FOREST OF WONDERS

It’s a bit flat.” As I churned up the 10 per cent slopes of Godshill on the New Forest’s western fringes, I mulled over this statement. It kept me occupied while I tried to ignore the burn in my quads and forget about the many miles still to ride. In fairness to CW 5000 participant Steve Rowe, who had issued this declaration – and designed the route upon which my CW colleague Vern Pitt and I were basing the day’s ride – the New Forest is, indeed, a bit flat. It’s just that we had somehow managed to unearth one of the area’s most testing slopes and on top of that we were riding it completely unnecessarily, having missed a turn at the top of the hill, ridden down it, and only then realised our mistake.

Reading this tale of woe, you might be under the impression that Godshill is Hampshire’s answer to Alpe