This was only my second Wilkyboy event (strange, as the start is closer than Essex), and I began preparations by shaving off a few km from the October ECE route to bring it down to just over 100km (Girton is closer to MK than that, but I want the points). I stayed off the coffee all day Friday, yawned away, and went to be around 7:15, but didn't sleep. Raining at midnight, when I went to collect my daughter from the train station, but this soon stopped, so I submitted my route. Left just after 1am, and enjoyed near empty roads out of MK. to make 100km, my route was a zigzag roughly NE, SE through St Neots, NE then SE into Girton, so mainly tailwind with some head and crosswinds thrown in. Arrived just after 5am, fuelled by two coffees at home, energy drink and two shortbread fingers on the move, to enjoy lots of tea, toast and crumpets. whilst my devices recharged, chatting away as the hall slowly filled. I was pleased to see the Straggler arrive, but no Team MK mate Big Saxon (although a shrewd move given his medical history).
I left just after 6am, behind the main field, with the Straggler and his CC Sudbury mate Ian (still can't think where we've met), and enjoyed the near empty Cambridge centre street (even though we went wrong a few times). We didn't make the most of the tailwind to Ipswich, but I enjoyed the scenery, and chatting. Some climbs were a shock (six mile bottom being one, which I think I've done before). Another rider (Paul?) had tagged onto us leaving Cambridge, and I admired his Genesis Equilibrium (both myself and Big Saxon have variants). Paul stopped at a café in Ipswich to meet a mate, and we headed towards the centre to find a café where we could lock our bikes outside. I spotted the Sunrise Café at the big roundabout, and we were the only cyclists there. Quick service (veggie burger and a tea for me), which was just as well, as although Ian and the Straggler had bigger plates, I'm the slowest eater.
Now we were heading NE through the picturesque Suffolk coastlands, and the RSPB Minsmere reserve, to the busy (and pricey, for a northerner?) beach café at Dunwich. No time to look at the history of the place (been there, done that), although we had a leisurely sit down (just cake and tea for me). Busy with cyclists and normal people. The rain had been off and on so far, but I kept being informed it would get better, and the wind would ease by 4pm.
It was cold when we left, and the rain became a pain. We were now heading NW feeling the wind in places. Thoughts of my first Arrow two years ago as we sailed through the start town of Bungay (would like to go back there some day). My average speed was still down on the norm, but I was enjoying the company (and several faff stops meant I could chase back on), but I was to get lower later on. I enjoyed Norwich (Ian telling us about the Anglia TV building, the cathedral, etc), as we toured the centre after our leisurely Sainsbury café stop (tea, toastie, and an apple turnover).
The worst section has to be the SW grind to Ely, hoping for hedge, building or tree cover when in a crosswind, getting blown towards the centre of the road one minute, towards the ditch (images of those car into ditch warning signs coming to mind) the next. Why couldn't a slow lorry or tractor appear to shelter us when the wind was head on? Ely couldn't come soon enough, and I was shocked when I saw the time on the atm receipt. I had thought about a McD McFlurry ao shake heading there (if Ely has one), but my shortbread on the move would have to do, now I knew a midnight finish was off the table.
We passed a BP garage (where a lot went?) on the way out of Ely, and I put the suggestion to my companions, but we soldiered on, along the (bleak at times) roads. We were all suffering now, and the kms ticked by slowly on the gps. I think the Straggler had just announced we had 12km to go when the road surface under the rear wheel began feeling harder. P thoughts had entered my head on the ECE bit, but I thought I had eradicated them. It got softer and softer, and I rode out of the saddle, feeling too cold to have to stop and fix it. After some minutes I gave up, and stopped. I said to my grupetto to carry on, but they'd only do it with my Garmin. A bunch went by, so they had the opportunity to get on their wheels, but they chose to stay. The Straggler helped, amazed I had a spare tyre (I'm not feeling around the errant tyre with cold hands looking for a flint). A dodgy (not checked it yet) valve on a new inner, and slow inflation with two pumps on the other, costed time (but not the 45 minutes I was accused of!), but we were on our way again, making it back for 1:15 (only 45 minutes in hand, and I'm sure my worst for a 300, even though it was nearly 320 km).
I enjoyed two cups of the butternut soup (memories of October!), a cheese roll, and lovely fresh coffee. I did look at the carrot cake, but decided to be good! It was raining when I went outside with the track pump to do a better job on the rear tyre, and how I wished the Big Saxon was there to take pity on me. I eventually left around 3am, into the wind and rain, and had probably the slowest, coldest (even with the extra layers on I'd carried), ride home ever. I had a bus shelter nap of 10 mins or so when I realised I'd been closing my eyes. The one highlight was hearing the dawn chorus again. I got home, after several faff stops (one to oil the chain), about 8:15am (ride time 70 mins slower than the outward leg), and, after a bath, enjoyed a long sleep (yes, some of it was in the bath). 323 miles was a big step after 215 last week, so I don't think I'll ECE the Lincs Poacher 400 next week (80 miles away).