...Done, just got home. 
Only one other singlespeeder; I saw so many crudged derailleurs, clogged chains,etc. I wore through a pair of v-brake blocks that were brand new on friday and my chain looks well sad for itself, but no mechanical problems whatsoever. [:-)]
51km in 4hours 3 minutes ride time - 4 1/2 if you count refreshment stops. The people manning the stops have surely a place in heaven - free bananananas, flapjack, fruit cake, muffins and spring water ad lib.
Insanely muddy conditions, it hasn't been dry for weeks so conditions were varied, porridgey mud, chocolate sauce mud, gluey mud, clayey mud and muddy grass with nettles. Fab course. If anyone's interested I can scan the route map in.
Off to the pub for recovery drinks now
o_O
She who succeeds in gaining the mastery of the bicycle will gain the mastery of life.
– Frances E. Willard, How I Learned To Ride The Bicycle, 1895
The follower of singlespeeding
is at one with his bike.