By the time we reached the town of Penge, it was past midday, extremely hot and I was already down to less than a litre of water from the 3 litres I started with. We stopped at the local shop. Bought ice and water and shared a 2 litre bottle of coke.
Back on our bikes, I could feel the butterflies in my stomach. I’m always nervous before a serious ride, even more so given what has been said and written about Penge Pass. Apart from a few pics and descriptions from Xpat’s reports, I had no idea what to expect, other than the hellish climbs I imagined in moments of self doubt........
We crossed the stream and soon after, things got real very quickly......


