Isle of Wight

3rd January 2009

65.31 miles

5 hours

Mostly road, some tracks

Around the whole of the Isle of Wight

It was such a fantastic day, which made the accident even more unfortunate, as the day will now be remembered for that. We had an easy ride to the ferry, a mile or so away. A non-eventful crossing, and then we were at East Cowes, ready to start. We were doing the Round the Island route, and it was extremely well signed - very much recommend it for anyone looking for a change of scenery. We went around clockwise, which meant getting the hillier bits done before lunch. I did feel I was struggling as I was behind the others on the ups...and the downs...and frequently on the flats. I had to keep reminding myself that they all had decades of cycling experience, and I had 4 months, but it did my ego and confidence no good. I had taken the old roadie rather than the Madone, which I was thankful for when the signed route took us for a very bumpy and gritty off road section. If I'd had the Madone, I would have been carrying it. Srs. Had lunch in a lovely pub that served very unlovely food, but we got a little carried away and stayed for a few hours. We decided that we would abandon any plans to get the 6pm ferry, and instead get the 7.30pm. At that time, our only concerns were which ferry to get and what time we would get home. The fact that getting the 7.30pm ferry would mean 3 hours of riding in the pitch black on country lanes somehow passed us by. I did some wheeling and dealing, and sold my speedplay pedals to Rob, deciding to put my spare SPDs onto the old roadie in a bid to increase my confidence. I still find the speedplays a little difficult to clip in and out, and with the stop start nature of the IOW ride, it was chipping away at my confidence. I then agreed to sell him my shoes, as the cleats were already attached to them, and I found them uncomfortable anyway. But I must confess, that offering to sell someone my shoes, whilst wearing them, made me feel very cheap. Lunch over, we moved on, and diverted away from the official route in favour of the coastal military road along the south west of the island. Here we were treated to a glorious sunset over the sea, that brings tears to my eyes just thinking about it. Such a fantastic view, in such great company, is a memory I will treasure. We had more climbs, but as with the climb to the pub, they were long and gradual, the sort of climb I really enjoy, as long I accept going at my own pace rather than trying to keep up with others. We then hit another off road section taking us to the north, and then we lost the daylight. And with the daylight went any trace of warmth that the weak sun may have been giving. We were frozen, in the dark, on country lanes, that were riddled with potholes. It wasn't an altogether pleasant experience. I was frequently very scared, as even with bike lights we still couldn't see the ground properly, and as a group we were moving at about half the spped of earlier. Which just made us colder. Hills were met with yelps of joy as they offered an opportunity to get the blood pumping, although as we couldn't see the hills ahead, we didn't know they were there until we were climbing them. My lowest point was next. We had stopped at a petrol station to get more batteries for lights, and the stop meant I started to get really cold.My hands were the worst, they were so painful and using gears was impossible. I didn't cry for fear of my tears freezing to my cheeks. All of us were suffering badly by this point, and it was a quiet procession through the lanes. Eventually we reached a village, and knowing that we had 30 minutes or so in hand on the next ferry, stopped at a pub for coffee and hot chocolate next to the fire. We were greeted with incredulous faces and a question of 'Why are you riding bikes in the cold and dark?'. We didn't have an answer. The drinks and the fire were a huge boost to our flagging spirits, but we knew we had to go back out there. Even the knowledge that we were just 20 minutes away didn't help, as that would be 20 minutes of cold. Temperatures had sunk far below freezing. On we went, and after a while we were treated to the sight of a streetlight. And then another. And another. And a whole row of streelights. You really need to have been terrified and frozen to the point of pain, in the dark, in a strange place, to really appreciate how much the sight of the streetlights meant. Although it did mean saying goodbye to the amazing display of stars. As it was such a clear night, and with no streetlight pollution, we had an brilliant view of the night sky on the lanes. Not something you see very often living in London. Arriving in Cowes, we headed over to the chain ferry to get to East Cowes, and watched the clock nervously as we could see our ferry to Southampton being boarded. Luckily the chain ferry took just a few minutes, and we made the main ferry with minutes to spare. And then we had just a few minutes ride back to Lindsey's house. What could possibly spoil such a fantastic day? The accident ********** We were so close to home. I was still on the smaller front ring, as on the Friday I'd forgotten to change going up a hill (was worried about the rush hour traffic) and nearly came a cropper, so decided to stay in the lower gears for the ride home. So I was slower and behind the others. Approaching a cross roads, the other three had already crossed, and I slowed to check for traffic. Didn't stop, as I could hear there was nothing and saw no headlights. I saw there was a man, woman and two dogs sat on the kerb on the road I was entering. As I entered the road, one of the dogs dashed out in front of me. It was too quick and too late for me to swerve. I hit the ground. I remember lying there aware of an immense amount of pain in my shoulder. I saw the dog on the opposite pavement, it was fine. The man was apologising and asking if I was ok. I said my shoulder hurt. I said my friends would help me. I shut my eyes. I heard Lindsey shouting 'Don't touch her', her voice getting louder as she ran to me. I remember someone telling me to unclip, Lindsey lifting my bike off me. The man still apologising. I opened my eyes and the dog was lying on the pavement, good as gold. The man saying he sent the dog across the road as he'd seen the other three bikes go past. I heard Lindsey shout at him that he need to have the dog on a lead. He apologised again. Someone suggested swapping details. The man freaked out. Stuttered that is was an accident. I heard his voice fade as he ran off. My friends asked the lady if she was with him. 'Not really' she replied, just as he shouted back for her to come with him. She left. Then it's blurry. I somehow got from the road to a wall. I thought I was concussed as I felt very faint, sick and dizzy. I knew my shoulder was very hurt. Thought it was dislocated. Mark said I'd be screaming if it was. That didn't reassure me. Lindsey came back with the car. I was installed in the front seat, and though she was the most careful driver ever, every bump of that few minutes sent a huge jolt of pain through my shoulder. It was decided to take me to A&E. M had to get back to London, but Lindsey said I should stay with her that night, and Rob would also come to hospital with us. The journey, though short, was painful. A&E in Southampton General was fantastic. I was in triage within a few minutes, then taken straight through to a bed. The staff were lovely. I didn't have to wait long to be seen, and though I kept telling the young nurse to just cut my top off, she took great care to carefully remove it, so I still have an intact Gore jersey. Went through to xray, where I saw for the first time the bruise that was starting to develop. (Impressive, though on camera it looks crap.) After the first xray she wanted to move me to take another. I asked if she knew what was wrong. 'Yes', she said gently, 'It's broken'. I cried. 'It'll be ok' she said. 'No it won't' I sobbed. 'I've got a double iron man in August.' She didn't know what to say.