Cyclist Brian Carless tackled Bog Walk gorge and Mt Rosser. - Contributed

For a week, I had been planning on making my first big ride of the year; having in mind the Kingston to Negril ride in October, I wanted to get the miles in my legs. In younger times, on fresher legs - as far back as 13 years ago, I had broken through 'the wall' to get to Ochi. I thought it would be a good warm-up run to tackle the widow maker that is Mt Rosser. Early April 26, I got myself together, got on the trusty, not rusty Cannondale and instantly felt something was wrong - soft front tyre.

There was enough pressure, though, for me to get to Spanish Town to meet my friend who would be bold enough to make the journey with me. It took me a time of 50-something minutes to make that 10-mile journey to his house in Sydenham Villas. I got some air in the tyre - I banged it up to 140psi. Riding on soft tyres really saps the energy; high pressure is the only way I fly.

energy bars

I had bought six energy bars to share between us. We did our pre-ride check to ensure that we were covered in case the unthinkable should happen - cash, charged cellphones with credit on them, water - and my Gatorade (is it in you?), spare tube, pump and tyre levers. We were as ready as would ever be.

From the Villas, we went on to Old Harbour Road and Featherbed Lane and on to the Spanish Town bypass. As we rode, we spoke about our good ol' days of cycling when we were at the top of our game. How we have changed! We just can't hammer the road like we used to - marriage, mortgage and kids have a way of curtailing extra time, you know? We were just cruising along at a mere 15mph, no rush, no fuss, jus' spinning a granny gear - 39x17. On our way through the Bog Walk gorge, we saw the regular Saturday morning speed demons making their way back into Kingston and made a nature stop at the famous human genital rock.

Bog Walk came up in good time, but I noticed that I tended to be like diesel fuel - it takes a while for me to get warmed up. We made our first official stop after we passed the stop light on the Linstead bypass, we ate about six bananas and two apples, but we didn't want to stop for long because I don't want the diesel to get cold again. I am 16 years older and 70lb heavier than when I starting riding out in the 1990s!

We made it to Ewarton without any major problems. We began our trek up the eight per cent gradient Mt Rosser. I noticed a face of a smiling little boy on a JMMB billboard but it was no smile for me. I went on my 'granny gear' from early out - 39x25. That's my lowest gear, didn't want to take any chance with the mountain. I was doing 7mph easy but my pal was ahead of me (he is much lighter than me and he was on 39x17). Made it past the big stone wall fence where it is said that the man had the monkey and I rode fast enough that the owner or the monkey wasn't going to see me.

I used the cell tower at the top as a marker, but even though I could mentally picture where I was going, it didn't make the ride any easier. To make matters worse, the heavens opened up. Slowly and carefully, I made my way down the hill past Faith's Pen - oh the smell of real country food warmed the nose all the way to my stomach.

Moneague was reached in drenching rain. I looked down on my Cateye odometer and saw 40 miles on it. My heart leapt! Ochi is not too far from here. Stopped at the gas station had a snack and put some of that Gatorade in me and off I went. The cold t'ing not nice. But the rain was sheeting down. I even saw the triple Olympic medal man in his M3 before it was written off. We eventually pulled into the Ochi Shell station and rested.

Downhill no 'bwoy t'ing'

Going back up wasn't so hard, but again, I was on the granny gear. The descent down the hill was no 'bwoy t'ing' either; I saw speeds of 30mph on my clock in the wet - that's not a nice thing. Not for those with faint hearts, weak constitutions and shaky hands! When I reached Bog Walk, I saw a truck laden with sand and I said that this not leaving me to come home. I followed it all the way through the gorge. It wasn't going more than 25mph. I had a flat tyre at De La Vega City, I fixed it and went home.

What a ride it was, I wasn't too tired, but I had the feeling that I have made a big impact in my training for Negril in October. I took 5hrs 51mins to ride 80 miles at an average speed of 13.5mph. Me ol' but no cold!

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