We took an extra-social route on the first day: Shop – campsite – Square and Compass – Scott Arms – Square and Compass – campsite.
I won the most exquisitely painful nettle stings I’ve ever had the fortune to experience, from a patch of max strength post-rain stingers. The result of an overly optimistic attempt to trials it up a steep little section of narrow, rocky, slimy path with a nettley drop to the right. I tottered on the brink for quite a while before I succumbed to gravity, falling in stages, backwards down the slope, at each pause thinking “I can rescue this!”.
Nope. I went deep. Full coverage on the backs of both calves and right forearm. The venom worked itself down overnight past where I’d been actually stung and I woke up with pins and needles round my ankles and down the outside of my feet into my toes. Mmm-Mmmm. Still itchy.
Sunday was great, we started together (if not last off, then pretty close) as a mixed group of new and old friends from different places, not all up for the full 100. We thought we’d figure out somewhere to part ways up the trail, but decided pretty quickly that we’d rather stick together and have a lovely day out than split up.
We cemented the deal by leaving the route and stopping at the first cream tea shop that we found open – Past and Presents (great name!) by Lulworth Castle.
The rebranded “Cream Tea Dawdle” then took us down to the beach at Lulworth Cove for stone throwing; up and over to the Sailors Return for pints, sandwiches, puncture repairs and chainring flipping, then back east on some absolutely primo trails – churny porridge in the woods, silage farmyards, first tracks push to re-establish a BW across a freshly ploughed field. Sarnies and snoozing under a tree, then back up over the top for some fun riding over and down to Corfe Castle. Breakfast baps, beer and teapot impressions in the Model Village courtyard where we said goodbye to David, over to the Square and Compass for a couple more before pootling back to the campsite. Quick change, then down to the pub to take ourselves off the Dead List. Curry.
Well done everybody, especially Charlie and the Mongerettes, Gee for a pretty incredible showing Saturday and Sunday, and all the riders who went the distance.