Yet Another Cycling Forum
General Category => Audax => Topic started by: Tomsk on 27 December, 2013, 04:53:47 pm
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....and other thoughts. I've updated AUKweb with 2014 route sheets and information [barring last-minute route checks etc]
The bare bones of 2014's schedule is:
Saturday 26th April 00:01 Manningtree - Green and Yellow Fields BRM 300km [preceded by curry, from 21:00 Friday at the 'Mogul', Manningtree]
Saturday 24th May 09:00 Manningtree - Asparagus and Strawberries BRM 400km
Saturday 7th June 08:30 Dunmow - FlitchBikes BR 200km, 09:30 - BP 100km, 10:00 - BP 50km
Friday 4th July 21:00 Dunmow - Hereward the Wake BRM 300km [Preceded by a curry, from 18:30 at the 'Jalsa Ghar', Dunmow]
Saturday 13th September 06:00 Dunmow - The Flatlands BRM 600km
Something else to think about: the Essex SR series will run as last year - four Essex events, calendar or permanent. One Essex DIY allowed.
There's also the 'Grand Slam of Shiny', 50km - 600km in correct amounts - no substituting longer for shorter.....and if you do a fairly rubbish Mersey 24, your 5 points might gain you the SR 2000
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....and other thoughts. I've updated AUKweb with 2014 route sheets and information [barring last-minute route checks etc]
The bare bones of 2014's schedule is:
Saturday 26th April 00:01 Manningtree - Green and Yellow Fields BRM 300km [preceded by curry, from 21:00 Friday at the 'Mogul', Manningtree]
Saturday 24th May 09:00 Manningtree - Asparagus and Strawberries BRM 400km
Saturday 7th June 08:30 Dunmow - FlitchBikes BR 200km, 09:30 - BP 100km, 10:00 - BP 50km
Friday 4th July 21:00 Dunmow - Hereward the Wake BRM 300km [Preceded by a curry, from 18:30 at the 'Jalsa Ghar', Dunmow]
Saturday 13th September 06:00 Dunmow - The Flatlands BRM 600km
Something else to think about: the Essex SR series will run as last year - four Essex events, calendar or permanent. One Essex DIY allowed.
There's also the 'Grand Slam of Shiny', 50km - 600km in correct amounts - no substituting longer for shorter.....and if you do a fairly rubbish Mersey 24, your 5 points might gain you the SR 2000
Hmmm, G & Y looks like a decent choice that weekend! A & S might be missed due to Brimstone clash. But that 400 is well moveable into some other weekend. Flatlands 600 cal date looks good. But would be moveable if necessary! With a perm 200 of the Essex SR done looks like 2nd Essex SR as a goal would be a good one!
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I hope to ride one or more of these. I have never done asparagus and strawberries - so that is in as a possibility.
Hereward the wake is in for a possible tandem adventure as well.
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I am planning on the Manningtree 300 & 400 again this year. Last year, I was disappointed to miss the Essex SR series by a diary clash for the Flatlands 600. This year I might try for the 600 as a permanent earlier in the season.
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Added to auk diary for now. Like the start times.
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*Subscribes to the thread*
will be back in 2014, if not for the great rides it'll definitely be for one of the shiny badges ;)
I have a nice memory of reaching the beautiful Houghton Hall estate on the G&Y fields 300km. Sadly no pictures to tell the tale, I guess I had better do it again :p
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Green and Yellow Fields was a favourite ride of last season - the bit in the woods on the run into breakfast (Burnham deep dale?) was lovely. Just a nice ride all in all. Highly recommended.
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Got the Grand Slam 50 - 600 last season, and all but Flatlands for the Essex SR, this year hopefully no more gout attacks and the shiny will be mine.
Found out at a recent family funeral that Adrian Sharpe, my first cousin once removed, rode Asparagus and Strawberries last year and I did not spot him. Hopefully a family reunion under happier circumstances in May..
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Got the Grand Slam 50 - 600 last season, and all but Flatlands for the Essex SR, this year hopefully no more gout attacks and the shiny will be mine.
Same Big S, missed out on the Flatlands due coming worst off with a fight against a mountain bike.
The other 3 rides were brilliant.
The A&S was my 1st 400 as well.
As Arnie says I'll be back.
Mmmm Tom, one question I have to ask is :facepalm:I may be missing something here, but how is possible to do the grand slam with the 50,100 & 200 all on the same day and only 1 DIY allowed.
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Mmmm Tom, one question I have to ask is :facepalm:I may be missing something here, but how is possible to do the grand slam with the 50,100 & 200 all on the same day and only 1 DIY allowed.
I believe it is as follows: The rules above are for the Essex SR. The Grand Slam of Shiny is "merely" collecting all of the AUK distance badges in one season (50, 100, 150, 200, 300 400, 600). Conceivably, by adding in the shaftesbury 150, and one of the high easter ones (50 or 100) it is possible to get an Essex Grand Slam of Shiny without recourse to any DIYs (as opposed to my GSoS which, although Essexy, did have DIY 100, 150, 200 in it).
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Probably Green & Yellow Fields and Asparagus & Strawberries for me. The Flatlander is the weekend after the KCA 12hr again. I thought I could manage both this year, but could still only just walk mid-week.
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Tom, I hope to participate in 2014 but failing that, a ride from the Mogul to the Jalsa Ghar would substitute nicely
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Saturday 24th May 09:00 Manningtree - Asparagus and Strawberries BRM 400km
I've seen this on aukweb and it's on my optional-list(the whole list has that status). I can get a night ferry from Hook on Friday, do the ride, and be on the day ferry on Sunday, returning home Sunday evening. And fresh at work on Monday morning!
Thursday after the Germans do their Arrow though, that's also on my options-list.
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Tom, I hope to participate in 2014 but failing that, a ride from the Mogul to the Jalsa Ghar would substitute nicely
:thumbsup: TWO curries on one ride - blimey, I didn't manage that on the Flatlands even - a bit of a tour de Wetherspoons [must try harder!]
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Father Christmas left me a space blanket in my stocking, so I'm all set for another Flatl*n** bus shelter experience. Going to try for the Essex / Wessex SR double but need to resolve the scheduling conflicts around the May bank holidays, not least with the wife. When you say one Essex DIY allowed, is that any DIY passing through this fair county or does it have to start/finish there?
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When you say one Essex DIY allowed, is that any DIY passing through this fair county or does it have to start/finish there?
Hmmmm...had this query before, but casting my mind back, I think my opinion at the time was out of county starts are ok so long as a goodly chunk of the county is crossed. The main thing is that the majority of brevets are of an Essex persuasion. Hope that helps and I'm glad some of you are treating this with the gravity it deserves ;)
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Tom, are you thinking of doing a 150km route at some point so as to get an Essex grand slam.
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I hope to participate in at least a couple of your events this year, Tom. Though history suggests the hope maybe futile! Maybe Perms and a DiY, though, once I've built up some fitness - probably with young MasterC along also.
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Tom, are you thinking of doing a 150km route at some point so as to get an Essex grand slam.
This is an excellent suggestion :thumbsup: - I'll look into it. There is still time to get a summer event onto the calendar - maybe around TdF time in July.
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Tom, are you thinking of doing a 150km route at some point so as to get an Essex grand slam.
This is an excellent suggestion :thumbsup: - I'll look into it. There is still time to get a summer event onto the calendar - maybe around TdF time in July.
Maybe a Dunmow start event heading in the direction LEL took coming back South, and then looping back, could be something? Nice roads there and as far as I can recall not many Audaxes heading that way, or?
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I've got an idea for a 150km route - up towards Cambridge, over to Red Lodge, avoiding Newmarket, then back to Saffron Walden to pick up the TdF route as far as rayne then back to Dunmow: 100 miles/165km.
I'd hoped to do 22nd June, but I'm away the week before, so not ideal for final prep. last minute issues etc. I don't want to trespass on the Walden Velo Sportive on the 6th July [day before Stage 3] so I'll probably tack it onto the FlitchBikes Rides on 7th June. Further off from the TdF than I'd like. All the July weekends though are filled with Hereward, Dun Run, Mersey 24......
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*subscribes to thread*
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I'm out for most of the calendar rides due to 'other commitments' so will probably resort to Tom and Herman's perms to see me through for my Essex SR.
Probably will do a DIY 600 rather than that rain and wind lashed eternal tormenting descent in to hell the Flatliners after my lantern rouge performance on last years ride.
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Local friends have told me that the other curry house in Manningtree, the Nirala Tandoori, is superior to the Mogul in terms of vegetarian options and general food. You could always try a different curry house out!
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Great fun last year, looking forward to another Essex SR :thumbsup:
No convenient bus shelters for us on the The Flatlands BRM 600km...but
Revived by a 2hr kip in Macdonalds, at Spalding and a second Breakfast :P
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I've got an idea for a 150km route - up towards Cambridge, over to Red Lodge, avoiding Newmarket, then back to Saffron Walden to pick up the TdF route as far as rayne then back to Dunmow: 100 miles/165km.
Good plan LOL.
Hope to do one of these rides this year, a BP only, no bus shelters for me unless it goes REALLY wrong.
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Local friends have told me that the other curry house in Manningtree, the Nirala Tandoori, is superior to the Mogul in terms of vegetarian options and general food. You could always try a different curry house out!
Thanks AH, I'll look into it....
avoiding Newmarket....
Good plan LOL.
'cept on the way back to Saffron Walden, just for fun :facepalm:
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Newbie alert!
I'm looking to do my first 300 this year and the Green and Yellow fields lands nicely on the calendar in April.
I've downloaded the route sheet and notes and Tom's comments in the notes state it is a x rated event for experienced riders. I was just wondering how 'experienced' that means.
I've done several 100km Audaxes over the past couple of years and a 200km sportive. I've got time to train for it so I'm not worried too much about stepping up to 300km (depending on how the next few months progress). I also used to ride a lot of club runs but haven't for a few years now.
I suppose I'm a little more worried about the navigation. I'm a bit old fashioned (despite my sprightly 34 years of age) and shy away from Garmins etc in favour of maps and routesheets. There doesn't look to be too many instructions so I guess theres quite long sections without too many junctions during the night leg? I have done a lot of rally car navigation at night but that doesn't involve controlling the vehicle or looking much where you are going!
I'm building a new bike for this year (a Genesis Equilibrium) and that will be well sorted based on the reliability I've had from the parts I'm transferring from the current steed. I do only have battery lights though but they are good quality and I believe three hours from each of those should get me through the night (with a cheap back up in the saddle bag just in case).
Anyway, apologies for my rambling, just thought I'd introduce myself and see what the more experienced on this board thought of my chances?
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Hello!
You'll be fine! X-rated in this case means there's no TLC from manned controls (village halls with a couple of volunteers serving tea and food etc.) - you're on your own, but Tom has you call at some excellent commercial controls on the ride, so you won't starve. There's also no hall at the end, so you'll post your brevet card and receipts to Tom for validation. Last time, Tom rode the ride as well.
Make sure you have a head-torch or some way of reading the route sheet at night (and somewhere to mount that route sheet).
I can't remember the navigation of the night-time section of G&YF - but I am sure it wasn't overly complex.
Most of the time, during night riding, little groups form even more than during the day so there's always others around to share the navigation etc.
That time of year with a midnight start, you're likely to face around 5 hours of night-riding - so as long as you're confident in the lights to deliver that, then you're good to go.
It's a lovely ride - I hope to be there myself, but may have some other things going on.
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I suppose I'm a little more worried about the navigation. I'm a bit old fashioned (despite my sprightly 34 years of age) and shy away from Garmins etc in favour of maps and routesheets. There doesn't look to be too many instructions so I guess theres quite long sections without too many junctions during the night leg? I have done a lot of rally car navigation at night but that doesn't involve controlling the vehicle or looking much where you are going!
I did this last year and it was a straight forward route - http://ridewithgps.com/trips/1252878
The advantages of a garmin at night is that you don't have to worry stopping every so often to check the map and directions, looking for turnings in the pitch black. Also it will warn you if veer of course.
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trekker12, there will be a curry before the start and I would suggest you enjoy that as it will be a chance to get to know fellow riders before the off.
As marcusjb says little groups form, me and Huggy of this parish are doing the ride so you're welcome to tag along with us if you want. Both of us use Garmins, speaking personally, I can't stand route sheets or maps but carry both as a back up.
Basically, you'll be fine :thumbsup:
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This was a great ride last year with a good curry before hand. (I knicked the first part of it up to Bancaster for a DIY I did later in the year).
It was flippin cold though during the night, someone on here reported that it got down to -5c so go prepared.
As Marcus said controls are commercial so you have to buy stuff from shops rather than have a nice volunteer cater for your every need. No problems n this ride as distance between controls are well spaced.
Good Luck and Enjoy!
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You'll be fine, trekker21. As already mentioned, over the first few miles little groups form (especially at night) and between you all there should be no problem navigating. It's not a bad idea, though, to plot out the route on a road atlas or map beforehand so that you have a mental image of it, even if you don't actually use the map on the ride. That can be a great help if you come to a point where you're uncertain of which way to go. Just knowing that the route passes close to a particular town or goes north,then east, can help.
For holding the route sheet, I recommend the Klik-Fix map holder that sits over your headset. I think SJS Cycles sell them. And the head torch is invaluable - for fixing punctures as well as navigation! Obviously, bonk rations in the back pocket or saddlebag - and you're ready to roll!
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Although I use a garmin - I always carry the route sheet in a back pocket - and my fall back mounting for this is a bit of foam round the stem with a bulldog clip. So cheaper than a commercial route sheet holder - and when I did use those - I found that they rattled a lot ( very annoying) and finally just fell apart.
Just my alternative cheapskate method -- but you must have a way of reading the route sheet in the dark if that is what you are going to rely on -- helmet mounted head torch - and although it is 100% true that groups will form and stay together at night - you have to be ready for the "unknown" which happens - when your group says we will ride on slowly catch us up -- but 5 minutes later you get to a junction and are not sure which way to choose.
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.....Concurs with the wisdom above.....
The night section [Manningtree-Barton Mills-Burnham Deepdale] is pretty straightforward, and most likely done in a group, unlike a 600 with an early morning start, say, where you're sometimes faced with the choice of ploughing a lonely furrow or hanging around at late evening controls, looking for buddies to ride with. Don't get carried away and 'chain-gang' it or you'll be too early for breakfast at Deepdale Cafe, though other eateries are available further on.
As to fitness and preparation, trekker12, if you can ride 100 miles and not be totally wrecked at the end, then you can take on ANY Audax distance, no matter how silly it looks. I'll be riding it again this year - look out for news about the CURRY :thumbsup:
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It was flippin cold though during the night, someone on here reported that it got down to -5c so go prepared.
It was a ride of 2 temperatures, winter gear to start & summer gear to finish. Also some water bottles were freezing I heard.
My Garmin registered -5c during the night & 25c during the day so checking the weather is essential and possibly something to carry / stow clothing if the weather is the same this year.
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You just know that everyone on the Green and Yellow Fields this year will end up carrying tons of extra kit which will remain in the luggage throughout.
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It was unseasonably cold.
I think the trick is to not stop at the first garage (service through a hatch), but to stop at the next one (Tom had asked kindly if they would let cyclists inside from memory)?
Feck it was chilly.
But the bit, just after the sun rises, going through the woods on the way to Burnham Deepdale was one of the real highlights of last season for me.
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I did the G&YF in 2012 and whilst no water bottles froze it was nippy and wet. I shall be carrying a range of clothing, comfort trumps extra weight.
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Wow, thanks all for the support and advice. Best get the bike built!!
I've got a Polaris mapboard which I've used on the 100s I've done but it does rather clutter the handlebars and limits where I can rest my hands on the tops so will consider re-mounting elsewhere when I build the new bike. It's also not exactly waterproof. Maybe a handlebar bag with clear map cover might be worth considering.
Decision also made to fit the panniers rather than just a saddle bag as by the sound of it I'll need two lots of kit and somewhere to store the leftover curry (bonk rations)!
See you all on the 26th April then. I'll let you get back on topic now!
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Hi trekker12
I also ride the Genesis Equilibrium with a Carradice Cadet bag on the back, and a Carradice bar bag with map holder on the top, which you can roll up, turn over etc. The system works well for me, I can also run additional power out of the bag to the Garmin or front light.
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+1 to bar bags. Never needed more than that plus Carradice Barley [for longer/early season events], even for PBP/LEL [and no bag drops - pah!] Not fond of over-stuffed jersey pockets either....
In bar bag: map, bonk rations, camera, headtorch, hat, gloves, batteries, simple washkit, Sudocrem etc. Route sheets in A4 ziplock bags, in map holder on bag.
In saddlebag: extra layers, spare jersey,shorts etc. Inner tubes and spare folding tyre in side pockets. Waterproofs strapped on top [and bag of French pastries on PBP]. Tools in separate pouch under saddle.
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I felt I should update my postings above with the news that I have decided to give this one a miss this time round. I do intend to do it perhaps next year but deceided 300km was a touch ambitious at this stage in my Audax career. I'll give no excuses I just don't think I've ridden enough this spring.
Am looking at some 200s at the end of May and early June - Edmunds Sally forth and Paddle and if I get a pass for two weekends in a row the Flitchbikes 200.
I'll see how they go to begin with.
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But, but....I have arranged for some actual Yellow Fields this year, trekker12.
Do it this year to prove you can qualify for PBP next year!
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Oh no! Surely the thread can't end like this. Everyone feels like this before their first 300. It seems an incredible distance and it is but there is also lots of time. Spare time in fact. This isn't a speed event like a sportive.
Don't worry about the route sheet .This is a time honoured and tested route. I don't use GPS and have had no problems route finding this route. And I see you are already set up to carry and read the sheet at night.
The midnight start works well. As the sun rises your energy levels will be renewed. This ride is an experience not to miss.
Last year's cold weather was a one off. That said it made for a most memorable audax. I wouldn't change it!
My advice is not to bale out now but to look at options along the way to bale out if it came to it. Look at rail services going direct to Manningtree from Norwich, Diss, Stowmarket and even Needham Market (a few trains only).
My guess is you won't need the bale out and will enjoy the sense of achievement at the end. Whatever, maybe we'll meet up Manningtree or at the Long Melford audax. I ride a blue Dawes 'Audax' tourer.
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This will be my first 300 and I'm really looking forward to it, particularly as I live local. I've done the Norfolk Nips series over the winter and a couple of 200's over the past few weeks (one of them while suffering with a stinking cold!). I just think about the next control point and no further, keep pedalling without trying to push to hard - its surprising how the miles and time go by. Its a great feeling when you know you've cracked it, quite addictive this audaxing. When I start to find things tough I stop for a few minutes, have a drink, walk around and stretch and then carry on.....
I'll be on a cream coloured Genesis Equilibrium which has proved to be a very comfortable and capable bike. I haven't even had a single puncture over the past six months, though I feel I'll probably be eating my words at 3 am......
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trekker12, wise words hath been spoke! Just do it, you'll be fine and we'll look after you. I'm planning on taking it steady as I've not done as many miles as I'd of liked this year.
I shall be on a blue Ribble. I'm a tall twat with a big nose answering to the name of Steve. Come and say hello.
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...with a big nose answering to the name of Steve...
What does the rest of you answer to? :P
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Well I entered and I have decided I will actually ride it this year. Note Trekker12 I have done exactly one ride over 100miles in the last six months, and had three months off the bike over xmas but I suspect I will be able to do it, though I KNOW I will have some slow and groveling buts... Honestly the hardest thing about the ride will be the not sleeping.
Tom I will be driving up from London and will have eaten earlier, but I would like to come and have a pudding and a coffee with you folk if that's ok? See you about 11...
Right, off to download routes then...
Allen
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I just worked out that this year's ride will be the 20th anniversary of my first Green and Yellow fields back when Herman used to run it from Wrabness.
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Sorry all - feeling guilty now. I've already made promises at home - we've got a sailing boat to go into the water and that has taken priority (too many hobbies, not enough weekends).
I'll be around next weekend so it's a definate no. I WILL be doing it at some point in the future. Promise.
Enjoy it I'll be thinking of you.
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If I had a yacht I'd priortise getting that into the water too!
No guilt, just extreme encouragement. We all want other people to be as crazy ;-)
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I'm entered. Last time I was in this part of the world it was my final day of LEL and it was hot and windy making it a real slog across the fens. A little less heat and a lot less wind would be nice please.
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Looks dry and 9-10 degrees overnight. Wet Saturday lunchtime and afternoon. Tailwind out and headwind home.
Think that should be Ok. In the last 2 years I have had a drenching and then freezing conditions overnight.
Booked on a train home just after 4pm. Haven't slept as much as I would have liked to this week so expect the dozies somewhere.
Rob
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I'm all set and ready for my biryani.
Managed 3 hours kip this afternoon :thumbsup:
Feel more up for it than I did earlier today. I don't mind getting wet in the last quarter, I'll be soggy whilst having a pint at Manningtree station.
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Starting to liven up, achy and fuzzy head earlier. A coffee before the start should get me going, then sunrise around Swaffham should be a boost.
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The sun rise and the woods was a delight last year (especially after the bitterly cold night). Judging by the state of things last weekend, you will also not be short of yellow fields this year.
Enjoy it and ride safe everyone!
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Well done Tom. I finished it this time. Great ride and lovely breakfast babes , sorry I mean lovely breakfast stop. Even made it back for the train back to Norfolk, just. Would have been quicker to ride straight home from the cafe. :thumbsup: thank you.
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Tough ride for me, the night was very dark (yes I know thats usual) but there wasn't any moonlight and the first you knew of a hill was when your reaching for a lower gear. Today was blustery.
Thanks for organising Tomsk, you are a sadist though based on start time and 'rolling' Essex countryside before arrivee.
Well done OD on your performance, great job!!
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the first you knew of a hill was when your reaching for a lower gear.
Should've taken the fixed ;).
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I'd be more jiggered than I am now. Hats off to those that did.
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Well done OD on your performance, great job!!
Thank you.
I am quite surprised that my body coped so well given the poor number of miles I had ridden before the start. I decided not to jump on any chains and ride at my own pace preserving as much energy as possible. I also kept faffing to a minimum and didn't stop for long - just kept plodding along at a modest pace.
Thanks as always to the legend who is Tomsk. Hope to see lots of you on the Asparagus and Strawberries.
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Great event, when I saw a lot of bikes outside Mogul felt I'd missed an essential part; loved the night riding, my god Suffolk and Norfolk roads are straight and long. Spent a whole night star gazing and spotting constellations. First petrol station was open, and had a hot bakery bit to lean against. Sunrise a little before Burnham Deepdale was a delight to see, as was expecting rain to arrive by then. Wind on way back reminded me of last day of LEL but without the heat. Midnight start was perfect and gave an early afternoon finish. The fields were indeed vivid green and yellow this year. Waitrose cafe did an excellent porridge with honey, and my first contactless purchase! Can recommend the Seasons cafe in Needham Market, comfy sofas, chocolate brownies and chai tea, nice. Crown pub in Manningtree recommended for beer, and of course final receipt. We had to have two pints to ensure we both had a receipt ;-)
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Great ride for my first 300, many memorable moments - bowling along through the forest under the stars with that tailwind. Magical time just as its getting light and the dawn chorus starts. I could have eaten two breakfasts at Burnham Deepdale. Had a tough time just after that with a combination of headwind, rain and doziness but weather wasn't as bad as I thought it might be and nice to finish in some sunshine.
A number of people commented on my choice of sports nutrition at Waitrose - 3 x Magnum ice creams - did the trick though! This was the most social ride I've done yet, good to meet people from here at the Mogul curry house, thanks for the company deniece, daveco and others. Big thanks also to Ian and John for their company for most of the second half of the ride - it was nice to have some well deserved beers together at Manningtree station.
When people tell me I must be mad and ask why I do this I still don't know quite how to answer them but I've already got the Asparagus and Strawberry 400 on the calendar.....
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Oooohhhh that last 90 miles into a headwind by myself was hard. Loved the run up to the coast at speed but of course I knew I'd suffer a little for it and I did. Still pleased that I sort of thought I would be ok for that distance and I was despite having no miles in the legs at all. Hooray for me...
Favourite bits: knocking on the door of McDonalds at 5am with a rogue crew. Sunrise and early morning drifting through Norfolk around the country houses. The fact that the cafe had Gluten Free sausages (I carried my own bread!)
Not so favourite bits: My front tire sidewall deciding to split just as I was overtaken by a group who looked like they might help me with my headwind issue - booted it but also bought a spare tyre in Wynwhateversham. The old A12. No gluten free food in the Waitrose - but at least there was a whole supermarket behind me where I could get something to eat...
Thanks to Tomsk for the ride - were you one of those on a fixed? - and see you all for strawberries soon.
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Fast ride up to the first control, initally on my own then with Wilkyboy, Veloman and the orange tandem. Couldn't get into the correct garage so ducked back to the other one. Hung onto the same group until just before Swaffham where I needed a hedge and decided to relax the pace. Quick pavement picnic in the town square as team Tomsk turned up. Pushed on on my own and then got picked up by Ridehard. Got to Deepdale at 6.45 so decided to ride onto Burnham Market where we found a garage for a snack.
Into the wind to Wymondham and I started to struggle. Has a tetchy moment waiting to be served in the Waitrose caff but the food turned up pretty quick. Rode with Tomsk to Stowmarket, had a quick snack in Needham Market and pushed on to Manningtree. Controlled in the town and had a coffee in a place called Rio (?) that served a very good espresso and vintage TdF photos in the toilet. A class establishment.
Caught the intended train just after 4 and home just after 6 for 12hrs kip.
See you all on the Asparagus & Strawberries.
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I did my one and only SR in 2012 and have ambitions to do the PBP next year, but that said I'm not a hugely experienced audaxer. This year I have yet to manage a 1000 miles and on Easter Monday suffered horribly whilst attempting a 100k DIY. So my confidence levels going into the G&YF were low, I contemplated pulling out but thought "what's the worst that can happen?" So I did me a plan based on getting up to Burnham Deepdale by 0730 resting for an hour and then aiming to be back at Manningtree by 1900 which gave me an hour in hand for unexpected eventualities. Slow and steady was what I wanted and knew I would spend most of the ride alone as others would just whiz past.
The outward leg was fine helped of course by the lovely tail wind. I stopped at Barton Mills for about 20 minutes then pressed on. I had another stop at Swaffham just after dawn. I made a vain attempt to keep up with the tandem group but fell off the back knowing their pace would do me no favors. Burnham Deepdale was reached just before schedule and as the food was quickly served and I felt fine I pushed on after about 40 minutes. Again I joined a group, this time with the Flying Helmets and Tomsk, but again they were too quick.
Despite having breakfast not long before I stopped at the garage by the roundabout on the outskirts of Fakenham for coffee, Coke and flapjack plus a chat with some friendly locals. The headwind was nasty but I just plodded along. Got to Wymondham just as the Flying helmets were leaving and sat in Waitrose chatting to Wilky Boy. The next leg was very slow, it took 4 hours to get to Needham Market. I stopped twice, once for a poo in a field ;D and another for an ice cream. Also spotted a fellow rider having a kip in a bus shelter :thumbsup:
There were quite a few riders in Needham Market, I didn't stay long and expected most of them to pass me but they didn't, in fact I caught two riders I'd being playing tag with for most of the day. Got back to Manningtree at about 1720 feeling pretty fresh. I think the plan helped a lot and I got my eating bang on as well. Biryani before the off, fry up at Burnham, flapjack, lattes, Coke, a Mars Bar and chocolate milk for the rest of the time.
Some photos ...
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Witham train station, another adventure begins!
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Curry - the food of heros. Washed down with a pint of Cobra :D
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Barton Mills. Me bike guarded by The Man!
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Yum!
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My 305k face. Which to be fair, is the same as all my other stupid faces!
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Aaawwww - you're all being so nice!
Thanks for the tow - various heroes, you know who you are.
I was impressed by the service at Deepdale [under new management too] and have emailed thanks on everyone's behalf. They apologised for getting a few breakfasts muddled or served to later customers first, but I thought they did very well. Next year I'll arrange a headwind to slow down/spread everyone out on the way there and then speed us through the second half ;D
That's another stage towards my goal of a Fixed Essex SR on my own events :thumbsup: Thinks: Hmmm shall I do PBP on fixed again??
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Great event and worth the 360 mile round trip to get there!
Great to ride with Wilkyboy, Rob and Orange Tandem again. Wilkyboy's new machine (with big wheels) is very nice and full credit to him for riding shortly after returning from USA; the jet-lag and associated sleep deprivation of night riding can't have been much fun!
Ride out was fun and sociable with the impromptu McDs in Swaffam (just to waste time) being a nice touch.
Ride back was less fun due to a rather annoying wind, but still an enjoyable event with very little of the moist stuff around.
Thanks to Tom for organising a great event and the start time of 0001 has many advantages, not least for those wishing to experience night riding for the first time as the overnight ride was a very sociable event and little chance of getting lost/stranded.
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Evidence of off-piste snacking...
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Same crew carving towards Breakfast number 2
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Last year I worked all day, had the curry and almost fell asleep on the bike on the way to Barton Mills. This time stayed in bed most of the day, arrived in good time and had a short nap, before meeting the usual crowd at Manningtree station to exchange greetings. It was exciting being part of the hi viz mainly yellow swarm going up Cox's Hill, the last time I saw most of the riders.
Being more alert I enjoyed the night section, briefly joining Liam and Neil, the latter executing a perfect roll after hitting a crater in Mill Lane early on, just a few yards in front of me. No harm done, just got back on the bike and carried on. Prior to Barton Mills they passed me again, joined by Deniece, with whom I managed to stay in contact at every control.
A latte at the Esso garage, then up to Swaffham for the sunrise. At this point I did feel sleepy, but pushed on to Burnham Deepdale in the expectation of tea and hot food before facing the headwinds and threatened heavy rain. To my dismay a group of schoolchildren had beaten me to the cafe, and despite being a solitary rider I was told that it would be a 20 minute wait to be served. Too much dead time, so I went next door and bought a sandwich and banana milkshake.
Turning into the headwind with cold food and drink inside was uncomfortable to start with, but thoughts of a pot of tea and a rest at Wymondham spurred me on. Deniece had by now hooked up with two different riders and I joined them to have my pot of tea, gratis thanks to my Waitrose card, and a pecan danish washed down with a bottle of coke. Being the back end of the field I like to set interim time targets to ensure that I do not let time drift, and this allows for any emergencies, nothing worse than being out of time with a mechanical. Once past the last control it does not really matter if I have bought enough time, as was the case again. I rolled into Manningtree chip shop for double jumbo sauasage and chips an a coffee before the long drive home, three layby naps on the way and home in time to see Man U thrash Norwich.
Only six minutes time difference to last year, when I stopped to sleep twice, but my Garmin froze and the whole ride had to be deleted to clear it, so no idea of moving speed or time off the bike. The drag to Stowmarket went on forever.
So once again two parts of the Essex SR completed, roll on Asparagus and Strawberries. A nice flat 300 to Skegness coming up this weekend, plus a 56k Essex Brevet on Monday towards the Essex Slam.
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Great ride, although having been regaled with tales about frozen water bottles from the 2013 edition, we weren't so disappointed that we missed it last year. Sadly we missed the curry, it would have been a great way to start, but the front of tandem just couldn’t get away from work early enough. So our compromise was to catch a train arriving an hour before the depart and to go to the Mogul for a quick coffee and to say hello. It was good to meet up with some previous companions (struggled to recognise Willkyboy to start with on the large wheels – sorry) and link up with some new ones. I guess we were in the first big bunch at the Barton Mills control and discovered the “official” garage was not going to admit us. We turned back for the earlier northbound one, but not in time to stop the next big bunch repeating the manoeuvre – which resulted rather amusingly in the A11 apparently being filled with cyclists in both directions at 3am!
Even with our unofficial detour to the McDs “near” Swaffham, we arrived at Burnham only about 10 mins after they opened. Great service considering we all swarmed in in a very short space of time, and good to have such a large number of riders all sitting down together and chatting, with very few apparently fretting about getting going again. We left Burnham in a large group, maybe 15-20 strong but gradually the wind and the pace on the front took their toll. We clung on and managed to make it to Wymondham – I think there were only 7 of us left by then! Massive thank-yous to the heroes (animals?) who led us on. Although we were OK for pace on the flat sections, we just couldn’t get up the inclines fast enough to really contribute much on the front – sorry guys, we’ll try and make it up to you on the fens one day.
We decided to have a leisurely stop at Waitrose - we had brought our cards with us so were determined to have our free tea, and the porridge hit the spot. By then our gang had departed so we set off on our own on the next leg. We overtook someone (blue surly?) not far down the road, and then shortly after Dave suddenly panicked that he had left his water bottle in Waitrose, lost concentration and we left the road in favour of the verge. He manfully kept a grip on the steering and we duly re-joined the carriageway, but these things don’t happen too fast on a tandem. So if Mr Blue Surly is reading this, please be assured that no he hadn’t been at the gin and we don’t normally overtake people and then career off the road! Next up was a minor navigational error – we missed the sign for New Buckenham or so we thought. A quick look at the map (we are traditionalists) showed us an alternative route to avoid retracing our steps. Tomsk later confirmed that the sign was missing so maybe we weren’t the only ones to get this wrong.
I debated a quick side trip down memory lane in Stowmarket to see my old school, but it was the wrong side of town so we opted for the back road to the Alder Carr farm shop and café, We’ve used this as a control on our London-Norwich DIY – sometimes their service can be a bit ponderous but this time it was reasonably slick and we sat with the Tomsk gang enjoying tea and scones. The short last leg back to Manningtree gave us wonderful blue to add to the green and yellow fields. The bluebells in Dodnash Wood beside the road after leaving the A12 were amazing, best I've seen so far this year.
Amazingly considering the forecast, we had only short periods of light spitty rain, very different to the anticipated 2-3 hours of heavy stuff. Our first official 300 in 16.5 hours (of which a considerable portion was spent in cafes), see you all on A&S?
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^ Yes, we appreciated the bluebells too - pretty spectacular. We went for a walk on the following day round the woods in Dunmow, but nothing like as good.
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Sorry to have missed the curry for this (although not the ride, obviously). Still, I live 100 metres from an Asparagus and Strawberries farm now so I will think of you all for the next one as I am tucking into my Erdbeeren.
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There is definitely something perversely comforting about night riding and Tomsk's Green & Yellow Fields 300, with its one-minute-past-midnight start, delivers in spades: quiet roads, calm weather, deserted towns and villages, the moon and the stars, you can't see where you're going (so any hill could be either very big or just a blip), the dawn chorus at full volume, sunrise. I find a feeling of calm and serenity that I don't get during the day and I do enjoy a good bit of lanes by lamplight. There's also a feeling of mischief and insubordination about being out and about when everyone else is tucked up in bed.
It's also an x-rated event, which means garage forecourts and supermarket benches, but it also means the organiser, Tomsk, can take part in the ride as well, which I think is great!
It was an eerie gathering at Manningtree Station, meeting up with Tim first at just after 23.30, and other riders joining a few at a time. I very nearly didn't make it because the guard at Cambridge refused to let me take my bike on the train as there were already twice as many as they claim it's safe to carry. He eventually relented when I threatened offered to sing him anything he'd like and we proved it was still safe with one more.
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This is only my second calendar ride since November, and only my second on funny-sized wheels, so there was a certain amount of double-take and friendly banter given and taken by those I had ridden with last year :D There was also an element of Russian Roulette, because the wheels were new — to include a dynamo for this event — and hand-built, by me — the first wheels I've ever built. And I hadn't even ridden them any distance yet!!
It was great to see Veloman, Big Saxon, DavidC, Rob, Halloween, Denise, others (whose names I will be reminded of in due course) and of course Tomsk at the start.
We started in the usual way: a rush up Cox's Hill to split the group. We followed Denise who had local knowledge about severe potholes on the provided route and so took us on a diversion ... which also had potholes. But with another local, whose front door we passed, we were guided back to the given route, where we rejoined a few other riders. With a gentle tailwind and above-freezing temperatures we made good time.
The first stage is a 75km ride through Essex to Mildenhall (almost) and so was typically Essex-lumpy. We set a good pace and for a while Veloman and I sat on the front and made sure it didn't drop too far: it's easy in the dark to misjudge your speed and think you're going faster than you are, so I kept the numbers lit up and we cruised along nicely. There's no point in over-doing it, though, because Tomsk's rides tend to be 25kph upper speed, with a view to keeping riders grouped together for company, which works well. As we rode we seemed to pick up riders in ones and twos and it formed into a good sociable bunch, which I enjoyed (last year I tended to ride on my own or with a single partner, due to the gearing constraints I had imposed on myself).
At some point we must've dropped Denise, but in the dark it's impossible to tell from the front when riders are dropping off the back, because when you look behind you are blinded by all the head torches and bike lights, which is so disorientating that you're likely to unbalance into the nearest ditch! It's hard enough trying to take any photos. So, sorry Denise :-[
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We picked up Rob on his fixie after an hour or so and it was good to catch up on his news. Although he stopped to flip his wheel once we got to the end of Essex (and the route got a whole lot flatter), he soon caught us again and stayed with the group into Barton Mills (nr Mildenhall) control.
As others have said, it's a garage forecourt control, with two garages available on either side of the dual carriageway. We went to the "official" one, which is around the roundabout, but the cashier had been told we would be through by 01.30 — in fact the control doesn't open until 03.01 — and he wasn't able to open the doors now, so we returned to the first garage where we could go inside to warm up and get coffee. Even with this diversion we were exactly on time, so we'd ridden a good pace on the first leg — thumbs up to funny-sized wheels (and profligate number of gears) ;)
Last year when we got to this control the forecast temperature of +2ºC had dropped to around -4ºC and fell further to nearly -7ºC!! Most people's bidons froze, as well as my brake cables (they are inverted and seemingly collect water). The cashier had refused to open the door and by the time I had a receipt, I was almost hypothermic!! Only riding away at high cadence restored any core warmth and my extremities were ice blocks for nearly half an hour. What a complete change for this year: nearly 10ºC warmer and plenty warm enough, a really pleasant evening to ride in :thumbsup: Also, it seemed that most of the riders arrived within 15 minutes of each other and so it was a very sociable forecourt gathering at 3am — mildly bemusing for the cashier.
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The second leg is an A-road bash in the dark around Mildenhall and Lakenheath airbases to Swaffham, which then becomes a laney/B-road sight-seeing fest in the morning's new light up to the Norfolk coast at Burnham Deeping for breakfast. In spite of the A-roads being fairly dull, we had a good group together and it was very sociable.
Most of our original group rode off before we were ready, so Veloman and I tucked down for a couple of kilometres work to tag back on the back — Veloman doing most of it, as he's a lot stronger. We tucked in at the back to let our legs recover, but the bhoot tandem was doing a fine job on the front keeping the pace high and Rob mentioned that it was a little too quick for him. I took the front again to bring the pace down a notch and ride to the numbers again, but Veloman mentioned that I may have mispaced it myself as the Red Bull was having a 'positive' effect :facepalm:
We caught up with Halloween and a VC Norwich rider (whose name I can't remember) and tucked in behind for a while. They seemed happy on the front and the pace was about right. The numbers suggested even at that pace we'd be at the breakfast control about 40 minutes before it was due to open (and about 10 minutes after the control was due to open), so I suggested a short (3km) detour to MacDonald's in Swaffham for a coffee: the group voted yes and we turned off the main route momentarily. We arrived at McD's at 5am exactly when the doors were being unlocked and I daresay brightened up the staff's day ... It was at this point I noticed we'd accidentally lost Rob, which was a shame: if he'd stayed with us then he would've been able to use the loo instead of the hedge as he reported elsewhere — sorry, mate :-[
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It was a quick stop in McD's and we were quickly back out on the road. It was amazing how much lighter the world was than 20 minutes earlier and we could easily ride without lights now. Watching for the second left after we rejoined the route caught a few riders out: it's a fair distance to the first left, but the second left is right there with it, and everyone except a couple of us missed the turn and had to turn around, including the tandem, which was fun to watch ;)
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Up through the gate into the picturesque Castle Acre and through to a lovely lane section. The sun was definitely up now and it was a lovely ride in the morning air. The pace was creeping up again as everyone felt renewed and awake and so alive on such a lovely spring morning! Again we set about chasing down distant red lights and passed a small group of riders, but an over-enthusiastic Garmin call put us on the wrong road and we had to double-back again, having been repassed by the group we'd just passed, with a bit of a shameface on ::-)
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The final few miles drop down through some ancient woodlands and valleys and are truly beautiful in the morning light 8) but we could feel the wind had risen and although so far it had been a quick run to the breakfast control, it was going to be a tough slog back southwards again!
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Breakfast was slightly erratic: some of us were served very quickly (and possibly out-of-sequence) while others had to wait, but on the whole it was very efficient, and they certainly tried very hard to please, so thank you to the café staff. I had a full-English (standard size), which was great.
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We set out again as a group with Veloman, the bhoot tandem, DavidC, Halloween (I think) and some others. We passed Denise coming at us from the wrong direction: looked like a navigational error somewhere? A couple of miles out Veloman mentioned I appeared to be a bottle down — aargh! I'd left it at the café having gotten them to refill it for me. No matter, it's gone now, only a couple of quid and more important to stick with the group.
The third leg is a bit of an anticlimax after the first two: it's a bit flat and passes through or near towns but not so many villages and uses more main roads. By now the sun is definitely up, although the skies have clouded over and it does look like we may get some of the forecast rain. It's a bit grey, really, and the stiff headwind is definitely going to make it a tough day on the bike, especially as the terrain doesn't provide many places to hide from it.
We caught up with the Tomsk train and Veloman took the front. It was quite a big group with plenty of riders to hide behind, but the discipline in the group wasn't so good and as riders moved around the wind blasted at me near the back. Veloman set a punishing pace and seemed to delight in the pain he was inflicting on those trying to hang on! I kept being pushed back and off in the wind and having to bridge back onto the group. After 15km the pace was just too hot and I had to drop off — I wasn't the only one, but I may have been the first.
From then on I spent at least two-thirds of the return journey on my own into the wind: a good bit of mental and physical endurance training. Last year at breakfast I had been suffering from the dozies BIG time, but this year an hour's kip in the afternoon appeared to have put that issue to bed, so to speak, and apart from ten minutes or so while on my own, I was pretty okay. However, this year I think I ate too much and of the wrong thing and was having trouble getting any energy to my legs: next year I will stick to the baked beans on toast and avoid the sausages, bacon and black pudding.
The lost bidon had a greater effect than I had thought it would: I had drunk about a litre in the first 150km and so thought 500ml for 70km would be okay. However, the extra effort into the wind and possibly a touch of thirst remaining from the first half, meant I was getting dehydrated long before Wymonhdam. I tucked onto the wheels of a couple of other riders for a couple of kilometres into Dereham and stopped to refill at the Co-op. A couple of riders followed me off-route and I didn't see them return, so hopefully they worked their way through the one-way system and out the other side okay!
Unfortunately I didn't take many pictures after breakfast, being on my own for so long.
On the final run to the Wymondham control I was picked up by Wilbur and Bunker, who I'd passed and been re-passed by on BCM last year, and DavidC (I think) and I tucked in behind for a chat. At this stage I was feeling it in my legs having been out on my own for 50km, and so I was happy to let someone else take the wind.
It's a peculiar feeling wandering into Waitrose at Wymondham in the middle of a Saturday morning: you're there in your smelly, sweaty, slightly uncoordinated cycling clothes, clacking your shoes on the hard floor, surrounded by middle class, middle-aged people doing their grocery shopping wondering what on Earth's happening! While I sat eating my salad on a bench, I was approached by a woman wanting to know more about where we were going and where we'd been, with the inevitable "are you riding for charity?" question :facepalm:
I was joined for lunch by Oscar's Dad, who I've ridden with before, but never been introduced to — it was good to chat with you. He explained he was taking it easy on the ride and being efficient in the controls, which is a great way to approach such a ride, and at this point I was wishing I'd done the same.
Not wanting to let my legs sieze up, I was back on the bike all too soon. I left Wilbur and Bunker finishing their lunch outside, fully expecting to see them later as they passed me again, since they were clearly much stronger than me at this stage.
The fourth leg to Needham Market is more up-lifting than the previous one, because there are more villages and farms and the like en route. Also, more hedges to hide from the wind, or maybe that was just my imagination? And it's still a reasonable distance at 60km, so plenty of time to get into a groove and keep pumping out the miles into that headwind.
By now my digestion issues seemed to have worked themselves out: I felt good and reasonably strong and able to work on my own steadily into the wind. My Garmin, though, indicates that I was exactly the same speed, so I just felt better. Nevertheless, apart from passing a couple of stopped riders, I didn't see anyone else on this leg.
One other thing I didn't see was an enormous pothole, which rattled the whole bike. Nervously I applied the brakes to see if there was any out-of-true brake rub, but fortunately the new wheels appeared to have held up well. Dodged a bullet, so to speak, whew! The wheels are still true today, another 70km further on.
In Stowmarket I opted for the slightly more direct main-road route to the Needham Market control, as I've ridden it before on a DIY, so know the cycle path's okay. As I was drinking my milkshake from the corner shop, the group I'd left breakfast with arrived from the another direction, having stopped for longer at the local farm-shop café instead. Veloman dropped off the group so we could ride the final 25km stage together, expecting the bhoot tandem to catch us at some point.
The final stage is a 25km mostly main-road bash through Essex to the finish, with several sting-in-the-tail climbs that Tomsk takes pleasure in at the end of a long ride :thumbsup: Nothing particularly huge, but enough to cause discomfort and a bit of swearing. Some short and beautiful laney stuff as well, through ancient woodlands replete with amazing swathes of bluebells — a picture that can't be captured on film (or digital). Glorious!
Reinvigorated by having good company, we started out on a bit of a time trial to hunt down the group just a minute or so ahead of us, but I was being far too optimistic and had to ask to cool the pace. It was a shame really, since Veloman had done such big turns on the front all ride long that I wasn't able to join him in the fun from here on in, but I was feeling pretty spent. We managed a steady 23kph to arrivée, including up several Tomsk-esque sting-in-the-tail climbs at the end of the ride, so not too shabby, but nowhere near quick enough to catch the others.
Some unexpectedly sudden crosswinds in the final kilometres caught my front wheel in a way I've never experienced before and nearly swerved me under the wheels of a 4x4 that was passing — smaller wheels aren't so badly affected and so I wasn't expecting this.
And then finally at the turn into the station and arrivée, where we met up with Tomsk and the rest of the previous group in the station café, shortly followed by bhoot.
Compared to last year that was not at all shabby: 16h25m (18h40m last year), 13h23m moving (14h42m moving last year).
As Veloman mentioned, I returned from New York on the red-eye on Tuesday, so jet lag may have been a factor, although I think I had that under control. The thing that I think made the difference was being off the bike for three weeks in US of A and putting on half a stone of flabby stuff — the only vegetable I saw in the entire first week was a carrot floating in a bowl of chicken soup! I felt unfit before the start and really felt it in the second half. I was also carrying the remains of a chest/throat infection, so wasn't feeling 100% anyway.
That aside, I am happy with my performance: a new bike and a year's fitness and experience mean I no longer worry about finishing any ride, which mentally affected me badly last year. I know I can finish in time, it's now a case of learning to be quicker — or at least how to ride with less effort — so I can enjoy the ride more. More practise, methinks.
Thanks Tomsk for another great event — always slightly different, always enjoyable, and I do like the stings in the tail you throw at us ;) :thumbsup:
No Asparagus and Strawbs for me this year: it's my sister's wedding that weekend. BCM the weekend before.
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If I'd known you were there WilkyBoy , I'd have said hello at the start.
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We overtook someone (blue surly?) not far down the road, and then shortly after Dave suddenly panicked that he had left his water bottle in Waitrose, lost concentration and we left the road in favour of the verge. He manfully kept a grip on the steering and we duly re-joined the carriageway, but these things don’t happen too fast on a tandem. So if Mr Blue Surly is reading this, please be assured that no he hadn’t been at the gin and we don’t normally overtake people and then career off the road!
Ah so that's the explanation. It was spectacular to watch - great recovery! Good job you didn't leave behind a Garmin or similar ;D
Next up was a minor navigational error – we missed the sign for New Buckenham or so we thought. A quick look at the map (we are traditionalists) showed us an alternative route to avoid retracing our steps. Tomsk later confirmed that the sign was missing so maybe we weren’t the only ones to get this wrong.
Yes that caught me out as well, I didn't have a map, but the friendly local plasterer who told me he'd lived in the area all his life put me right ... I retraced my overshoot. There did appear to be a very large number of broken, missing and twisted-around signs in North Norfolk ... surely some sort of deliberate local sabotage, but not sufficiently cunning to defeat the Tomsk routesheet.
The bluebells in Dodnash Wood beside the road after leaving the A12 were amazing, best I've seen so far this year.
+1
I'd ridden the wonderful Elenydd a couple of weeks before this ride; this ride was equally wonderful, and wonderfully different. The contrast between them is a great illustration of the variety to be found in audax rides. It's the difference between East and West, mountainous and flat, riding in a well paced group compared with a more individual ride with occasional pairing, riding all night rather than into the night.
The pre-ride meal makes a nice sociable start to this event (compared with an early night in the tent on the Elenydd). I rode most of the way to Burnham Deepdale with the Tomsk peloton which continued the friendly nature of the ride, and was at Burnham Deepdale well before opening time. After a leisurely breakfast the strengthening headwind was a bit more of a challenge than I expected, but I knew with so much time in hand it would be very hard to fail to make the time limit. I was soon passed by Team Tomsk who seemed much less troubled by the wind; I joined them for a very short distance but soon decided it was too fast for me, so switched into tourist mode and enjoyed the views, the birdsong, meeting up with others at the controls. I even managed a short snooze in a very comfortable stone built bus shelter :D which was invigorating well beyond its short duration! My return train ticket was off peak only so I was taking it easy so as not to hang around too long in Manningtree waiting for the off peak trains to start (feel free to add this to your own catalogue of excuses) - until somebody told me that all the trains are off-peak on Saturday :facepalm: so I speeded up getting to Manningtree just after 5pm in good time for a fast train back to Liverpool Street.
What a great way to spend a weekend! :thumbsup: I might join you again for the Asparagus and Strawberries, assuming I survive the Bryan Chapman voyage ... another West and East pairing :)
My heavy gauge blue Surly tourer wasn't my first choice bike for this event, but it had the supreme advantage of being in working condition, has great lights, and was super comfortable leaving me relatively un-beatenup. In retrospect these Surly miles could prove to be an ace training strategy when I switch to a lighter bike for the BCM (I may be in trouble otherwise) ...
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A lovely ride around Norfolk and Suffolk, marred only by the wind on the start of the return leg which made those miles quite a slog.
Stayed with the Tomsk train until the middle of the second leg when the need for a comfort break and the realisation the cafe wouldn't be open at the current pace meant a short stop and stretch was in order.
Arrived at the cafe just after the first little group but left after the main field after a delay getting Wilburs breakfast order. (mine came nice and quickly). Happy to see Waitrose , but less happy that I missed getting a coffee despite having my Waitrose card. Meant that I wanted to stop at the Alder Carr tea rooms rather than another shop stop. So by the time we had been served and got back to Manningtree it was after 5pm.
Thanks to Wilkyboy for the chat, and Oscars Dad for guiding us out of Waitrose when we went round the roundabouts a couple of times trying to work out which way the GPS track was going. :facepalm:
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... and Oscars Dad for guiding us out of Waitrose when we went round the roundabouts a couple of times trying to work out which way the GPS track was going. :facepalm:
It was you two who helped me, my GPS was equally confused. You ruled out one of the two options so a process of elimination put me on the right road. The Garmin eventually caught up ::-)
I like Wilky Boy's photos as one actually shows me riding a bike!
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Of course if we had looked at our route sheet while eating we would have saved the roundabout loop.
... and Oscars Dad for guiding us out of Waitrose when we went round the roundabouts a couple of times trying to work out which way the GPS track was going. :facepalm:
It was you two who helped me, my GPS was equally confused. You ruled out one of the two options so a process of elimination put me on the right road. The Garmin eventually caught up ::-)
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Of course if we had looked at our route sheet while eating we would have saved the roundabout loop.
That's cheating! ;D
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If I'd known you were there WilkyBoy , I'd have said hello at the start.
I was on funny-sized wheels — you wouldn't have recognised me and indeed you didn't! ::-) ;)
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Of course if we had looked at our route sheet while eating we would have saved the roundabout loop.
That's cheating! ;D
It sounds like a few of us went round the roundabout trying to reach escape velocity from Wymondham :-)
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Routesheet for the Asparagus & Strawberries 400 on Aukweb is now edited and expanded for clarity, plus a few changes to the info sheet as well. I'll be emailing riders soon anyway.
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Cutting it a bit fine this year. Train arrives 08.56 on Saturday. Will be a bit of a dash to start on time.
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I'll wait around a bit for late arrivals [not so with the midnight-01 start of the Green and Yellow Fields].....
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Is GPX up to date?
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gpx is Adamski's from 2011 - still Herman Ramsey's original route and unchanged for ages [I think that qualifies it as a 'Classic' :D].
My recent updates to the routesheet are slight changes to control suggestions, signage etc.
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For all you A&S'ers I can confirm that new season asparagus and strawberries are in plentiful supply around Norfolk at the moment. Would love to join you all next week but I'll be on my holibobs.
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Boo !
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I am unable to join you on A&S this year, much though I'd love to: my sister would never forgive me missing her wedding.
I hope you all have a good ride! :thumbsup:
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Is there a recommended unofficial control to get some fresh Asparagus and Strawberries?
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Is GPX up to date?
I have plotted 7 x GPX files segmented by control to control which I successfully followed last year, should anyone like them PM me with your email address (usual disclaimer applies if they don't work for you!).
I am most miffed to have missed the G&YF ride this year due to illness, looking forward to a successful A&S :thumbsup:
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Is there a recommended unofficial control to get some fresh Asparagus and Strawberries?
Sometimes there are road-side stalls by farms/cottage gardens - I recall one near the Reedham Ferry.
Extra points for pictures of your bike with asparagus and strawberries.
Points deducted for pointing out that the ferry's chain is a bit slack ;D
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Points deducted for pointing out that the ferry's chain is a bit slack ;D
But that's my favourite bit :)
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Points deducted for pointing out that the ferry's chain is a bit slack ;D
But that's my favourite bit :)
Just for you though....extra points based on beer/km ratio
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I've signed up for the A&S 400. It will be my first 400 and I could not make the G&YF but have been reasonably comfortable on a couple of 200's this year so looking forward to the challenge. A couple of Audax rides with Oscar's Dad and Huggy were enough to get me on the road to being sucked into the world of Audax and I have the clearance to go for the SR this year so I really have something to aim for.
Looking forward to meeting some of you along the way and with a bit of luck I might even be able to arrange myself for one of the Wednesday night -> Thursday morning Carb Loading runs! ;D
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You are most welcome to join Team Slow & Steady!
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If one is an 'average' rider, where is one likely to find oneself around 2-3am on this ride? Its my 'low' time, and I am looking for suitable bus shelters.
TIA
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If one is an 'average' rider, where is one likely to find oneself around 2-3am on this ride? Its my 'low' time, and I am looking for suitable bus shelters.
TIA
Bus shelter heaven is at Balsham [after Newmarket], about every 200 yards through quite a spread-out village. Its usually getting light when I'm there, so maybe too late for you?
Prior to that, few and far between on the A1065 down from Norfolk, though. Provided its dry, some of the denser bits of Thetford Forest might be cosy......
The phone box in the Market Place in Saffron Walden has been used as an Audax Hotel.....
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If one is an 'average' rider, where is one likely to find oneself around 2-3am on this ride? Its my 'low' time, and I am looking for suitable bus shelters.
TIA
Usually in Saffron Walden having a picnic in the Square at around that time, but I usually ride through in order to get the first train home.
Adamski usually gets a hotel in Newmarket but hammers it to get there before midnight and a few hours off the bike.
Rob
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A word of warning for anyone intending to arrive in Manningtree for the A&S by train from the London direction there are
delaying improvement engineering works in Colchester which I am assuming is the cause of the 2 change requirements at Marks Tey and Colchester. This means a usual journey time of 22 minutes from Witham is nearly an hour, please be aware in case this impacts your plans!
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Adamski usually gets a hotel in Newmarket but hammers it to get there before midnight and a few hours off the bike.
But not this year because the ride is taking place during half term, so I'll be in northern Spain.
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A word of warning for anyone intending to arrive in Manningtree for the A&S by train from the London direction there are delaying improvement engineering works in Colchester which I am assuming is the cause of the 2 change requirements at Marks Tey and Colchester. This means a usual journey time of 22 minutes from Witham is nearly an hour, please be aware in case this impacts your plans!
I'd check for bus replacement if I were yo also just in case you have to cycle between Marks Tey and Colchester North.
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I have to change at Colchester on the way North out of that London, hence the late arrival.
I have to do the same thing on the way South but may just ride the 10 miles to Colchester as I usually have a bit of time to spare before the first train out of Manningtree.
We go on holiday late that morning so I will be bundled in the back of the car to snore as we head up North.
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Hello! I've signed up for the Flitchbikes 100 next Saturday. Bit concerned that I haven't ridden much lately and there is mention of one or two hills.....never mind!
Hoping for some local knowledge here. What's the best train station to alight at for Great Dunmow? Coming from Cambridge on the Liverpool Street line. If you get off at Mountfitchet I assume you can somehow cross the M11??
Sorry for the dumb questions. No doubt there will be more. For some reason I thought this ride started at Audley End, don't ask me why.....
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Hello! I've signed up for the Flitchbikes 100 next Saturday. Bit concerned that I haven't ridden much lately and there is mention of one or two hills.....never mind!
Hoping for some local knowledge here. What's the best train station to alight at for Great Dunmow? Coming from Cambridge on the Liverpool Street line. If you get off at Mountfitchet I assume you can somehow cross the M11??
Sorry for the dumb questions. No doubt there will be more. For some reason I thought this ride started at Audley End, don't ask me why.....
Elsenham station, about 10k from Dunmow, is what I've used to get there for rides.
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Cool, I thought Elsenham looked the best one. I know where that is anyway!! Ta :-)
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Hello all,
Today's silly question: Is it possible to cross the M11 at Bishops Stortford (on a bike, obviously)? Looking at Google Earth doesn't reveal much. There seem to be some half-hearted paths but they disappear on the actual bridge/crossing. I know (I think I know, actually, is it??) it's legal to ride across the roundabout but I was there in a car two weeks ago and....I'm not ready to die, so not sure I'm up for that. Just wondered if there's any local knowledge of secret tunnels under the motorway or something*.
I know Elsenham has been suggested as the best station for Dunmow, but there's twice as many trains from Cambridge to Stortford as there are to Elsenham, and one of them even matches up the Newmarket one in something approaching a connection. Also I think one trip to Tilty on a ride is enough!! I can just see myself getting lost in the lanes before I even get to the start of the ride (thinks: maybe I need a gps).
*This is not as silly as it seems, there is one round here at Quy that doesn't appear on maps....
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I'm riding the 200 on Saturday but the link on AUK to a 'gpx' file, is actually a link to an 'xml' file.
I know that they are all the same thing under the skin, but I can't get any of my usual programs like bikeroutetoaster or bikehike to load it...
I rode one of the Flitch rides a year or two ago, and somehow found a trick to get the file uploaded, but that was then, and I've forgotten again....
Can anyone help with either instructions on how to get it uploaded, or a link to a 'proper' gpx file, please?
Thanks
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Re under the M11 at the BS
The power of OS maps on bing reveals the full story: http://binged.it/1mNVdeE
I haven't ridden this, but I know it exists - the bridleway/pedestrian/bike track end to the flitch way from Duck end. Otherwise I would walk the roundabout, depending on the time of day!
A
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Go to ride with GPS and then the find tab, put in Great Dunmow and FLITCH in the key words.
You can filter out more by distance from place and ride distance.
This should bring up a load of routes for it, then just export the one you are happy with.
I have done the individual legs under FILTCH 1-6
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Go to ride with GPS and then the find tab, put in Great Dunmow and FLITCH in the key words.
You can filter out more by distance from place and ride distance.
This should bring up a load of routes for it, then just export the one you are happy with.
I have done the individual legs under FILTCH 1-6
That's great, thanks i-c :thumbsup:
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I know Elsenham has been suggested as the best station for Dunmow, but there's twice as many trains from Cambridge to Stortford as there are to Elsenham, and one of them even matches up the Newmarket one in something approaching a connection. Also I think one trip to Tilty on a ride is enough!! I can just see myself getting lost in the lanes before I even get to the start of the ride (thinks: maybe I need a gps).
I'd take the train to Bishops Stortford and ride to Gt Dunmow from there. The station is on the right side of BS and it's an easy route to navigate to GD. Elsenham might be a bit closer but is a bit more fiddly.
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I'm riding the 200 on Saturday but the link on AUK to a 'gpx' file, is actually a link to an 'xml' file.
I know that they are all the same thing under the skin, but I can't get any of my usual programs like bikeroutetoaster or bikehike to load it...
I rode one of the Flitch rides a year or two ago, and somehow found a trick to get the file uploaded, but that was then, and I've forgotten again....
Can anyone help with either instructions on how to get it uploaded, or a link to a 'proper' gpx file, please?
Thanks
Try http://www.aukweb.net/gps/388g.gpx, and copy onto your Garmin (810?). It is GPX track.
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I'm riding the 200 on Saturday but the link on AUK to a 'gpx' file, is actually a link to an 'xml' file.
File here (https://sites.google.com/site/youngadamski/gpx/calendar-events/Flitchbikes%20200.gpx?attredirects=0&d=1) or via bikehike (http://bikehike.co.uk/mapview.php?lnk=https://sites.google.com/site/youngadamski/gpx/calendar-events/Flitchbikes%20200.gpx).
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Hello all,
Today's silly question: Is it possible to cross the M11 at Bishops Stortford (on a bike, obviously)? Looking at Google Earth doesn't reveal much. There seem to be some half-hearted paths but they disappear on the actual bridge/crossing. I know (I think I know, actually, is it??) it's legal to ride across the roundabout but I was there in a car two weeks ago and....I'm not ready to die, so not sure I'm up for that. Just wondered if there's any local knowledge of secret tunnels under the motorway or something*.
I know Elsenham has been suggested as the best station for Dunmow, but there's twice as many trains from Cambridge to Stortford as there are to Elsenham, and one of them even matches up the Newmarket one in something approaching a connection. Also I think one trip to Tilty on a ride is enough!! I can just see myself getting lost in the lanes before I even get to the start of the ride (thinks: maybe I need a gps).
*This is not as silly as it seems, there is one round here at Quy that doesn't appear on maps....
Turn left at smaller roundabout before big one over M11, and then turn right after about 1km onto cycle route 16. After crossing over M11 turn right at t junction in track. Couple of subways then a bridge over more dual carriageway then it bears left and then it will bring you out on the B1256. You can follow B1256 to Great Dunmow.
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Thanks all for the instant help!! :thumbsup:
I am now sorted, so have no excuse not to finish !! 8)
See you all on Saturday !! ;)
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I know Elsenham has been suggested as the best station for Dunmow, but there's twice as many trains from Cambridge to Stortford as there are to Elsenham, and one of them even matches up the Newmarket one in something approaching a connection. Also I think one trip to Tilty on a ride is enough!! I can just see myself getting lost in the lanes before I even get to the start of the ride (thinks: maybe I need a gps).
I'd take the train to Bishops Stortford and ride to Gt Dunmow from there. The station is on the right side of BS and it's an easy route to navigate to GD. Elsenham might be a bit closer but is a bit more fiddly.
M11 roundabout avoidance is pretty fiddly too - though there's a pleasant route keeping south of the old A120 [B1256]through the lanes to Hatfield Forest. Coming via Elsenham is ok, still plenty of navigation needed, but you also come into Dunmow on the right side for the HQ at Churchend.....
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Oh, thank you everyone for researching for me!
But...
I've stupidly not realised until just now that I'm supposed to be in Yorkshire on Saturday so I can't even do the sodding ride!!! Really cross :facepalm: with myself obviously.
Have a good ride if you are doing it ( hope you avoid the cricket ball sized hailstones, I think you will since they are fresh from the fevered imagination of the Daily Express).
I will do this ride at some point, I believe it is a perm too? Sorry to ask all the stoopid things and then not even turn up....
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I will do this ride at some point, I believe it is a perm too? Sorry to ask all the stoopid things and then not even turn up....
Yes, it's a perm: Boudicca's Revenge 200. It was my very first audax and it rained for most of the way, turning into horizontal sleet somewhere over half distance: I figured if that's as bad as it gets on an audax then most rides should be better :D (we saw colder and wetter during that winter ::-))
Tomsk lets you start at any control: Cambridge Services on the A14 should be a bit closer to you in Quy than Dunmow; or Chatteris, which may be easier to park at. Either of those and Tomsk's typical sting in the tail comes at less than half-distance, unless you ride it in reverse (in which case the stings are the wrong way round and probably not that painful).
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Oh, thank you everyone for researching for me!
But...
I've stupidly not realised until just now that I'm supposed to be in Yorkshire on Saturday so I can't even do the sodding ride!!! Really cross :facepalm: with myself obviously.
Have a good ride if you are doing it ( hope you avoid the cricket ball sized hailstones, I think you will since they are fresh from the fevered imagination of the Daily Express).
I will do this ride at some point, I believe it is a perm too? Sorry to ask all the stoopid things and then not even turn up....
I'm wondering about riding this as a perm in August some time. I've done the 300,400 events this year. If i do the flatlands 600 in September I've then go an Essex SR. Just a thought right now.
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Yes I changed from a sunday ride in Ware to Tomsk's 200 with half an eye on the essex SR too... my first, might as well be flatish and on familiar roads. But of course it looks like light rain but very warm on Saturday. Tropical, highly unusual, I don't have a thing to wear....
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HK and I are vaguely planning to do the series (me on fixed), though we'll need to sort out something for the 300.
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HK and I are vaguely planning to do the series (me on fixed), though we'll need to sort out something for the 300.
Hereward the Wake 300 on 4th/5th July?
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We are riding a UAF 600 from Gien to the Galibier starting that Sunday, followed by a French BRM 1000 on the Thursday. Without a TARDIS, we'd not get to Gien in time. I guess we'll do a perm of some sort on a free weekend, possibly in August.
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I'm wondering about riding this as a perm in August some time. I've done the 300,400 events this year. If i do the flatlands 600 in September I've then go an Essex SR. Just a thought right now.
Us too... thinking of an Essex SR. We can't do Flatlands unfortunately (except the perm version) but might as well try to tick off the 200 this weekend.
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Yes I changed from a sunday ride in Ware to Tomsk's 200 with half an eye on the essex SR too... my first, might as well be flatish and on familiar roads. But of course it looks like light rain but very warm on Saturday. Tropical, highly unusual, I don't have a thing to wear....
I'm riding the 200 on Saturday and beetling off to (who knose) Ware for the HI 5 200 on Sunday as well... had to be done !! ;D ;D
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We are riding a UAF 600 from Gien to the Galibier starting that Sunday, followed by a French BRM 1000 on the Thursday. Without a TARDIS, we'd not get to Gien in time. I guess we'll do a perm of some sort on a free weekend, possibly in August.
I have perm card for Green and yellow fields, which is one of the 300s part of the series. I'd be up for doing that as a group perm in August. Also have perm card for the 400, but that one I plan to do in July. And then the calendar 600 in Sep. 200 already done as a perm. Would be nice to do the W(Essex) double SR this season!
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Maybe the 16th, Lars?
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Maybe the 16th, Lars?
That looks like a good date indeed - no calendar clashes.
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*Pencils in diary*
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*Pencils in diary*
Herman the org allows riders to start at any control. But Manningtree is probably the best choice if taking the train to the start.
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Right 600 in auk calendar. Will decide in August when other stuff should be out of the way.
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Yes I changed from a sunday ride in Ware to Tomsk's 200 with half an eye on the essex SR too... my first, might as well be flatish and on familiar roads. But of course it looks like light rain but very warm on Saturday. Tropical, highly unusual, I don't have a thing to wear....
I'm riding the 200 on Saturday and beetling off to (who knose) Ware for the HI 5 200 on Sunday as well... had to be done !! ;D ;D
Ware is but a short ride from Great Dunmow and nice lanes connect them.
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Yes I changed from a sunday ride in Ware to Tomsk's 200 with half an eye on the essex SR too... my first, might as well be flatish and on familiar roads. But of course it looks like light rain but very warm on Saturday. Tropical, highly unusual, I don't have a thing to wear....
I'm riding the 200 on Saturday and beetling off to (who knose) Ware for the HI 5 200 on Sunday as well... had to be done !! ;D ;D
Ware is but a short ride from Great Dunmow and nice lanes connect them.
Indood, and that was what swayed me to 'do the two' :D
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Yes I changed from a sunday ride in Ware to Tomsk's 200 with half an eye on the essex SR too...
I'm riding the 200 on Saturday and beetling off to (who knose) Ware for the HI 5 200 on Sunday as well... had to be done !! ;D ;D
Yes that makes a lot of sense, I would be onto that if it weren't for RL getting in the way ::-)
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@Tomsk: You have email.
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16 deg and loads of rain. Good times! :thumbsup:
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16 deg and loads of rain. Good times! :thumbsup:
I'm bringing flippers and a snorkel 8)
Edit: although this morning's forecast is saying some rain around lunchtime when we're out on the fens and sunny by the time we get back to arrivée :thumbsup: Might be an idea to get to the Green Welly early for a lazy lunch and sit it out.
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Met now saying warmer - feels like 18 most of the day - with a big sweep of heavy rain in the 10:30 - 1 or 2 envelope. Wind shifts from East to South (head) in the middle of the afternoon, about 10mph so no big deal. It seems that at least we won't start in or finish a downpour which is good.
My forecast is that the weather will be 'mildly entertaining overall, with moments of high drama'.
See you out there.
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The potential for high drama in the weather, and lack of luggage capacity for carrying appropriate clothing for the mix of heavy rain or hail but 21C outside the storms, means C Minor and I are DNS. Yes, we're sadly under-equipped, fair-weather cyclists!
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Well what a super ride and super day. Hardly any rain early on, and I took off my waterproof... Then a very light sprinkling that helped keep me cool - it's lush when the rain acts to make you faster and more comfortable!!
By mid morning there was no more rain, and early afternoon and I was bare armed n bare legged - finished all 211 kms in 8 hours 49 mins, which left loads of time to stuff pizza and strawberries at the arrivee...
Thanks Tom and team!!
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Typical. Bloody weathermen!
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Yes the rain was pitiful and on the back so no drama in the end. Really lovely weather in the afternoon to make our way back through Essex on. *Aside from horrible run from Potton to Chateris on B road full of idiots* a very fine day out.
I did the classic thing of doing some last minute adjustments then realising that everyone had gone 15 minutes previous - thus condemning myself to a totally solo ride. Doh.
Thanks Tom - strawberries at the end a nice touch.
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Great day on the Flitchbikes 200k, thanks very much for organizing Tomsk! The food at the end went down a treat too.
Thanks also to the tandem team that had me as a Klingon for a good 60 miles of the ride, we wheel suckers salute you ;D
Weather was very kind, in fact I regret not putting more sun tan lotion on, so much for the monsoon! ::-)
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My summary
Weather -- better than it was predicted to be - a couple of splashes and then one serious spell of rain -- but not torrential. Brisk wind blowing us North - and then a bit of a struggle back home -- but not at all bad overall.
Faces recognised -- in no order - Bikey Mikey, HK, LWB, Wilkyboy, Bhoot, Needham Matt - and NOTP Mick Bates.
Ride -- off to brisk start which saw me with HK and Bhoot -- LWB was off in front. Then after Buntingford I left HK and LWB behind, as he tucked into a decent breakfast. Rode on now with Wilkyboy - and as we controlled at Potton LWB and HK pulled in and not long afterwards caught up -- so that as a 4 we rode to Chatteris with that lovely tail wind. As the three of them grabbed a snack --knowing that I needed a head start to keep with them - I sneaked away -- but was caught up by HK and LWB not far from the A14 service station control. Bit of a cock up here - as I used the actual service station - and they went to a cafe (?) somewhere else. Trundle on now on my own - until Wilkyboy appears just behind me at the info control - but then drops out again soon after that with a puncture. LWB appears behind me at Saffron Walden and HK catches up in Thaxted as we debate route sheet or B road home - I opt for B road and on the grounds of local knowledge they follow my advice ( which is probably wrong!!). We are in dead on 6.00pm ( 9.30 total) for 210kms - which isnt bad at all - riding time 8.45. Happy with that.
Finally of course thx to Tom and family for putting the ride on - and giving us not only a breakfast - but a decent bite to eat at the finish - and the soft drinks with lots of ice went down very well - so the afternoon must have been more dehydrating than I realised.
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Pulled out of Moors and Wolds as the rain was following the route, then did not fancy the rain at all so did the 200 as a perm yesterday. It was hot, and the rain was probably the better option with the sunny afternoon on Saturday.
Tailwind out to Chatteris allowed a more leisurely return, passing Tomsk in Dunmow as he returned home. Still work to do for the Essex SR, hopefully A&S as a perm before the end of the month and try Flatliner as a perm in July, with the September 600 as back up.
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The Flitchbikes being a 200, and Great Dunmow being 51km in Google from my home in Cambridge, I decided to ECE the ride to 300, as it would take only an extra 45 minutes each end compared to waiting for and catching the train. The forecast was for a bout of wetness with possible thunder and lightning in the morning, with sun in the afternoon. And wind – oh, how I love wind! (::-))
TL:DR Just for you who can't be bothered, I rode with a number of friendly regulars, completed it in a good time (for me), and there are lots of photos here-clickety (there are rather more on Flickr than in my report) (https://www.flickr.com/photos/89262465@N08/sets/72157645080996885).
I set out from home before 6am to ride the 51km to the start of the Flitchbikes 200. I first rode the perm of this route as my very first audax in November 2012 and it rained hard and blew a gale – having undergone 13 hours of sodden misery, audax just felt like a good fit :facepalm: This was to be my first outing on the calendar ride.
The weather at home was a balmy 16ºC with no wind and high cloud. I wore a summer shirt plus arm warmers. The run down to Great Dunmow from Cambridge is benign and unchallenging and at this early hour I used a series of fast B roads to Newport and cut across country through the lanes to Dunmow. Taking my time to look around, I was amazed at the number and variety of quaint and traditional houses and villages so close to home that I'd never really "seen" from the car!
Towards Dunmow I could feel the wind picking up and just at the roundabout before Dunmow the heavens opened and I got a bit damp. Nevertheless, I arrived with plenty of time to spare.
(https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5576/14374278191_d531b8ef31.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/nUcW7B)
It was a warm welcome from Tomsk and Junior-junior Tomsk at the church hall, with second breakfast laid out and plenty of time to have a chat — Fidgetbuzz, HK, LittleWheelsAndBig, Bikey Mikey, Denise, the bhoot tandem and plenty of others I know by face but not name. This wasn't going to be a huge ride, with about 30 starters (IIRC), but Tomsk was running a 100 and 150 on the same day, so overall a good turnout, especially given the weather forecast.
(https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3903/14397780193_4be84af375.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/nWhorx) (https://farm3.staticflickr.com/2926/14190971749_9bb4bba609.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/nC1ruH)
After a gentle pep-talk from Tom in the shadow of the church, we set off. The ride starts in Essex, which is lumpy: not big enough to hurt, but not really big enough to recover on the other side. On the turn from the start the road started to climb and the riders started to string out: as I wanted to try to take lots of photos, I stayed with the quicker bunch snapping happily, figuring that as I slowed down then other riders would catch me up. Unfortunately, this exuberance would haunt me later, although I did get a lot of pictures ...
(https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3845/14191054520_dc50f793f8.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/nC1S6N) (https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5535/14190996718_14638c3c06.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/nC1yVd)
(https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5538/14191055100_87e4233783.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/nC1SgN) (https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3865/14377616895_196569542b.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/nUv3At)
(https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3905/14354521456_1e1e163149.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/nSsF8f) (https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3896/14191052820_e044013625.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/nC1RAu)
(https://farm3.staticflickr.com/2920/14191055400_bed96308f0.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/nC1SmY) (https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3906/14190974409_4af583bd4c.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/nC1shz)
(https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3841/14377615965_a7d8f22f00.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/nUv3jr) (https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5552/14354526636_0cbfa6c400.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/nSsGEy)
The route is cross-country westwards to Buntingford and then north-west to Potton, before turning north-easterly and heading across the rather flatter Cambridgeshire to St Ives (of seven-wives fame, allegedly) and into the fens to Chatteris. And then returning via a number of significant lumps to the south-east of Cambridge and then via Saffron Walden, Thaxted to arrivée at Great Dunmow.
I stupidly managed to sit on the front of the group with Bikey Mikey to Stansted Mountfitchet, taking rear-facing pictures (not specifically of my rear, although occasionally :facepalm:), but stopped at the top of the first Chapel Hill of the day to remove my waterproof. I managed to make contact with the group and stay with them for a while to Manuden, taking time to grab a gratuitous selfie with Bikey Mikey, but was eventually gapped again and was unable to hook back on.
(https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3912/14376168052_f7a6d9a00f.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/nUnBUq) (https://farm3.staticflickr.com/2936/14191182987_9a851e9461.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/nC2whK)
(https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3870/14374277961_4be9fd71d9.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/nUcW3D) (https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3915/14376667064_6b9a12c9d2.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/nUqbf5)
(https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3848/14376668374_42e43e00cc.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/nUqbCE) (https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5278/14374276391_706a07036c.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/nUcVzz)
A quick stop in Buntingford to re-oil my chain (tut: I should've done this after BCM) and Fidgetbuzz caught me. We chatted together through the lanes, it was good to catch up, to the next control at Potton, including the optional ford crossing. At some point HK caught us up, but no sign of LWaB — apparently one breakfast isn't enough and he'd stopped for another ::-)
(https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5524/14374277441_00e4710808.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/nUcVTF) (https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3847/14397779363_5f033ecbb0.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/nWhoce)
(https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5120/14376667874_9f6c89d9af.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/nUqbu3) (https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3914/14397782263_a5a0916de7.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/nWhp4e)
By now the rain had really started to feel properly wet, so the waterproof went back on. Fidgetbuzz and I headed off, leaving LWaB (who had caught up with us) and HK to faff, but the B roads to St Ives are fast and busy enough to deter side-by-side riding and pretty much any conversation, and we rode mostly in silence. However, given Fidgetbuzz's recent protestations at being too unfit for audax, he tidily kept me at my upper limit without hardly breaking a sweat!! :facepalm: Clearly his training is paying off :thumbsup:
HK and LWaB caught us in St Ives just after an old geezer drove past beeping his horn (no idea what for: simply hates cyclists?). And it had stopped raining.
(https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3852/14190972069_0933eb3887.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/nC1rAe) (https://farm3.staticflickr.com/2914/14376667744_81b40ee1f7.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/nUqbrN)
St Ives is alleged to be that St Ives of seven-wives poetry fame, although this is an unresolved debate. You can say, however, that it's famous for Oliver Cromwell being a resident, for a famous historic chapel built as part of the ancient bridge (and was used as a toll booth as well as for services!), as one of the homes of Clive Sinclair's ("inventor of the pocket calculator") business, and being quite a picturesque old town.
After St Ives there are a couple of small hills on the route and Fidgetbuzz demonstrated that while he's quick on the flat, he's a bit more patient on the hills still* and we soft-pedalled to allow the group to reform. The ride across the fens to Chatteris is a frustratingly winding road raised a couple of metres above an extraordinarily flat plain: when the fens were drained from the 17th century, the sodden fen soil, now with water removed, shrank, causing the only solid ground in the region to remain several metres above the new level, high and dry. These solid areas were the old river beds and that's why the road meanders across the plain instead of a straight there-and-back. What this means on a windy day — and every day is a windy day on the fens – is that the direction of the wind is always changing, made worse only when it's also raining! Fortunately the rain had stopped, so LWaB took first wheel and we careened across Chatteris Fen and Colne Fen to the "island" of Chatteris itself.
As this was the halfway point for me, I decided to have a sandwich, to the obvious disdain of the other three ::-) But I had to fuel up for another 160km and Fidgetbuzz left quickly, shortly followed by HK, both muttering that we'd catch them, as we were now turning into the wind. The bhoot tandem passed us heading into Chatteris as we were setting off, now in hot sunshine 8)
The return leg starts with the meandering wind-fest in reverse and this time we were predominantly into a headwind. This was fine until we caught HK, but then I rode off the front ... for about a mile before I was passed by the LWaB train. I'm just not as fit as I like to think, and I hate headwinds!
From this point on I rode on my own. We had passed quite a few riders who were still on their way to Chatteris, so I knew I wasn't lanterne rouge, and I kept checking over my shoulder expecting to be caught and passed, as the wheels had fallen off my wagon, but just empty space. A quick roadside break before Swavesey and a control at the Post Office saved valuable minutes compared to controlling at the A14 services (it's quite a big site), so I thought I might've made up time on the others, but as I passed the services I couldn't see anyone at all. In fact I rode on my own for another hour and a half before seeing another audaxeer.
The section after re-crossing the A14 starts to rise up out of the fens: the A14 pretty much delineates the flatlands in these parts. The slope is ever-so gentle, but you can feel it in your legs, as the roads often appear to be flat, but the elevation profile reveals the lie. By now my quads were shot, as I think I overuse them when spinning, and taking photographs of other cyclists while climbing even small hills is quite inefficient.
I was slow.
There aren't many hills near to Cambridge and one of note for training purposes is the other Chapel Hill, this time at Barrington. It's not very big: if you live in Wessex it's not even a speed bump. And without a cyclist in the shot exerting themselves then it's hard to even see it as a hill unless you're there:
(https://farm3.staticflickr.com/2911/14377614205_2acd9ccd9c.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/nUv2N6)
I climbed the hill patiently enough and looked back to see the sights of Cambridge: you can see them there, just over the top of the hedge, if you know what you're looking for: St Peter's Church, University Library tower, Kings College Chapel, and St Mary's Church. Cambridge isn't a very tall city: the University reigned over the planning committee (allegedly, and possibly still does, allegedly) and didn't want any buildings taller than King's College Chapel (apparently). They also refused to have the station near the city so as not to encourage students to travel to London to cavort with commoners and the like. And we still don't have an ice rink, although they did allow a bowling alley a few years ago. Odd, but it does keep the city looking and feeling a bit unique/antique compared to so many samey towns these days. Unfortunately for this sort of shot you need a tripod and a decent camera with a half-decent lens on the front, which I don't carry on the bike, but here goes (this just doesn't do it justice):
(https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5514/14194373788_cb60ec8c26_c.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/nCiSNy)
After a quick spin down the other side, I opted for what I think is the nicer route through the length of the lovely village of Barrington, built along both sides of a huge open green, and crossing the railway at Shepreth rather than Foxton: it's no different distance wise, but a lot nicer IMHO. When I rejoined the route in Fowlmere I was expecting to see more riders, but still nobody. I rode out to the crossing of the fast A505 and came across a road closure on the route. Actually, although the road was closed, there were no no-entry signs, so technically, as a pedestrian, I would be able to pass and continue. Sod that, I rode through anyway and proceeded with caution: it's a very wide lane with good visibility and set up as a one-way system for an agricultural show. I could see another rider ahead and caught up with Fidgetbuzz at the info control: it appeared that the almost imperceptible but constant incline had brought out his patience. Well met, though, because the whole point of riding the calendar version was to ride with people, I can ride the perm on my own any time!
The info control is at the foot of the easterly end of the Chilterns (IIRC), barely a ripple by comparison to Berkshire, but still mighty for us flatlanders. The turn at Chrishall Grange put us onto the ancient Icknield Way, and a couple of kilometres later the road ramps incessantly upwards to the steepest gradient of the day: 10%. The sun was out and the temperature in the low 20s, so it was bit of a struggle, but the total elevation change is barely 30m. Tomsk claims this 10% is in Cambridgeshire (!) and it is — just! The Cambridge/Essex border is the hedgerow along the summit ridge. Fidgetbuzz demonstrated the utmost patience in his climbing and I still had trouble keeping up :facepalm:
(https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3904/14191053330_3fd9d54137.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/nC1RKh) (https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5505/14397779003_eb3115d48b.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/nWho62)
The drop down the other side is potholed and gnarly: I warned FB, but it was me that succumbed, earning a snakebite visitation, my first with 700c wheels. FB demonstrated a distinct lack of patience at this point and left me to fix it on my own**: 15 minutes, because it was my first with skinny tyres and sticky tubes, during which time I was passed by HK and LWaB (I thought they were in front of me), as well as another couple of riders (I had been expecting to be caught so much earlier!), and a van driver who stopped to check I was okay :thumbsup:
Once back on the bike I climbed up through the woods and over the top of the M11 for a fast descent to Littleport. From Littleport it's a main road dash to Saffron Walden, passing Audley End House on the way: in the glorious sunshine a couple of teams were thrashing the willow in a game of cricket. It looked almost staged the fact they were all in perfect whites right in the front of the view across the lawn to the house itself.
(https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5568/14354521816_d56c193d7f_c.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/nSsFes)
The climb through Saffron Walden is sudden and sharp, but out of the way soon enough and then it's a B-road drag to Thaxted: anyone who has ridden more than a couple of rides in Essex will have passed through Thaxted. It's a very quaint little town with a spired church in a grand setting on top of the hill, a rather steep hill, but hilly downwards. A right turn followed by a left and it's a grotty, gravelly, potholed lane back to Thaxted. I paused on a rise to take in a small view and was passed by the one and final rider of the day, meaning that I probably saw only half the field all day, which is a decent measure for me. A quick spin back up the hill into Dunmow and down again to the church hall and arrivée: 212km in about 9:45 hours, 8:45 moving, 15 minutes of visitation, so 45 minutes in controls (or stopped on the road), and my quickest attempt at this ride by quite a chunk of time.
Senior-junior Tomsk was waiting at the door of arrivée welcoming riders home and instructing dad to put more pizzas in the oven, a helper I don't know checking brevets, and a veritable crowd hanging around upstairs taking it easy. Lulled into comfort by Pringles, pork pies, pizza and coffee, I spent nearly an hour at arrivée, but since I still had 50km to ride home for my ECE, this was in effect a slow control and I could feel myself getting colder. So with some regret, I ventured back out on the bike in the evening sun – it was now about 19.15 – for an easy blast home. The 'rules' of ECE meant that for the whole 300km I would have 21 hours, so I could afford to get home around 2.45am, meaning 50km in 7:30 hours, I could walk it! No worries, just an easy ride home.
(https://farm3.staticflickr.com/2913/14377614135_28daf79fc3.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/nUv2LT)
I had chosen a route through lanes I'd not ridden before and it turned out to be a bit of a gem: at this time on a Saturday the B road to Thaxted (again! the photo above is Thaxted from afar, recognisable to all Essex audaxers) was quiet and after turning off into the lanes at Howlett End I saw hardly any traffic until the A1307 at Abington, passing through numerous picturesque and peaceful villages. From there it was a very fast (for me) ride along the A1307 over the Gog Magogs (famously Cambridge's biggest hill; it's 63m tall!) – considering I had over 300km in my legs at this point, I was very pleased to feel I can continue to deliver, even if not quite on the same level of output as LWaB or FB.
I got home well before 10pm, giving 16 hours on the road for 322km, moving 13:20, stopped 2:40 (visitation plus half an hour at the start, plus arrivée dawdle accounting for well over half).
Having ridden the ECE legs at an easy pace, I was surprised at how much new scenery there was that I hadn't seen before. Cambridgeshire and Essex really are very beautiful counties in a traditional countryside sense, rather than the rugged grandeur of, say, Wales, or the Himalayas. Across every other hedgerow and gateway, the vistas were captivating. Perhaps the early-morning and late-evening light really helped to bring the landscape alive, but as ever, it's harder to take good landscape pictures than you'd ever have thought, so I included only a couple of vignettes of country-esqueness. I set out with the aim of taking photos of lots of fellow riders; what I ended up with is lots of photos of a few fellow riders – on reaching the first control, the quickest typically bounce the control never to be seen again, and the slowest hang around for second breakfast, not to be seen until tea time, and I spent a good chunk of the afternoon riding on my own in what seemed to be a huge gap between the quick and the slow :facepalm: Still, I'm happy with the pics I got and bit of self-indulgence on the colourise buttons nicely hides the poor quality of the camera (and photographer).
Many thanks to Tomsk and his helpers all for a fun ride and welcome spread before and after :thumbsup:
I now have the 200 and 300 events completed for my Essex SR. I don't know if I can mentally handle the Flatlands 600 again, but RL permitting I will try, and I am planning a DunRun-esque DIY for the 400 as I missed A&S.
* I have no doubt this will improve.
** Edit: just to be clear, I wouldn't expect anyone to hang around for anything less than a broken arm or severe blood loss, or similar; this was an observation not a criticism :P
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Unusual to see Cambridgeshire and Himalayas compared in the same sentence !!
Good write up - and many thx for your company.
Sorry if pedalling off when you p*nctured was not what you expected -- but standing around doing nothing useful seemed pointless to me, when approaching the finish. But same thing happening in the wilds on a 600 - and rest assured I am staying there.
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Unusual to see Cambridgeshire and Himalayas compared in the same sentence !!
Good write up - and many thx for your company.
Sorry if pedalling off when you p*nctured was not what you expected -- but standing around doing nothing useful seemed pointless to me, when approaching the finish. But same thing happening in the wilds on a 600 - and rest assured I am staying there.
To a flatlander a hill's a hill – something that happens to other people. And thank you for your company Rog, it was an unexpected pleasure, as ever. Due to riding with you for quite a bit, there are a lot of photos of you in the complete set, in case you wanted to show your grandkids ;)
And it was an observation not a criticism: I wouldn't expect anyone to hang around for something that was my own fault and that I could fix myself :) You would've ridden off after five minutes anyway with a terse "come on, it shouldn't take you this long!", as I really was that slow at sorting it out, being the first, m'lud :facepalm:
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Wilkyboy, do come along to the 600. We'll be there as LWaB is chasing a shiny badge! Could be another grand day out, which you wouldn't want to miss out on.
Great ride report and photos. HK
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I will be riding the 200 as a perm in August if anyone hasn't done it over the weekend . Then flatlands 600 in September for my Essex SR.
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Great pix Wilkyboy. I'm glad someone got the pic of the cricket, that was *ridiculously pretty*. I saw you leaving the control at the end as I came in, glad the rest of the ride worked for you, and a good ECE. Would work pretty well from NE london too... next year then?!
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Just entered Hereward the Wake :)
Is there a pre-ride curry this year?
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Just entered Hereward the Wake :)
Is there a pre-ride curry this year?
Yep
Tom's taking bookings now. Just got an email from him this morning. 6.30 at the Jalsa Ghar. Email him if you would like a spot.
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Yup, just got the curry email out....all welcome! Route-sheet to follow next week, when checked on the helper's ride.
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Yup, just got the curry email out....all welcome! Route-sheet to follow next week, when checked on the helper's ride.
I hope to be there, as pro'ly ece-ing this from Cambridge (only to return a few hours later), so could do with a curry boost for a following wind, etc., etc. :hand: :P
I'm looking forward to this, the weather forecast is for a warm, balmy night with a bit of precitipation and a strong tail wind powering us all the way to Whittlesey and then annoying us all the way back again ::-)
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Tom's taking bookings now. Just got an email from him this morning. 6.30 at the Jalsa Ghar. Email him if you would like a spot.
I don't think I can make it. I need to get a train from London after 6:30 and ride over from Bishops Stortford so I'll not get there until around 8. :(
Shame, as I've not had a curry for ages!
Also, advance warning: I'm using this as my final proper run out before the Mersey Roads 24 a couple of weeks later so I'll be on the TT bike. Anyone is welcome to grab onto my wheel but I may be a bit anti-social as I'm trying to ride to a particular pattern with a steady effort and minimal time off the bike!
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I hope, Frank, that our brunch at the finish of HtW will be compensation for the full English you won't have time for at the 'Raven' café on the Mersey 24!
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Anybody got or doing a GPS track for Hereward.
OR
Tom - is the route the same as in the past - I might be able to find an old track from earlier years?
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I'll be doing a track at some point, but in the meantime I've found some tracks on ridewithgps, but haven't, yet, checked them for accuracy.
http://ridewithgps.com/routes/1384659
http://ridewithgps.com/routes/2084814
http://ridewithgps.com/trips/1492135
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ChrisS did some for the 2012 event if you use the search. Somewhere I'll have my recorded track from that year too. I'll see if I can dig it out.
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Hoping it is the same as Wilkys track from 2013- as I have played with that - getting it into a 500 point limit in 3 pieces.
So Tom - have you changed the route -- controls etc?
Last time I rode it - I think you did a control out of the back of your car -- which year was that?
Roger
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Which side of the The Pag is best to aim for as the control?
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Which side of the The Pag is best to aim for as the control?
My RWGPS route mapped to the north side, but I realised the other day the routesheet indicates the south side. I haven't ridden it, so I don't know which side's better. I created a new route using the December routesheet last week here that navigates to the south side:
http://ridewithgps.com/routes/5147852
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I hope, Frank, that our brunch at the finish of HtW will be compensation for the full English you won't have time for at the 'Raven' café on the Mersey 24!
I expect it will more than compensate: I'll be looking forward to it all night!
Are you doing a 24 this year? I don't think I saw you on the start sheet for the Sussex.
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I've entered HtW as my first 300km :thumbsup:
It seems like a long way to cycle :o
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Hoping it is the same as Wilkys track from 2013- as I have played with that - getting it into a 500 point limit in 3 pieces.
So Tom - have you changed the route -- controls etc?
Last time I rode it - I think you did a control out of the back of your car -- which year was that?
Roger
I rode that one so it was 2011 (I think I finished at about the same time as you).
Reading Tom's blurb it looks like the route has changed a bit since then as I don't recall going through Cambridge.
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In 2011 the route went to Red Lodge, then Ramsey [where the shiny new Tesco garage turned out to be 24 hour as promised - but.... fuel only :facepalm: - hence the car boot control]. I extended it to Whittlesey [proper] 24 hour garage subsequently, so you can enjoy Cambridge at chucking out time!
No 24 hour tts for me this year, maybe as part of my PB prep next year. [The family 'support' crew rebelled - this is largely and understandably due to the M24 being held on the first weekend of the school summer hols].
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Which side of the The Pag is best to aim for as the control?
My RWGPS route mapped to the north side, but I realised the other day the routesheet indicates the south side. I haven't ridden it, so I don't know which side's better. I created a new route using the December routesheet last week here that navigates to the south side:
http://ridewithgps.com/routes/5147852
The 24-hour Starbucks is on the northbound side (ie south side) so I think that will be best.
Thanks for this; I'll load it up now.
Edit: just been through it vs the routesheet and there is something funny going on with distances. This seems to measure about 3% over, so its 6km over at NP and 9km over by the end. Can't see any specific detours that would cause it, but a bit of a pain when trying to mark the distances for the infos.
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Funny weather forecast.
Looks like there will be a fair bit of rain about, but very mild temperatures; not lower than 15-16 degrees.
What to wear!
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Hiding from rain in bus shelter . Glamorous
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Hiding from rain in bus shelter . Glamorous
I've told that is the Rock'nRoll aspect of audaxing.I'm awaiting an intro to the sex&drugs part ;D
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Joggers old chap, don't forget audaxing is a great way of spending the night with men you've met on the internet so who knows what might happen! The possibilities are endless!
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Ahem, or in parks.
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Joggers old chap, don't forget audaxing is a great way of spending the night with men you've met on the internet so who knows what might happen! The possibilities are endless!
'tis remiss of me to have overlooked that consideration.
However this
Joggers old chap, don't forget audaxing is a great way of spending the night with women you've met on the internet so who knows what might happen! The possibilities are endless!
holds more of an attraction :demon:
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Safely home after bailing. Couldn't stay awake, even when it got light which is unusual for me. Needed three bus shelter sleeps & yet I still rode into a ditch when I fell asleep :facepalm: Seemed wise to bail before I did myself any harm.
Thanks to Tom, Ian and Jake for brunch.
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Glad to hear you're ok Adam. Tom told us about your exploits when we got back.
A good ride for me. Flew up to Whittlesey in no time at all (no wind on the approach to Whittlesey which was a first for me!) as soon as we left the control the rain started with a bit of a head wind which stayed with us all the way to Newport Pagnell. Mostly flat so a reasonable ride. Mostly rode alone but occasionally caught up with Huggy and Tippers Kiwi. A much needed hot drink at Newport Starbucks. Walked in to see large puddles all over the floor and a very soggy looking Fidgetbuzz and Wilkyboy decamped with pastries and coffee. After a bit of a sit down headed off again. A bit less flat on the way back so progress was steady. Once it was light caught up with Huggy and Tippers again and mostly stayed with them to the end. Stopped raining about 40km from the end! 365km all in for me.
Cheers to Tom and son for the hospitality at the finish.
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Well, that wasn't quite what I expected for my first 300km. Does DNF'ing mean I have to try again? ::-)
Adamski had briefed me before the start to take it slow and steady, so we were aiming for a nice and gentle 5.5 hours for each 100km, allowing us to finish comfortably within the time limits. We all set off after a brief pep talk from Tomsk and the group spread out quite quickly. We stopped for a minor roadside incident which pretty much established us as lanterne rouge (aside from a few late starters), but that was OK.
With a tail wind, we whizzed up to Cambridge and were there around 11pm, 45mins ahead of schedule. Another group joined us for most of the run in to the town centre; Tomsk had warned us about the invisible cyclists and revellers we were likely to encounter, which we did. Many seemed to think we were something to do with the TdF (which I will take as a compliment). One ninja cyclist pulled out onto a roundabout in front of us without looking and when we shouted at him, he stopped dead in his tracks. Some super skills by adamski avoided a head on collision :facepalm:
It seems that Cambridge did not have a single cash machine with a working printer, so we found ourselves with a group of others at the garage asking the manager to all sign our brevet cards - which he cheerfully did. I think he found the novelty of it quite amusing. Our lack of faffage meant we left the garage ahead of the rest of the group.
I wasn't looking forward to the Ramsay Road, which I had renamed the road of despair and misery; it's so long and straight it is fairly soul destroying. However, at night, when you can't quite see this, it isn't nearly so bad. We got to the garage at Whittlesey, 100km in at 01:30, a full hour ahead of schedule (yay!), where the nice man kindly opened it up so we could raid it for milk based drinks and pasties (I know what it takes to be a good audaxer ;D ).
It started raining briefly but then it passed, so off we set. It started to rain again so we nipped into a convenient audax hotel at the side of the road and waited to see if it would pass. It didn't, so we reluctantly donned our rain jackets and set off. It rained pretty much for the next 4 hours. We were slogging into a headwind and it was disappointing to see our average speed tick downwards. I had some fairly low moments, vowing to myself to never do anything quite so stupid again. Although we were following a gpx track I was convinced we were fruitlessly going round in circles as I kept seeing sign posts to the same places we had seen only 30 mins previously. Everytime I looked at my odometer, we seemed to have only progressed by a few kms. Suffice to say, I wasn't having much fun.
It was about 03:30 and adamski told me he was having a serious case of the dozies and needed to stop when we next happened upon somewhere suitable. Thing is, for the last 20 or so km there had been NOTHING. To try and keep him awake I started singing songs - we ended up with "we went to the animal fair" on repeat until we spotted a bench in Catworth where we stopped for a 15 mins kip break. I didn't sleep but when we set off again, it was getting light and adamski said he felt a lot better. 10km or so later he fell asleep on the bike so we stopped again in Riseley for more sleep. Again, he then felt OK so off we set. On the approach to Lavendon I heard a squeak and saw adamski cycling into a ditch at the side of road. He'd fallen asleep on the bike for a third time. I took the executive decision that this was no longer a good idea. It wasn't a hard one to make, especially as it had been raining fairly solidly for 4 hours.
We sat in another audax hotel, adamski immediately asleep whilst I figured out how to get home. We had hired a car for the weekend rather than taking trains to avoid adding too much cycling in this attempt at my longest distance yet. Our only set of house keys were in the car so we had to get back to Great Dunmow in order to get home. Curses. The best option (aided by flaky 3G) seemed to be to cycle to Bedford, take a train into London and then back out again, which would take around 3 hours and cost around £80. Still, a plan is better than no plan and off we set.
We got to Bedford without issue (thankfully at that time in the morning the A428 wasn't too busy). As it happened, there was a guy with a big cab at the station so we tentatively asked how much to Great Dunmow. £80 with the bikes. Yay. And so we arrived back at Great Dunmow, just after 9am, the first back (so did we win?).
So, not quite according to plan, but these things happen. I still got to experience a decent amount of audax - bus shelters, garage forecourts, pasties etc etc. I was feeling pretty strong still, so I reckon I could have completed the distance. There's only one way to find out really though, isn't there.....TBC
With thanks to Tomsk, Jake and Ian for the brunch when we got back, and to Tomsk for the organisation.
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Pippa - I reckon that your executive decision - was spot on - if Adamski kept falling asleep - who knows what might have gone wrong. Sorry that you did not complete - rather leaves unfinished business -- but looks as if you learnt lots -- and will be in complete confident control when next you take on a 300.
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My summary of the ride.
Curry and beer with just 6 of us there - was good - and of course unusual for an audax - a certain amount of sociability -- if I rode this again , I would repeat the curry experience.
Actual ride ... Ridiculously fast to Cambridge, with Wilky and I tending to lead a group once we are onto the flatter bits ( 10 up maybe even 15), Fortunately the ATM we hit had a working printer - so the two of us are off pdq, leaving the rest of the group struggling to find PoP. Fast ride on up to Whittlesea - about 4 or 5 closing slowly behind us on the long straights - with Peter Turnbull catching us as we get to the petrol station. A FB quick turn round sees us away and now it is beginning to rain , dark and into the wind -- major navigation error by both of us -- means that we end up back on the long straight into Whittlesea instead of heading SW to Newport Pagnell -- brief consultation - and we decide that rather than go back to the source of the error - we will ride south into the wind - and then west -- picking up the route again at Great Gidding. Initially we have no idea how many extras kms this is going to be -- but rejoining the route it looks like somewhere between 6 and 10 -- Tomsk distances on route sheet seem "" debateable" to us. We imagine that several groups may now be in front of us. good ride through the villages after dawn - quiet roads that i have never ridden before - good attractive villages -- still raining steadily -- not heavy just persistent. Newport Pagnell -- no one else around and then to our surprise Peter T turns up , Christophe and 1 or 2 more --and the couple on the ride - not seen them before. So although our cock up has added at least 6 kms - others have obviously been faffing.
Then it is steady progress with it still raining until about 7.00am - with short stops at info controls, Biggleswade etc. Wilky is very patient as he waits for me - when being so much stronger up hill - he could have ridden off and finished 30 minutes faster. Finally back to base and bacon bap etc -- very tasty and appreciated-- and much to our amazement we are very early finishers - we had gone thru 300kms at just under 15 hours - but with the extra distance of both the ride and our cock up - our total time was about 15.40.
Thx Tom , lovely ride and not really demanding as "flattish" - but very interesting route - going to all sorts of places that I have never been to before.
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Pippa - heroic failures are all part of the Audax Experience!
Well done to those first-timers at 300km - those on a 'full value' ride looked as if they could go round again......
Thanks to all those who complimented the route - Bedfordshire in particular has some under-appreciated gems of landscape.
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Pippa - heroic failures are all part of the Audax Experience!
As is waking up to find oneself having ridden into the road verge. (On the bright side, it's good to know I can ride fixed in my sleep ;D.)
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That was an interesting night's work!
My main objective was to do a decent night ride on the TT bike ahead of the Mersey Roads. I learned quite a few things on the way - and not necessarily the things I was expecting to.
The first leg up to Peterborough went exactly to plan. I got to the second control at a decent speed and without having expended over much energy. Apologies to those I kept leapfrogging with during the first half an hour, but I was limiting my power to pace myself through the night, so everyone came surging past me on the short climbs, then on a far more aero bike, I couldn't avoid passing them again on the descents.
That sorted itself out by Duxford, and from then on I was on my own. Every now and again through the night I did think I might have caught a glimpse of a red light ahead, but it generally turned out to be a car, or a reflective bollard - or just a hallucination!
Cambridge was fun. It's a surprisingly quick route through a fairly big city. I studied there for three years so I was once one of the drunken cyclists with no lights so I knew to give my former self a wide berth! I passed the place where I got doored by a white van on my way back from lectures all those years ago, then my old college - which I couldn't even look at for fear of hitting one of the peds staggering across the road! As usual, every time I go back to Cambridge, they seem to change the road markings and last night was no different. After a quick stop at the garage it was into a beautful mild night with smooth flat tarmac and a steady tailwind - audax is rarely as easy as this!
Shortly after the second control, the road turned into the wind and it started raining, but even then never very hard. And it was so light and so mild that I didn't bother stopping to put on my waterproof until Newport Pagnell. That leg went smoothly. I didn't feel at all tired which was very useful (bad luck, Adamski ^, not nice when it does happen and not a lot you can do). Big thanks to Wilkyboy for doing an excellent GPS track which I used. Having the alerts for the infos was incredibly helpful (although the 80km countdown to the controls was a bit more info than I wanted!) - I must work out how to do this myself.
Things then fell apart on the final section from NP back to Dunmow. I had thought I might pick up a bit more speed with the daylight and turning slightly out of the wind but it was not to be. My legs were fine but, as a result of the road spray, I developed the worst saddle sores I have ever had and increasingly found it hard to find any position in which I could sit on the saddle which was not extremely painful. As a result, my speed fell away dramatically. To be honest, this section was probably a bit too demanding in terms of hills and lane surfaces for the TT bike so it was of very limited aero benefit while I regularly missed my low gears (and mudguards) from the audax bike. The rain also took on a 'set in' air, as if it was not going to stop; it was almost a surprise when it did and I rode the last half an hour in sunshine.
I finally limped back in to a most welcome breakfast roll. Chatted to Tomsk and to Sam, who had been back for a good while. I then rode back to Bishops Stortford mostly on Sam's wheel, and mostly standing up, to catch the train home. Thanks for the tow and the encouragement: otherwise I might well have got off and walked!
So, lessons learned:
The main one was one I knew already - don't do a long ride in the wet without mudguards.
Pacing - I think I've probably got it about right. It was hard to hold back on those first little hills but the legs definitely felt better for it on the night section. But I couldn't really test it on the last bit because of the saddle sores.
Equipment - a few minor glitches with the bike were identified, like one of my back lights working loose, a bottle cage also coming loose, etc - which I wanted to go wrong on Friday rather than on the 24.
Food - more solid and less liquid through night. Even if it was 15 degrees, when it gets dark, I just don't want to drink anything like as much.
Thanks again to Tom and team for a challenging but rewarding event. I think we even got a few bonus miles too! I rode 312 km - including about a km of wrong turns (mainly 'cos the Garmin was often slow to refresh on account of the cloud cover, so I missed a few junctions), with every leg seeming to be about 3% more than expected, rather than any single missing loop. 3%: a mere rounding error!
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Wilky is very patient as he waits for me - when being so much stronger up hill - he could have ridden off and finished 30 minutes faster.
Possibly, but that would've meant riding in on my own: I'm much happier that I rode in with you. Apart from the unhurried climbing you are respectably quick and easily kept up with me on the flat until about the 200km mark IIRC. And anyway I still had another 50km to ride my ECE back home after we got to arrivée, so spending all my energy on the main event didn't make sense; in the end I wasn't that much quicker on my final ECE leg on my own.
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Nice to meet you Frank.
Fingers crossed for a dry Mersey Roads for you, and good luck.
Superb brunch from Tomsk; thanks. Worth riding for even if it was perfect weather. :thumbsup:
Sam
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Is there a GPS track/route knocking around for the Flatlands 600 - maybe a tracklog from last year's event if the route hasn't changed?
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Route has changed, but only the final run back from Chatteris.....
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Is there a GPS track/route knocking around for the Flatlands 600 - maybe a tracklog from last year's event if the route hasn't changed?
As Tomsk says the end of the route has changed but here's my track from last year if it helps:
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/372894867