@amir and I also rode the New Border Raid last weekend.
Amir was doubtful about starting as he had caught a chest infection during the week and as he had offered me a lift Dave C stepped in with a pair of free train tickets for me that he no longer required. However Amir decided to go and we drove down on Friday evening.
We had a day of headwinds, amazing views (Hadrian's Wall, the Red Kite Way, Glentrool Forest Park), cafe and Co-op stops and unending roads before we reached the furthest point west at Girvan and chips on the prom.
Dark and hilly to the overnight control where we were greeted by helpers who seemed to know what we needed before we knew ourselves - chilli, rice pudding, tea, beds. What seemed like a moment later it was 3.30am and we were off again into the dark, coasting downhill through Sanquar (wish I'd known about the oldest post office). Daylight by Drumlanrig. Breakfast at Annan Water Services.
The headwind from the first day was now a taily which blew us up the Moffat Water and past the Grey Mare's Tail where the downhill took over and brought us out at Selkirk. Up to this point it had been cloudy and we'd been expecting rain but at Abbotsford the sun came out and we emerged from the woods into a furnace.
The cooling headwind of the day before, now behind us, reduced evaporative cooling to zero. We poured water over our heads, into our shoes, it didn't help. We rested in the shade of a tree near Kelso but when we set off again up a steep hill Amir, who is usually well ahead of me on hills was nowhere to be seen. I stopped and he reached me, complaining of power loss in the heat. He was coughing constantly by this point.
We pressed on, more slowly, taking turns at the front. At Wooler I asked Amir how he was and he admitted that he had been hallucinating!!! He was very hot looking and only wanted to get cooled down. He had some water and sat for a while before asking what I'd do if he packed. I said I'd go on and he said he was glad of that and ordered a taxi which came and took him and his bike the last 77km to the finish. His illness, two sleepless nights and the relentless heat finally brought him to a stop. He had ridden 530km.
I rode on to Alnwick where I met up with other riders who I stayed with to the finish where Amir was waiting, looking much better having had some medical attention from the organisers. I am super happy to have achieved a long-standing ambition - to gain a Super Randonneur award - but that does seem just a bit of background noise against the full experience.
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