June

[Nigel]

Dalliance with triathlons, eh? That was no dalliance. That's my PB, that is.

Good to see you're still crunching the chalklands in between carousing with the Hollanders, Sweder. But what did you do to them ?

There they were, all set for Goodnight Vienna, and suddenly the dream disappeared faster than a Frank Rijkaard liquid lob at Rudi Völler.

As it happens, I toiled through your hills last week on the London to Brighton bike ride. A swift breeze up Ditchling (well, almost) followed by fish and chips on the beach, and then two of us decided to pedal back to Guildford along the Downs Link.

It seemed like a good idea at the time. Not quite such a good idea by the time we stopped for a sundowner beside the Bax Castle at Christ's Hospital near Horsham. Lights were required for the final first gear attack (read: saddlesore bonk) up the desperate last hill home.

100 miles. The sort of distance which Ed Brickell would run before breakfast. And the kind of distance which makes me never want to get back on that bike again.

Until next year.