At 02:00hrs on Saturday 14th April 2018 I left the house to cycle 30 miles through London to get to Raynes Park before 6am. The ‘Amesbury Amble 300km’ would be my first audax outside of London and I was looking forward to it. I was unsure if cycling 30miles before and after would be too much, it would bring the distance to 400km and I had a bad time the last time I attempted to cycle that distance. Still, there is no point worrying I guess, if there was a problem I would deal with it.
The cycle through central London proved to be quite exciting however dodging late night party goes, looked like there would be a few headaches in the morning. It was not the most direct route either but I made it to the start around 5am.
After a second breakfast of some rasin wheats and a bit of waiting around it was 6am and time to go.
The first stage to Lasham was a bit of a disaster. A thick fog descended and I didn’t see a massive pot hole in the road. I felt my back wheel slam against it but as far as I could see and tell the tyre showed no sign of delation at the time. I was also in desperate need to find hedge or bush to water so wasn’t paying close enough attention to route sheet and went off course for a while. While off the route I did find a Sainsburys superstore and made use of their facilities.
Feeling much better I headed back on the road and found myself on a dual carriageway with some time trial cyclists (by the look of them.) Definitely off route I took the first exit I could and then followed the sat nav app on my phone to take me the rest of the way to the first control.
I got my card stamped and ordered something to eat. The second stage to Amesbury was better and the fog had gone which was good. Despite missing the first turn on the routesheet and having to back track I seemed to make some good time and started to enjoy it. I think it also helped that I was now in the countryside and everything wasn’t built up.
I encountered a cow in the road which looked like it could fo serious damage with those horns! Thankfully it was sleeping though.
This stage was the longest of the day and I had decided I would stop at the Wetherspoons in Amesbury for a decent but cheap meal! However there would be another setback before arriving. Coming down a hill the back end of the bike felt very wobbly, I stopped and felt the tyre and it was very soft. I guess that pot hole from earlier had finally take it’s revenge. It was at that moment that I remembered I only had one inner tube with me as I forgot to replace it after a deflation in February. So with only one shot at getting back on the road I replaced the tube and fought the tyre back on to the wheel. It inflated and stayed inflated. A cyclist who I would later finish the audax with helped me get the wheel back on the bike. Then it was straight to Wetherspoons and the cold Pepsi never tasted so refreshing. I was tempted to have another but wanted to make up some time.
On the next stage passing through the military area with signs warning of tank crossings I caught up with somebody else on the audax. My original plan was just to say “hi,” as I overtook but we got chatting and ended up riding to the finish together. After twenty kilometers or so I found out his name was John. The section to Whitchurch had some nice rolling hills which were quite pleasant. I had been struggling most of the day with the temperature. It turned out to be a lovely sunny day but I had nowhere to store my jacket, so although unzipped, I was still quite hot. So around this time of the day I was quite glad the sun was setting and I could zip up and maintain a comfortable body temperature on the climbs.
At the cafe in Whitchurch I bumped into the guy who helped me with my wheel just as he was leaving and then we caught up with him again at Bracknell. The underpass under the roundabouts proved a bit tricky to navigate but eventually the Esso garage presented itself. John invited Calvin to ride with us to the finish and the three of us raced ahead. The last stage through the darkness seemed to pass by really quickly. We made it back to arrivee at around 01:30 with one hour to spare. We were the last to arrive so had our pick of all the food left over!
I then cycled the last 30 miles back to Harlow arriving home around 5:30am. Surprisingly after having cycled 400km in total if not more my legs felt quite strong. After having been awake for more than 24 hours and spending most of that time cycling my head wasn’t so strong and I pretty much collapsed into bed asleep when I got in!
It was a great day out, many thanks to the organisers and my riding companions!