Thanks to Peter for organising a great ride: a start at first light from a cottage in deepest Dorset, and return many hours later, after a wonderful route with some remarkably big hills to a warm welcome, warm kitchen, and tea / pasta makes it a unique (and highly recommended) experience.
Thanks also to everyone for the great atmosphere and chat on the road which made the miles pass, and to stephen and pauld for waiting, and keeping me going those last 50k.
Andrew
...Ended up at bottom of a 17% hill and just couldn't face climbing back up so took the scenic route back around the valleys.
I did say to Paul as we tried to pick the left up to hardy's monument out of the gloom, 'imagine flying past and ending up at the bottom of Portesham hill...' a thought followed swiftly by a shudder, and moment of silence as we contemplated the horror: chapeau for not just curling up in a ball/looking for a phone box at the bottom! There is no valley route back from there: you're at sea level, and there's the ridgeway between you and west stafford - so you definitely did more hills than the rest of us!
So, all you climbers, what do I need to do to get up those hills?
er. more hills?
my top tips would be go harder at hills on training rides than you ever do on an audax, and (if you don't have one) get a turbo, find your threshold, and practice riding near it for an hour at a time, several times a week.