Easter Arrows 2017/2018

[sojournermike]

Hope all are well. Don’t envy you riding through last night’s rain and cold

Mike

[Graeme]

I thought of coming along to York to see everyone at the finish, but Northern have a bus replacement service between Brough and Selby: there are some hardships no one should have to endure. I stayed home to have toasted teacakes for breakfast.

It was hammering down in the East Riding during the early hours. I really hope those who battled on made it okay and safely.

[tedshred]

The ACME Anvils assembled in Witham at our first 'Spoons of the day for a pre-ride breakfast and some banter with the ACME Dynamite team.  Our merry band was made up of me, Huggy, Oaky, Jem and the Hustler. 

We were heading off for one of Huggy's well-crafted Tour de 'Spoons whilst they were off on a high speed Tomsk mission.  At that point the weather was cold but dry with a favourable wind, so why did we look as grim faced as the focused Dynamites ?  When your team captain asks if everyone is happy to continue before you set off, you know it is not going to be an easy ride.

We parted from Team Dynamite with a plan to catch them when our routes crossed at the Sleaford 'Spoons for late supper. 

Oaky and the Hustler were far from pleased that I had turned up with gears after bullying them into riding fixed - by the end they were probably glad that I hadn't ridden fixed such was my lack of fitness.

The leg to Hitchin was a nice mix of choppy bits and quiet lanes with a section of excellent cycle paths through the middle of Stevenage.  The only portent of what was to come was the state of the various fords that we had to negotiate.  In each case the river was in full spate necessitating the judicious use of footbridges and, in one instance, cycling along beside a river that had diverted onto the road itself.  Nevertheless, we arrived at the 'Spoons in Hitchin on schedule and just in time for the lunchtime rush. At this point we lost Jem who was unwell.

We emerged from lunch to a different day; the wind was starting to freshen and turn to the north and it was now raining rather than spitting.  I donned my rain spanx and the rest put on their rainlegs and we headed into the downpour.  Huggy was in TT mode and I was still trying to digest my lasagne as we sped off.  As each km passed so the rain seemed to get heavier and the crosswind seemed to become more of a headwind.  As we neared Huntingdon we were experiencing foul conditions with heavy rain, a cold headwind and poor visibility - it was only 5 o'clock ! 

The decision was made to find somewhere warm to have a look at the forecast for the rest of the night and make a plan accordingly.  It was only when we stopped that we realised just how wet and cold we were.  We all had some more clothes, gloves etc but the forecast was not looking pretty and our shoes were full of water. 

We alighted on the Falcon as it seemed to have good bike parking.  On entering, all we could see was a line of real ale pumps and a busy pub.  Without really meaning to or discussing it, we went into Wednesday night mode - a kitty was arranged and handed over to the Hustler so the sampling could begin.  We even had a hotly contested Quaffers' Choice between Rat Brewery's Red Rat and Old English Ales' Charles I.  The Hustler clearly preferred the latter but wouldn't vote for it on principle. 

Our first round of four pints came to £9.  When Huggy and I asked if this was correct the barmaid said she was sorry but we had just missed happy hour and they were back up to full price !

As the happy hour crowd dispersed, we took over a table beside two radiators which were soon covered in cycling gear.  We still hadn't really discussed what was happening next - and then someone lit the log fire...

Chapeau to anyone coming from the south that managed to keep on through the night in that weather.  The Arrow is a great event and it was galling to be frustrated by the weather but we had a great time and we even had a look at the Easter dates for next year - 21st April apparently so it should be balmy with a tailwind for we southerners.

 

[Pingu]

Audax Écosse have been broadcasting from York. Chapeau and all that malarkey 

[Deano]

3 of VC167 Team C got in under the wire. Sadly we had to leave two at Blyth, suffering from the cold and other after-effects of more-or-less non-stop rain from 4 pm Friday.

[Graeme]

3 of VC167 Team C got in under the wire. Sadly we had to leave two at Blyth, suffering from the cold and other after-effects of more-or-less non-stop rain from 4 pm Friday.

Chapeau!

[Nutbeem]

The ACP B Team, riding from Basingstoke, called it a day at Market Harborough, just too wet and cold to continue safely. Postie and the A Team made the same call when they arrived from Portsmouth a few hours behind us.
B Team booked into Travelodge overnight, dried our kit out as best we could and have come home by train today.
A Team are currently retracing there tyre tracks and riding home.

We spotted the tail end of another Team somewhere before Daventry, Wessex CTC Perhaps, they were just cresting a climb as we reached the bottom.

[Wycombewheeler]

Looking at the weather today it seems that those opting for a Saturday start are more likely to be successful.

[Smeth]

We spotted the tail end of another Team somewhere before Daventry, Wessex CTC Perhaps, they were just cresting a climb as we reached the bottom.

Could be. We plunged from there to Subway/Spar at the petrol station and annoyed the staff. See sad face pic - we canned it, and happy face thank God we don't have to go out there again.

Sent from my SM-J510FN using Tapatalk

[Nutbeem]

We spotted the tail end of another Team somewhere before Daventry, Wessex CTC Perhaps, they were just cresting a climb as we reached the bottom.

Could be. We plunged from there to Subway/Spar at the petrol station and annoyed the staff. See sad face pic - we canned it, and happy face thank God we don't have to go out there again.

Sent from my SM-J510FN using Tapatalk

I'm certain it was now, the timing would be correct. I struggled on that hill & realised I was going no further than Market Harborough soon after. It was a great relief to find Travelodge had a room for us, even more of a relief to get out of my wet kit and into a warm shower. We had the heating on full blast and wet kit spread out everywhere.

[bhoot]

Both of the ACH teams have packed

By defecting to ACME for a Thursday evening start, we got much better weather and so hopefully something on the points table for ACH....
The night was mostly rain free with a pretty helpful South Easterly wind, although it was cold and morning across the Leicestershire alps (they seem like that to flatland tandemmers) was misty and damp. We still managed to lose a small amount of time against the plan, ending up with a time trial from Thorne to Carlton for our 22nd hour control, before rolling up to York along the cycle path, now with a northeasterly breeze, to arrive 5 mins inside the 24 hours.
New things learnt this ride:
There is a mountain in Nottingham and we cycled up it
3300m of climbing does not make for a faster ride than last year's 1800m

[Bianchi Boy]

The team from Reading got as far as Grantham. We were cold wet and the thought of going on was contemplated for about 1 micro second. We stayed in the services and caught the train to York. Sometimes DNF is the best thing to do and that was the case here.

It rained basically all the time after the first stop in Bicester and really came down very hard after Woburn. We were OK while riding and as soon as we stopped we started shivering. Wycombe Wheeler dropped off after Biggleswade and we continued in the rain. The route was tried so it had few flooded sections and hidden potholes.

Next year Easter is late and Good Friday is 19th April. What chance better weather then?

BB

[DrMekon]

The headwind has been atrocious, and we won't make it. I'm going home. My sis and her bf are waiting for another team to turn up so they can hit wetherspoons.

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[Wycombewheeler]

The team from Reading got as far as Grantham. We were cold wet and the thought of going on was contemplated for about 1 micro second. We stayed in the services and caught the train to York. Sometimes DNF is the best thing to do and that was the case here.

It rained basically all the time after the first stop in Bicester and really came down very hard after Woburn. We were OK while riding and as soon as we stopped we started shivering. Wycombe Wheeler dropped off after Biggleswade and we continued in the rain. The route was tried so it had few flooded sections and hidden potholes.

Next year Easter is late and Good Friday is 19th April. What chance better weather then?

BB

I could have made it to March, maybe even to Grantham, but I knew I wasn't making it to York, so packing before getting colder and wetter and getting home was quite cheap seemed prudent.

Can't possibly be worse weather next year.

[longflaps]

The team from Oxford had a fine ride across to Cambridge despite one member having acute mechanical issues (in addition to bad karma from the puncture fairy). We disappeared into The Regal for an hour of warmth and fine nosh at which point one team member decided to stay behind for pudding and maybe a train home? Unfazed, the four remaing donned waterproofs (for it was now raining) and set off via St Ives in the direction of Boston. Was the cooling wind, the driving rain, the semi-flooded roads or yet another puncture for poor Tom, that drove us to the decision to beat a hasty retreat to Peterborough station? Shivering onto the first London-bound train we reflected on a decision well-made and a fine 200ks in the legs. Maybe next year?

Chapeau to all who participated and particularly to those who completed in such attrocious conditions.

[mattc]

...

Can't possibly be worse weather next year.

I've had worse on a 400 in early May

Easter is a tough time for a 24hour event - you really are at the mercy of the weather dice.

[Danger]

Not everyone packed!

3 of us from Sheffield are enjoying our 2nd breakfast in the Posten Gate, got into York  at 6.30 so had to go to McDonalds for the first.

Posten Gate doesn't start serving alcohol until 9am BTW

[Revolution9]

Audax Écosse have been broadcasting from York. Chapeau and all that malarkey 

It was just a bit of wind and rain, I really don't know what all the fuss was about

[Bikeabilityman]

Can we have teams of one next year? It was worth finishing just to catch up with the acme lot (and enjoy a ‘spoons veggie brekky). My solo ride from Skeggy had it’s ups and downs with the weather, happily riding along at 30kph with a drizzle initially, then back to 15/16kph in heavy rain. I wasn’t gonna stop in Grimsby but decided to have another McFlurry and coffee and use the hand dryer on my gloves and liners. Then bought batteries on sale at the Shell garage, served by the brother in law of a tall Darlington Audaxer who’s name I forgot after setting off again. Dunno how long I spent there, and I never looked at the time until going over the Humber bridge (west side as the east was shut). It was nearly 6am, when team Suffolk (Waveney Wanderers) shoulda been at the 22h Market Weighton control). I had lost time at the same roundabout as last year, this time taking what I thought was a sandy track alongside an exit road which I though went under it. It didn’t. Zooming in on the etrex  confirmed I shoulda taken the 2nd exit. Oh well. I was still collecting receipts, not that it mattered, but I may look at how well I was doing one day. The climbs to Market Weighton sapped my strength, arriving at 7:15am, but I could still pedal nicely on the flat. The A1079 was horrible with almost constant puddles and traffic. I was glad to get onto the poorly surfaced York roads. and meet the first cyclist I’d seen since Skeggy at the traffic lights. Alas, he turned left when I was going straight. Did a mini tour of York as the track ended at a stone gate (went through it, not realising it might be “postern gate”, so ‘spoons would be close). Arrived just before 9 with cold wet hands. Civvy clothes were wet, so I enjoyed my brekky, coffees and beer in my smelly gear. Had a nice chat, then left for a 15 minute ride along the A19, arriving at the rendezvous cafe car park just ahead of my dad, who let me sleep in bits as he drove me back to MK. A hard pointless ride, but what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger, right?

[oggy]

Made it to spoons in york having packed in Barton

[Zed43]

Why don't you folks come over to the mainland to ride next year's easter arrow? The grass is greener, the skies more blue, the roads almost as smooth as a snooker table (not to mention flat as a pancake), etc. etc.

Ok, slight exaggeration But we did get much better weather than you Brits this year, and I believe all teams made it to the finish at Herentals (Belgium) yesterday. 

Our team did start in Groningen (NE of the Netherlands) and riding 383km in 24 hours makes for a fairly relaxed trip, with lots of opportunities to stop for food: potato pancakes at Pim's parents, diner at De Buren in Boekelo (starting point of many audax rides), happy meals (unless you got the fish burger) at the McD in Isselburg, coffee and a BLT sandwich at a tankstation in Venray, more coffee at the Belgium border and last but not least cake and bread at a very nice bakery in Dessel. Oh, and the organizers did charter a "frietkot" for the finish to provide all-you-could-stomach greasy recovery food! All in all I think I ended up with a surplus of calories at the end of the ride

As for the weather there was little to complain. Mild force 3 winds turning from the East to the South during the ride meant we had it coming mostly from the side. It did start to rain about 30 minutes out of Isselburg, enough to don rain gear, but that was all the rain we got. It did get cold though and we kept cycling in our rain jackets. At the end of the night the sky was clear, giving us a wonderful view of the surroundings in the full moon light, only obstructed by ground fog that made it feel even colder than the 1-4 degrees reported by our GPS's.

Our route was for the most part, up to Venray, a concatenation of past and future audax routes and were lovely to ride. From Valkenswaard down South it was a long and straight cycle path next to a through road but we were too numb to care. Theo could barely feel his hands anymore, and I was in not much better shape with iced fingers and toes. So when we saw light inside a pub just across the Belgium border our spirits lifted. Though not officially open, the madame of the place welcomed us in, made us coffee and turned up the heater for us to dethaw. Continuing in Belgium we followed the cycle path on the banks of the canal Bocholt - Herentals. It made for quiet and fast but, after a while, very boring cycling... Arriving in cafe De Snelle Duif (the fast pigeon) a little after 11:30 we were the 3rd or 4th team (out of 21) to finish.

All in all it was a very enjoyable ride and I am already looking forward to the 2019 edition!

[Ivo]

Well, we did see a rather torrential downpour during our Flèche. While sitting inside and enjoying dinner in a Chinese restaurant.
With Team Fe we started in Eindhoven already 1 man down at the start. Jean-Michel was ill. The start was at the Velosoof, a cycling café in Eindhoven.
The first part of the ride was on known roads, quite often former railroad tracks. In Borgloon the hills started with the climb to the capital of the old Duchy of Loon. From there we had rolling terrain until Hoegaarden, where a few steeper coblled hills spiced up the ride. And it was here that we had our major setback. Keisuke misshifted and disintegrated his rear mech. Pooling resources we managed to get his bike moving again with only one gear. We only had to borrow a monkey wrench from a villager to straighten the drop out.
Of course this caused us to drop behind schedule. Two of the scheduled night stops where closed although Google Maps stated that they should be open. So we were back in time. This although Martin managed to crash on the tramrails in Ghent. Since our route was nearly circular we hardly had serious issues with the wind. Sometimes it slowed us down, sometimes it speeded us up.
Luckily the service station in Zelzate was already open and quite busy. So we could continue on to the finish without any major stops. At least scheduled stops. The passage of the Annatunnel in Antwerp was a bit longer as expected as the elevator refused all cooperation. Luckily the emergency system works excellent there, within a few minutes from calling them the doors were opened and the issue fixed, someone had stuck a sticker on the inside of the door .
An Antwerp bikeshop provided us with the 22h stamp. We were at 330k so we would certainly make the 360k until noon, but with a bit of pushing managed to finish in nearly 23 hours and 59 minutes.

Photo's are at: https://fotoalbum.dds.nl/ivo_m/flechebelge2018

[Tomsk]

ACME Dynamite set off in sunshine and a light tailwind, which lasted all of, oh, about an hour. The rain was light until Biggleswade at 88km for our first cafe stop; after that the cloud base dropped and the rain and wind increased. The leg to Oakham was long, so we had a quick snack stop in Oundle, under the shelter of the coach-way into the Talbot Hotel. The bar, with a log fire, happy warm faces, nice food and ales looked tempting, but no, we were strong and resisted. The wind was more cross than head, so still on schedule.

Oakham Tesco was, well, another typical Audax stop, but at least not a garage. We stood inside in the warm as much as possible, watching it get prematurely dark and looking at the streetlights reflecting on the rain splashed puddles. Into the worst of the wind going north-east to Billingborough and a very slow leg [after fixing the Straggler's slipping seatpost]. Somewhere on this leg was where, after a hedge-stop, I realised that I had taken weight saving a bit too seriously and left my pump behind. Funny how things surface from the subconscious! There must be a Freudian connection....I'd been so careful in my preparation, leaving out fixie spanners, spare 1/8 chain bits [yes, I was riding gears  ], so I would be dependent on my team for reflation assistance. As luck would have it, I was the only one not to be visited by She-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named.

Billingborough co-op was reached within a few minutes of closing at 10 and about an hour down on where we should have been - if we'd had to go to the pub over the road, I'm not sure we'd have left [see Anvils...]. Sleaford 'Pack Horse' was the plan, but to save time we went to McDonalds, where we encountered VC167, still cheerfullly soldiering on. Up through Lincoln at Drunk People O'Clock, always fun, with a stop on the A15 at Caenby Corner for a very welcome coffee break. Somewhere on this stretch we saw another team of four heading south [at speed - we were still slugging it out with the wind]. Scunthorpe McD's, another chance to drip everywhere and catch up with more Arrowists. We knew our chances of 4 points were gone, but 360km might be possible.

As it got light up towards the Humber we had a series of mechanicals: dropped chains and deflation following pot-hole encounters - the one that nearly had me off [hidden in an innocuous looking puddle] got Oggy's front and his spare went down soon after. It didn't help that this was the coldest time, with the wind whipping across the estuary - I've never seen the tide so full. By now our 22nd hour had passed, so we crossed the bridge and went to look at trains, but no joy - engineering work of course! In Swanland, Oliver's Cafe opened up early for us and soon we had spread all the wet gear across the place and made a poor effort at demolishing three large breakfasts -  I think we were too smashed to summon the will. I took some toast and bacon for lunch in a doggy bag though. The ladies there were lovely, which really lifted us a a very low point.

After sticking to our route, I had to make a breakaway to catch my train - I knew they would be following at a more leisurely pace and could assist if I had a p+nct£re. I took the Planets Path rather than the planned A19, as it was so much later in the day and made York station with about 20 minutes before my train. ACME Catapults Grey Sheep, Psyclist and Carlosfandango were there after a night's sleep from their Thursday evening start - good move, given the way the weather went.

Congratulations to all the successful riders; commiserations to DNFs. If it was easy, we wouldn't be interested, right?

[Revellinho]

Lakes Velo completed an arrow, but I'm afraid we did not see any of you at York - we were miles away and could not face any more riding, so stopped at Thorne and trained it to Leeds and beyond.  We lost a bit of time by controlling at a Booth's café (that is a supermarket chain for the benefit of the Southrons).  Speedy service was not their forte, even if cooking macaroni cheese is.  You live and learn.  That squandered 50 mins of good weather and by the time we reached the Moorcock, at Garsdale Head, it was raining.  Headwinds, heavier rain and some really vicious hail followed in Wensleydale and, as other riders will know, it was pretty wet and 'orrible through the night.

These, however, are things that we can deal with.  Less so the chips in the McDonalds.  I only eat in these places on Arrows as a rule and normally I enjoy them, but for some reason they were foul.  So much so, that one of our team packed and another spewed up 3 or 4 times around dawn.  Have they changed the recipe and starting using potatoes instead of some semi-chemical replacement?  I am thinking about routing via motorway Costa's and all night garage Subways next year.  What are your views?

[Snotty Gilbert]

The ACME Catapult team report

“How about a lumpy ride for the Arrow” suggested Pcyclist?  “It will be better than the Fens”.  The rest of the ACME Catapult Team agreed, which is easy to do in the warm and dry of a pub two months before the event.  The start time was agreed for Thursday night.  Little were we to know then just how lucky those decisions were.

Our ride started out of Bishop’s Stortford, with the team assembling at 16:30  from various direction at the ‘Spoons in the centre of town with a 18:00 start.  Good choice as Thursday is Curry Club, that and an apple crumble provided a good grounding for a long wet and cold night.

The rain eased for a few minutes as we left Bishop’s Stortford, just to lull us into a false sense of security and we settled into the usual sort of pace aiming for the Co-op at Fordham which was made easier with a tailwind.  The rain was miserable, but made so much worse by a soaking from a huge puddle which a car timed to perfection.  I think it got every one of us.  Boots filled with water, those important and sensitive spots became very damp and Pcyclist had brain freeze from the dousing! We stocked up on food for the next stage at the McDonalds, Kettering.  JibberJabber was predicting is odometer for the Jack would be at 9999.9km at that point. 

My chain fell off for the first time (of many that night) for no apparent reason (or so I thought).  It was all going well until just before Slipton when the Tandem (Man Bhoot & Bhoot) and Carlosfandango missed the turning (apparently there are no sound cues on paper maps!).  We shouted after them, and on seeing Carlosfandango turn back thought all was well, but after we had spent 20 mins looking and waiting, Pcyclist Carlosfandango and I set off.  When we arrived the Mcdonalds.  JibberJabber, Man Bhoot and Bhoot were tucking to the food.  JibberJabber managed to get the picture of his 9999.9km.

The rain was supposed to start again, but we were very lucky and only had patches of drizzle for the rest of the night.  The tailwind also died away and we has still air for the dark part of the night ride. 

The plan was to take group pictures at Naseby and Freeby.  Good idea, but is was dark and the phone cameras were a bit of an issue.  At the first stop I found the link pin on my chain was coining out.  JibberJabber came to the rescue with a chain tool.  Reinserted, I set off with renewed confidence, only for it to start failing again by Freeby.  JibberJabber’s toolkit and mechanical skills came to the rescue again.

We surfaced through the dawn, Carlosfandango and me both having moments of dozing and waking on the bikes – not a good idea.  The dawn was strange as we climbed out of the mist on a hill and with went from the fuzzy half light to daylight in a few seconds, just as if someone had switched on a light.

We rolled into Nottingham at about 09:00 and used the Costa as a control and feed point.  The coffee was good, but the porridge was outstanding.  About to leave on time, one of the team needed to pay a visit and I looked down to see the chain link pin poking out again.  This time it was replaced with a missing link and all was good for the rest of the ride.  We were promised four climbs out of Nottingham, and we were not disappointed.  They were a good length and at this point we were beginning to think that a “lumpy route” was maybe not such a good idea.  It began to stretch the team out with us climbing at our own paces and waiting at convenient places.

The next Control at Tuxford saw Carlosfandango roll in about five minutes behind us.  We were slipping on time so we had to decide on a 360km or 423km and the full 4 points.  Carlosfandango offered to drop out at this stage so the remaining four set off.  It was quite hard leaving one behind as we didn’t really pick up the pace for a while, that, and where we has been promised “flatter after Nottingham” the “gentle undulations were a series of short climbs and descents around villages. The wind had now decided to be on the nose, just to add to our woes. 

The next photo control was at Owston Ferry.  The route showed us crossing a railway line, but there was no road on the other side, just mud.  We had to turn back and probably lost 10 minutes in the process.  Pcyclist (who planned the course) avoided that part.  A local lady walking a dog called after us on the return run that it was a good choice as it “just got muddier” the other side.  Our intrepid Carlosfandango, following on later did use it, and conformed it was all mud.

 The rate had been picking up, but to get to the penultimate Control within the 21-22 hour timeslot was going to be tough.  JibberJabber picked up the pace for us, dropped on his tri-bars and pulled us all into Carlton Gate with 10 minutes to spare.  I must admit, I had nothing left at that stage, but with a can of coke and two Reese peanut butter bars downed I was OK for the last 35km at 20kph.

The cycle paths (planet path) that avoided the A19 were nearly good as we neared York, just the tree roots creating bumps to knock the speed down.
We rolled into York and had problems finding a place to control.  In the end it was the ‘Spoons in York which had been set as the final destination.
Carlosfandango re-joined us at about 19:40, well out of time but in very good spirits.

There were a few other cyclists there, but the general news was of many, many teams packing.  It looked as if we had been very lucky with our chosen time slot.  The other two ACME teams had packed.  Ted’s article is below, with their distraction by mermaids who lulled them into a pub with good, cheep beer and a warm fire.  Tom’s article should be along soon.

After a shower, food and beer and a natter with the few teams that had made it we turned in early(ish).

The next morning saw other teams arriving, but so fewer than previous years.  The YACF threads were scanned for reports and news.  Leaving at noon for the train I punctured 100 meters away from the hotel.  So lucky, as a puncture the previous day would have cost me any chance of success.

York station was full of people, and we ran into Tom and Raymond who updated us on their ride and the number of punctures that cost them their Arrow.

A big thank you to JibberJabber for fixing my chain (three times) and pulling us through to the timed control with 10 minutes to spare.

Now Carlosfandango is talking about a 500km Arrow for next year...