An interesting ride. Certainly not yer typical Audax. I don’t think I’ve ever seen so much shiny carbon fibre, head to toe matching kit, go-faster hats and GPS gizmos at the start of an AUK event. A noticeably higher than average percentage of women riders, too – also tending to be in the carbon fibre and team kit brigade. Hardly a saddlebag in sight.
I only just made it to the start in time, having cycled over from SE London and gotten completely lost on the way. Some of the road signs in SW London leave a lot to be desired.
It was a big crowd at the start, and felt like a lot more than the 280 “officially” riding. I encountered one chap near the start who brazenly stated that he hadn’t entered and was just going to follow the others (presumably still availing himself of the catering en route). I suspect he might not have been the only one.
Being more like a sportive, a fair number went haring off from the get-go, displaying some interesting attitudes. My award goes to the members of a certain well-known SE London club who thought it would be a good idea to try to undertake a left-turning van at a roundabout. Some pretty shoddy group riding too (Clue: when overtaking another rider, it’s usually best to pass their front wheel before pulling in). And my favourite was the chap I stopped to help. He had a lovely bike, weighed less than my saddle, but somebody in the bike shop should have shown him how to remove the rear wheel when he bought it. Still, as Whitedown man says, if doing this gets someone into Audax then that's a bonus.
If all this sounds churlish, it’s a minor gripe on an otherwise great day out. Perfect route, and route sheet, and the support at the controls was superb. I couldn’t believe it when I got to Upper Beeding and realised that someone had opened up their garden to feed and water us. And, as for the cakes at Chiddingfold…. Well, let’s say I ate many more than I usually would. There were very few parts of the route on which traffic was a nuisance – the climb of Ditchling Beacon probably being the worst. I encountered a van driver who started overtaking on a blind bend, realised that there was someone coming the other way and so decided simply to swerve to the left. Cue a large bang on his side panel from me and much angry gesticulating from him.
Knowing the sportive crew would be hitting the controls in large bunches, I opted to take it easy (OK, I didn’t have much choice on some of the hills) and rolled in at about 7pm, feeling very satisfied. A pleasant beer in the sun and then home, this time by train some of the way.
I can see why this ride has become so popular and chapeau to Manotea and his supporters for making it all work so smoothly.
PS - Zigzag... "gently rolling"? Coombe Lane?
