RR.
Stupid early start for me as I turned the Witham Wander into a DIY 300.
I was out of the door at 2:30am and got the first ATM chit in Swaffham at 3am. From there, it was straight down the A1065 (didn't see one car!) through the forest to Brandon, then the B1106 through yet more forest to Bury St Edmunds just as it was getting light. The deer were out in force in the forest.
South of Bury, the landscape is much less flat - not hilly as such, but rolling. There was a thick frost, and the valleys were misty. The GPS took me to a road in Sudbury that was clearly not a road, so had to go through the town. Into the Stour valley and it was bloody freezing with thick fog and frost. The climb at Lamarsh took me out of the mist into some lovely warm sun and I stopped for a couple of honey rolls and a piece of flapjack. Also changed the GPS batteries. It was then I realised I was being watched. A group of about a dozen lambs were standing in the road looking at me - talk about surreal! It was 5am, and I wasn't about to start banging on doors to ask if they owned some lambs, so I shooed them off the road, and got on my way.
The next part of the route would overlap with the Witham routes, though I elected to head South through Coggeshall, rather than the Teys. I took a wrong turn at Gt Braxted which meant I approached the ride HQ along the A414. Wowbagger was arriving from his somewhat shorter ride to the start, and we had a relaxed start with a cuppa whilst most of the bunch got on their way.
A most pleasant ride up to Earls Colne Info, where we stopped for a snack in the sunshine before heading West to Stisted for...erm, a snack and a cuppa. Excellent homemade scones at the cafe. I noticed how much faster Wowbagger rides these days - I was able to ride pretty much at my "300" pace and we rode together nattering for much of the time.
Having said that, at some point after Terling, I did up the pace a little and decided to attack the climb out of the Chelmer valley at North Hill, so I got back to the HQ a few minutes ahead of Wowbagger; but we both turned in a sub 5 hour moving 100.
Filled my face full of cake, bikkies and rolls before saying goodbyes and hitting the road again for the ride home. The ride up to Coggeshall was a repeat of the first segment of the Witham audax, punctuated by meeting the 150 and 200 riders returning the other way. Waved to RogerT and stopped for a brief chat with fidgetbuzz who was on his last hour or so of his 200.
I ran out of luck with the weather at Coggeshall and encountered showers. Continued north - ever north to Sudbury and the booming sound of thunder ahead. The sky looked mean. I stopped at a bus shelter to don waterproofs, eat one of my cheese & marmite rolls I'd been karting about all day, and turn on lights.
Got underway again, and immediately into heavy rain and hail. Then big hail - marble sized, that really hurt. I considered stopping again, but the hail stopped and instead the rain stepped up a gear. Passers by pointed and laughed at the lunatic cyclist pedaling through the monsoon. A nearby flash was followed immediately by thunder - must have been close! All through Long Melford and Shimpling, it was stair rods, but eventually a rather apologetic sun peeped through the clouds and the roads started to steam.
The downhills of the rolling landscape up to Bury served to dry me out, but I was starting to tire on the climbs. Rolled into Bury St Edmunds in early evening sun, and controlled at a BP garage. Necked a pint of milk and a Mars Bar. Headed north back into Thetford Forest.
Apart from another short sharp shower, the weather settled down again, and I rolled into Brandon just as it was getting dusky. My lights were still on from the earlier rain, so I didn't need to stop and "night up". Took the laney route (Weeting, Foulden, Cockley Cley) to Swaffham as the A1065 can be busy on a Sunday evening. Final control in Swaffham exactly 18 hours after the start; 366km on the computer.
I was tired now, and just wanted to get home, so braved the A47 from the Norwich Road roundabout to Necton; quicker by far than the back roads, but unpleasant with buses and trucks whistling past your ear. When I got home, I had just enough energy left to hoover up a plate of Beans on Cheese & Ham toastie, then straight to bed.
Lovely day Randoneering. Thanks to the organisers for the nosh and happy HQ atmosphere.