DDH, congratulations on your ride last weekend, especially as you were ill.
26 miles is a great distance and not to be sniffed at - and it's irrelevant what other people ride - your ride is YOUR ride. Hope you have fun on the 50 and feel a lot better.

Good job on your 1:2:1 puncture workshop - that's the most important thing you'll ever learn (aside from learning to ride your bike in the first place, but you've already mastered that one!). And I've recently changed over to a Topeak Road Morph pump, which is 100 times better than any little pump - gets your tyres (tires) up to full pressure and won't bend your valve in the process. Lots of girls here use them and I'm now a complete convert.

Happy riding.