Thank you to everyone who entered our Cambridge Autumnal events! And big kudos to those who turned up and rode in somewhat challenging conditions 
I hope you all enjoyed yourselves!From our point of view, the day went well. I was very worried that a lot of riders would be put off by the MetOffice's panicky weather warning and the Beeb's insistence on simplifying their weather report to show the absolute very strongest wind gust as their forecast! That would've left us with an awful lot of food, since we cater for the number of riders who have entered and that started on Thursday, not the actual number who turn up on the day. From where we were located at the control, it seemed breezy, but not gale-force; the sun was out for much of the day, too — we saw just a few spots of rain in the early evening; and it was a balmy 15°C during daylight, too — a mild autumn's day!
On the day I was delighted we could welcome 160 riders to the start across both events; actually 159 riders, plus one whose ECE from Londontown had taken longer than expected and turned up as we were handing the keys of the hall over to the martial arts Saturday group — apparently some finger-trouble with setting the alarm
There were a lot of swaps from the 200 to the 100, which for most appeared to be a good decision — many of the riders of the shorter event looked like they were happy to have finished and would not have enjoyed going round a second time
There were a number of DNSes due to the wind; not as many as I feared, and mostly from lighter riders who feared being pushed around by the wind, or just don't enjoy the unsettled nature of the bike when buffeted a bit.
The first riders back on the 100km event took just just under four-and-three-quarter hours, but there were quite a few close together, which took us a bit by surprise. The last 100 rider was back within the time limit, although after the 200km riders had started to return — a facet of the relaxed lower-speed limit on the BP event.
The first rider back on the 200km event is a local friend and club rider, and he's always quick! He took a few minutes under eight-and-a-half hours, for anyone who's looking for a benchmark. He said he had had to pop into work on the way through Cambridge to pick something up from his desk
The last rider back in time was bang on the limit. However, there were two further riders
hors delais — one about 15 minutes after time, who had struggled with the wind on his first audax, but will be back for more. And one who had gotten distracted by his Garmin after the turn at Framlingham for some bonus distance, arrived at the second control after it had closed, then struggled into the wind solo and didn't get to us until I was locking up the hall at 11pm! (I had already confirmed he was okay on the phone.)
The wind was the main story of the day: it was a crosswind for most of the way on the 200, slightly tail on the outbound leg, so windy-but-flattering in equal measure. The return route had some block-headwind sections, as well as some exposed high points. Somebody said they spotted one branch blown down, but nothing much else apart from a lot of leaves being blown about, and very tired legs from all that
winching. The 200 route is a lovely, lovely route on a good day, and many riders said they really enjoyed it
The 100km riders said they didn't particularly enjoy the headwind section to Thaxted, but did really enjoy being blown uphill all the way to Balsham after Saffron Walden!
Again, they said they liked the route, a mix of lanes and quiet B-roads. Quite a few riders new to audax on the 100km event who said they would now consider stepping up to the longer distance next time out
Nobody had kind words to say about the obliviousness of shoppers and tourists in the centre of Cambridge — unfortunately, it's near-impossible to route around this, since there are so few alternative bridges over the River Cam outside of Cambridge but still within reasonable distance, hence the city's name. I always advise extreme caution, and these days see it as entertainment
There were a number of DNFs — winching into the wind did for a number of riders' knees and they and their riding partners abandoned together; one was a tandem. The first DNF of the day was purely technical: in following the pink line on his new Garmin Edge 1000, the rider managed to navigate left at the Round Church in Cambridge, then right, right, right again in the one-way, back past the Round Church and all the way back to the start
He abandoned before an hour had passed on the basis he didn't trust his Garmin, which seems reasonable. Most importantly — no accidents to report.
We always over-cater for our events, so the last rider to finish gets as much of the good stuff as the first rider back — and as others have said, Mrs W's cooking is really good
We keep the arrivée open and running, at least a corner of it while we clear away the rest, for an hour or so after the finish time, so that stragglers also get properly looked after, as they are the ones that need it the most, and yesterday was no exception.
As usual, "event day" started sometime on Thursday for Ewa and me with shopping and cooking, and will finish sometime tonight with washing up and packing away for next time, with administration to do after that.
My thanks, as always, to the star team without whom we couldn't put on such events — Ewa (Mrs WB) for completely owning the hospitality, doing all the cooking and baking, and making everyone feel so welcome. Gareth for managing the desk all day: an important, busy and detailed task at the core of running any audax event, and that he does with great care and attention. Alex B for spending his day stamping cards on both events in two different locations. Ian for turning up at short notice to help in the morning when Senior-Junior-WB was taken off his feet. And the two Junior-WBs for their help in the morning and as a runner in the afternoon
Thank you, thank you, thank you! x
The next event will be The Cambridge Pork Pie 200 and Spring Dash 100 in March. Date TBC, hopefully the same weekend as usual (hall TBC).
