Marlborough Connection 2010

[Joolz]

I will be there on Saturday 13 Feb and hopefully I will be doing the Poor Student on Sunday 14 Feb, all weather permitting.

Joolz

[scottlington]

Thinking of doing this. I have entered The Old Squit calendar event already, but now thinking Norwich is a little far to go (over 3 hrs drive) wheras I can be past Oxford in an hour or so.

I'll probably pop an entry in over the next day or two. 

Entry sent off today. Not done this one before but from what you chaps say I'm looking forward to it. 

[phil d]

Bumped.

It is likely that I will be bringing an audax virgin with me on 13th - just emailed him an entry form to complete and send off to Nik.

[Bianchi Boy]

I planned to ride but am now going to see son at University that day.

Have a good ride. Lets hope for good weather.

[NikW]

I rode this yesterday, I'd like to say I checked the route sheet but to be honest I didn't even get it out of my rack pack as I was using the GPS.  I think the only change was a 'Road Closed' immediately before Wotton Bassett where they seem to be building a housing estate.  I ignored it and rode through but did take to the pavement briefly where they were laying hot tar.  There are 1, possibly 2, new mini roundabouts.  You just need to go the equivalent of straight on.  Otherwise just the usual mud and potholes in the lanes.

It was a good day out though a chilly Northerly made hard work at times, I expect those Poor Students felt it worse.  The Downs were really foggy which made the climbs interesting as I couldn't see the tops.   Lots of kestrels and buzzards and hedgerow birds.  The snowdrops are just about to come out.  Saw an egret along the Kennet near Axford.

John 'Saddletramp' Harwood has let me know that he probably won't want this ride back when he returns so if anyone wants to revive it as a calender ride let me know.  Same goes for the Cheddar Gorge 300.  There's no pressure though as I'm happy to keep running the Perms (though the route sheets may get a little stale).

Nik

[Weirdy Biker]

If I had lived more locally, I would have probably put myself forward to organise the CG300.  As it is, I just live that wee bit too far away.  Will be a shame if that event never runs again as it was a peach of a ride.

[mattc]

I rode this yesterday, ...

It was a good day out though a chilly Northerly made hard work at times, I expect those Poor Students felt it worse.  The Downs were really foggy which made the climbs interesting as I couldn't see the tops.   Lots of kestrels and buzzards and hedgerow birds.  The snowdrops are just about to come out.  Saw an egret along the Kennet near Axford.

Hi Nik,
When we were being Poor Students yesterday, I'm sure I saw a road closure warning sign somewhere that overlapped the MC200. Do you remember this?

Perhaps Phild etc ... should be checking the relevant .gov pages?
[EDIT - there was definitely one at Fernham - maybe I've just confused myself ... ]

Yes, we had foggy tops in the Cotswolds - probably rode a bit higher than you, hence chillier (of course the climbing warmed us up). Not too bad until the long descent into CHippingC - brr!

Some good wildlife, in particlur 7-8 deer that crossed the road, then gradually disappeared across a field into the mist like ghosts.

[NikW]

Hi Nik,
When we were being Poor Students yesterday, I'm sure I saw a road closure warning sign somewhere that overlapped the MC200. Do you remember this?

Hmmm!  Don't remember that.  Starting from Oxford I took a different route as far as the bottom of the first Hackpen Hill so maybe it was between Woodstock and there (or maybe I just sailed through the sign without noticing - wouldn't suprise me).

Nik

[PeterM]

I'm aiming to ride on 13 Feb, unless it's icy.  See you there...

[Weirdy Biker]

unless it's icy

Early days, but this week looks like its a return to cold conditions.   Hopefully not *too* cold.

[D0m1n1c Burford]

As long as the weather is not too bad, I'll be riding the MC200 from Woodstock this Saturday for an 8am start.

Everyone is more than welcome to come along if they wish.

[phil d]

Looks like quite a reasonable group - Dominic, me, PeterM, Frere Yacker, Joolz, Scottlington.  Any more?

Still a while to go, but forecast on Metcheck is becoming a little more benign, at least in relation to freezing conditions for the previous 24hrs.  Wind from Wootton Bassett to Charlbury won't be much fun, though.

[Weirdy Biker]

I will be leaving my fixie in the garage to give myself some hope of keeping up with the peleton.

[mtrike]

For anyone who is interested, the date that seems to be cropping up as the most convenient seems to be February 13th for this event.

So for all those who would like to ride the Marlborough Connection 200 as a perm, the start will be the public car park in Woodstock at 8am.

The more the merrier. Last year we had fantastic weather, and a very relaxed and leisurely ride was had by all.

Sorry Dominic I'm riding Rutland and Beyond the next day and could do with some sleep.  I could however do with  company on the Poor Student on the 27th (unless the weather gets even worse).

[scottlington]

Looking forward to it! First 200 of the year. 

Not sure I'll be on the pace (depending on what that turns out to be of course) but have no problem dropping off the back and trundling along on me lonesome! 

[D0m1n1c Burford]

For anyone who is interested, the date that seems to be cropping up as the most convenient seems to be February 13th for this event.

So for all those who would like to ride the Marlborough Connection 200 as a perm, the start will be the public car park in Woodstock at 8am.

The more the merrier. Last year we had fantastic weather, and a very relaxed and leisurely ride was had by all.

Sorry Dominic I'm riding Rutland and Beyond the next day and could do with some sleep.  I could however do with  company on the Poor Student on the 27th (unless the weather gets even worse).

I'm sure you'll be back home long before bed time 

[Weirdy Biker]

but have no problem dropping off the back and trundling along on me lonesome! 

I suspect we will be fairly evenly matched for pace, so I suspect you'll have to put up with me on and off throughout the ride.

[D0m1n1c Burford]

but have no problem dropping off the back and trundling along on me lonesome! 

I suspect we will be fairly evenly matched for pace, so I suspect you'll have to put up with me on and off throughout the ride.

Last year's ride was a fairly gently paced affair. I don't think anyone will be whizzing around at full blast, least of all me 

[scottlington]

Weather is looking reasonable, if pretty cold. Metcheck advises possibility of sleet early evening and a cold wind form the north most of the day (not too stiff though). Wrap up warm!

[Weirdy Biker]

I'll see you all in Woodstock tomorrow am.  Should get into the car park by the church 7:30-7:45

[iddu]

Nice to see those that passed by; you'e always welcome to knock for tea if you have time...

[Weirdy Biker]

It's rare that a route makes me smile the day after.  This is one of them - top notch.  I don't think there is any stretch where I was less than enchanted.  Not having ridden Lambourn or Marlborough Downs for a bit, this route reminded me of how nice those climbs are (long and steady, with majestic views either side).  The village of Birbury (sp?) was a picture postcard, albeit a Disney for middle aged, middle class tourists.  Sadly lacking an obvious village shoppe.

Good to ride the first 50km with team yACF.  I had thought that going up the road was a cunning strategy that meant I'd be swapping places as it got hillier.  Not so, albeit most of us met up at the end so I suspect we were only ever separated by 5km or so on the road.

The Marlborough Connection is absolutely perfect for a Feb/March calendar event *hint hint*

[scottlington]

That was a little tougher than I expected to be honest. Mind you, given I've ridden a grand total of 300k worth of Audax since LEL I'm sure my expectations were out somewhat. Still, a pleasant day out, lovely scenery, good company.

We started pretty much bang on 08.00 and I immediately fell behind a little as my cap blew off on the run down to the first roundabout. After a little while we all fell back in a bunch until the first real hill where it quickly became apparent that these were going to be my downfall. I was ok on the flat but the hills were a real drain. We arrived at Hungerford split up - Phild and Dominic first, then me and Frere Yacker, followed 10 mins later by Pete who had stopped earlier for a rest break, then went off route I think. Unbeknown to me this was a splash and dash for FY, who quickly disappeared off and I spent another 10 mins or so finishing up my sandwich and Frijj on the garage forecourt. Dominic had also already gone, but Phild and Pete spent a little longer in the Tutti Pole.

The next stage to Wooton Basset was lumpy and I was struggling up the long drags up towards the ridgeway. Fantastic views made it worthwhile though. Had a slight hairy moment as I was following a car round the twisty steep descent off the ridgeway - more care needed! Made it to Wooton Basset about 13.00 in time to see FY just setting off and Phild and Pete just arriving. No sign of Dominic. Phild said they were going to stop for a while but I decided (unwisely) to crack on without stopping. This was unwise because I really needed to eat something and by 10k out of Cirencester I was feeling very tired. Phil and Pete caught me up with about 6k to go (having decided not to stop after all) and we all ducked into Waitrose in Cirencester for a quick cafe stop.
At this point my feet felt like blocks of ice (note to self – wear full booties next time and not those stoopid things that just cover the toes) and it was fab to at least some semblance of warmth back in. The next 10k I again struggled into the cold north wind and started to drop off the back but we soon turned west and we made better progress to Lechdale, where a brief stop at the local supermarket saw us back on the road within 20mins.
The first half of this stage was back into the northerly and my lack of miles since LEL really began to tell. Phild and Pete were very patient and kept the pace down but I was rarely less than 50-100 m off their back wheels.  Once we turned west again, things got a little better but still anything approaching a hill had me fall off the back. Still, mostly downhill and a glorious blast down into Charlbury saw us all back together again for the final run in to Woodstock.
I am very grateful to Phild and Pete for their company over the last 80k or so. I would have finished but not so quickly and in a no doubt worse mood!!

[Weirdy Biker]

Unbeknown to me this was a splash and dash for FY

Oops.  This was part of my cunning plan for the groupette to reform before Wooton Bassett, as I knew the hills were next up and I thought I'd be moving backwards.  Likewise when you saw me leaving WB, the intention was to reform before/at Lechlade.  But I guess my pace was just fast enough to keep out of eye sight, despite the hills.

No sign of Dominic.

He was just about to leave WB when I controlled there.

[PeterM]

An excellent day out in cold and breezy conditions.  We rode together until I paused for a pee and faffage stop somewhere near Charney Bassett.  I'd been following the route from memory, but once I restarted it soon--well, soon-ish--transpired that the route I was now following from memory wasn't the MC200.  Drat...  I cranked up the GPS and found it had decided to revert to base maps only.  Wantage did not exist.

I got back on course after a few bonus km, and caught Phil at the Tutti Pole just as he was preparing to leave.  He was easily persuaded to hang around in the warm while I hoovered up tea and cake.  He romped and I grovelled over the hills to Wootton Bassett, where we paused only long enough to get receipts and for me to confirm that I was having a dopey day, as I tried to wheel off my bike before unlocking it.

By Cirencester we had caught up with Scottlington and were running on empty, so stopped at the cafe to ingest mood-altering substances, in my case panini and hot chocolate.  The rest of the ride was a breeze--in our faces going up the White Way (what a surprise), then mostly favourable.  The long drags after Lechlade were longer and draggier than usual, and intermittent sleet on the road to Charlbury was occasionally character-forming.

Wildlife:  Oodles of buzzards, a kite, a kestrel, an egret, and a barn owl.

Public service announcement:  Nik had devised the world's smallest-print info control answer in Calmsden.  Riders may wish to pack a magnifying glass.