TLDR; Tough day at the office, hot, then wet with lumps in the middle.... SR & PBP qualifications completed 1.5hrs sleep, 38 hours elapsed.
Overnight in Travel Lodge, couple of shop bought beers to try and keep the nerves at bay, I resisted the multiple Facebook check-ins at local hostelries for my on sake and had a quiet but restless sleep checking the time what seemed every 30 mins
Up at 05:55, shower, porridge but left the oak cookies unopened and in the room.
Headed out of the hotel and bumped in to another rider (Greig?) whom I rode with the short 3km down to the start.
Large collection of bikes outside and a gathering collection of familiar faces inside. Quick cuppa and ready for the off.
Gentle social ride out through a picturesque Holyport and into the lanes. I’ve been trying to ‘warm up’ when I ride now by staying in the lower gears for at least the first 10 mins and it seems to be working. Less bother with the back of my right knee (though it might not be linked of course). Before long we were in to high hedge country lanes and a gentle climb before a rapid decent in to Henley. Then the first of a series of 3 climbs to get us over the top of The Chilterns to reveal a view of Didcot power station. Pace was good and so was the company. Averaging just short of 26kph we were at the first control of Appleford in 2 hours and were greeted by familiar faces of Tim Decker and a Sudbury club (whose name I forget – sorry!). I treated this as an elevenses stop and indulged in tea and cake. A 20 min stop was 10m quicker than I had allowed for and the subtle tailwind meant I was 25 mins additional time in had to the plan. I ‘d reviewed the forecast on Friday and knew I needed to build up a good buffer to mitigate the potential headwinds of the return journey.
I topped up my sun tan application and rolled out to mostly flat warm up and then through Abingdon and a gentle rise to the south of Oxford. The sun was certainly out now and the temps were rising to 20 Deg C. I recall seeing 3 impending lumps on the upcoming climb profile on my Garmin and guessed we were entering the Cotswolds, I hadn’t realised we had been in the AONB for 10km already and these were the second part of the warm up act. We passed through scenic villages with the characteristic golden limestone walls and thatched roof often including obligatory climbing roses etc… very picturesque! 2hours and 16mins we rolled in to Broadwell where I elected to avoid any accidents by using the footpath next to the Ford. Still a fast pace being maintained, averaging 24.6kph for this section but generally feeling OK. “lunch stop” was declared and I think I had some combination of tomato veg stew and jacket potato washed down with hot sweet tea and plenty of cake. A bit of a longer stop here but still just under an hour ahead of my plan.
A long section through the Cotswolds awaited and I knew there were going to be some climbs in the sun to get out of the way. It was a long drag out of Broadwell village but I just twiddled away in a low gear till it flattened out. I’ve spent a fair bit of work time in the Cotswolds and it was great to see names I remembered from that time as well as enjoying the surroundings. About an hour later we fell off the edge of the Cotswolds for a great 6km 14% decent (which obviously would have to be scaled on the return!). More rolling but often flat crossing the River Avon and eventually the sight of the Droitwich radio masts came in to view. It was now similar to being blown along by a hot hair dryer, temperature peaked around 28 C. After riding around Hartlebury village a bit (the GPS route didn’t quite match the visible roads on the ground for some reason) I eventually stumbled upon the control after 70km in 3h 7mins average speed had dropped a bit to 23kph for this section but it was hot and lumpy. There was chilli on the go here which I enjoyed. Also a unique feature were the pots of sour cream on the tables to accompany it which we were jokingly referring to sudacrem LOL A 40 min stop here and 1h10m ahead of plan. There were 10 beds here and my initial plan was to get back here for a sleep stop. The official sleep stop was at around 380km but I felt I would be more ready for sleep after 400km, this control would be 440km on the return.
The plan was still in operation but with a bit of a buffer building on top of the one I had planned to have. I’d worked based on maintaining 21kph between controls (reducing to 20kph from 380km onwards) so I tried to turn down the pace a notch. From leaving Hartlebury we skimmed the outskirts of Stourport and Kidderminster. The terrain took on a mining town appearance with lots of ups and downs. Eventually a stone needle came in to view and consulting my GPS showed that I was close to Lilleshall. The needle (a monument to 1st Duke of Sutherland) was perched right on top of the village but from a distance it looked like a gentle incline to climb up.. It seemed to take an age to reach village, the gentle incline was a wall and the control was at the foot of the monument! (almost) but after 57km and 2h41 I was here and had averaged 22kph from the last control so all good.. I seem to recall eating a wonderful mixture of food involving gravy and a peach crumble with custard and cream, 40 mins off the bike and I was ready to head off back out and further North I was a bit less enthused about the long trek of 70km to the turn around but the sooner I got moving, the sooner it would be out of the way
Just after leaving I passed my first rider between Newport and Lilleshall who was heading back South, they were yomping up an incline smiling away… I had heard that there were a reported 16 riders who were heading South so I decided to start counting, my mood had lifted, the evening was warm and light with the prospect of seeing others returning giving me a boost. Each one got a cheery ‘hiya’ and responded in kind I encountered Adam as rider number 4 on a country lane and gave him a big thumbs up – I think he went for a hi-5 but my mental ability to switch from thumbs up to hi-5 failed and I am afraid I left him hanging – I was a bit disappointed at that… 7th rider was Jasmin, not that I could tell that, but I deduced it from the cheery demeanour and voice – shortly after 8 I lost count and just stuck with greeting riders instead. Shropshire Lavender was closed as I rolled past and I suspect it’s quite nice to cycle past in the dusk when it’s in bloom… On the route up I had been trying to scope out any potential sleep spots but most of the ones that looked half decent (audax hotels) were in the same villages as the controls for some reason, other than that they were either without a bench or too open.
As I rolled past Goldstone Hall there was a party going on in the grounds within a giant marque and a little further on was a suited and booted young chap who was quite worse for the booze wobbling up the road… just as I approached from behind I decided to call out as I didn’t want any bother, “all right mate” to which I had a flower thrown at me than a laugh and an “all right mate” back… he was certainly away with the fairies but seemed more of a physical obstacle to overcome rather than a threat however this made me cautious as I rode through Market Drayton it busy with people out and about on a Saturday night but there was no bother and I was happy to discover it is the home of gingerbread.
The section from Lilleshall seemed to be very North Essex in its rolling undulations and it was proving more enjoyable than I expected. There was one section where the fields were full of young calves and there was the smell of hay in the air. Dusk was supposed to be around 21:05 but it was still very light till gone 22:00 and I was enjoying the seemingly endless and smooth roads. It felt a lot flatter than I was expecting and after 4h5mins at 22kph I was at the turn around point of Christleton. I initially mistook the Rugby Club for the control (there were bikes parked outside) but eventually rolled up to the control for a good dose of TLC. I have no recollection of what I eat here but I do remember having my first coffee of the day which was a surprise but I guess with all the heat I had just fancied sweet tea most of the way Northbound. I still was just an hour ahead of plan so that could be extra sleep time somewhere. I donned my rain jacket for the return but didn’t bother with any of the rest of the overnight gear I had brought with me… I had packed my 400km gear for this ride and the previous events had been cold wet affairs. It had been 12 to 13 C on the way up and would remain so to the next control. Leaving the control I plodded on but most of the sights to see in the dark it was a little boring, the 8% climb up to Harthill was a welcome distraction. Wildlife count was a lot lower than in Essex and whilst I could hear the odd owl, there were none visible. At one point I almost diverted on to a B road as I knew I was coming up to Goldstone and suspected that at 2AM it might be a bit busy with cars and drunks from the hall, seeing a sign saying Newport 4 miles pointing to the right was very tempting as my speed and mood was starting to drop considerably, I’d pretty much decided I wasn’t bothered about PBP or in fact riding longer than 400km anymore…
I arrived pretty frazzled back at Lilleshall 3h45 to cover the 72km at an average of 19kph and not really wanting to head the additional 6km up the hill to the sleep hall. I was so mentally wasted I struggled to say hello to people I knew so it was a wise decision to stop. I scoffed a large bowl of fruit crumble and custard and got my head down for a 1.5hour kip, of which I think I had an hour of sleep. I woke up before my wake up with the taste of fruit crumble and custard still in my mouth and once sorted grabbed a coffee and bowl of tinned fruit. After spending 2h10m at the control, I was out of the door in to the dawn for around 05:50 and now 1h35m ahead of plan having not used 30mins of my sleep time so I could have a nap if needed later on.
It was windless as I rode along, no sunrise to speak off as it was quite cloudy but still warm. My plan was to average 20kph from here on and this was a welcome thought as I had struggled to keep 21 heading in to the last control. I hit that average bang on but it seemed that time was going a lot slower in my head…. I ticked off passing through Shifnal again but this time to the pleasantly heckled by a young lady in party frock and thigh length boots who appeared to still be partying with herself for company. In the daylight and from the other direction there were some great large fields of poppies just on entering Kidderminster which I stopped to take a picture of, these had been obscured by the hedge on the way North (and perhaps I was also concentrating on the decent and impending set of traffic lights at the bottom of the hill)
Hartlebury arrived 2h43 of riding with a 19kph average. Chance for a proper breakfast, porridge and beans on toast were the order of the day as I was starting to feel a little out of energy as I arrived, 55 mins stopped wasn’t to plan either – I was starting to trade my buffer against the effects of fatigue and headwind.
Next up was the Cotswolds revisited, 70km of giving and boy did they give. It was still sunny on leaving according to my last photo, then it was wet, and no photos appear until later. The wind had been building on the way to the last control and was continuing to build.
Big hills and at times torrential rain or in the better times just rain, the soaked inclines we had sped down had swollen to a longer length as climbed, but I got up them all, including the ones that were 14% for what felt like 2 km. I was glad of the rain as it was a little too warm on the climbs. I ran out of energy in Chipping Camden and inhaled all my Haribo, I stopped off in the next village shop I found 10 mins and bought a chocolate milk, ham sandwich and top up with some jelly babies… it was only 10km to the next control, but I wasn’t going to make that without something now!
4h17m 18kph average arriving in Broadwell, rice pudding for the first time after craving it and third breakfast stopped for 48mins. – I had burned through the saving against the plan on the toughest section of the ride so was content with that.
The weather was still wet when we left, I was now no longer cycling on my own but I’d tagged along with Ian, Jonathan, Raymond and Jan for the next 56km we chatted and rode through the rain then sun then back to rain. It was the tail end of the Cotwolds and there were a few hills to climb to get out of the area but it was less climbing than the previous sections and it would only get better in that respect, we rolled in to Appleford control just under 3hours of riding. It was great to see the guys again and bonus was the chance to get a selfie with Tim, Olaf and myself before Olaf set off. Tim was quite proud of his butter mountain and cucumber stockpile whilst we were there and all seemed to be having a cracking time running the control. Time was pressing on for Ian, Jonathan and Raymond as they were on the 06:00 start where as Jan and I had another 1.5h extra being on the 07:30 start so after a quick cuppa they made their way on for the last 50km section. Jan and I spent 40mins at the penultimate control before heading out to finish the job and a few steep sections that laid before us – this used up the remainder of the buffer over planned time I had and started to eat into my 3 hour buffer I had planned to keep in reserve.
The final 50km took about 2h54, we took it a bit slower than expected, some sections quicker than others but there was a pace Jan was comfortable at, so I tried to keep to that waiting or soft peddling. I think the energy was finally starting to come back on tap from the food I had been eating in the past day so whilst it was a bit of an ache to stand up for any efforts, I could manage them seated without a problem. This section had some forgotten hills which we had enjoyed the decent of on the way out – I was struggling to remember what was where on the ride so the discussion at the last control had been around reviewing the profile for the last hills in preparation. The first starting at 11km in to the section with a bit of 22% mixed in and then after a strange route around Henley a miserable close pass session climbing out up White Hill. The lanes couldn’t come quick enough and were a saviour to our sanity! We arrived back at the Arrivee just as it got dark for a 38-hour finish (2 hours in hand) and were able to trade war stories with others and share a beer with Jonathan. The drive home was quite surreal, I was convinced we were going to fast (I was passenger) but it was the speed limit, perhaps the effect of riding a bike for a long time and it’s effect on comprehending speed!
Kit wise, most performed OK. Bike chain now at 0.75% on the gauge (was at about 0.6 pre-ride), tyres need inspecting as do the front brake pads (maybe metal on metal?). Shoes rubbed my toe quite badly so need to work out if that was socks or other issue. Body is a little battered, outside 3 toes on each foot plus right outer 2 fingers and right under forearm numb. Some ache under upper arm. Saddle worked again, not flawlessly but in a better place than would be for a normal saddle.
Overall a tough ride for a flatlander, a bit of everything and some weather and without the TLC from the controls with food I’m not sure I’d have made it round! So big thanks to them 😊 I’m sure there are bits of the ride I’ve forgotten that will come back eventually…
