Mixed feelings on this one. Loved it and hated it. The hate though was all down to things outside the organisers' control, like the weather, and the state of my fitness.
Rode solo as my planned companion had suffered an outbreak of mental, moral, emotional and constitutional weakness.
The drive down boded ill - I had the wipers on full for much of it. The depart was great, with tea and toast. Spoke to one guy on his first audax, and explained that it was an excellent choice as future rides were unlikely to be any worse. Also spoke to CrazyEnglishTriathlete about commuting (I'm the life and soul of parties), although I didn't put two and two together at the time.
All the keen beans whizzed off up the early hills. I struggled to keep pace with the guy in front of me. Finally caught him to discover he only took up audaxing on his 70th birthday. Rode with him for a bit, then decided I needed to work harder to keep warm. Left him behind only to go straight into the axle deep flood. To be fair, we had been warned, and diverted, but the diversion email had arrived after the bike with garmin attached was already in the car, and I was comfortable on the sofa. How bad could it be? Not bad enough, I thought, to move the waterproof socks from my desk to my getting dressed pile... Loads of standing water, running water, gravel and leaves. I love riding in autumn usually, but I didn't enjoy the descents. No confident sweeping turns, no gripping the tops of the brake levers to satisfy the urge to brake without scrubbing off any speed. Instead, it was brakes on hard on most of them, and rightly so.
Took a diversion after Watlington to bag some veloviewer tiles on the way up to Wheatley. Bumped into a friend from LEL and another couple of audaxes outside the control. "See you at Chipping Norton" he said. "Unlikely," I responded...
Cafe controls are delightful - having started serious audaxing during lockdowns, I've only really experienced bare bones events. Chatted to the pair who were out on their second best tandem. Had to force myself up and out to get on with it, but it was familiar roads from Wheatley to Bicester. Missed the turn at Ashendon cos my route planner decided a footpath was a better option than the road. Came back, chatted to another pair at the junction, who, in the theme of the day, whizzed off ahead of me. Let down by my route planner at Bicester, which had diverted me along cycle paths, (which I ignored and stayed on the road), until it wanted me to use an underpass. Now I couldn't get onto the cycle path, so had to pull a U turn in the middle of the A41 and retrace. Overtook my earlier companion, and dragged up to Chipping Norton, with a couple of diversions to bag tiles. A nasty shower came, and I gambled too late on finding a bus shelter to re-don waterproofs. Finally put them on under a tree as it was abating. The main road into town was not a treat at all, but was at least downhill. The cafe was a delightfully welcoming warm fug. I lingered for half an hour over hot chocolate and a panino.
Then back on the road, darkness fell, lights came on. In fact, one had come on earlier, the rain having upset the electronics, and wouldn't turn off, but flashed gently all the way home and deep into the night. More familiar roads west of Witney, which is my father in law's stamping ground. One last (failed! ha!) tile diversion in Wychwood, then I caught my companion from earlier. Chatted for a while then left him behind. The clock turned 6 and the sky lit up all around as the fireworks went off. I could see 6 or 7 displays all around the horizon.
Caught up with another rider whose GPS had failed him, and stuck with him to the end to finish in just under 12 hours.
Not my finest performance, but a good day out. Weather wasn't great, but as I'd said at the start, it can't be much worse than the poor student in January. Apart from feet, head and hands, I stayed largely dry. The skies were moody. Great views of clouds and rain soaked landscapes, misty valleys. Red kites are two a penny round here, but one perched in a tree on the left of the road, while a kestrel hovered on the right was a treat, and a cloud of about twenty all circling was another.
If better weather and better legs can be promised, I might even do it again
