The ACME Tourdax Series 7 - 9 July 2023

[Tomsk]

Announcing the new ACME 'Tourdax' series of three x 100+km one-way (moving on) brevet populaires:

1) Friday 7th July - Witham to St Neots
2) Saturday 8th July - St Neots to Baldock
3) Sunday 9th July - Baldock to Witham

09:00 start, 10kph minimum speed, (= 10+ hour day if needed, so carrying a camping/touring load is easy). The Saturday event (#2) works ok as a stand-alone event, as return by train to the start in St Neots is fairly straight forward, via Hitchin. Budget hotels as well as up market options available at/near St Neots and Baldock, as well as some good campsites including the tried and tested C&CC one by the river Ouse in St Neots.

A lovely laney route (though I say so myself!) via lots of places of interest and with the time to stop and look around. Plenty of cafés and pubs along/near the route for elevenses/lunch/tea/dinner. A very civilised tour away from our usual East Anglian territory and an antidote to PBP qualification burn-out! I'm aiming to test-ride the route in late winter/early spring.

Provisional routesheet and information is now on audax.uk

[jiberjaber]

Sounds interesting 

[telstarbox]

[drossall]

This looks good fun. Baldock (especially) and St Neots are both only quite short rides from home, so no accommodation needed, just the usual train trip to Witham. Sundays don't really work for me, so I may opt out of an event that starts near home and dumps me in wildest Essex

[Tomsk]

I've just had a very pleasant long weekend riding round the three routes. Might get around to writing it up, but I'm still tweaking the route and information in any spare moments.

I rode out from Witham on Saturday with Oscar's Dad as far as the Blue Egg for elevenses, and a two day option was discussed. It's probably too late and too many complications to add a Saturday starting Tourdax #1b, but doing a DIY on the route and peeling off for Baldock after Wimpole would give a similar distance. Then it'd be a simple matter of riding the Tourdax #3 with us on Sunday.

[Tomsk]

I've just updated the information and route sheet on audax.uk - any changes from now on are likely to be minor. The only significant change is out of Much Hadham on #3 Tourdax, going via the ford and Green Tye instead of taking the B1004 past the church and up Winding Hill.

[Tomsk]

Another update: car parking sorted - £10.00 for three days at the Labour Hall. Info/routesheet updated on audax.uk

[Tomsk]

GPS files are here: https://www.tomsk.co.uk/acme-tourdax/2023/

Thank you Wilkyboy! 

Also a tiny tweak to the routesheet which is now uploaded onto audax.uk, but you will be ok if you've already printed out the route sheet. (In Little Waltham on the final stage of Tourdax 3, after the R onto Brook Hill: R @ T no $, still Brook Hill.) I'll revisit the distances on the routesheet when I've got time, Wilkyboy has noticed a few discepancies, but it means running the whole thing past Mrs Google ...

I'll start the whatsapp group later this afternoon.

[Tomsk]

Well, setting up a whatsapp group proved rather involved, in fact quite a pain in the 'Brooks B17/body interface', so I'm parking this until next week when I'll try again!

[BFC]

I hear that it worked for some of those who actually have wotsap which isn't me.

[GavinC]

Yep - working for me 

[huggy]

I'm solo riding from Witham to Letchworth hotel on Saturday, pretty much following the Day 1 route to Croydon where I'll turn south, and signed up for the Tourdax 100k return to Witham on Sunday 
Hopefully see some riders in Letchworth/Baldock for refreshments Saturday evening

[bhoot]

Due to some rearrangements it looks like I/we can potentially enter one or more of these! Where are people staying? Is anyone camping? Reasonably happy to lug the tent around but the price for the caravan and camping club site at St Neots is a bit steep.

[Lightning Phil]

I can recommend the Indian Lancer in Baldock.  They will store bikes round back if you cycle there from hotel. For a pub, the Orange Tree is recommended.

[the straggler]

Due to some rearrangements it looks like I/we can potentially enter one or more of these! Where are people staying? Is anyone camping? Reasonably happy to lug the tent around but the price for the caravan and camping club site at St Neots is a bit steep.

I am camping for 2 nights. You can ask Tomsk to add you onto Whatsapp if you wish, you will see who is budget camping and those taking the luxurious hotel option.

[telstarbox]

I'm messing with the format by doing day 2 only. Is there a designated post ride pub in Baldock

[huggy]

Due to some rearrangements it looks like I/we can potentially enter one or more of these! Where are people staying? Is anyone camping? Reasonably happy to lug the tent around but the price for the caravan and camping club site at St Neots is a bit steep.

I’m in the Broadway Hotel for B&B in Letchworth. Found that calling to book directly with the hotel was cheaper than using booking.com, only called to ask about bike storage facilities - will be snuggling up with the bike in my cozy single room 

[arabella]

Due to some rearrangements it looks like I/we can potentially enter one or more of these! Where are people staying? Is anyone camping? Reasonably happy to lug the tent around but the price for the caravan and camping club site at St Neots is a bit steep.

Indeed, we are gambolling back to Gambolllingay and camping at Solitaire Farm.  Then Radwell Mill Lakes.

Something I since read/heard somewhere suggested that possibly the C&CC web booking assumes you are in a large vehicle and forgets to offer you a camping price. But having already booked elsewhere I didn't investigate further, so it mayn't be true.

[Tomsk]

I'm messing with the format by doing day 2 only. Is there a designated post ride pub in Baldock

The Cock in the High Street is my preferred choice, provided there's room, otherwise probably The Old White Horse down towards the station from the TLS @ X. It's all in my information document sent out to riders and on audax.uk - but of course subject to last minute changes of plan/cat herding etc ... 

[jiberjaber]

Due to some rearrangements it looks like I/we can potentially enter one or more of these! Where are people staying? Is anyone camping? Reasonably happy to lug the tent around but the price for the caravan and camping club site at St Neots is a bit steep.

Indeed, we are gambolling back to Gambolllingay and camping at Solitaire Farm.  Then Radwell Mill Lakes.

Something I since read/heard somewhere suggested that possibly the C&CC web booking assumes you are in a large vehicle and forgets to offer you a camping price. But having already booked elsewhere I didn't investigate further, so it mayn't be true.

I turned up to pay the remaining camping fee even though I wasn't staying last night and depending on what time you get to Solitair Farm the gates could be locked. There's about 6 different mobile phone numbers on the gate to get them to unlock... no idea how that operates if there's an emergency though! I couldn't see an alternative cycle exit/entry but I might have missed it.  At 20:00, I couldn't be arsed with dialling a load of mobile number and hanging around so turned around and headed home.

Food option in the village are limited to Indian, Chinese and potentially The Cock Inn (I didn't go in either).  I was in The Wheatsheaf last night but they have no kitchen till 14 July (Doombar, Southwold and Speckled Hen).  I was sure the co-op was closed when we went past in the car, but Google says is should be open till 10pm. Most places close by 10pm from the looks of it.

[Slimline Saxon]

Also in the Broadway Letchworth, Booking.com rates, also the Willows Training Centre Wyboston Lakes on day 1

[bhoot]

Something I since read/heard somewhere suggested that possibly the C&CC web booking assumes you are in a large vehicle and forgets to offer you a camping price. But having already booked elsewhere I didn't investigate further, so it mayn't be true.

I called them and was given a non-member backpacker rate (£26.80 for tent + 2) by a very helpful lady called Gemma, paid by credit card over the phone. She confirmed that you can't get this rate on the website. So if anyone is still thinking of booking camping you need to phone them.

[drossall]

Really sorry to be missing something so local, but I'm down for an all-weekend first aid course. At least I get to cycle to St Albans and back (twice) to attend it!

[telstarbox]

Don't fall off before you've done the first day at least!

[Lightning Phil]

Really sorry to be missing something so local, but I'm down for an all-weekend first aid course. At least I get to cycle to St Albans and back (twice) to attend it!

If you were doing it, you’d have had to start a day early, then do them as 3,1,2 to get back home.