Road Cycling - Thursday Blast 10.07.25

The Thirsty Blast – July 10th Edition 🚴‍♂️🔥🫠

Well, the Thirsty Blast didn’t disappoint. Six brave souls lined up, dreams intact, legs unaware of the trauma about to unfold. The weather? Hot enough to melt cassette grease. The lineup? A mix of horsepower, optimism, and one guy (me) still trying to remember what fresh legs feel like.

We had:
• New Guy Tony – fresh out the wrapper and strong as an ox on espresso.
• MJ, a.k.a. The Feather, weighing in at 52kg of Cipollata and pure heart.
• James, aka The Tractor, always ready to plough through pain.
• Michael – probably Thor on annual leave, wielding his watts like Mjölnir.
• Jason – also known as The Exocet Missile, smooth, savage, and possibly battery-powered.
• And then there was me, dragging around several months’ worth of spaghetti legs and questionable decisions.

The plan? Genius in theory:
• Jason, Michael & James on ¾-mile pulls (a.k.a. engine room).
• Tony and myself doing ½-mile turns.
• MJ on ¼-mile efforts, light as a feather and twice as brave.

MJ was first to detonate, ejecting around mile 14 after giving it absolutely everything. Respect where it’s due—he doesn’t show up to coast, he shows up to suffer. And suffer he did. Rumour has it he’s still trying to catch his breath somewhere near Collingham.

Meanwhile, the rest of us pushed on, the rotations running smoother than a freshly waxed chain—until someone forgot to tell Jason that ¾-mile turns don’t mean “drag us into another dimension.” Honestly, he probably should’ve just done 2-mile pulls and carried us home like shopping bags.

By some miracle (or pity from the gods of lactic acid), I felt slightly better than usual. A few recent rides have stirred signs of life in the legs. Let’s not get ahead of ourselves, but there might be a comeback brewing. Or at least a slower death.

All in all:
🔥 Legs? Toasted.
💧 Sweat? Rivers.
😁 Mood? Euphoric suffering.
Happy days, lads. This is what it’s all about: teamwork, a bit of pain, a lot of laughs, and just enough suffering to call it training.

#ThirstyBlast #PainCaveChronicles #ThursdayThrashing #DraftingTheGods #ExocetJason #FeatherMJ #TractorJames #ThorOnABike #SufferTogetherStrongerForever #cycling #roadcycling #fyp