Cyclist Brian Carless and his trusty 'steed'. - Contributed

After my ride to St Ann a few Saturdays ago, I swore off the bicycle for a while because I developed terrible pain in my groin, which resulted in me having trouble walking.

This had me thinking: "Did I take on too much too soon in my quest to ace the Negril Ride 2009 later this year?" I took some Advil and it eased my pain somewhat.

On Friday, May 1, I got a call from my riding P. He said we would be heading to Junction in St Mary. I felt like the character Delcita - "mi nuh tek on nuh match and lose" - so I wasn't going to chicken out of this ride. I took the arterial out of Portmore to Mandela where I met my riding P and we struck out. From there, we made our way up Washington Boulevard, then left on Constant Spring Road.

I reached nowhere yet, and this little piece of gradient heading up to Oakland Apartments "nuh nice at all". Our first stop on the ride was at the Shell gas station at Manor Park, where we bought some Gatorade. As per usual, our stop wasn't for long. While going up Long Lane, it brought back memories of riding to work in Stony Hill. However, I decided against pushing hard too early too soon so I was just cruising along on 39x23 (that's my second gear) travelling at 7mph.

the long way round

On reaching Red Gal Ring, I took it wide to get around, which, by the way, is the long way round. I made it past the cemetery at St Jude's church but I wasn't going to make the riding ghost of the past haunt me. Stony Hill square was in sight - so far so good. We made our descent past 'Slow Down', where the road was wet and a bit slippery. From there it was through Golden Spring and Temple Hall.

The twists of Junction road had started and the traffic wasn't too bad that morning. We were just riding along at a steady tempo and taking in how nice and green the landscape was. This helped to take my mind off the journey.

Places like Tom's River, Devon Pen, Castleton, Grandy Hole and Broadgate were just a blur, no time for sightseeing. We reached the chicken shop in Friendship Gap and I saw 27 miles on my meter, which was a major landmark for me, as I knew we were nearing the end of the Junction. When riding through the Junction, one has to choose the right gear to ensure that you don't use up excess energy. For me, when I am not pedalling through an area like that I tend to get cold quickly.

nice and smooth

We made it to Agualta Vale and I turned right at the Shell gas station. I noticed that the place has changed a bit since my last time through here. The road was nice and smooth and it was obvious that the persons responsible had done a good job. We rode through the town of Annotto Bay, followed the shoreline until I saw 37 miles on the meter. It was 8:16 a.m. and I turned my trusty aluminium steed around and headed back home, seeing I had to be at work back in Kingston by 3 p.m. that day.

We tried sourcing a few ripe bananas, without luck, in Annotto Bay on a Saturday morning. I just couldn't believe it.

As we rolled out of town like some Roman gladiators we came, we saw and we conquered. On passing the Annotto Bay Fire Station, I looked at the building and the two units parked there and felt disappointed. The building is in need of urgent repairs and new trucks now.

no gatorade

Our first stop on the way back was at the chicken shop and they never had any Gatorade. Cho, man! This wasn't going to be a good day.

We stayed there for a few minutes and then off we were again. From there I just took it mile after mile. On reaching Castleton, my better half called me and she was a bit surprised when I told her where I was.

Just before reaching Grandy Hole, I had a flat, so I stopped and changed the tube, bought a few bananas and off we were again. I realised the tyre pressure wasn't up to the max but I had to just keep riding and low tyre pressure would mean that I had to pedal much harder. From there it was a non-stop ride home.

The morning sun was coming up and I was getting a bit tired, but still strong enough to ride. All on my mind was to get back over the hill leading back to Stony Hill. When I reached Golden Spring I got on a gear that I knew I was comfortable with to tackle the hill. You know what gear that was - the 'granny gear', of course. It was a hard two miles going past 'Slow Down', now I see how it got its name. The last half-mile really took a toll on me and 3.5mph was showing on my meter. This was so slow you could walk past me. I threw some water on myself in a bid to cool off and I heard a lady shout out,"Mind you catch cold."

'Yes, I did it'

I passed Stainless HQ. I wasn't going to stop now. When I made the last turn into the square, I said to myself, "Yes, I did it." I then made my descent from the hill while clocking 39.7mph (63 km/h) down Long Lane, just freewheeling. Imagine if I were pedalling. I made a stop at my cycling HQ, Cycle City and Fitness Center, and bought a few tubes and headed on my way. I got another flat at Dunrobin, sorted that out and off I went again. All in all, it was a good ride and it was the second week I had ridden more than 70 miles. The ride to Annotto Bay and back is 73.56 miles and I did this in 5hrs 38mins at an average speed of 13mph. My maximum speed was 39.7mph and since the start of the year, I have ridden 843.4 miles.

I wonder where my next journey will take me.

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