doing ok, sitting at an average of about 26km we made it to the A2 where we joined another group who we rode with and chatted to until we reached Rochester.

We continued on towards London and continued to ebb and flow between different groups of riders. Traffic was starting to get a little heavier but the route through the capital was pretty enjoyable (even the climb up to Crystal Palace).

I’d arranged to meet a good friend of mine at Hampton Court (100km), we got there around 09:00 and were greeted by Angus and his son Joe, with rhubarb cake, energy bars, water, bananas and big smiles! Needless to say we stayed a little longer than planned but got under way after filling our bottles and eating too much cake.

Before we knew it we’d completed the next 30km to our first official stop, with our fantastic support crew Amy, James and Bruce the Springer Spaniel. We got another wonderful welcome, but it was a little too soon for another stop, we grabbed a little more food and water and as there was the official lunch stop at 162km we made the decision to crack on and give our next planned meet up a miss. This meant a 128km stint to Devises before our next scheduled stop with our team - probably not our best idea of the day!

Although we were still averaging over 25km/h I found the next leg quite hard, it seemed like a lot of it was on quite busy main roads and I felt a little tired (probably from all the cake I’d eaten) but I don’t think it was a far as I thought. Ade was also starting to suffer a little too, he’d knocked his knee earlier in the ride when he failed to unclip and it had aggravated an old injury. We soon got back into the countryside as we approached the Bramley and the official lunch stop.

By midday we had reached the fantastically organised lunch stop (165km) and sent our text message to the organisers to say we’d arrived and took the opportunity to have some food, a coffee and a bit of a breather. I also sent one to my wife to let her know we were past the halfway mark, her reply said “well done! Where are you riding to today, I’ve forgotten!”

Onward to Devises via the beautiful North Wessex Downs. Although we had already done a fair amount of climbing this is where it started to feel a little more lumpy as we rode through some wonderful ‘rolling’ countryside, passing the Alton Barnes White Horse. I was feeling better after the lunch stop but Ade’s knees were really quite painful by now, but he kept going and we were still clipping along holding that average of over 25.5km/h.

We made it to Devises, although we couldn’t find the pub where our support crew had parked. So we met at another pub for a much needed breather. It was right next to the to the Kennet and Avon canal very near to the Caen Hill Flight of Locks. We were 240km into the ride, Skittles, banana bread and pasta were consumed and much needed words of encouragement and support were given!

The decision was made to meet up at Chilcompton 45km away, on the edge of the stunning Mendips. It was still dry, not too warm but the wind was with us!

It was another lovely section, quiet roads, beautiful countryside and a lot of climbing. I really enjoyed this leg, I think we both did. We both felt like we’d cracked it at that point and found a bit extra in the legs. We rode with another small group for a while, including a young couple from Bristol we’d ridden with earlier in the day.

I was starting to get a few aches by now and I know Ade’s knees were giving him more trouble than he was letting on but we were in good spirits at Chilcompton Co-op, it was a popular stop. More food and a much needed coffee, some nice banter in the car park with some other support drivers. The weather had started to change, that tailwind was still with us but it had started to rain a little too.

Cheddar Gorge was on the horizon, we flew past Amy and James who were cheering us on near the start to climb up to it, the first in a series of steps that went on for about 15km. They were hard work but we were still making good time, the pace picked up again as the road levelled off on the final fast and brilliant approach to the gorge. We were flying and even in the rain the scenery was stunning, before we even realised it we heading down the descent through Cheddar Gorge and we had the place to ourselves! We stopped very briefly to take in the view and grab a quick picture before taking on the remainder of the descent into Cheddar and the last 15km to the finish.

Apart from a couple of painful little hills which would normally be no problem at all, the approach to the finish was flat. The weather was now wet, grey and miserable, the roads were wet and a little slippery. We passed one poor chap looking cut up, sat on the deck under a brolly. He was being looked after by a couple, he’d been caught out by a tight S bend on a quick little down hill. We slowed, asked if he was ok or if there was anything if could do. They told us he was ok and to crack on.

On the final approach we formed a loose group with a few riders that we’d ridden with earlier in the day. But lost their wheel at the last roundabout coming into Burnham on Sea, a few quick right’s and then a left onto the sea front and we were there! Cheered over the line by Amy, James and Bruce, a fantastic group of supporters, riders, the organisers and the town crier!

We had done it! Ade and I had finished Chase the Sun! 331km, 2704m of climbing in 12 hours 54mins (15 hours 36mins including stops) at an average speed of 25.7km/h!

We grabbed a few photos before thoughts quickly turned to food, a change of clothes and getting home. We headed over to the van, chucked on some dry clothes and loaded up the bikes before heading to a Burger King for the biggest dirtiest burger they do!

Massive thanks to my wife and family for putting up with all the cycling and everything that goes with it. To Ade for joining me on this huge adventure, for pushing me to do massive Zwift sessions during lockdown and for keeping me going during the ride. To Angus, Joe and especially to Amy, James and Bruce for their superb support during the day for being there whenever we needed them and for driving us home!

Right then, what’s next?