We were underway before 05:30. The morning started cool and cloudy and how I wished it would stay that way but the sun burnt off the cloud and the afternoon became blazingly hot. There were feed stops at 64km, 100km and 173km. In that long stint between Feed 2 and Feed 3, in afternoon heat, I was getting through my two large bottles frighteningly quickly. I was not feeling great after 150km and the closing stages were a struggle. I finished in just under 12 hours. Scottish cycling commentator Brian Smith was welcoming finishers home.
This completes my triumvirate of Big Events for this year having recently done the Dirty Reiver gravel event and the Fred Whitton hilly road sportive. Those are both well-known in UK and I'd been apprehensive before them but both were completed without quite wrecking me. This Ekoi Stone Circle however... I was in a state at the end. The bare stats of 215km/2700m are on par with the Dirty Reiver but the Stone Circle has a much greater variety of surfaces, and more technical riding, than the Kielder-based event. The summer heat was the cherry on top. When I got home my wife (who is very supportive of my cycling) was shocked to see how exhausted I was. So the lesson there is - don't let your other half know how tired one can get while cycling
Pre-ride coffee much in demand
Must-get selfie. There was a Druidic ceremony actually taking place within the Stonehenge circle. Perhaps the Druids had to lay on extra gigs after selling out the 21st June date.
A well-attired group at Feed 1
Feed 1, the usual fare of bananas, energy bars, water and energy drink etc.
A great deal of riding on forested singletrack. Unusually for a sportive, no signage anywhere en route, we all relied on a GPX file. It worked out ok and I can see it removed a huge task for the organisers, Hotchillee
Feed 3. Punishingly hot and bright on chalk trails.
Taking a well-earned rest. There was a nice little event village with trade stalls and catering.
Bike in Stone Circle setup. Chain lube vanished in the dust but I was able to refresh it at a couple of the stops.
