Carol and I got to the race HQ in plenty of time. However, I felt pretty nervous, not helped by the sensation of my breakfast sitting heavily in my stomach. This version of the course was one I don't think I had ridden before. It starts very close to Tempsford. After a brief warmup, I lined up - the pusher off was the North Bucks' own Tony Farmborough. The start is very close to the northbound lane A1, and I was quickly up to speed. The first 57 or so miles (see course description below) are usually quite quick, and so it proved for this event - I did the first 50 miles in 1:58:38, which is actually my fastest 50 of 2008. By the time I left the A1 I was feeling pretty good. As expected, the section to Shefford and beyond to the Norton RAB was a bit harder - at times the road surface is rough, there are frequent roundabouts, and it undulates quite severely. To add insult, one RAB we had to cross four times had road works by my least favourite company, EDF, which was holding riders up (I must say, however, that the guy controlling the traffic seemed to be trying to get the racers through as quickly as possible).
My strategy for the race was to keep the gears a notch lower than I'd use in shorter events, and to keep the HR 5-10 bpm lower than for a 25 or a 50. This worked well to begin with.
Unfortunately, and as so often happens to me on this course, I got quite severe leg cramps from about 75 miles, so the final hour of so were pretty unpleasant and my speed dropped a lot, and I had to stop on a couple of occasions. Still, I made it to the finish in 4:17:37, which is a best for the last three seasons. I was a little disappointed, as on the road I'd expected about 4:07.
FULL RESULTS
| No | Rider | Club | Time | 50 |
| 1 | Colin Parkinson | South Western Road Club | 03:54:13 | 1.54.10 |
| 2 | Andy Stuart | V C St Raphael | 03:54:48 | 1.53.37 |
| 3 | Trevor Mayne | Birdwell Wheelers CC | 03:57:22 | 1.54.56 |
| 4 | David Johnson | High Wycombe CC | 03:59:05 | 1.57.37 |
| 5 | James Struthers | Lindsey Roads CC | 03:59:25 | 1.58.17 |
| 6 | Dave Kendall | Finsbury Park CC | 03:59:45 | 1.55.34 |
| 7 | Paul Mace | High Wycombe CC | 04:00:09 | 1.56.14 |
| 8 | Steve Clarke | Verulam CC | 04:01:17 | 1.55.23 |
| 9 | Nick Calkin | High Wycombe CC | 04:01:32 | 1.57.18 |
| 10 | Robert Gilmour | Hounslow & Dist Whs | 04:04:17 | 1.58.18 |
| 11 | Rob Dulson | Hainault RC | 04:06:41 | 2.00.13 |
| 12 | Karl Austin | Congleton CC | 04:09:23 | 2.01.22 |
| 13 | Sam Hayes | Bedfordshire Road CC | 04:09:28 | 1.59.43 |
| 14 | Chris Greig | High Wycombe CC | 04:12:19 | 2.02.15 |
| 15 | Stewart Wilson | Nene Valley | 04:13:53 | 2.02.18 |
| 16 | Ian Penrose | Leicestershire Road Club | 04:15:46 | 2.03.30 |
| 17 | Robert Saunders | North Bucks RC | 04:17:39 | 1.58.38 |
| 18 | Stan Maclak | Didcot Phoenix CC | 04:20:57 | 2.06.29 |
| 19 | Mark Scanlan | Didcot Phoenix CC | 04:21:09 | 2.03.42 |
| 20 | Ray Mason | Rutland CC | 04:21:51 | 2.06.44 |
| 21 | Geoff Perry | Team Milton Keynes | 04:22:00 | 2.05.01 |
| 22 | Peter Harridge | Icknield Road Club | 04:23:03 | 2.05.31 |
| 23 | Barry Tooke | North Hampshire RC | 04:23:23 | 2.06.26 |
| 24 | Paul Tunnell | Addiscombe CC | 04:24:54 | |
| 25 | Chris Tomkins | Hainault RC | 04:25:21 | 2.09.58 |
| 26 | Alan Crane | Team Sanjan Design | 04:26:17 | |
| 27 | Marina Bloom | Rugby RCC | 04:27:27 | 2.09.53 |
| 28 | Fiona Lawrence | ww.agiskoviner.com | 04:31:41 | 2.13.15 |
| 29 | Richard Gray | Icknield RC | 04:32:12 | 2.10.43 |
| 30 | Dave Solomon | Whitewebbs CC | 04:32:55 | 2.11.24 |
| 31 | Marion Rickman | Bicester Miiennium CC | 04:35:30 | 2.11.49 |
| 32 | Eric Angell | Redbridge CC | 04:38:20 | 2.16.19 |
| 33 | Matt Chudley | Bedfordshire Road CC | 04:40:16 | 2.13.50 |
| 34 | John Thompson | Severn RC TRIKE | 04:40:35 | 2.14.52 |
| 35 | Trevor Parrish | A5 Rangers CC | 04:42:02 | 2.15.13 |
| 36 | Barry Gilzean | Icknield RC | 04:42:57 | 2.12.18 |
| 37 | Moira Goodway | Banbury Star CC | 04:43:08 | 2.15.00 |
| 38 | Barry Page | Hertfordshire Whs | 04:43:42 | 2.16.58 |
| 39 | Lyndon Lewis | Bedfordshire Road CC | 04:45:13 | 2.15.10 |
| 40 | Murray Kirton | A5 Rangers CC | 04:48:36 | 2.13.55 |
| 41 | Mick Fountain | Didcot Phoenix CC | 04:49:54 | 2.14.17 |
| 42 | John Howells | Corinium CC | 04:53:36 | 2.23.33 |
| 43 | Jurgen Stetter | Bedfordshire Road CC | 04:55:13 | 2.25.19 |
| 44 | Keith Gelder | A5 Rangers CC | 04:55:52 | 2.22.33 |
| 45 | Mike Bloom | Rugby RCC | 04:58:57 | 2.21.19 |
| 46 | Sam Skuce | Verulam CC | 04:59:27 | 2.14.54 |
| 47 | Brian Foster | Norwich ABC | 05:00:22 | 2.26.08 |
| 48 | Richard Miller | North Bucks RC | 05:00:22 | 2.27.19 |
| 49 | Geoff Fletcher | Shaftesbury CC | 05:03:24 | 2.19.01 |
| 50 | Samantha Jenkins | Bedfordshire Road CC | 05:08:45 | 2.30.01 |
| 51 | Clive Collins | Hitchin Nomads CC | 05:14:27 | 2.31.41 |
| 52 | Cliff Tremaine | Kettering CC TRIKE | 05:16:22 | 2.27.18 |
| 53 | John Dawson | Peterborough CC | 05:17:54 | 2.29.54 |
F1/100 (2007 revision)
START On slip road west of A1 and south of Tempsford flyover leading onto A1 northbound; at LP3. (GR162523 ) Proceed towards A1, care at T junction 60 yds after start; northwards on A1, and continue over Black Cat RAB to
TURN (10.24 mls) at Buckden RAB. Retrace on A1 southbound, straight on at black Cat Rab and Sandy RAB to
TURN ( 25.18 mls) at Warden Lane RAB. Retrace on A1 northbound, straight on at Sandy Rab and Black Cat Rab to
TURN (40.19 mls) at Buckden Rab. Retrace on A1 southbound, straight on at Balck Cat Rab and Sandy Rab to
TURN (55.13 mls) at Warden Lane RAB. Retrace on A1 northbound to
BEAR LEFT (57.85 mls) at Beeston, signed A603, then in 200 yds sharp left at Bidlake Cnr, to join B658, proceed south over all junctions to Shefford, right at mini r/bout to Shefford North RAB, left along A600 over next 2 RAB’s to
S/O (67.51mls) at Shefford Sth RAB, proceed eastwards along
A507, s/o at next 3 RAB’s to
TURN (72.37 mls) at Norton RAB, retrace A507 westwards to Shefford Sth RAB where S/O over next 2 RABs to
TURN (79.60 mls) at Shefford Nth RAB retrace A600, becomes A507 over next 2 Rab’s to
S/O (81.95) at Shefford Sth RAB, proceed eastwards along A507, s/o at next 3 Rab’s to to
TURN (86.82 mls) at Norton RAB, retrace A507 westwards to Shefford Sth Rab where S/O over next 2 RABs to Shefford Nth RAB (94.05), turn right to Shefford, left @ Shefford Mini-rab onto B658, proceed north to
FINISH (100 mls) about 1 ml north of G&M RAB , 176 yds south of Sugarloaf Cottage, 43yds south of the 1st telegraph pole in field which is 86 yds north of wooden footpath sign (northill.3/4 ml)., GR164468