No need to pan out on the map to work out where exactly this ride took place. Michael Broadwith’s Land’s End to John O’Groats (LEJOG) record-breaking ride is now on Strava.
Earlier this week, Broadwith set a new LEJOG record of 43 hours 25 minutes and 13 seconds – more than half an hour faster than the previous record. Gethin Butler’s record of 44 hours 4 minutes and 19 seconds had stood for 17 years before that.
How much does a rider slow over the course of 43 hours of cycling? Probably not as much as you’d think, going by Strava – but that isn’t really the full story, is it?
You don’t get a sense of it from the KOMs and timings, but the effort really took his toll on Broadwith, with neck pain a particularly big problem towards the end.
“I managed to figure out some cock-eyed method where I was propping my head up with my arm on the aerobar rest like Rodin’s The Thinker,” he said afterwards.
Then, a couple of days later, it was back to more prosaic concerns.
Off to work. No following car. No amazing crew. No legendary wife. I feel like I am waking from an amazing dream... just need to stop bursting into tears. pic.twitter.com/tGEQLlLL0n
— Mr Broadwith (@24HourMaths) June 20, 2018
Alex has written for more cricket publications than the rest of the road.cc team combined. Despite the apparent evidence of this picture, he doesn't especially like cake.