Author Topic: Severn Across 400 - 2015  (Read 13561 times)

Re: Severn Across 400 - 2015
« Reply #75 on: 08 May, 2015, 05:59:52 pm »
.... including a nice A4 blast to finish!
I keep reading about this alternative A4 finish....
does anyone have a link showing this alternative route, so I can make a GPX file out of it or something?
Thanks  :)

This is my route

http://ridewithgps.com/routes/7801138

mattc

  • n.b. have grown beard since photo taken
    • Didcot Audaxes
Re: Severn Across 400 - 2015
« Reply #76 on: 08 May, 2015, 07:06:53 pm »
Has never ridden RAAM
---------
No.11  Because of the great host of those who dislike the least appearance of "swank " when they travel the roads and lanes. - From Kuklos' 39 Articles

Re: Severn Across 400 - 2015
« Reply #77 on: 08 May, 2015, 08:41:34 pm »

Re: Severn Across 400 - 2015
« Reply #78 on: 08 May, 2015, 09:07:05 pm »
Long shot if anyone sees this but I seem to have lost multiple locks and have no small lock to bring  :'(

If anyone has a spare I could use for the day.....?

marcusjb

  • Full of bon courage.
Re: Severn Across 400 - 2015
« Reply #79 on: 08 May, 2015, 09:09:55 pm »
You don't see this before every ride:

 https://twitter.com/YarntonNursery/status/596620600459862016

Riders, prepare to be amazed. It is a truly special location.

You will never struggle for birthday or Christmas gifts for your loved ones ever again.
Right! What's next?

Ooooh. That sounds like a daft idea.  I am in!

Re: Severn Across 400 - 2015
« Reply #80 on: 08 May, 2015, 09:20:28 pm »
Long shot if anyone sees this but I seem to have lost multiple locks and have no small lock to bring  :'(

If anyone has a spare I could use for the day.....?

I have a pretty basic combination wire/lock thingie [like this] that you're more than welcome to borrow.....I wouldn't notice the weight difference, but it might weigh you down :-)

edit: I'll chuck it in me bag just in case you want it
Garry Broad

Re: Severn Across 400 - 2015
« Reply #81 on: 08 May, 2015, 09:22:46 pm »
i am sure that Heather will be most grateful for your generous offer.

 :thumbsup: :hand: :thumbsup:

CrazyEnglishTriathlete

  • Miles eaten don't satisfy hunger
  • Chartered accountant in 5 different decades
    • CET Ride Reports and Blogs
Re: Severn Across 400 - 2015
« Reply #82 on: 08 May, 2015, 09:29:33 pm »
If I'm feeling generous will act as a mobile windbreak for the first 100km or so.  I usually do.  The diesel engine has began to start working recently.  Though the Excuses r'Us BA flight back from Basel that deposited me back to Heathrow at midnight Thursday might undermine my zeal.  I have my bike lock that will probably do two at the start.
Eddington Numbers 130 (imperial), 182 (metric) 571 (furlongs)  114 (nautical miles)

Re: Severn Across 400 - 2015
« Reply #83 on: 08 May, 2015, 09:31:20 pm »
Won't open on my phone but any little not heavy lock will be amazing. I can't ilunderstand where mine are, I only had it on Monday! And I have a spare but that's gone!
And a heavy duty massive one but I can't carry that for 400k.

OMG 400k *hysterical*

Re: Severn Across 400 - 2015
« Reply #84 on: 08 May, 2015, 09:32:20 pm »
I will be mostly trying to ride a bike that will not need locking up  :)
Garry Broad

Re: Severn Across 400 - 2015
« Reply #85 on: 08 May, 2015, 09:42:45 pm »
OMG 400k *hysterical*

The main difference you'll notice with this ride compared to anything else you've done is the very uncomfortable, deadly, pin-drop silence in the hall before the start. It's really awful. People don't talk at all. Instead, they will be wearing this kind of never-seen-before white-bleached freaked-out completion, as if the living dead, utterly paralysed with fear, staring at the walls and ceiling. Don't be alarmed, it's all perfectly normal. That's the fear and terror kicking in. It normally abates after around 375km :-)

Apart from that....you'll be back around 6 hours before me :-)
Garry Broad

Re: Severn Across 400 - 2015
« Reply #86 on: 09 May, 2015, 12:10:38 pm »
So, nearly 80 riders on the road and a pretty good atmosphere as far as I could tell from the warmth of my car.

Thanks to Manotea, Richard J and Pete for running the start and to Martin and Anne for controlling at Yarnton.

More news if there's anything interesting report!


Re: Severn Across 400 - 2015
« Reply #87 on: 10 May, 2015, 09:17:40 am »
All back!

Some heroic efforts!

Thanks to helpers Martin, Anne, Marcus, Paul, Pete and Richard (who rode as well!)

Liam

Re: Severn Across 400 - 2015
« Reply #88 on: 10 May, 2015, 09:19:19 am »
Amazed none of the faster finishers (i.e. faster than me, which means pretty much all of them) have commented yet.

This year's Severn Across made very tough by cycling the first 220km into a headwind, and a combination of showers (some heavy) and steady rain for 4 of the first 6 hours.

But this is still a fantastic 400k. Great organisation, great route, great company both on the ride and at the controls.  Thanks to all, but especially to Liam.
Eddington Number = 132

Re: Severn Across 400 - 2015
« Reply #89 on: 10 May, 2015, 09:59:58 am »
You don't see this before every ride:

 https://twitter.com/YarntonNursery/status/596620600459862016
You don't,  but it's appearing more and more often as the years progress.
where you have a concentration of power in a few hands, all too frequently men with the mentality of gangsters get control. History has proven that. Power corrupts; absolute power corrupts absolutely.

Re: Severn Across 400 - 2015
« Reply #90 on: 10 May, 2015, 10:06:55 am »
Thanks Liam and helpers for a great event.

My ride went very well.  From the start, I let the first, very quick group go, and got picked up by the second one, and then did the first 50km with them, which made for a very fast start.  I dropped off that group when the pace wound up in the lanes passing Oxford, and rolled into the control after a few minutes of drizzle.  The control was well-placed for me as, when I left it had stopped raining. 

I was then on my own for a bit, and felt some of the headwind on the exposed sections before the right turn towards Stow.  Around here I was caught by Hippy and chatted for half an hour, before he upped his pace back to (his) normal levels and was soon well out of sight. 

I had a bit of a tough time in Tewkesbury as there just didn't seem to be any food shops.  Eventually I spotted a Tesco towards the end of the high street.  I couldn't find my lock, so went for the tactic of making the bike look too messy to steal, by drapping dirty gloves and hat over it, hanging a dirty waterproof over the crossbar and putting various plastic bags beside it. 

Yat Rock was less tough than I remembered it from before - most likely because I'd paced myself a bit better.  Then the long roll down to Chepstow was, as always, welcome. 

Met Shu and CET at Chepstow and chatted about the prospects of 200km of tailwind.  Leaving Chepstow at just before 4, I caught CET, who it turned out was suffering from badly from hay fever, hence was riding a bit below normal pace.  I bowled along, enjoying the tailwind and keeping up a good speed.  The tailwind made the route back seem much flatter and more benign than I remembered it, although there were the couple of slow climbs up to Membury to grind up. 

Last year I got to Membury just as the sun was going down and this had been my objective this time.  But the tailwind meant I was well ahead.  I still put on more layers there, and left just before 8, to take the A4 option.  At this point I thought I might even make Chalfont before midnight, which I'd never expected.  Things continued to go well, I found a decent route through Reading, and opted for the 3-Down finish (rather than the A404 which I tried last year and found to be very busy). 

Getting to Chalfont at 11:20 - over an hour quicker than last year and easily my fastest 400 - I wondered what to do; whether to wait for Liam at midnight or just get an ATM receipt and post in my card.  But as I rolled down the main street looking to see what was open, I spotted a bike in Dominos.  I went in to see that it was Zigzag - who had been back for an hour and a half - and who kindly gave me a bit of pizza as they had stopped serving. 

They did let us wait in the warm, though, which was very welcome, so we chatted for a while, before rolling down the hill for one of Liam's finest ham and cheese toasties!

marcusjb

  • Full of bon courage.
Re: Severn Across 400 - 2015
« Reply #91 on: 10 May, 2015, 02:16:33 pm »
Chapeau to all the riders!  Some true heroes in there, and a good number of new riders to that distance, so a massive congratulations to them.

As ever, I enjoyed being on the other side of the counter - hard work and I have sore feet, but very rewarding to help riders when they're at their most battered and help breath a little life back into them!

Our pastime can only thrive with volunteers helping out on events, so please do offer help when and where you can - the pay is lousy, but, on the whole, riders are extremely polite and grateful and that in itself is more than enough reward!  Even those riders who can barely grunt 'tea' when they arrive soon get pretty chatty and lively once the correct balance of food and drink is applied - it's a fascinating thing to observe when not in a similar state yourself!

Again - well done to everyone!
Right! What's next?

Ooooh. That sounds like a daft idea.  I am in!

Re: Severn Across 400 - 2015
« Reply #92 on: 10 May, 2015, 03:42:27 pm »
Good to revisit this ride after a couple of years. Last time it was tail wind out head wind return. I far preferred yesterday's order.
It was a relief to get to Chepstow and see it was still blowing hard.
Lovely evening conditions to finish in. Good company all the way round!

Thank you very much Liam and all of the other helpers.

A few photos:
https://flic.kr/s/aHskawGt6V
 

Re: Severn Across 400 - 2015
« Reply #93 on: 10 May, 2015, 03:51:51 pm »
Well, I've always been a 'full-value' audaxer, but this time it just wasn't going to happen.  Then I picked up a small muscle injury, probably from trying too hard, and decided to give up while getting home was still reasonably easy. 

I checked for the closest station on Garmin.  Amazing!  only 1.5km away.  Garmin took me to Winchcombe station, on the GWR Steam Railway.  Not quite what I had in mind.  I checked Garmin again and chose Cheltenham station, as it looked like the closest station with a service back to London.  Off I went.  The route took me over Cleeve Hill, which I have since discovered (thanks to Wikipedia) is "the highest point both of the Cotswolds hill range and in the county of Gloucestershire". 

Never mind.  Curiously enough, I seem to have enjoyed myself anyway, even though I am now nursing a calf muscle injury and hoping that it will heal in time for an attempt at 600.

Lots of thanks to Liam and all the helpers.  And thanks to the riders I met at the back of the field, particularly the rider with rear gear problems, who was most encouraging.  I hope he got round OK.

Re: Severn Across 400 - 2015
« Reply #94 on: 10 May, 2015, 04:00:12 pm »
Good to revisit this ride after a couple of years. Last time it was tail wind out head wind return. I far preferred yesterday's order.
It was a relief to get to Chepstow and see it was still blowing hard.
Lovely evening conditions to finish in. Good company all the way round!

Thank you very much Liam and all of the other helpers.

A few photos:
https://flic.kr/s/aHskawGt6V
Great pics! And a great treat to see daylight renditions of so much that was already pitch black by the time I got there  :)
Eddington Number = 132

Re: Severn Across 400 - 2015
« Reply #95 on: 10 May, 2015, 04:34:33 pm »
Getting to Chalfont at 11:20 - over an hour quicker than last year and easily my fastest 400....... I spotted a bike in Dominos.  I went in to see that it was Zigzag - who had been back for an hour and a half............

I couldn't do either of those time with a rocket propelled bike  :o

I'm not very quick. Even less quick at the moment so I planned a fairly slow day, lots of time at controls and I bravely stuck to that plan!

Got a bit of a soaking pre-yarnton, but cheered myself with a bacon sandwich + coffee. Also picked up a gas bbq, some wicker chairs and book on sheep breeding as that's the Yarnton way. Staff are nice which always helps.

Rolled up and down the Cotwolds for a bit, either crawling up hills or getting wind (and rain) blasted on the exposed flatter parts but the scenary is so nice, it's hard not to enjoy it. Got to tewkesbury and found a sandwich shop (Tasty Bites) to the left of the street which did good sandwiches - the people in the shop asking lots of questions about what we were doing. They were suitably impressed (and confused / horrified / pitying.........)

Off to chepstow having conquered yat mon at 2 mph. I had remembered yat mon from last year so knew to save some effort for the top (hardest) bit.
I have no idea why but I really enjoyed going over the Severn bridge last year and this year was no different. Great views and engineering  :)

Made a mess of the next section to membury by doing stupid things, greatly underestimated how long it would take, left kit at the bottom of a long steep hill and then had to ride back down (and back up  :'( ) again kept stopping to faff for no reason and then managed to miss the turn into membury so did an extra 10k getting back. From being fairly comfortable with time I now had 6 minutes to spare.......

Decided on the A4 route as it's a bit quicker. Fairly uneventful from that point in until the finish where Liam and Marcus were doing their normal fine job of welcoming back the lost sheep. Got back about 8:15.

Plan to take things slow cost me a couple of soakings and a very light tailwind on the way back as the wind had died. Having said that I don't think I could have gone any faster  :)

Many thanks to Liam and all those involved - it's the 2nd time I've done the Severn Across and I have no doubt I shall  be back for more, it's a great event, well organised with a fine course.


CrazyEnglishTriathlete

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Re: Severn Across 400 - 2015
« Reply #96 on: 10 May, 2015, 08:18:14 pm »
Started off in good spirits despite big sleep deprivation courtesy of British Airways and French engineers (there's a joke somewhere but not when you get home on Thursday night at 1am).  Let a few very fast riders go and towed the next group through the Chilterns.  Unfortunately lurking in the back of this group were the likes of John Warnock (ex 24 hour TT champion) so once their legs warmed up I went from towing to hanging on.  Stopped for a bacon butty at the first control, which allowed them to leave and teamed up with Swiss Hat through to Tewksbury and into the Forest of Dean where we met up with another small group.  I was struggling a bit with hay fever (tree pollen gets me not grass pollen which comes later) and so let them go and enjoyed a steady climb up the Yat.  Combination of lack of sleep and pollen made me very drowsy so I stopped in a newly opened cafe by the bridge in Chepstow and enjoyed tea and cake before a quick stop at the Tesco garage for the receipt for the brevet.  Sailed along to Malmesbury but then got a major attack of the dozies.  Shu caught me at the Esso Garage in Wootton Bassett where I hoped more tea would restore my spirits.  They did as far as Membury but then the dozies came back big time.  I decided to head down the A4 and near Aldermaston was almost tempted to check into a hotel to get some sleep.  I asked if they would mind if I had a quick kip in the reception area and they very kindly let me do so.  In Reading I got caught by a group of four and that kept me going back to the finish.  Very enjoyable despite the fatigue - met lots of old friends and made a couple of new ones - thanks to Ken for keeping me company through Burnham Beeches back to the finish.
Eddington Numbers 130 (imperial), 182 (metric) 571 (furlongs)  114 (nautical miles)

zigzag

  • unfuckwithable
Re: Severn Across 400 - 2015
« Reply #97 on: 10 May, 2015, 10:04:29 pm »
very enjoyable ride, one of those rare days when i was in the flow, everything seemed to go well and smooth. good to chat and catch up with both the old friends and riders who i met first time - thank you for the company!
thanks to Liam and the team for all the support and organisation.

great photos, thesloth! :thumbsup:




Mr Green

  • LEL, SR, RRtY, 24TT
Re: Severn Across 400 - 2015
« Reply #98 on: 10 May, 2015, 10:48:42 pm »
Thank you Liam and team for such a well organised event: good controls, perfectly thought out route, and a well written route sheet.

I was pleased to finish just before 3:00am so by far my quickest 400 yet. I'll never be the quickest Audax rider but if I can cut out a little more of the faffing and be a bit more disciplined then it would be nice to get down to 20 hours.

Oh, and well done to everyone else who finished, especially those doing it for the first time. A 400k is always a big achievement.


What a lot of effort just for a cloth badge.

Re: Severn Across 400 - 2015
« Reply #99 on: 10 May, 2015, 11:46:34 pm »
splendid day awheel as usual, thanks Liam & helpers

my 5th crack at this, neither fastest nor slowest, but speed doesn't matter in audax anyway, does it?

I'm having a bash at an ironman later this year so when I got home I thought I'd see if I can run after a long bike ride...the answer was yes albeit pretty slowly...however now I can barely f#cking walk

see you in Windsor  :thumbsup: