LAP OF LUXURY

We jump off the south coast of England for a fast, fun loop of the Channel Island of Guernsey

- John Whitney

The time triallists and triathletes had the right idea. Moving like unstoppable juggernauts south down the west coast of Guernsey, these riders were not so much benefiting from the generous north-easterly wind but leaching off it. A strong tailwind is the most flattering of allies. With an invisible hand on your back, it'll trick you into believing how brilliant you are, that you've stumbled upon a patch of rare form. Don't listen to a word of it. It's all an illusion. At least that's what I was thinking, floundering into the severest of headwinds, riding against the tide of cyclists heading south, at half the speed.

The cyclists of this island, the second largest of the Channel Islands behind Jersey, have adapted to the habits of the weather here. Usually, that means riding anti-clockwise around its perimeter, with the strongest, chilliest winds often blowing down the west coast. What it does mean is tackling the hillier southeast of the island in the second half of your ride, which, for me, wouldn't have been a problem at all. A recent bout of Covid had left me struggling for fitness, so I'd brought along with me Orbea's Gain e-bike, a rather brilliantly executed, barely 11kg machine that gives you just enough assistance to make any incline feel like a speed bump. The downside to it is that the motor cuts out at speeds above 15mph, so in such situations - grovelling into the wind up an exposed coastal road, for instance - you're on your own, riding under your own steam, on what is suddenly just a heavy road bike.

Games afoot