My reflections on the Acme Grand.
Like many of the entrants, I saw this as an opportunity to gain access to the pre registration for PBP. As a relatively new Audaxer, having watched the ACME LEL entrants prepare for that event, I had reckoned on having achieved a 600km ride before the event. That didn’t come to fruition so on the day, my longest preparation ride had been 470km for the Arrow. As such, I had the same feeling of uncertainty and trepidation as I had on my first 200km (The Horsepower 200) which had been only 15 months earlier.
The factors I had prepared for were, the bike, the weather, fluids and a schedule to ensure I was on target. The factors I didn’t prepare too well for was sleep and feeding.
Thanks to Wilkyboy for his superb choice of gps routes. I chose the 19 stages as, for me, it gave the largest number of “completed” ticks, as well as a smaller risk of route issues on a Garmin. I know many chose the 5 * 200km or the 400, 200, 400 routes for similar reasons. Talking with the tandem riders on the Towcester return, they had used the 1000km route and had encountered the usual Garmin issue with loops that crossed, so had added some bonus miles.
The atmosphere at the start was brilliant, sunshine was always going to help, but so many people came to support as well as take part it was a great way to take your mind off the size of the task in front of you. The ACME peloton all started together, and I found myself in Buntingford before expected and feeling fine. Next gps course loaded, and off to St Neots. The little garden/park off the high street was a nice shaded find to eat and rest.
It is always interesting to see how the groups and individuals spread out over the rides, and how the 24 hour McDonald’s bring people back together, something that this ride gave much opportunity for. The first of which was at Towcester, and it brought back memories of the Stacey and Gavin ride I undertook last year. It was my first 400 and where I fell asleep after 24 hours of being awake.
The first night section was good with warmth lasting until dawn, and a full moon illuminating the fields. The Acme peloton came back together in this section, but with a couple packing after the first day in the heat. I remembered the Forest of Dean and the Chepstow climbs from the previous year, and the change of direction didn’t seem to make any difference to the effort needed. Chepstow was the same and so to Caerphilly with the castle and statue to Tommy Cooper. I clearly remembered the section between Caerphilly and Pontypridd from the previous year’s G&S ride and JibberJabbers recent G&S ride had reinforced the memory of the climbing and descending required. At least this time in was in glorious sunshine, and not the torrential downpour of the previous time here.
A quick breakfast stop at Pontypridd and then to Barry for the first time. By now it was very warm, and water bottles were being emptied and filled very rapidly. I subscribe to the “two types” theory and have one bottle with additives, and one plain water. It works for me as I find the taste of the additives off putting after a while and prefer the plain water. Salt intake is supplemented with crisps and peanuts that also contain lots of calories.
The Brecon Beacons and Black mountain sections were stunning. However, as much as I enjoy climbing, with the heat and lack of sleep I came close to packing on several sections. Not the big climbs where the view from the top and the descent allow body and mind to recover, but the constant 10%ers that just sapped my legs in the heat.
The tea party on the Black Mountain was very, very welcome. The moral boost of seeing an ACME shirt waving at me and knowing there was a rest at the top and a short ride to some sleep got me up the hill. The Essex flag on the entrance to the car park was brilliant to see. Many, many thanks to Tomsk, Soupy, Huggy and Jibberjabber for traveling all that way with tea and Welsh cakes and waiting all day for us. The main ACME peloton was, by now, the three of us (myself, Psyclist AND Andrew P)
Sleep finally came at Port Talbot, where I also made the mistake of turning off the Garmin. As a consequence, it recorded distance and elevation fine, but no other details for the next 300K to Edge Hill where it had a hissy fit, locked up and threatened to loose everything.
We had a rapid ride to Barry along the A48 where Psyclist and I had planned to meet with Andrew P, but a messed up hotel booking had meant he had to bivvy rather than bed. We eventually came back together just before the Edge Hill climb.
The daytime ride was brilliant, with. Chepstow, the Forest of Dean providing some great climbs, and the diversion after Tewksbury to Pershore and Stratford was a great idea. I was just being lulled into a false sense of a promised “flat ride back” when we hit Edge hill. 17% was too much for me and I had to walk a hill for the first time in ages.
With the Three of us back together, moral and mental support in place to get through the next night. I had planned to stop at the posh Audax hotel on Onley, but my brain was shot, and I missed it, and all the others. The hallucinations were constant by now, and I was convinced Andrew was on a shopping bike with badgers running round his wheels, and they kept scaring off the seals on the sides of the road. Shapes in hedges added to the weird experience. I eventually opted for a park bench in St Neots. The shop alarms and drunks not stopping me sleep. It’s amazing how 45 minutes sleep can fix the brain.
With just two sections left, it should have been a straight forward run home, but by now bits of my body were protesting, especially the knees that hadn’t been quite right since the start. It was a very slow run back to Witham. Again, a moral and mental boost provided by Phil W and others taking pictures and encouraging words at Buntingford.
So, my lessons learnt, planning that worked and that which didn’t.
Knees hurt on the last 100k, probably due to not allowing for the stack height difference between spd and sl cleats/pedals.
The choice of lightweight carbon bike over steel was, for me, the right one with all that climbing. My Ribble Gran Fondo was comfortable for the distance, but stiff and light enough to be efficient.
I am now a proper long distance Audaxer as I have 2½ numb fingers due to the ride, so double wrap the bars next time.
Plan for more sleep. My brain was shot at the end, as proven by the fact I couldn’t put the receipts into numerical order. If I can’t do a simple task like that, what else can I get wrong on the road?
Take a bivvy bag. I was lucky it was warm and dry overnight. A bivvy bag would had very sensible.
Better quality food next time. Being wheat flour intolerant limited my choices (especially in McDonald’s) but I could have eaten better, plan more café stops as the best meal was the breakfast in the Chepstow Garden Centre.
The Garmin played up, as did other people’s. Next time, take two and don’t switch them off.
I ran out of electricity. The dynamo hub will not charge a phone. Take a proper charger for the hotel stop as the 10amp hour power pack was flat by the end of day 2.
Cycling in a group is a big help. I had hoped to cycle with Psyclist as his rate on the Arrow was good for me. I also learnt a lot watching him deal with his low spots. I’m not sure what the optimal number is for a group as low spots slow the group, so at some point it must be detrimental. But our group of three seemed to work well, thanks to both of the Andrews for sticking with me.
Thanks to Tomsk, Huggy, Jibbers & Soupy for the event and event support. It was not just welcome, but a real enabler in helping me complete.
Tom’s ride notes were a big help with the planning.
Thanks to friends and family for all the support through Facebook and WhatsApp. Those messages ready do help you through the journey.
After the ride the legs were fine, but I had lower back pain due to tight hamstrings. Next time some stretching of these at each stop will hopefully help.
Hats off to everyone that took part if you completed or not. It was a proper “Big Adventure” regardless of how many miles were completed.