Not my most concise blog title, feels a little like a title of one of the Peter Jackson Hobbit films, but after my 40 plus miles cycle to Beaulieu to break my 2022 cycling total with almost three months of this year still to go I was tantalisingly close to breaking the 3500 mile barrier as well.

By close of course this was actually around 62 miles of cycling required and I had already spent a little time deciding what route I could take to do this all in one ride. By the power of Strava which I have used to record almost every cycle I've undertaken since the beginning of 2022 (and the missed recording of a few miles does hurt a little...) I was able to review previous rides to see if there was a ride I had previously completed that would fit this bill.

Of course there was......the ride from my home to Shaftesbury in north Dorset and back again (sorry, another Hobbit reference....) would be sufficient distance and would allow me to enjoy the descent and climb back up ZigZag Hill a few miles outside of Shaftesbury.

I ran the idea past my incredibly supportive wife Jan because this ride would take around 5 hours and whilst I ran the risk of being very selfish and wanting to go off to cycle, I had no plan to impact our weekend or Sunday at least if I could help it.

To minimise the impact to Jan's Sunday I discussed the idea of setting my alarm for an early start, around 5am, to get out in the night and get back for a late breakfast with Jan. Knowing that even in my quietest stealth mode I would more than likely wake up Jan and our dog Archie.......and unfortunately I really struggled to sleep the night before my planned cycle ride and found myself being wide awake at 4.37am and leaving the house with Red the bike at 4.50am.......on a Sunday morning, in the pitch black......and of course I had woken Jan and Archie up well before an appropriate time. I won't be accepted into the world of ninjas that's for sure!

Sorry Jan and Archie. My lack of sleep was a combination of night time riding nerves (unfounded) and night time riding excitement (who knows, felt like a kid on Christmas eve!)

However if this apology is accepted (and I apologised to Jan throughout Sunday...) I can move on and retell the story of what cycling to Shaftesbury in the very early hours of Sunday morning was like.

It was amazing; powered by an early morning banana, great bike lights illuminating my way I passed the Priory in Christchurch town centre as the bells chimed 5am. The weather was great, not too cold even at this early time of day and incredibly clear skies so once I was out of the town and cycling through the back roads up towards Ringwood I was literally cycling by starlight!!!

Whilst I am sure there are plenty of potential risks cycling at night, the ability to rely on finely tuned senses and a good set of bike lights to illuminate the way are essential, but the trade off is a minimal number of cars and other road vehicles (although I did see more than I was expecting!). Most importantly I can confirm that the experience is one of the best I've ever had on the bike.

This in part was a reflection of knowing the route so there was no directional decision making pressure along the way; the weather being dry and the skies clear meant there was no battle against the elements meaning the cycle was very pure, very minimal in terms of effort and cycling north of Ringwood in this area of East Dorset was absolutely incredible.

The further north I rode the greater the elevation, and therefore incline I cycled. Last time I rode this route, in daylight, I totally misjudged this steady incline and was disappointed in myself and the speed I achieved at the time, or rather the effort this first half of the ride was taking. This time around however I knew what to expect, and chose to take one gear lower for the eight or so miles of climbing towards Zig Zag hill which made all the difference.

I might not have ridden faster, but I didn't feel like I was going to run out of energy before I even reached half way.

The last few miles before Zig Zag hill are classic rolling hills on the Dorset / Wiltshire border and as the sun rose and the light levels improved I found myself cycling down the winding tight corners of Zig Zag hill in almost full daylight.

A few miles more and I arrived at the large sign announcing that I had arrived in Shaftesbury which I celebrated with a quick snack and water. By this time I was being bathed in early morning sunlight as the sun was just coming over the horizon, and snack completed I got back on Red the bike and headed home.

First part of the ride home was the cycle back up ZigZag Hill, which felt like a long but gradual ascent which was well within my physical ability. As I broke through the trees lining the top of the climb I found myself once again being warmed ever so slightly in the aforementioned sunshine which was now just appearing over the top of the hills ahead of me.

I stopped to take a photo of the scene; the many hills and valleys to the east of me, all in the south west of Wiltshire, holding small pockets of mist or fog, all being bathed by the sun where its rays were making landfall. The photo of course allows me to be reminded of what I experienced, but even in real life the total lack of any movement, of the mist / fog, sun rising and most importantly no one else appearing to be there at the same time as I was there taking the view in, meant that it almost felt like I was watching a static photographic image in real life!

The silence was broken as a car drove past and this was my cue to get back on the bike and continue my ride home. Once back over the gentle rolling hills I was back on the road heading roughly south east.....and the next eight miles or more were an effortless ride downhill. Hills are a gift which can pay back, once you've made all the effort to climb a hill on a bike the payback should be something equivalent to the height you've climbed as a ride back downhill.

Its not a exact science of course, far too many variables unless you are cycling back the exact route you've ridden up a few minutes earlier and this was exactly what I enjoyed for the first third or so of the ride home. Hardly breaking any speed records , but pedalling in a higher gear or two I managed to feel like I was making really good progress with the reward of breakfast on the horizon.

Traffic remained light as I continued further southwards, a steady stream of vehicles associated with at least two car boot sales appeared to be the only activity happening on Sunday morning. No time for me to check out either car boot sales, and little room on the bike to take anything home anyway, but I continued to make good progress getting to Ringwood and onto the back roads towards Christchurch through woodland and heathland.

With the exception of a couple of idiot car drivers who appeared to either not see me (lights, me and a bike, plenty of reflective clothing!) or thought that I might simply vanish to give them room (I'm no magician!), the ride was really good. Within the hour and I was back in the town centre of Christchurch where I had earlier heard the 5am chimes of the Priory clock.

Ten minutes later and I stopped the stopwatch of Strava to end my ride - a little over 67 miles ridden, the target of 3500 miles of cycling broken without much more than one bit of inspiration and a couple of cycle rides!

Whilst I continue to apologise to Jan for the early wake up, I also thanked Jan for allowing me the time to get out and about, add miles to the annual total, but much more importantly experience yet more incredible bike based experiences .

Can I continue the motivation to add a few more cycles on top of the continuing daily cycling commute...... lets find out in the next few blogs.