Having a howler around Haywards Heath - not quite

A very well signposted event which is to be expected with a and event organised by UK Cycling Events and one sponsored by wiggle I had entered the Standard route, but due to other commitments I had to do the shorter one being the 37.5mile route. This route was classed as “Fun” due to the amount of hills I don’t know where this description came from, unless you enjoy pain. I began in the 1st group of riders, in which about 20 set off, on the first incline this group split into about 4 smaller groups. I could see the front group easing further away, so I decided to catch up and get on the back wheel. This group consisted of four other riders, five including me, 2 chaps at the front decided to share the front, I attempted to help out at the front, but was shortly overtaken, so I thought fair enough, and let them go for it. I stuck at the back on the wheel of a chap wearing an Essex Roads Jersey, but on one of the next inclines a gap started to be created between him and the rest of the group, unsure If he will be able to bridge the gap when the road straightened out, I took the front and closed down the group. Another guy couldn’t keep up the pace the guys on the front were keeping up, and then we were down to 3 of us. It was a struggle to keep on these guys back wheels, they were motoring along. I found that one of these guys was a cat 3 racer and has been doing a fair amount of cycling over in France and Italy this year. You could certainly tell. After about 20 miles, with the average speed at this point 20mph, it was my time to split off and follow the “FUN” route, at this point I thought due to the name it will now straighten out and be an enjoyable ride. That, it was not, I turned into a road that had recently been gravelled and this road went on for about 2miles with a gentle incline the whole way, no decline at the end of this unfortunately, just another steep incline which overlooked Weir Wood Reservoir, fantastic views up here. But the rewards then came my way, with many descents and flat sections which enabled me to build my average speed back up. I crossed the finish line at around 10am, the organisers turned around to look at me and said “everything alright?” I turned and said “Yes thanx” they had thought I had come back early due to a mechanical problem, they soon realised that I had finished and quickly had to reprogram their systems for finishing times rather than start times, loosing vital seconds while they done this. I was the fastest finisher for this distance, finishing in the gold time standard and 14minutes ahead of the next rider. Stats were: Distance: 37.5 miles Time: 1hr 58mins 7secs Average Speed: 19.1mph Total elevation gain: 2325 ft