My first ever 400 and my first ever DNF – although I’d clocked up 414km by the cutoff time I didn’t make mission control. The fault is all mine. Lessons have been learned. I’m not unhappy.
Here’s how it went.
I had been fastidious at preparing for this ride, frequently I start with a rubbing mudguard, computer that’s not working, or similar annoyance causing me to stop. This time everything was perfect with the routesheets in a handmade holder AND the GPS setup with the route. RobM very kindly collected me from home and took me to the start. I had a cup of coffee and a quick chat with a few members of the Willesden – my new club.
I’m not at my best at that time of the morning – more on this later - but noticed the drift to the door and was ready to go. Generally I fill my bottles before leaving home but this time, mindful of Robm’s car, which I correctly guessed wouldn’t be a mobile dustcart like mine, I had decided to fill them at the start. This of course I’d forgotten to do so the entire group was well up the road before I started.
Plans for this ride were
1) Take it easy, I’d finished the Stevenage SoS 200 totally exhausted in 12 hrs and the Heart of England 300 (19hrs ) in a state where I was barely capable of eating rice pudding
2) Don’t faff at controls.
I made a half-hearted at attempt at catching up but it wasn’t going to work so returned to my normal audax pace (about 19k/h) before stopping to change gloves to the full fingered ones I had brought for the night stage as it seemed much colder that the expected 7c – even in these my fingers were cold for the first few hours. I must have got faster as I controlled at Woodstock (72k) at 9:10. Got a stamp and a takeaway tea and was off after about 5 mins. Tewksbury (146k) was reached at 13:10. Decided that eating was a good idea as I’d discovered in the other rides this year that solid food became less and less attractive as the day went on so had a meal. Saw RobM who had had a solid start and was just leaving.
Crossed the Severn, saw a couple of buzzards, Decided not to do Yat Rock – stupid as the climb on the main road was very dull, and rolled into Chepstow (218km) just before 6. Faffed for 30 mins – after all those hills and being alone all day it was nice to be around ordinary people in a supermarket and it was the first time I’d been in a bilingual Tesco.
Outside I met another club mate and we decided to the ride the night stage together. Over the Severn Bridge (another first) up to the Somerset monument (I walked the last 100m) Fixed on the lights, so it must have been about 8, and on through the night. A notable first in this stage was the badger which ran a few cm in front of my wheel – I’ll not forget the noise its claws made on the road. We were both getting very tired so tried for the 24 hr garage (it wasn’t) and were eventually glad to see Membury services (314k) at about 01:50. The nice lady there told us that a big group had left about 11 so we knew we were well down on time.
The sensible thing to do at this point was to have taken the A4 route but I was feeling a bit guilty about having passed on Yat Rock so decided to take the original route as it was all programmed into my GPS. My companion showed common sense and elected to follow the A4 and was to arrive within time.
Well I got lost. Sleep deprivation and I do not get appear to get on and the remainder of this tale is one of repeating crass stupidity on my part although I was probably also a little fazed by the rat that ran out from the side of the road through my front wheel and splatted my leg with its entrails.
I must have missed a turn in the lanes as I got to a T junction that I couldn’t see on the route sheet and so had the bright idea of getting the GPS (with a routable OSM map) to find me a route to Chalfont St Peter. This was all very convincing until it wanted me to left fork onto an unsurfaced road so I ignored it and got it to recalculate a new route. After a while this got me (around 6am) to Streatley which I remembered was on the route. However the GPS was telling me directions like “go SE down whatever road” which were of limited used if you didn’t know what the roads were called or which direction you were facing and, being a total idiot, ignored the fact that I actually knew Goring was across the river and instead headed off south towards Pangbourne and crossed the river there. It should be noted that having transferred ownership of the navigation issue to the GPS it didn’t cross my mind to check the route sheet at any point after this until it was too late.
Soon it started to rain. I still wasn’t understanding the GPS as it kept trying to route me down bridle paths and eventually my sleep–added brain was working on the level of “ride towards the dawn and you will be going east” which actually was the best idea I’d had all night. At the time it was rare that I knew where I was but looking the GPS track I can see that I regained the route on the A4074, took a more northerly course into Henley where I took the brilliant decision (not!) to cross the bridge and climb Rememham Hill .I picked up the route again in Marlow, although I was not aware of this, remembered that I knew Bourne End and it was at the bottom of the Chilterns so went there (actually on the route) picked Sheepridge Lane as my way up and got to the top thinking where now? I sprinted off in what I thought was the right direction – I was actually feeling quite fresh physically and phoned the controller from a location which I can now see is just north of Beaconsfield and less than 11km from the end at 9:08 when the clock ran out.
I have no excuses. I’ve obvious messed up the GPS as it wanted to send be by the shortest route by any type of right-of-way. I ignored the route sheet. In short I’m a first-order navigational klutz when tired.
So am I sad. No!
I set out ride 400km for the first time ever. I did this. I cycled a greater distance and climbed more hills than I’ve ever done before in one go. I may have been brain dead but I felt physically OK when I’d finished.
It was good!
