RR below - it tooks so long because I lost it twice due to computer glitches. It's probably waffly as hell cos I was tired... anyway, enjoy!! BTW - I'll annotate the with necessary piccies, when I get time.
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Firstly, I’d like to say a big thank you to the organizers for putting on a great event and all those who helped out at the controls for hanging around patiently for Alex and me to arrive! Also a big thanks to Alex himself for putting me up on Friday night, great company, and a well organized 600.
We woke around 05.15 on Saturday morning at Alex’s pad in Putney and after a little last minute packing decisions we set off at 06.15. The London streets were relatively quiet and we made good progress from Putney to Embankment, then across the river tracking the south bank before heading back north to travel out of London via the A10. After 40km we made our first stop at a garage in Broxbourne and after a quick bite to eat set off again into the countryside proper. Alex knew the route we’d be taking up to Cambridge very well and I was happy to forget the GPS and take his lead on directions. The weather was pretty good apart from a couple of rain showers one of which was particularly heavy and left us soaked to the skin (pretty much the same as that we had on the Manningtree 400 a few weeks ago that started whilst we were on the Reedham ferry). Dried out soon though.
As a strange aside, whilst we were travelling through the outskirts of Cambridge I was suddenly hit by a pain in my left thigh, akin to being stabbed by a needle. Bloody hurt! When we got to the control at Tescos and investigated and it looked like I had been stung. I never saw the protagonist (be it bee/wasp or other stinging creature) so can’t be sure, but it certainly felt like it. There was a bit of swelling around the ‘wound’ (!) and did hurt a fair bit for a good few hours afterwards but nothing us hardy audaxers can’t handle!
We had a brief rest lounging on the grass by Tesco’s (see photo below)
then set back off towards Putney. We had got to Cambridge in under 4.5 hrs so not a blistering pace but reasonable nonetheless so we were in high spirits and still confident of finishing the whole ride by 18.30 the following day. How wrong we were…
The wind was against us this way round so felt a bit harder and a bit longer but eventually we rolled into Broxbourne again and grabbed a quick bite to eat (well, I did). The next stage back to Putney was pretty unpleasant. While London seemed nice – tranquil almost – at 06.00 in the morning, it was awful at 17.00. We must have upset someone cos every traffic light seemed to be red and we could get no rhythm at all. It seemed to take an AGE to get back to Alex’s in Putney. Just before we crossed Putney Bridge we came across a sea of Celtic fans (they were playing Fulham). One of them shouted at me as I went past which caught me by surprise and made me jump so I called him a f*cking idot (as you do). Not the best plan as he had a gang of Celtic fan mates and the light a 100m up the road had gone red. That was a long wait I can tell you… We each had a quick shower at Alex’s and after some repacking set off again about 18.45 – now behind our own perceived schedule.
The ride down though Wimbledon was quite nice but things got decidedly lumpy when we got through Croydon and started to ascend the North Downs. We were rewarded by a storming descent down Titsey Hill the other side though and recorded my max speed for the day - 71.5kph. It started to darken as we travelled SE towards Royal Tunbridge Wells and was this stage that really ate into our time allowance. The total climb for that leg was (iirc) about 1000m, but it felt decidedly lumpier and both me and Alex were finding this leg tough going. We kept our spirits up by promising ourselves fish and chips at Royal Tunbridge Wells. We spotted a few on the way in but decided to get to the town centre to get ourselves validated before we stopped. Were they any on the way out? NO! Just a hill… By that time we were heading into the stix again and NOTHING was open. I had run out of water, and I had eaten hardly a thing since Broxbourne – Alex, nothing at all. Being on fixed, Alex was a little slower and the ups and downs and at one point I found myself a couple of minutes ahead. It must have been 11.30pm so I was very lucky to spot an Italian restaurant still open in, I think, Goudhurst. I stopped and procured some water for us both. When Alex arrived we sat down outside said restaurant for 10 mins. We were now well off our time schedule. The plan had been to arrive in Bethersden around 11.00 / 11.30 and grab a couple of hours sleep before then FP300 started at 02.00. That was clearly not going to happen, and the realization of that did little to lift our mood. Still, onwards and upwards!
One thing that did lift me slightly was the performance of my new light – the B&M IXXON IQ. Thoroughly recommended!
We arrived into Bethersden at about 01.00. After checking in, we both tried to get a brief nap. I managed 5 mins, Alex a little longer, perhaps 10, but nothing which you could really describe as sleep with a straight face. I said hello to a couple of people and we agreed to ride with Denice for the night stage (100k). We did warn her that we would be a lot slower than the main group but she seemed happy with that.
We set off around 10 mins after the main group had left. One rider was obviously late and was still assembling his bike in the car park when we left. He shot by us about 30 mins later (were we really going that slowly?!). Denice was very cautious on the descents but kept riding off the front, due to our lack of pace. We all met up with Andy Uttley and the 50k control and had a rest break, a couple of rolls and a coffee. As it was now light Denice had less qualms about picking up the pace and riding her own ride, so were eventually parted company after the info control at Rye.
The 3 ascents after Rye seemed brutal to us both and we really grimped over them (although at no point in the ride did I engage granny gear, so was pleased with that).
Arriving back at Bethersden in the middle of the registration for the 150 and 100k rides was a bit of a shock after seeing next to no-one for the last few hours. It was a great turnout – there seemed to be loads of people. We had a bacon roll and a little rest and left, I think, around 08.30.
At the info control at 141km we met a couple of riders (non Audax) out for a brisk morning ride. We spent about 20 mins taking with them, which was a nice – if unplanned – break. I was advised that this stage was a little lumpy and I was beginning to wonder where they all were as it had been farily benign up till now. Then I got to about 10k to the control – there they are! The climb up to Frant was long but manageable but I wasn’t expecting the 2 short lumps on the main road into Marks Cross. I remember swearing to myself as I saw each one….We arrived at the garden centre at Marks Cross at 12.25.
The next stage contained that nasty climb up to Iden Green just before the control (by the way, these ‘horrible’ hills I have been describing so far may actually be fairly benign in the grand scheme of things – but they felt big, believe me!). We were now most definitely lantern rouge and I felt a little sorry for the poor chaps at Iden Green having to hang around waiting for us. It’s a little strange for me to see the checkpoint pack up and disappear the moment you depart! Having said that, I had to go back after the descent out of Iden Green to pick up my right hand glove that I had left there. One of the helpers at that control had one of those electric bikes – the ones that have pedals but a little motor so you can engage it at will. At that point, that seemed incredibly more sensible than pedaling up hills.
The descent into Romney marsh was fun and then we had the ‘wind assisted’ run into Dungeness. The café was just closing as we arrived but managed to sneak in and grab a flapjack and some water. Had a quick chat with the helpers at that stop. Alex had lain himself out on the concrete outside the café ‘NOOO!! Get up! Don’t start that yet!’
Now we set off into the wind. Alex had taken some more ProPlus and Nurofen but I had run out. We were heading into the wind through Lydd; the previous cocktail was wearing off and my knees were starting to hurt. We took turns leading up the long straight road out of Dungeness and eventually I had to stop somewhere to get some Nurofen. In hindsight, timewise, it would have been better simply to beg some from Alex, but I had already had some ProPlus from him and didn’t want to deplete his stocks. 10 mins later the aches and pains started to ease and we made better progress as the route kicked north towards Newchurch. There was a bit of confusion as we approached Newchurch – my GPS was telling me to go one way, Alex’s another. After a quick discussion we decided Alex’s was correct and followed that.
Once we got into Hythe and approached the Railway Café I started to recognize it from the Invicta 300. We pulled in just as the café was closing – I think the helpers there were mighty glad to see us be able to go home! After a very quick sandwich we set of on the last leg. Only 32 km to go and 2.5 hrs to do it in. We knew now that we would definitely complete it. It was a great feeling, but it was suppressed somewhat by the other feeling – I just want it to end!
Heading out on the gravelly track alongside the river, I was paranoid about getting a puncture and so stood all the way along the track in some (probably misguided) belief that by doing so I would even out the pressure on each tyre and lessen the chance of a rear puncture….
We spent most of the first half of this stage trying to figure out exactly where we would be going over the ridge that marks the boundary of Romney Marsh. Luckily it was quite benign and we followed the ridge for a while before heading north.
Here we both seemed to get a second, third and fourth wind. There was a long gentle climb up through some woods about 10k out from the finish, followed by another one as you approached the A28. We fairly belted up these and our legs seemed to feel very fresh. Easily the best I had felt since the very beginning of the ride. Alex even had the energy to storm ahead for 500m on the A28 in a kind of time-trial moment. However, we ended up riding in to the final control together, as we had set off.
My poor suffering girlfriend, who had been at Bethersden since about 19.00 waiting patiently for us, was there to greet me, as were Andy and Ron. We decided to pack the car and get everything sorted before having a bite to eat and a cup of coffee. I enjoyed a victory cigarette (had one specially reserved in my Carradice the whole way round) and then we set off. We ended up giving Alex a lift home, which although meant I didn’t get home until gone midnight, at least meant I could pick up my stuff I had left round his.
Well, my first 600 and undoubtedly my last (Cambridge – York – Camrbidge in 10 days) and my first SR. It’s strange but I don’t really feel any MASSIVE sense of achievement yet. I’m not sure why. I’m pleased (and proud of myself and Alex) don’t get me wrong, but…. Maybe in a few days, when things that are numb become un-numb and I don’t feel like I’m sitting on a football anymore and my thighs stop aching and my bee/wasp sting stops itching and my ‘joggers’ nipple heals and……….
