Kent Invicta 400km 17th/18th May

[Fixedwheelnut]

  What it says on the tin.    400km 17th/ 18th May   12 noon start

 Same route as last year basically with a little diversion avoiding Maidstone town centre and Ashford Main roads

Start Chiddingstone Causeway TQ 51803 46555
Godden Green    info or control         TQ 63647 48250
 Peasemarsh village hall            TQ 88158 23230
 Lewes, Tesco 24hr garage       TQ 41944 10519
 Westmeston info               TQ 33819 13654
 Outwood Green info          TQ 32715 45535
Chiddingstone Causeway          TQ 51803 46555
Harrietsham info                 TQ 87788 53826
Sittingbourne, Pheonix house    TQ 90608 63786
Reculver info                       TR 21130 68007
Stowting info                      TR 13373 44296
Bliby                          TR 02655 37475
Bethersden, Village Hall             TQ 93027 40045     
Finish Chiddingstone Causeway TQ 51803 46555 

 I have a better route in the pipeline for next year avoiding Canterbury aswell 
 So come on in and enjoy the ride 

Cheers
 Steve

PS all you nutters riding the BC 600 the sae weekend, good luck 

[arabella]

Fraid I am one of said nutters.  Your civilised start time was very tempting though.

[nuttycyclist]

Same route as last year basically with a little diversion avoiding Maidstone town centre and Ashford Main roads

The only two things I didn't like last year are sorted

I haven't ridden more than about 65 miles in one hit for some time 


I may sit this one out

[PatC]

Filled out my entry form and it's on the side ready to post so I guess I'll be riding.

[Fixedwheelnut]

 I managed to squeeze the new route in at the last minute 
 so it now avoids Maidstone town centre, Canterbury and Ashford by using the B2163 and the Elham Valley down to Lympne back up through Aldington so I reckon this would now make an ideal first timers 400km.

 Eighteen entries so far, any other takers?
 

[DaveJ]

 Eighteen entries so far, any other takers?
 

I put mine in the post Monday evening, so hopefully you'll get it tomorrow or Friday.

Dave

[PatC]

Looks like a bit of a damp day ahead and (hopefully) a dry night.

[Martin]

They should be passing near me about now; rain has more or less stopped but cold (8oC) as long as they keep moving it's pretty easy back to the half way stop.

 

[DaveJ]

I'm back home already.  I don't think I'd recovered from the 400 last weekend.  And then the front mech died.  The return spring isn't and I had to take the whole thing off in the end.

Its such a mind game.  I know I could have finished without the front mech, but with the tiredness and the absence of motivation this year.......

Dave

[PatC]

It was drizzling at the start but nothing too serious and I set off with the expectation that it would clear for the 2nd quarter of the ride. I rode with Dave W and we agreed that a take-it-easy 10 hour first stage would suit us both. Between the two of us we had a good knowledge of a sizeable chunks of the route which would come in handy.
   We made steady progress and on leaving the first control at Peasmarsh the weather had brightened and rain macs were off. However the drizzle was never far away and by Lewes had turned to persistant rain. We spent far too long here doing nothing and I was eager to leave as I was getting cold. I soon warmed up as the rain eased and then stopped. But this was to be shortlived and it was soon drizzling again.
  We made it back to the hall at around 9.30-9.45 and whilst I felt great Dave was on a bad day and decided not to continue. It was a real shame as I enjoy his company (and his solidlights) and felt we made a good team. Setting off again in a complete change of clothes and shoes I felt really confident. It was only drizzling lightly and I was dry for the fist time since I started. I made good progress up until West Farleigh where I took a left onto the B2010 instead of right onto the B2163. I lost time, energy and patience here going as far as a T. I retraced took a right and was back on the A26 and approached the junction again following a phone call to FWN back at the hall. I took the right turn but missed the L to Coxheath and continued again to a T where I realised I'd gone wrong again. That was it. I had wasted a good 45 minutes and done an extra 15 km. I decided to listen to the voice of reason. It was chucking it down and I felt completely lost and so decided to try and retrace the 30 odd km to the hall and abandon. I was so disappointed and frustrated as I felt really strong but felt there was no other option.   
   I retraced and suddenly came across Ewell Lane, the turning to Coxheath. How did I miss it? Without giving it a second thought I turned and soon came across a couple of riders having a rest shortly up the road. It was such a morale boost. They soon caught me up and I managed to hang on for a while but was soon left behind but I didn't care as I was back on track and soon on the A20 heading east.
   The climb up Stede Hill wasn't too bad but there then followed the maze of lanes heading towards Bredgar. Thankfully I didn't go wrong here and was soon heading back into familiar territory and the control at Sittingbourne.
    Faversham bound on the A2 and I was feeling good but the stint after Graveney towards Seasalter was tough as I had expected. The north-east winds made it hard going but it was here that the birds started singing and the skies brightened. Despite the dawn breaking I was starting to feel tired . I ventured off the route at this point down the old Thanet Way to drop in at home where I had (another) change of socks/tops and a nice bowl of breakfast cereal to revive me.
   Across to the info at Wingham via Preston and the long drag up to Barham was not half as bad as I was expecting as I had the wind at my back. The Elham vallley was a drag and I was starting to feel tired again but it was a nice feeling to get the last info at Lympne. It was a bit of a grovel to Bethersden from here as the route seemed to head back into the wind (or maybe it was my imagination) and my digestive system was also starting to complain.  I arrived at Bethersden and it was nice to see the friendly face of Bob McD who confirmed that he too was feeling weary. It always nice to hear that you're not alone. 
   I left Bethersden feeling a lot better than when I arrived. My speed had started to pick up and I was feeling alert (well reasonably).  I made good progress on the last section as I counted down the route instructions.
   I was third back and the last rider inside 24 hours. I learnt that there had been many abandons at the halfway point which had only left aound a dozen riders expected to finish.
   Thanks to FWN and all his crew for all the effort that they put into the event it was much appreciated.   

[Fixedwheelnut]

 Sorry about the weather lads 

 We ended up with 28 entries and 22 starters on Saturday.

 It was persistent rain as they set off and I was quite glad I wasn't riding, we were cold enough in the hall, bloody freezing actually as the heating didn't work.
 I actually drove in to Tonbridge to buy some extra layers of clothing for us all, we grabbed some sleep and then around 7pm started preparing the food for the returning riders cooking pasta and tomatoe and vegetable sauce, laying out bowls of fruit cocktail, peaches and rice pudding 

 Luckily one of the Hall regulars came in and delved in a dark room for a small convecter heater, it wasn't much but it just took the chill off the air

First rider back on lap one was Robert Royston at 8.26pm [over an hour and a quarter before the next rider] and by 10pm we were getting the constant flow of tea, coffee and food to a bunch of soaking wet/freezing randonneurs.

 Dave [pushbikeman] phoned to retire with a broken front mech and made me laugh saying despite still having 18 more gears than me he couldn't continue. 

 For some the cold damp air had taken it's toll on their joints and of the 22 starters only 14 ventured back out into the cold wet night.

 Pat C soon phoned lost on the A26 and at first I couldn't see on the map where he was, I think he had the right idea to retrace to the B-road and try again, even with his off route trek he still made it back in good time for 419km.

We only had one other abandonment on lap two as my friend Mike Friday suffered a broken 1/8th chain on his fixed at Sittingbourne.

 At about 2am we all grabbed some sleep in the hall until about 6.30am when some that retired were leaving.
 I got up and did some more tea and started breakfast for some still there, then a quiet spell until 9 when some of our DA riders turned up for the ten percent ride of 40km, more tea and rice pudding.

 By 11 I was starting to worry where they all were but Robert rolled in soon enough with tales of horrendous cold headwinds across the flats at Seasalter and they all gradually rolled in with Lantern Rouge Mike Beauchamp by the skin of his teeth again

 Then pasta was so popular that beans on toast never sold so guess what I have the rest of the week.
Expect a slightly warmer wind from the South east in the near future 

Well done to all the finishers hope to book better weather next year 

[Martin]

well done PatC 

You should have done it in 2002; that was a walk in the park.