A satisfying ride, at times enjoyable, and at other times, fairly challenging. I've not ridden much since mid-Feb, with the weather and a spot of chicken pox keeping me inside, so I wasn't sure how it would go so was very pleased.
Good points
- Got round comfortably enough and still felt ok at the end. Legs ached (and still do) and some bits hurt, but that's to be expected.
- Route tweaks to suit the TT bike and the type of ride I wanted to do worked well.
- Event organisation and ambiance (thanks to Ian and family). Was great to get back to the warmth of the hall and have a hot bowl of soup and linger, chatting (in short sentences) for an hour or so.
- Weather. We were so lucky. Three days ago it was snowing!
- Feeding. Have been experimenting with home-made energy drinks and gels so I can keep my calories topped up as I ride. Worked well in that I neither ran out of energy nor felt sick.
- Test Valley. My very first audax, back in May 2010, was the Taste of the Test 100km, which went down here and it was great to see it again. A lovely road.
- Finishing in the daylight (just). Was a lovely evening and sunset.
Bad points
- Misjudged time to ride out so was late for the start, but only 10 mins, so not a big deal
- The zips on both of my jackets broke during the day (I was pleased it didn't get too warm in the afternoon as I couldn't take my jacket off or even lower the zip!)
- That long, bumpy straight bit back across the New Forest: purgatory!
- Was not quite fast enough to be able to keep up with Alex/Nick/Blueskies/PAC on the hillier bits - although I must have bumped into them half a dozen times. Partly the bike which, while quite fast downhill on a straight road is not ideal for climbs or twisty lanes, but mostly my legs, to which much the same applies!