DIY 600 Milton Keynes/Redditch to Wales: Oct 31st/Nov 1st

[mikek]

Myself and teethgrinder will be riding a DIY 600 (from Redditch/Milton Keynes respectively) across the AUK season boundary this year. If you are interested in a final rally on this year's points total or want an early boost to next season's, you might be disappointed; at the moment no one seems to know in which season the points for this ride will be counted. This is a ride for non-points chasers only then  . It has been suggested to me that this scenario has never occurred before, so if true this is your opportunity to make a little history.

Exact start time is yet to be decided (but will I suppose be no later than 0600). The outbound route will be:

Milton Keynes/Redditch
Chipping Norton (62k)
Newent (130k)
Hay-on-Wye (190k)
Llanidloes (257k)
Brecon (325k)
Monmouth Travelodge (375k)

The return leg is not finalised but might involve a leg back to Hay-on-Wye (424k) and from there back the way we came.

If anyone fancies joining us for all or part of this ride you'd be very welcome, though timings probably become too complicated to meet up at anywhere after Newent on the way out.

[border-rider]

If you want an alternative to the Travelodge, we live less than a mile from it.  Very welcome.

[mikek]

If you want an alternative to the Travelodge, we live less than a mile from it.  Very welcome.

There is already a room booked at the Travelodge. Thanks anyway for your kindness.

[mikek]

Myself and teethgrinder will be riding a DIY 600 (from Redditch/Milton Keynes respectively) across the AUK season boundary this year. If you are interested in a final rally on this year's points total or want an early boost to next season's, you might be disappointed; at the moment no one seems to know in which season the points for this ride will be counted. This is a ride for non-points chasers only then  . It has been suggested to me that this scenario has never occurred before, so if true this is your opportunity to make a little history.

I have had it confirmed by the AUK committee that the 6 points for this ride will count towards the 2008-09 season.

The return leg is not finalised but might involve a leg back to Hay-on-Wye (424k) and from there back the way we came.

If anyone fancies joining us for all or part of this ride you'd be very welcome, though timings probably become too complicated to meet up at anywhere after Newent on the way out.

Day 2 will be Monmouth Travelodge - Bronllys - Tewkesbury - Chipping Norton - Redditch/Milton Keynes

Day 1's leg from Hay-on-Wye to Llanidloes will probably go the main road way (rather than Glascwm/Abbey-cwm-hir). So don't be scared off

[BlackSheep]

............................................. at the moment no one seems to know in which season the points for this ride will be counted.

If the ride starts in October - then it will count for the year 2008-09.

[teethgrinder]

Another one done.
Started off in rain at 6am to meet MikeK and Pete T at Ma Larkins Cafe in Chipping Norton, but the cafe was shut, so we drank revolting coffee from the petrol garage.
The rain stopped and it became dry and there was no wind. Pete T was a bit slower than usual, probably because he's done a lot of miles lately. I was slower than usual, probably because I haven't done many miles lately. Mike K was OK, probably because he hasn't done too much or too little.
Stop for food in the Co-Op at Newent, then on to Hay on Wye for some very nice soup in the Granary cafe, then on to Llanidloes for a meal in a hotel, then back down to Brecon. After Brecon we were getting a bit sleepy. We tried to take the road that runs alongside the A40, but went wrong and ended up in the lanes. I think Mike K was rather surprised that we'd only added half a mile to the route by doing this, which wasn't bad considering that we did a retrace so without the retrace it would have been the same distance. Then we started getting sleepy. I decided on stopping for a doze in a bus shelter just before Abergavenny, but there wasn't one and I was almost there anyway. Then we hit the A40 dual carriageway and upped the pace for the last 10 miles to the Travelodge. Well, Mike K did, I was happy to sit on his wheel and Pete T, who was off the back was happy to give chase and caught us just before we turned off the A40 for the Travelodge.
Off to bed, then woken up at 0700 by rain. The rain eased off and we set off at about 0800 back to Abergavenny on the A40. Mike K was mythed that the A40 was uphill in both directions, but I though that it was more to do with the headwind we had going the other way last night.
On to Honey Cafe as used in the Bryan Chapman. A good breakfast then off home with a very good tailwind and the weather got sunnier by the mile until it got dark. In spite of the tailwind, my legs were still feeble and my lack of miles was telling.
Back to Chipping Norton where we went our seporate ways back home to finish the ride, even though we were only a few kms short of 600km.
I really need to do some more miles!

[Manotea]

............................................. at the moment no one seems to know in which season the points for this ride will be counted.

If the ride starts in October - then it will count for the year 2008-09.

I'm sure I've read that the rider could chose which month it counted for. Though it occurs to me that may have related to RRTY.

I once started a ride at 23:45 of the 31st of the month, donchaknow.

[mikek]

Another one done.

We were very lucky with the weather this weekend. Almost all of the rain came down in one go during the pityingly small number of hours sleep that we had. Then a wind that veered from Southerly to Westerly just as we needed it to. Rare moments indeed.

The rain stopped and it became dry and there was no wind. Pete T was a bit slower than usual, probably because he's done a lot of miles lately. I was slower than usual, probably because I haven't done many miles lately. Mike K was OK, probably because he hasn't done too much or too little.

were still feeble and my lack of miles was telling.
Back to Chipping Norton where we went our seporate ways back home to finish the ride, even though we were only a few kms short of 600km.
I really need to do some more miles!

My sincere thanks to both Peter T. and TG for accompanying me on this ride. Hats off to TG for making feeble legs look as if they are most people's good day legs. Especial praise for Peter T. who suffered on certain portions of the ride without any complaint and showed great powers of recovery when needed. What an outstanding Audax season he has had. Again.

Next stop the Sonning Common 600.

I'm sure I've read that the rider could chose which month it counted for. Though it occurs to me that may have related to RRTY.

Yes that rule relates to the RRTY.

The points championships regard the ride start date as the defining criterion for the choice of championship. I believe that this is mostly to do with the way the results database is set up.

[teethgrinder]

Especial praise for Peter T. who suffered on certain portions of the ride without any complaint and showed great powers of recovery when needed. What an outstanding Audax season he has had. Again.

He's a tough old bugger. Well, a tough young bugger, he's younger than me. Must be all the miles.
He doesn't give in easily.

[border-rider]

A40 from Abergavenny to the Travelodge ?

I'd have used the old Raglan road; much nicer.

[ludwig]

Did I see you guys in Monmouth. I was on a Stephen Poulton 500 perm. I used the old road as MV said to get between Abergavenny and Monmouth which is not on the route but I just knew that way
when I got to monmouth there were a load of audax looking guys that passed me but I can't say that I recognised any of them. It must have been about 2pm Friday. My route then went through the forest of dean to Cheltenham.

[teethgrinder]

A40 from Abergavenny to the Travelodge ?

I'd have used the old Raglan road; much nicer.

True, but we didn't want to mess about, we just wanted to get some sleep. None of knew the nice route and we'd rather not faff around with maps in the dark when we could just bash down a nice quiet main road for 10 miles, which would take us straight there and we'd definitely know when we got there.
We did main road bash it back to Abergavenny too, for much the same reason. It was only about 10 miles and wasn't bad, just not very nice.

Did I see you guys in Monmouth. I was on a Stephen Poulton 500 perm. I used the old road as MV said to get between Abergavenny and Monmouth which is not on the route but I just knew that way
when I got to monmouth there were a load of audax looking guys that passed me but I can't say that I recognised any of them. It must have been about 2pm Friday. My route then went through the forest of dean to Cheltenham.

Not us.
We never went to Monmouth itself, just the Travelodge on the A40. We arrived there at about 0330 Sunday morning. I was at work at 2pm on Friday.

How did the 500 go?

[ludwig]

I had a great ride thanks TG . Left at 2am from cardigan so it was a while before traffic built up. faffed too much in Llandovery where I waited for the cafe to open and again in Abergavenny . The forest of dean would have been nice but it's like a rat run through there and incredibly busy (for a cardi boy) ate in a Harvester in Cheltenham which was awful. Kipped for an hour in a bivvy bag in Hay. Enjoyed a misty and slightly rainy night ride to Builth . Blagged a coffee from a newsagent in Rhayader and watched the dawn come up on the cwmystwyth road. Blagged another coffee in devils bridge (the hotel was very kind and offerd me a settee for a while but I was running out of time) . The road from there to Aber was new to me and a treat. The slog back to Cardigan from Aber was neither. I was a bit out of time at the end. I'm slow anyway but I was carrying a lot more weight than usual and lack of sleep had me power napping frome Hay onwards but it was good to have a go at a 500k on my own and at that time of year. I carried a bivvy bag and a light sleeping bag and it was the first time i've used this approach but it was so warm I didn't use the sleeping bag.I have entered Mille cymru but this year my fitness level never reached the point where that would have been possible. I always have a very intense period of work in spring and it's hard to keep fitness levels up so I reckon that if there is any hope of me completing mille cymru I need to continue riding as much as possible througout the winter. This ride was a taster for that.

[Justin(e)]

Pete reminds me a bit of myself when I was the third person on a TG/Mike DIY 600 two years ago.  However Pete sounds a whole lot faster than me.

We met at a pre-appointed service station (I was not much more than an hour late).  And they had kindly waited.

Unfortunately for me, both TG and Mike were points chasing that year.  And they had not ridden together before.  I am sure that both of them will deny this because they are such nice guys, but I had a real feeling that there were two alpha auks meeting for the first time and they needed to establish a pecking order.  I was to be the collateral damage.

This was my last training ride before PBP, so I was reasonably fit.  However I felt like I was a club rider, trying to keep up with Chris Hoy and Bradley Wiggins.  Not once on the whole weekend did I ever go to the front and take a turn.  Whilst I was struggling for air most of the time, those two chatted aimiably on the front with me hiding in the slip stream.

To make matters worse, I don't like spending money - so my bike was suffering from a few problems.  Instead of fitting new tyres, I had a tube of super glue to fix the cuts and nicks in the old ones.  So not only was I slowing them down with my speed, but also with my mechicals.  They graciously waited at each p*nct*re stop for me to get sorted and then we would proceed again.

It is a tribute to both of them that these fierce competitors in the non-competitive points comp should have got on so well.  Especially inlight of the ambiguity surrounding the actual rules.  Thanks to both of you, it was a ride to remember.

[mikek]

Pete reminds me a bit of myself when I was the third person on a TG/Mike DIY 600 two years ago.  However Pete sounds a whole lot faster than me.

Peter is a fast rider. He only suffered for one notable moment on this ride and that is almost certainly a result of the huge mileage he has done this year. It is indicative of his humility that he declined to state what Audax rides he had done midweek before this 600, but if his usual rate has been equalled it will have been several 2 or 300k rides and that is on top of a long, very busy season.

Unfortunately for me, both TG and Mike were points chasing that year.  And they had not ridden together before.  I am sure that both of them will deny this because they are such nice guys, but I had a real feeling that there were two alpha auks meeting for the first time and they needed to establish a pecking order.  I was to be the collateral damage.

Ah, I remember that ride well and with good memories too. I think it is true that myself and TG had never ridden a complete event together before but we had ridden several stages of other rides. There was certainly no pecking going on, just a good weekend's cycling 

Did you ever manage to resolve your luggage aversion ? 

[Justin(e)]

Did you ever manage to resolve your luggage aversion ? 

I saw one guy on PBP who had less than me.  So  I guess, 'no' is your answer.

[teethgrinder]

Did you ever manage to resolve your luggage aversion ? 

I saw one guy on PBP who had less than me.  So  I guess, 'no' is your answer.

He was naked!?

[teethgrinder]

Pete reminds me a bit of myself when I was the third person on a TG/Mike DIY 600 two years ago.  However Pete sounds a whole lot faster than me.

Peter is a fast rider. He only suffered for one notable moment on this ride and that is almost certainly a result of the huge mileage he has done this year. It is indicative of his humility that he declined to state what Audax rides he had done midweek before this 600, but if his usual rate has been equalled it will have been several 2 or 300k rides and that is on top of a long, very busy season.

Unfortunately for me, both TG and Mike were points chasing that year.  And they had not ridden together before.  I am sure that both of them will deny this because they are such nice guys, but I had a real feeling that there were two alpha auks meeting for the first time and they needed to establish a pecking order.  I was to be the collateral damage.

Ah, I remember that ride well and with good memories too. I think it is true that myself and TG had never ridden a complete event together before but we had ridden several stages of other rides. There was certainly no pecking going on, just a good weekend's cycling 

Did you ever manage to resolve your luggage aversion ? 

Pete was easily the fittest on the ride. But he was also easily the most tired. If he wasn't as tired he'd have been waiting for us.

The ride we did in 2007 was one of my favourite rides of all the 98 I rode that year. Mike and I weren't testing each other, we just had some miles in our legs, so were quite fit. I did think that Mike was going a bit quick for the first 1-200k, but knew he'd slow down after about 300k, as most do. I tended to be a bit stronger at the end of the ride, as I usualy am. I wouldn't have wanted you to do a turn on the front. I knew we were going a bit quicker than you were used to, so you doing a turn on the front would be tiring and would make you slower, so we'd have had to wait for you. But we never really had to wait for you. Maybe a bit at the end when you got tired, but it really wasn't much. I doubt that we'd have put more than 3 hours into you for the whole 5-600k if we did wind it up a bit. We wanted to keep a good pace up so that we got plenty of sleep but without dropping you. I did think that we'd end up having to slow down a bit for you and was impressed at how well you kept up with us. I didn't think you were struggling to keep up as much as you say you were. I think that all 3 of us learned to respect each other equally on thet ride.

[simonp]

Keeping up (mostly - I got dropped when it started getting a little bit more lumpy but then he ran over his own sunglasses held him up a little bit!) with a group containing mikek to the first control on the MSG 300 this year => my record for one hour power output on the powertap.

I still haven't matched that effort.

[Greenbank]

Keeping up (mostly - I got dropped when it started getting a little bit more lumpy but then he ran over his own sunglasses held him up a little bit!) with a group containing mikek to the first control on the MSG 300 this year => my record for one hour power output on the powertap.

I kept up with him until the first roundabout, at which point I tried to lead everyone off on the wrong route by misreading my GPS.