Thanks Tomsk and ACME for a grand day out. It was a day of firsts - my first 50 and my 12yo daughter’s first audax. We chose the off-road 50 which was just a scenic joy to ride, even on 23mm tyres. I prefer lanes to A road bashes and there was plenty of those too. Daughter’s verdict - 9/10 with the dropped mark because apparently I brought the wrong energy bar for her. She thought the deli club at the Shed was an acceptable replacement!
Tomsk, thank you for welcoming her as you did and thanks also to the many who gave her an encouraging word as they passed - it all left a very positive impression on her.
Martin
... Your collection of 'Shinys' starts at 50km and leads via a
Mini-Slam of any collection of distances building to:
The Grand Slam of Shiny: 50, 100, 150 Brevet Populaires, plus a Super-Randonneur series of 200, 300, 400 & 600km rides in a season;
The Grandest Slam adding the 1000km ACME Grand. An entirely Essex Collection is even better! My made-up rules: correct distances, no substitution of longer for shorter as per AUK rules. These things are kind of addictive, but motivational - that's the point! You could start with a
Pink Shiny Round the Year of 50km/month! It's all good.