Wyatt Wendels has maintained his reputation as the maddest member of the VCR squad by completing his third annual solo (unsupported) ride from Colchester to his new home up in Wakefield. Why he does it nobody knows, he just does. So here it is in his own words.....

So Monday night I travelled down to Colchester to take part in my third annual solo ride back to Wakefield. I made some changes to the plans and route year.

I decided to take my slowest bike (least gears) as the hills weren't too bad and meant I'd work a bit harder to maintain some decent speed.

I started in the early hours of Tuesday morning having already been up around 12 hours so I was already tired to start with so I made sure this was an endurance test as opposed to an out an out training session for the legs

One or two factors made the start a bit trickier. The train journey down was a nightmare! The last train from Peterborough was cancelled and it meant three extra trains, a coach journey and a taxi from Ipswich! Instead of getting to Colchester at 11.45 I was there just before 2! I also packed too much! In the Camelbak I was rammed with various food things. Too much! So much so I didn't have enough room to pack my 'civvie' shorts after I got off the train and wore them for the ride over my knicker. The back pack felt heavy!! It must have been about 16 or 17KG

Anyway I got going at 2am and I was so pleased I'd worn a knicker and a long sleeved thermal top as it was bitter! Must have been about two degrees.....and it felt it! Through the three hours of darkness I made good progress along the dark country lanes through Bury St.Edmunds on route to Thetford. I was pleased to have no pot hole incidents as I spent the darkness on country lanes that were unlit and often on what felt like farm tracks!

I was looking forward to daylight as I was sure the sunshine would bring warm temperatures........it didn't! It was a really fresh morning and with the breeze it felt pretty nippy! The long sleeves never came off. Surprisingly I had little appetite and didn't do myself any favours getting through the food. I was still carrying some heavy weight on my back through the morning.

The sun was out as I got into Kings Lynn and shortly afterwards moved into Lincolnshire......a county that goes on forever! It was pan flat in South Lincolnshire on the Fens as I got onto the A17 and headed for Sleaford. My speed was picking up nicely despite a cold headwind getting right at me. My legs were feeling good depsite the tiredness and fatigue getting to me. The A17 is a horrible road to ride on! A single carriageway trunk road where lorries thunder by one after the other. Most give you enough space......some don't!

I called 'power nap' 13 miles outside Lincoln and sat in a field, eating little and resting my head on my bag for fifteen minutes. Here I felt really tired just from the lack of sleep as much as anything else. I still wasn't eating a great deal for the work I was doing but I was drinking plenty and wasn't hungry, dehydrated or suffering from any form of cramps so I knew I was generally holding up ok.

I knew the rolling hills were coming for the last 70 odd miles and was another reason I wasn't feeling great as I set off for the rolling hills into Lincoln city centre. From Lincoln I rolled around the hills of North Lincs around Gainsbrough briefly entering Nottinghamshire before heading for Bawtry and South Yorkshire. As I got to Doncaster and the 175 mile mark I actually felt pretty good depsite being tired. Getting through the city centre in rush hour wasn't much fun, but I survived and started the long drag out of the city towards the final 25 miles of rolling hills home.

I stopped one last time in a layby to have half a roll and in a more surreal moment a French lorry pulled in. Driver gets out, pulls out a wheel bag, points at it and waves and proceeds to put his smart looking road bike together for an early evening ride!

I stuck the Ipod on to distract me as I rolled up and down the hills in the early evening sunshine. My legs were going great, much better than the previous two years. I finally dropped into Wakefield just before 7pm, pushing on quickly through the centre before dragging out the other side for the final four miles, mostly uphill. In great spirits and good health I arrived home just after 7.15pm, having been on the road for just over 17 hours. The total miles covered was just under 210 miles (the gps battery finally gave up at Doncaster!)

No punctures (unlike last year when I punctured in Doncaster with no spare tube and rode 30 miles on a rim.......in pouring rain!) and it stayed dry and sunny for the day.......just cold!

All in all a good ride. The best one yet. 4th installment with a new route next year......

Wyatt Wendels, 2011.