Full Fat Festive 500s & Double Creamed 1000 | 27 & 29 Dec 2023 | Bristol

[willpom gwraudax]

Thought I might head out in the car with a flask and a good book if the timing fits around tomorrow's family get together - might even have some food left over!

Managed to offload some pork pie, quiche and coke to a couple of riders before retiring to bed. First pair through had such similar lights I was convinced they were a car's headlights until they were upon me and I leapt out of the car too late to catch them. I was just after Dumbleton but after 400k you were all so spread out I didn't have the patience to wait for an indeterminate period.... Fun, though.
Well done to all involved.

Thanks Pete!

A massive well done to all for having a go; most finished, some in an incredible time, some by the skin of their teeth, some out of time but battled on, one is still battling - chapeau!

[willpom gwraudax]

Zuber has finished, 27hrs out of time (+61hrs) but he did it!

[Jamesha]

I was also a DNF and thought I would share the story of my ride - sorry about the length.

I am a regular at 200's and had completed four 300's and one 400 (Brevet Cymru) so I though I would have a crack at this. The previous month I had ridden Will's Moonrakers and Sunseekers and, although I had finished with only two minutes to spare I had been delayed by three punctures and getting lost traversing Bristol so I thought I stood a reasonable chance of completing this.

I arrived at the adventure playground fairly early when only a handful of riders had arrived. I chatted to one chap whose name I did not get who was riding this as his first audax! - nothing like going in at the deep end. I saw him a few times on the road riding a very nice 650b wheeled bike.

I started the ride in the first few riders but was gradually overtaken by most riders but felt like I was going ok. I enjoyed riding through the mist and seeing the world slowly wake up. Just North of Swindon I made a navigational error a couple of km after the climb from the Tadpole housing estate. Instead of turning left and heading towards Faringdon I carried straight on and was soon completely lost. I made the error of using the re-routing direcrions on my Garmin 820 and ended up going in circles until I ended up back at the Tadpole estate where I did what I should have done first time round and used the mapping on my phone to work out where I needed to be.

This delay added 10km and wasted about an hour which had a knock on effect for the rest of the ride. Since a recent firmware update the clarity of mapping on my Garmin has really degraded - at the area I went wrong it was just displaying a green blob with no clear route - at that stage I really should have stopped and used my phone and the route sheet which would have seen me right.

I pressed on, reached Faringdon and controlled at Costa. The food choices there were not extensive so I just grabbed a pannini and pressed on. As I approached Oxford I was hailed by another rider in a PBP gilet who had been delayed getting to the start and was riding with a brevet card. He was good company (again did not catch a name) but he guided me swiftly through Oxford pointing out a few landmarks before pushing on when we exited the city.

Soon I was going through the flooded village using the path with no issues and shortly after was hailed again by another rider who turned out to be an experienced AUK called (I think) Rod who was from the flooded village. He guessed I was on an audax (the adavantages of using a Carradice) and we had a great chat about audaxing, his PBP experience and more before parting company.

At the next control in Winslow I went into a random cafe and there turned out to be another AUK there (think his name was Jeff and remember that he is an ACME member) having a break during a leisure ride. Again had a good chat and I left for Cambridge boosted by meeting both these guys and their enthusiasm for what I was attempting.

I pushed onto Cambridge as darkness fell and was feeling ok. Given the proximity of the St. Ives control to the Cambridge I used a Shell garage to control in Cambridge exiting Cambridge I got lost again trying to find the route to St. Ives. I had lost the updated route I had printed so eventually decided to chance the path by the bus pathway. This faffing about cost me about 30 minutes but I was soon on the path next to the bus route and made good progress whilst a couple of the buses glided past. After about 6km I reached the flooded section and walked on the narrow grass strip next to the busway. I felt a bit bad doing this but managed to get through it without being passed by a bus. So into St. Ives and I found the Taproom which looked very busy and noisy. I noticed a few bikes propped against the Italian so went in there and found four riders just finishing meals. This group included the "gravelbiker" guy I had chatted to at the start. Having found some other riders I was keen to stay with them for a bit so I just bought a bottle of water in the restaurant which was not great for my fueling.  One of the staff in the restraunt was lovely filling my bottles and offering me a complimentary coffee.

We pushed on and a couple of the riders in the group seemed to be struggling a little and gravelbiker and I gardually left them behind. We also saw someone on the ride tucked up cosily in a bush shelter (think it might have been the chap I went through Oxford with) - I guess only on audaxes can non-homeless people be jealous of people sleeping in such a manner. I spotted another 24 garage and thought I better stop to get some food on board and then pressed on alone to the first McDonalds in Northampton where I found gravelbiker and a female AUK who seemed in great humour and raised my spirits with some encouragement. I wolfed down a Big Mac and fries while the others pushed on and soon was back on the road and feeling ok. This stage did turn tough with the climb before Gaydon and I was starting to go very slowly and worry about finishing in the time limit.

During this stage I was passed by a few riders who had obviously stopped somewhere and flew past in a blur of shouted encouragement and luminous Rapha.

I eventually got to the garage at Gaydon and was surprised to find gravel guy and female AUK polishing off their breakfast. We were soon joined by another few riders who had obviously stopped somewhere. I again made the mistake of not eating enough as I though there was an outside chance of finishing in time. Back on the road I was finding it tough and when I turned off the A46 at Beckton at around 430 I had accepted that I would be out of time. I was struggling with the climb and, having seen a 16 miles to Cheltenham sign on the A46 earlier I decided to head for home as I had zero energy and did not want to tackle the A38 in that state.

I crawled slowly into Cheltenham, sat on a bench just outside the Queens Hotel and texted Will that I was packing then made my way home using my normal commute route.

Overall I am very positive about the ride (my longest ever) and the main issue was me failing to refuehl properly at controls due to time pressure caused by my navigation problems. Hopefully I have learnt some valuable things in my quest to complete an SR this season.

Thanks to Will and helpers for organising and everyone that encouraged me during the ride - it was quite an experience!

[Bolt]

Overall I am very positive about the ride (my longest ever) and the main issue was me failing to refuehl properly at controls due to time pressure caused by my navigation problems. Hopefully I have learnt some valuable things in my quest to complete an SR this season.

Thanks to Will and helpers for organising and everyone that encouraged me during the ride - it was quite an experience!

For sure, it's so good to be able to reflect on the positive aspects of a ride that didn't go exactly to plan and make good use of those experiences for future rides.  Well done you

[Slimline Saxon]

Good to meet Rainbow Dash at Winslow, well done on your efforts and more experiences to learn from.just like when I did LEL and made the mistake of riding with a faster rider and also did not look after myself, at least we did our best and you will come back stronger.

[willpom gwraudax]

Overall I am very positive about the ride (my longest ever) and the main issue was me failing to refuehl properly at controls due to time pressure caused by my navigation problems. Hopefully I have learnt some valuable things in my quest to complete an SR this season.

Thanks to Will and helpers for organising and everyone that encouraged me during the ride - it was quite an experience!

For sure, it's so good to be able to reflect on the positive aspects of a ride that didn't go exactly to plan and make good use of those experiences for future rides.  Well done you

Sterling effort James. Yep food is essential, especially as you would have been expending quite a large amount just keeping warm at this time of year. Look forward to seeing you again.

[bludger]

I am completely convinced that DNF is a central part of audax - just like how losing a match is a central part of football. Top banana to the organisers and riders, I hope to make a return visit to the 2020 edition

[S2L]

I am completely convinced that DNF is a central part of audax - just like how losing a match is a central part of football. Top banana to the organisers and riders, I hope to make a return visit to the 2020 edition

Indeed, as long as you don't set off to DNF... 

[LittleWheelsandBig]

I am completely convinced that DNF is a central part of audax - just like how losing a match is a central part of football.

I don't think so. The threat of DNF - sure, but to be avoided by all reasonable efforts. The most confusing to me was a Yank at PBP07 who, before the start, promised to pull out by the first control (I think she did).

When I organised, I figured that a perfect brevet was when everybody finished inside time and I still think so. As a rider, I didn't DNF a brevet for several years and didn't comprehend how others could DNF for seemingly trivial reasons. Later, I understood why finishing a brevet might not rate particularly highly on somebody's list of priorities and started collecting DNFs. My ratio is gradually dropping back to 1 DNF per 50 starts, which will be good enough for me.

[willpom gwraudax]

I am completely convinced that DNF is a central part of audax - just like how losing a match is a central part of football.

I don't think so. The threat of DNF - sure, but to be avoided by all reasonable efforts. When I organised, I figured that a perfect brevet was when everybody finished inside time.

I always hope every one will make it back within time. But I'm also willing to provide an event that makes people challenge their limits; if you never set out to do this you will never progress, you learn from experience, carry on and give it another crack better prepared.

[S2L]

I always hope every one will make it back within time. But I'm also willing to provide an event that makes people challenge their limits; if you never set out to do this you will never progress, you learn from experience, carry on and give it another crack better prepared.

On long brevets there are often a bunch of clowns who think it's funny to start with a non-roadworthy bicycle. three years ago I remember a rider with a tyre that was so worn out that the carcass was deformed and bulging... I pointed it out, but he seemed quite relaxed about it... don't think he ever made the first control

[LittleWheelsandBig]

I am completely convinced that DNF is a central part of audax - just like how losing a match is a central part of football.

I don't think so. The threat of DNF - sure, but to be avoided by all reasonable efforts. When I organised, I figured that a perfect brevet was when everybody finished inside time.

I always hope every one will make it back within time. But I'm also willing to provide an event that makes people challenge their limits; if you never set out to do this you will never progress, you learn from experience, carry on and give it another crack better prepared.

Does that mean you aren't challenging your limits unless you DNF? Does that mean that riders learn more and get more encouragement to stretch themselves by DNFing than they do by succeeding (perhaps by the skin of the teeth)? Bollocks!

I don't have a problem with challenging brevets, provided it is made crystal clear to potential entrants that they are indeed challenging and that completing them is not a trivial activity. I do dislike organisers that airily describe scenic routes and deserted vistas without noting that the route has 3000m climb for every 100km and that riders can only get sustenance from rainfall and roadkill.

[willpom gwraudax]

I am completely convinced that DNF is a central part of audax - just like how losing a match is a central part of football.

I don't think so. The threat of DNF - sure, but to be avoided by all reasonable efforts. When I organised, I figured that a perfect brevet was when everybody finished inside time.

I always hope every one will make it back within time. But I'm also willing to provide an event that makes people challenge their limits; if you never set out to do this you will never progress, you learn from experience, carry on and give it another crack better prepared.

Does that mean you aren't challenging your limits unless you DNF? Does that mean that riders learn more and get more encouragement to stretch themselves by DNFing than they do by succeeding (perhaps by the skin of the teeth)? Bollocks!

I don't have a problem with challenging brevets, provided it is made crystal clear to potential entrants that they are indeed challenging and that completing them is not a trivial activity. I do dislike organisers that airily describe scenic routes and deserted vistas without noting that the route has 3000m climb for every 100km and that riders can only get sustenance from rainfall and roadkill.

Not at all but sometimes it is good to make a leap outside of one's 'comfort zone' and see what you can achieve. Sometimes you will succeed, sometimes you may DNF; no harm in that if you learn from the experience and enjoy the process.

And agree, I label my events accordingly. I prefer riders to know what they are getting themselves into to make an informed choice; I still will include scenic routes and deserted vistas though if that is what the route gives back.

I had a very definitive stipulation for this event especially as the weather can play a major role at this time of year, this was iterated in follow up communications. Some who probably didn't fit this criteria still took the challenge. Not one DNF on the event has come back to me complaining, rather with praise for an excellent event and that they'll be back.

[Solocle]

I DNFed at 311 km - it was actually the Northamptonshire border.

Not bad as a 3rd Audax, especially given that the last was a 300 km (Moonrakers), and I finished with 6 minutes to spare! This time, it was 18:20, so a marked improvement in pace.

I was pressing on reasonably well as far as Cambridge, although the last few miles were getting hard. No real stops, just refuelling. Then it was the dash to St Ives, and I couldn't really slouch on that bit. Especially since it was an adventure navigating the road closure without using the A14 (we ignored the closure, and were creative with what tarmac was present!)

After St Ives, I was really suffering. I set myself an objective of getting as far as 30 km to go to Northampton, my sleep stop, with a group. I figured I'd be able to face 30 km alone. However, I had to drop back at 35 km to go, so halfway between Ives and N'Hampton. And at the pace I was down to, I really couldn't face 3 hours of grovelling along the road, so I bailed.

https://www.strava.com/activities/2964494102

[Jamesha]

I'm a little bit disappointed by the recent direction this thread has taken. The instructions provided by Will were comprehensive and accurate - there were no surprises on the route and I knew what I was getting myself into before I started.

It was always going to be a challenge for me to complete given that the longest audax I had successfully completed was a May 400 but I think my audax record over the past couple of years was good enough to have a crack at the ride. I am going to start a thread asking for advice on stepping up from 300km rides to longer distances and hope that the experienced AUKs on this thread can share their knowledge and experience.

Once again thanks to Will and helpers - I really appreciate the hard work you put into these events and hope to ride more GWR events in 2020.

[willpom gwraudax]

I'm a little bit disappointed by the recent direction this thread has taken. The instructions provided by Will were comprehensive and accurate - there were no surprises on the route and I knew what I was getting myself into before I started.

It was always going to be a challenge for me to complete given that the longest audax I had successfully completed was a May 400 but I think my audax record over the past couple of years was good enough to have a crack at the ride. I am going to start a thread asking for advice on stepping up from 300km rides to longer distances and hope that the experienced AUKs on this thread can share their knowledge and experience.

Once again thanks to Will and helpers - I really appreciate the hard work you put into these events and hope to ride more GWR events in 2020.

Thanks dude! 

[willpom gwraudax]

I DNFed at 311 km - it was actually the Northamptonshire border.

Not bad as a 3rd Audax, especially given that the last was a 300 km (Moonrakers), and I finished with 6 minutes to spare! This time, it was 18:20, so a marked improvement in pace.

I was pressing on reasonably well as far as Cambridge, although the last few miles were getting hard. No real stops, just refuelling. Then it was the dash to St Ives, and I couldn't really slouch on that bit. Especially since it was an adventure navigating the road closure without using the A14 (we ignored the closure, and were creative with what tarmac was present!)

After St Ives, I was really suffering. I set myself an objective of getting as far as 30 km to go to Northampton, my sleep stop, with a group. I figured I'd be able to face 30 km alone. However, I had to drop back at 35 km to go, so halfway between Ives and N'Hampton. And at the pace I was down to, I really couldn't face 3 hours of grovelling along the road, so I bailed.

https://www.strava.com/activities/2964494102

Excellent work. It was 311km in one pop between Christmas and New Year!

[willpom gwraudax]

That time of year approaches again when people start to wonder "How will I work off the Christmas Dinner?"

Don't worry, I've got it covered. So well covered you can stuff your face for a week before too, drink the port, pilfer Santa's mince pie; Rudolph's carrot however I've already got and will be dangling it on a stick just for you! And a few others 

The Festive 500 challenge came about after Rapha’s Graeme Raeburn’s double creamed 1000km over the festive period. He decided 500km was enough for the challenge, the extra 500 being pointless; well in Audax that isn’t quite true…

Double Creamed Full Fat Festives 1000 - www.gwraudax.co.uk/dc1000 - 16:00 Mon 27th Dec
Full Fat Festive 500 Pint 1 - www.gwraudax.co.uk/fff5pt1 - 16:00 Mon 27th Dec
Full Fat Festive 500 Pint 2 [The Original] - www.gwraudax.co.uk/fff5pt2 - 06:00 Wed 29th Dec

Do both Full Fat Festive 500 Pints for a Double Creamed experience! Sign up to both pints and transfer to the Double Creamed up until Christmas Eve. This will give you options. But you can not downgrade to the 2 Pints!

I also have 10 Permanent cards available for rides taking place during Advent and 12 Days of Christmas - use links above. Start/Finish at a location best for you. My door is open (within reason) for a spot of grub on your way round.

Be prepared for anything; from freezing cold to winter sun & blue skies to hurricane winds & rain.

This is an X-rated event for experienced randonneurs and endurance cyclists only. The organiser accepts no responsibility for winter weather or road conditions and you undertake this event entirely at your own risk.

[willpom gwraudax]

It's the Solstice, the days will be getting longer, merriment will soon be had. Then after that some will be heading off on a boldacious 1000km! More will be attempting 1 of 2 500kms.

Entries close tomorrow if you want to give it a go and burn off the Christmas excess. Links to each 500 within the 1000.
https://www.pedalution.co.uk/events/double-creamed-1000/

For those that have entered routes etc will be sent today at some point.

[Notfromrugby]

looks like almost perfect weather... considering the season...
I wish I signed up... (he said, disregarding he last rode a BR in 2019  )

[willpom gwraudax]

I can squeeze more in, drop me a DM.

Merry Christmas!

[Notfromrugby]

I can squeeze more in, drop me a DM.

Merry Christmas!

Thanks...
I'd love to, but I haven't ridden more than 100 km in at least one year... stretching it to 500 is a few steps too far at this time... one day, maybe!

[willpom gwraudax]

2023 editions are ready to go and this year it will be the complete spread. Hot drinks to start, food on arrival and halfway food for the 1000 riders.

I still have a limited number of perm cards left for Pints 1&2. I will validated these only during advent and the 12 days of Christmas. You can also use them to start anywhere on the route. And as before you can upgrade 2 pint entries to the Double Creamed up to Christmas Eve but you can't downgrade from the 1000 to both 500s.

!! This is an X-rated event for experienced randonneurs and endurance cyclists only. The organiser accepts no responsibility for winter weather or road conditions and you undertake this event entirely at your own risk !!

Wednesday 27th December 16:00

Double Creamed 1000 - both pints for extra whackiness.



Full Fat Festive 500 Pint 1 - Up the Severn Valley crossing the Ironbridge and on to Crewe, back through Wales.




Friday 29th December 06:00

Full Fat Festive 500 Pint 2 The Original - Out to Cambridge, glide along next to the busway to St Ives, back to Bristol.