Yes, definitely a good ride, although the weather made it a certified Type 2 at times. The torrential rain at the start didn't last long but did leave some spectacular pools of standing water on the roads, including a completely flooded road somewhere between Wye and Walmar. I bounced the first two controls, having not looked at the Brevet card and thinking that the Dungeness control would be at about 100km. Grinding across from Deal was a slog and the distant humps of the power station seemed to get no closer as my stomach began to rumble.
Finding that the control was at 126km was a pleasant surprise, tempered only by the prospect of carrying on in to the headwind all the way to Hastings. The exposed road to Rye was a battle but after that the route turned inland and Bob had planned a marvellous quiet lane option that avoided the dreary climb at Fairlight, substituting a gorgeous forest road. From there it was plain sailing all the way back and I think I even picked up a bit of tailwind from Sissinghurst.
During the last leg I kept encountering the same two riders who were a little ahead of me on the road. Normally they'd be leaving a control as I arrived. I saw them again at Sissinghurst, but this time I left first, only for them to catch me up and the three of us rolled in together just after 8pm.
Overall a challenging day out, but very enjoyable nonetheless. Good to meet several people taking part in their first AUK event. Let's hope they are back for more.
For my part, I'm hoping that my shoes will dry out by the weekend...