Looks like forecast is ZW3 [...]
That was a bit optimistic: the Dutch mountains were high today, with Beaufort 7 during the afternoon... From the last control to the finish (with strong cross winds), there were bits where it took a lot of effort to not be blown off the road.
(And I bagged 2 tiles, because the route was slightly different than last year
Well we have a new contender for "Understatement of the year"...
That wind was brutal. I had an interesting array of people on my wheel. For the first 70km or so, I had a pair of Polish (had originally thought them to be Germans) They had a combination of Nav fail, and someone going at about the right speed in front of them. I have no problem with someone just sitting on my wheel, I'd like them to ask first if it's going to be for that long, but I've sat on enough strangers wheels that I can't really complain. Somewhere on the climb out of Apeldorn they left me behind and went on ahead. I last saw them coming into the carpark at the end, as I left for the station. I left at 2232... Me thinks they may not get validated...
At CP2 I saw a young couple who looked absolutely shattered, they arrived after me (which surprised me). I had a chat with them. Turns out they were on their first ever Audax, one of them having only bought their bike two weeks ago! Recognising in them a lot of where I was about a year ago, I decided to pay forward the kindness I was shown last year, and escorted them all the way back to the finish, letting them sit on my wheel on the headwind bits, answering some of their audax questions, and generally keeping them company, I think I may have sold them on aerobars... My over taking one of them on the aerobars whilst not pedalling, as they pedalled uphill surprised them... It was nice to have some company on a ride like this, not had that for a while. They had some questions I couldn't answer, so I have pointed them at Ivo. With a few hundred meters to go, I urged them to empty the tank and get there before me, so they could finish their first Audax, not last.
I really enjoyed the ride, even if there was an evil combination of headwinds *AND* hills. 1333m of climbing, in the Netherlands!
Oh and the trains were broken on the way back so I had to cycle home from Schiphol... ah well helps the eddington number, even if my arse could have done without it...
Time for bed. Heerlen in March is the next BRM I'm doing.
J