Last year I vowed I wouldn’t do one of these again. However like an idiot I started another attempt this year, although very half heartedly. I really shouldn’t have bothered. A series of punctures on the first ride culminated in a dodgy tube blowing the tyre off the front rim. The second ride also featured punctures in freezing rain and the dark and I ended up phoning a mate with a van from a bus shelter 15 miles from home. The third ride involved going sideways down an icy lane on my backside. It was at this point I gave up.