Amiiee's 40 Mile Smile #determined #icandothis

Ready to Ride
(C) Ryan Browne.

This is a ride report on this year's 100 Mile Smile Ride. 

No, it's not, not really.

This is the story of Amiiee (pronounced the same as "Amy", no connection with the French "Aimee").

The story of a girl who Does.Not.Cycle. The story of an impulsive, stubborn teenager who announced one day a few weeks ago that she wanted to ride 40 miles of the 100 Mile Smile Ride on Sunday, 14 September 2014. The story of a girl who wears her heart on her sleeve but always "has her Game Face on". A girl who chose her own challenge, sought no counsel, did nothing to prepare for it and then chronicled it on the day on social media under the hashtags: 

#determined 

#icandothis

Me? I just wanted a day out and since the weather was looking good, I fancied a ride on Lorelei. But basically, I was along for the ride, keeping Amiiee company, ready to shore up energy levels and flagging spirits as needed, wayfinding and generally just making sure we didn't get lost.

My own experience of the day can be summarised as:

• worry that Amiiee had bitten off more than she could chew
• amazed that she Did It Anyway
• awe at Amiiee's sheer will power
• chagrin to realise just how often I resort to Plan B. (For Amiiee, there is only ever Plan A.)
• disappointment that she says she won't get near a bicycle again "until 2016" (?!)

Oh, and... the lovely experience of falling in love with my vintage mixte road bike all over again. Sigh.

Other than that, what can I say? We didn't get lost. We didn't have any mechanicals -- although through a series of circumstances and mishaps, we each did the ride on just one gear (mine a bit too high, hers a bit too low -- but in both cases, this was not necessarily a bad thing).

And it didn't rain -- on us, anyway!

Arrival at the Sustrans stand on the Sewell Greenway,
manned all day by Adam, Amiiee's dad

I began to worry that we wouldn't ride any
further than the Sustrans stand...
Amiiee was saying "now if only I had a duvet and
some chocolate, I could happily stay here all day".

Luckily, she wasn't serious. Much.

Heading off down the Sewell Greenway,
officially starting our 40 Mile Smile
(C) Adam Bell

Lorelei flying along the disused railway line

Pit stop at the Globe Inn pub on the Grand Union Canal
(approx. 8 miles from the start)

First Wayfinding Challenge as we leave Route 6
after nearly 9 miles -- just follow the
small white Smiley Face signs!

Leaving the Grand Union Canal

Rewarding View after the slog up Great Brickhill. 

Even Amiiee deemed the view a suitable reward for our efforts.
Though I thought lunch would be an even better one...

The Old Red Lion Inn in Great Brickhill at 12.5 miles

Great Brickhill is a very picturesque village.

The 'beer garden' behind the Old Red Lion Inn

View from the end of the beer garden

View of the rear of the Inn

 

Lasagne and chips for Amiiee;
Gammon, egg and chips for me. Yum!
The chips were especially tasty.

Negotiating one of the horse-friendly barriers in
Rectory Wood (approx. 24 miles done)

We made it to Bedford!
Train home, please.

I hope Amiiee will decide to come out for a ride again, soon. I'm not holding my breath though. She's a girl who means what she says, even if she "thinks better of it later". So when she says she won't ride a bike again until 2016, well..... #determined #icandoit #shemeansit #ibelieveher

Here is the route for our 40 miles (including our ride from home to the official start):