Winter Solstice - 18/12/11 200k

[phil d]

Well done on a truly audacious ride.  Glad you got around without injury.  Perhaps not the most sensible ride you've done this year 

[The Seldom Killer]

Au contraire, as it is the only ride i've done this year*, thus absenting any comparisons, it must be the most sensible ride. I suppose I could take that as a challenge to do an even less sensible ride.

*last audax was PBP which lands in the previous audax year.

[Peter]

An amazing ride, SK!  I'm glad I haven't got your nerve, because I don't think I've got your luck!

[JayP]

Excellent SK. Respect. You are a man of hidden depths.

[mikewigley]

Well, the full score is 73 entries (a record for this event), 18 turned up at the start (despite my late attempts to dissuade them) and 2 finished, Seldom Killer as reported below and Anthony from Stourbridge.

The 7 Wakefield Tri managed to get to Church Minshull (about 150km) before deciding that they'd had enough of falling off and with temperatures dropping, they got a taxi back to HQ.  I think they learnt a valuable lesson - take a map.

Julian Dyson set off from Ulverston on Saturday night for a 200km ride to the start and although he made it (with a few falls along the way) decided that was enough and phoned me from Piccadilly Station as he was waiting for his train home.  Julian had originally planned to ride this as an ECE 600km but in the end settled for 3 lots of 200km to give him a bail out option - a wise move as he can at least claim the 200km ride.

I noted 55 DNSs (a record) and 16 DNFs - but to honest I think a good number of those DNFs were actually DNSs because I think they gave up immediately.

I'll be sending Perm cards out to all in the next day or so.  I don't accept entries on the line, so I'm very aware that I'm asking people to enter "blind" as far as the weather is concerned, so I'm keen that everyone gets a chance to ride some time.


No Audaxers were harmed during the running of this year's winter solstice.

Mike

[The Seldom Killer]

Glad to hear Anthony made it around. I was a it worried as he was also riding solo and didn't know if he would get off the back roads without injuring himself. Not too worried as I've met him before and know him to be a good rider. At least I'm not the only one who pushed on against the smarter option of calling it a day. Madness loves company.

[GraemeMcC]

Any news on progress of the Weaver Valley Triker?

I can imagine the fun trying to get traction onto either of 2 rear wheels...

(He was setting off with a backup plan to bail out near home near Northwich if necessary)

[Peter]

Graeme, if it was Derek Heine, he decided against after getting a road report from Pete Hammond.

[Ant Stourbridge CC]

To SK (in particular): A friend sent me the link to the forum yesterday after reading your Winter Solstice report as he knew the Stourbridge rider was myself. I registered as a member only yesterday so i can tell you how i got on, but looks like someone beat me to it.
I tried to get as many miles in as possible before it got dark. At 3.45 (145kms) i hit black ice and landed on the deck. Ripped cycling top, missing skin on my arm, brusied leg, knee and hip and re-shaped handlebars. That's my second fall this year, my first being on PBP when some idiot rider did an emergency stop in front of me after spotting free coffee by the side of the road. Fortunately neither incident prevented me from finishing.

I know times in Audax events are a bit tabboo (with finishing times not being published) but i had calculated on finishing at 6.30pm latest and a good deal of the last section is on A roads so i was hoping to beat the freezing on the minor roads. After the fall though it all went pear shaped.

I rode slower fearing another fall. After turning of the B5081 towards Goostrey i succumbed to walking as the road was totaaly unrideable. I don't think the lane had seen a car all day to help it thaw out. After walking about 5 Kms (no exageration) i could finally ride again albeit very slowly. After the turning to Blackden heath i was back walking again only to be confronted with a fork in the road so iced over i couldn't see any road markings to tell which was the through route and which was the turning. I guessed wrong and instead of having just 2km to possibly walk before reaching an A road i walked another 4km (through PeOver something). I eventually managed to remount and rejoined the route at Alderly edge. I decided i would look at my map to avoid any more lanes. I was gutted to find out that if i hadn't left a rideable road to go towards Blackden Heath i would have hit the A535 in no time at all and saved the best part of an hour. I was trying to do the official route though so looking at the map was a personal last resort.

I chose to avoid Heyes lane and had no more problems until entering redhouse lane. I saw how bad it was, unclipped but before my foot touched the ground the bike went from under me and i ended up legs in the air, flat on my back and slid 20 feet down the road. Niothing hurt just my pride. So after walking down a few minutes to Redbarn close i finaaly finished at 8.10pm.

A memorable day out. 

Glad you got round ok.

P.s. i wasn't going to ride it until i spoke to the Wakey bunch who said they were definitely riding and i saw others setting off. Am i glad i did....mmmmmm?

[Philip Whiteman]

Ant, I had often wondered whether you are completely bonkers.  Now I know for certain 

Well done by the way and glad you returned in one piece.

[Peter]

Ant, that's an astonishing, if crazy, achievement!  To walk nine kilometres, get injured and still finish in 11 and a half hours (and in an orange top) is Tough Of The Track stuff.  Don't let it happen again!

[The Seldom Killer]

Ant - Glad to hear you got around and amazed you made it on mostly the route. Even at the start of the day I was ready to rule out the Warmington and Goostrey legs.

I would disagree that this is risk taking of the highest order though. For each leg I assessed how best to get to get along and but for a small mitigative action would have got around completely unscathed. The route involves untreated lanes but the practice of Allure Libre means that they aren't mandatory.

Nonetheless, had I had an accident that required medical treatment, I certainly wouldn't expect or encourage sympathy. Whilst not unconcerned, I wasn't sympathetic of the last person I know who needed treatment following a self induced cycling accident although that because of heatstroke.

[GraemeMcC]

A fall on this event has the potential to be life changing; is it worth it?.
This is risk taking of the highest order given that the route encompasses untreated lanes.
Best wishes to those who won through but if and when this ends in a hospital bed (as it has done before) does that really warrant sympathy?
Note - These are questions not criticisms.

Andy - I agree with you completely - it's a question of your attitude to risk. Us "aging fogeys" have a greater propensity to prolonging our enjoyment of life and wishing to avoid Xmas with a plaster cast on wrists (unless you get it beer-mug width shaped!).

And, riding the bike is predominantly about enjoyment.

Sure, I went back out on my bike around midday and enjoyed georgeous sun shining. We were on a few main roads for a good stretch and that dilutes the enjoyment. As it got darker and colder, icy bits return and that dulls the enjoyment. I got home from the pub at that stage (5.30pm).
It would have got darker and colder until anyone out there is riding on their wits, peering ahead for that glisten in the gloom, worrying about traction on either wheel. Worrying about cold hands being able to fix a p******re? Enjoyment level = nil. So, why subject yourself to that?

I was more suprised about the Wakey 7. As a quasi-triathlete myself, no way would I want to risk loss of training time in the pool by risking limbs going out on icy roads. Default Tri-mode usually is "where's me turbo?" in such conditions, however boring that may seem.
(Default cyclist mode is usually "which pub?")

[Ant Stourbridge CC]

I'm not saying that riding in such conditions as last Sunday wasn''t stupid but you have to decide for yourself what risks you want to take a what constitutes enjoyment. Some of my fondest memories are of some outdoor activity in extreme conditions - rock climbing in monsoon like conditions with water running down inside my sleeves as i reachedp for the next hold and hands so cold that eventually the pain stops as they become so numb, carrying my bike on my shoulder and wading through a swollen stream up to my chest in water battling the current (floods 2007), camping near the summit on Helvellyn on Xmas eve in Gale force winds and so on.

I have no children to leave fatherless if the worse happens and i made my wife quite aware of what lay in store if she accepted my wedding proposal. In 1993 i nearly died of Typhoid in Lembata so the way i look at it is every day since then is a bonus, take the risk but control it as much as you can and get out there and push the boundaries. Lifes to short not to experience pain, fear and suffering on a regular basis.

When taking others onto the mountains or organising group cycle tours it's different though, everyones idea of fun is not the same as mine and i wouldn't risk the safety of others. What is acceptable for a group i have taken responsibilty for is quite different to when i'm on my own.

On Christmas day when most are tucked up in bed my wife and I will be climbing a lakelend Fell in the dark to reach the summit for sunrise, then out comes the stove and it's Sausage sandwiches and Champagne to celebrate. Ten years on the run my wife and I have done this and never seen a sole - I can't understand why more people don't do it.

Don't have holidays - have adventures and arouse your senses.
   

[plum]

props

[jogler]

In summary,different strokes for different folks.

[mattc]

In summary,different strokes for different folks.

_{( I was just about to post something more rambling that made the point less well! )}

+1

[Euan Uzami]

Two words: Utter Madness.

Not sure if those who did this this are *heroes* or lucky fools?

A fall on this event has the potential to be life changing; is it worth it?.

This is risk taking of the highest order given that the route encompasses untreated lanes.

Best wishes to those who won through but if and when this ends in a hospital bed (as it has done before) does that really warrant sympathy?

Note - These are questions not criticisms.

AC

I personally don't want to condemn the attitude to risk of those that made it round or take it away from them what is at the end of the day still a great achievement like any audax is but equally I agree with Andy that I don't think there's anything particularly heroic about getting round in ice when others didn't. It pretty much boils down to whether you're ok with falling off or not.
I personally really really don't want to fall off, I don't consider it acceptable, I feel that if I do, I've made an error of judgement. I've got nice carbon handlebars and nice ultegra shifters setup just the way I like them and I don't want to scratch them thank you very much  , besides, audax isn't my only sport and I don't want to put myself out.

To me, the fact that some people did it doesn't mean it was "possible".

[GraemeMcC]

Life's too short not to experience pain, fear and suffering on a regular basis...

...Don't have holidays - have adventures and arouse your senses.

Ant, I can't disagree with these sentiments.
That's why I still have a go at triathlon, even as a 50yr old, or ride the spring Peak Audax series, following in the wheel tracks of F-E-Bob & AndyC, et al, in their VC167 team endurance tests/trials. (At least, that's what it feels like these days...) Or rode LEL through a gale and torrential conditions. But when you stop enjoying things, even the hard stuff, then that's the time to back off, IMHO.

As a kid brought up in Inverness, way before MTBs, BMX, etc, were invented, me and my clubmates in Clachnacuddin CC would regularly ride up into the tracks in the hills above Loch Ness and ride our "fixies" on frozen lochs, just for the crack. (Not the crack in the ice though... Weren't that daft!) Through 6" snow, drifts, etc. Gloves weren't as good as they are now either. But we'd persevere until chillblains got us. Never quite managed frost-bite. But, happy days and great fun. We were young enough to either bounce off the road, or not worry about days off school. Sadly now, being a free-lancer/self-employed, and investing significant amounts of time for training, then the view on injuries and time off is somewhat different. Sure, life-changing events will always skew a person's outlook.

That's the beauty of MemSec running events such as this, but leaving it to individual discretion.  Those of us that "bottled it" still have the chance of riding the cracking route in hopefully better weather.  I've done this event twice now on the due day, and twice (I think) when it's been re-scheduled. But keep it on the calendar. It's a great ride and a good work out pre-Xmas to clear space for the extra calorie intake to come.
I'll take it as a solo perm on a wet weekend in January if I have to - I might become p*ssed wet through and the enjoyment factor may be diminished, bit I'll console myself with the knowledge that I'm much less likely to come off, leaving my Mere200, my Feb ski trip and NW Passage200 hopes still intact. 

[mattc]

Graeme,
Those rides sound great. Did you ever see a mammoth?

[mikewigley]

It was good to read Ant's write up.  It convinces me that I take the right approach in not cancelling these events but leaving it to the riders to assess the risks.  I'm not sure if I actually persuaded anyone not to ride, as I think they'd all weighed it up for themselves.

I'm glad that everyone finished OK.  The Wakefield Traithletes rang me from a pub telling me of their decision to quit, which I was glad to hear.  I must admit that I was on edge until I'd heard that everyone was safely back, not that I was in any position to go out and rescue anyone (and not that this is ever expected).

Derek Heine (on the trike) and Winston Plowes managed the ride yesterday in really tip-top conditions.  If just shows how quickly conditions can improve (or deteriorate)

I plan to ride on 6th May when I'm hoping the snow will be gone.  Any like minded riders would be welcome, either entered on the Holt Perm 200 or the aborted Winter solstice

Mike

[GraemeMcC]

Those rides sound great. Did you ever see a mammoth?

No, but no joking - in those days, rumours were stife of a creature residing in the hills at Abriachan (above Loch Ness) and on the nearby Dochfour Estate, either being a black panther or a wolverine. The locals took a bit more interest in those than anything lurking in the waters of Loch Ness itself. So, not area for being caught fixing a puncture, if things were lurking in the forest...

Creatures aside, I took the liberty of riding the 200 as a Perm yesterday (if MemSec accepts me creating controls in Sale, Wlmslow and Dean Row). This just reminded me of what a great route this is, avoiding the hillier bits of Cheshire but with just enough gradients to find "wanting legs".

10deg C so no frost or ice to worry about, although for anyone else Perming it in the near future, be aware of the bend before The Frozen Mop (Mobberley turn-off) where field run-off water is flooding across the surface of a steeply cambered 90deg bend. Will be treacherous if its icy - but I doubt that Noah's Ark Lane would fare any better in such conditions, so just be on guard there.
I had a light W breeze, so a slight headwind out to Farndon, then X winds down to Mkt Drayton and back to Wilmslow. Ideal, really. Roads were dead quiet, so that was OK for dodging around the storm debris from last week.
Ma's Cafe was busy when I arrived - just after 7/8 club riders. They don't do "fast food" there so had a 30 min rest to consume my bacon butty. Food, when it arrived, was v. good though.
I didn't enjoy re-riding down Bruera - Farndon which I last rode as the cruel finishing circuit of the MR24 where I was absolutely stuffed (419miles), so painful memories there. But happier memories of the A41 stretch at Whitchurch (where, in MR24, I was flying south at about 28mph with a tailwind).
Got drizzled on from Market Drayton to Audlem, then it cleared up. But I'd missed the deluge that hit Manchester area mid-afternoon, so I'll live with the drizzling.
I think I spotted the Gresty's on the tandem by The Secret Bunker turn off.
Then, got treated to the blood-red sunset as I rode in from Goostrey. I had an inkling that it may have arisen form the local FA Cup clash but wasn't sure if that was a good or bad omen. But, having bought a red car on Saturday, the signs were good. (And thus it proved to be, IMHO )

So, a great route and would be a fine perm for a spring or summer's day, if you've not already ridden it.