Losing to Walter

One of the neat things about my GPS is that I can record a ride, and then go back and race myself to see if I can cover the same route more quickly. I think of it as racing against Walter E. Geaux - my alter ego.

It's been a while since I used this feature, but this evening I decided to test myself again, racing the Winter Hill loop that I originally set up last year.

If I had thought this through at the time I would have taken the first ride a bit more slowly, and set up less of a challenge - but I didn't. Since then I've been struggling to get round the same route more quickly.

This evening I was held up by traffic quite early on, but I pressed on and managed to make up the time I'd lost, until somebody stopped me to ask directions to Maidenhead bridge. 

"Turn left at the bottom of the lane, then when you get into town, turn left at the main road". 

• "So that's left at the bottom of the lane, then left at the main road"
  

"Yes that's it" tick, tick tick.....

• "We turn left twice, to get to Maidenhead bridge"
  

"Yes that's it" tick, tick tick.....

• "So it's left and then left"
  

"Yes!!"

• "Then once we get to the bridge, do you know how we find such-and-such road" 
  

I could have stalled the timer for a while, but I didn't think of that until later. By the time we had sorted it all out I was several minutes behind schedule. 

I tried really hard to make up the time. As I passed through Cookham I was almost back on track, and by the time I reached Maidenhead riverside I was  ahead. Unfortunately I couldn't keep up the faster pace, and in the last few miles heading home I ended up losing all the time I had regained earlier.

So it was all a bit frustrating, but for a short outing it was a pretty good ride, and afterwards I was certainly ready for a good dinner. I'd like to think that Walter was too.