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03-19-02, 01:42 PM
Chiltern-Cotswold Brevet
210k
This was to be my second 200k ride, I completed my first one 3 weeks ago. That ride was characterised by a strong Westerly headwind for the outbound 100k which was very tiring. This ride was also basically westward outbound, and I was getting very nervous in the days leading up to the ride because the winds had veered right round and were now Easterly which would mean facing a headwind for the homeward leg, when we would be most tired.
I was relieved then, when 2 days before the ride the winds eased and changed to Southerly. At worst we would encounter a slight cross-wind. The weather forecast also predicted that by the Sunday the winds would be gone.
I was up at 6:00 am, all my kit and food had been prepared the night before, I put the bike in the back of the car and drove through heavy rain to my friend Jim's house in Maidenhead, Berks. Jim has been riding longer that I have, and although he's some 10 years older than me (and I'm 40) he's in damn fine shape. I'm planning to do PBP next year and Jim is happy to ride the qualifying distances with me, so we're doing a ride a month this year, all 200s with a 300, 400 and 600 thrown in.
I transferred my bike to Jim's bike rack and we went together to the start in Great Kingshill, near High Wycombe, Bucks. It was still raining as we collected our brevet cards, and had some tea in the hall. There were a lot of non-starters because of the rain, and I guess that there were less than 30 riders doing the 200k. There was also a 100k ride starting a bit later, sharing the same first leg, they would turn at the first checkpoint.
The rain stopped as the ride started, but it left the roads very wet, with some enormous puddles and kamikaze descents.
Jim punctured early on but I didn't realise, and it was only when I came across another chap repairing a flat that I looked round and realised there was no Jim. So I waited for him to catch up while I chatted to this other repairee.
He was on a hired Scott road bike. Turns out he was knocked off his bike by a truck some months back and broke his back. His insurers were still battling with the truck's insurers to recover the hire costs. He said he had a lot of trouble finding a hire shop that would let him have a bike when he told them the weekly mileage he does. Jim came rolling up, and we waited until all repairs were done, and along with 2 other riders who had taken a wrong turn we all set off to catch the pack. The chap on the Scoot had done the Chiltern Flyer (200k) the day before, and apologised for not staying with us but he really wanted to press on!! With an apology, he and his injured back and hired bike acellerated into the distance!!
A short time after, I hit a pot hole and punctured. I didn't bother to find the puncture, I replaced the tube with a spare and we continued. We caught up with a bunch of about 8 riders who were going at a fine old pace and we rolled into the first stop at Ludgershall in not too bad time, considering the two punctures.
After some tea, and food we set off again, only to discover the group we had been riding with were on the 100k ride and were heading back! No wonder they were going at a pace. We were still only 1/4 way through. I had taken my rain jacket off as the rain had stopped, and put arm warmers on. The second leg to Burford seemed to have a lot of slow steady rises, and towards the end the wind started picking up too. It started raining again as we came into Burford, so we had some teas and carrot cake at a tea room, and waited for the rain to go.
Shortly out of Burford, there was a brutal climb into Brill. The wind started to get stronger and it was unfortunately South-Easterly -into our faces. Our average pace for the first leg had been 25kph, but with this wind and the hills to come it was going to get slower.
We missed a turn halfway through this leg and added a few miles on getting back on route. There was a particularly miserable section where the route description said "left at T to cross M40". Well could see the M40 and so expected the T to appear imminently, but the route went alongside the M40 for a long way before a nastly little climb to the T.
We came back into Ludgershall feeling very tired, just as the rain started again. A bit of a longer rest, more tea, and then off for the last 48k to the finish. The wind didn't let up, and we knew there wers some nasty hills coming as we had to climb the cotswolds to get back up to Great Kingshill. We were both getting very tired, conversation had stopped as we cranked through the miles. Jim was pushing hard, in spite of his protestations of being exhausted and it got to the stage when I was glad of a hill, because as I seemed to be better up the hills than him, it meant I could slow down a bit!
It started to get dark as we came to Bledlow Ridge, and I had to get a torch out to read the route sheet and the road signs. We both have Nexus dynohubs and good lights so there was no problem seeing the road, but as the temerature dropped and in the dark, and with our fatigue, we got a bit lost again, and T junctions appeared where the route said there should be cross-roads. There were one or two terrible hills right at th end, in the dark you can't tell how long they go on for, so I just changed down to the granny ring and ground away till I got to the top. By the time we got to the finish we were incoherent and babbling! My speedo said 218k instead of the scheduled 210 and the final average speed was 23kph, so a much slower return leg.
I was surprised to find this ride so much harder than the one 3 weeks ago. It must have been because the ride was hillier and the wind was against us for the return. I also found eating difficult and exhausting on this ride, in the final leg even drinking left me shattered.
It was the first Audax ride that I haven't enjoyed, but as the rides get longer (a 300k is next on April 27th) I'm sure its mental toughness as much as fitness that will get me through, and I'm taking this last ride as an exercise in that dogged mental attitude.
Stew (trying to rustle up the enthusisam to go and clean and service the bike after the long wet ride 2 days ago)
210k
This was to be my second 200k ride, I completed my first one 3 weeks ago. That ride was characterised by a strong Westerly headwind for the outbound 100k which was very tiring. This ride was also basically westward outbound, and I was getting very nervous in the days leading up to the ride because the winds had veered right round and were now Easterly which would mean facing a headwind for the homeward leg, when we would be most tired.
I was relieved then, when 2 days before the ride the winds eased and changed to Southerly. At worst we would encounter a slight cross-wind. The weather forecast also predicted that by the Sunday the winds would be gone.
I was up at 6:00 am, all my kit and food had been prepared the night before, I put the bike in the back of the car and drove through heavy rain to my friend Jim's house in Maidenhead, Berks. Jim has been riding longer that I have, and although he's some 10 years older than me (and I'm 40) he's in damn fine shape. I'm planning to do PBP next year and Jim is happy to ride the qualifying distances with me, so we're doing a ride a month this year, all 200s with a 300, 400 and 600 thrown in.
I transferred my bike to Jim's bike rack and we went together to the start in Great Kingshill, near High Wycombe, Bucks. It was still raining as we collected our brevet cards, and had some tea in the hall. There were a lot of non-starters because of the rain, and I guess that there were less than 30 riders doing the 200k. There was also a 100k ride starting a bit later, sharing the same first leg, they would turn at the first checkpoint.
The rain stopped as the ride started, but it left the roads very wet, with some enormous puddles and kamikaze descents.
Jim punctured early on but I didn't realise, and it was only when I came across another chap repairing a flat that I looked round and realised there was no Jim. So I waited for him to catch up while I chatted to this other repairee.
He was on a hired Scott road bike. Turns out he was knocked off his bike by a truck some months back and broke his back. His insurers were still battling with the truck's insurers to recover the hire costs. He said he had a lot of trouble finding a hire shop that would let him have a bike when he told them the weekly mileage he does. Jim came rolling up, and we waited until all repairs were done, and along with 2 other riders who had taken a wrong turn we all set off to catch the pack. The chap on the Scoot had done the Chiltern Flyer (200k) the day before, and apologised for not staying with us but he really wanted to press on!! With an apology, he and his injured back and hired bike acellerated into the distance!!
A short time after, I hit a pot hole and punctured. I didn't bother to find the puncture, I replaced the tube with a spare and we continued. We caught up with a bunch of about 8 riders who were going at a fine old pace and we rolled into the first stop at Ludgershall in not too bad time, considering the two punctures.
After some tea, and food we set off again, only to discover the group we had been riding with were on the 100k ride and were heading back! No wonder they were going at a pace. We were still only 1/4 way through. I had taken my rain jacket off as the rain had stopped, and put arm warmers on. The second leg to Burford seemed to have a lot of slow steady rises, and towards the end the wind started picking up too. It started raining again as we came into Burford, so we had some teas and carrot cake at a tea room, and waited for the rain to go.
Shortly out of Burford, there was a brutal climb into Brill. The wind started to get stronger and it was unfortunately South-Easterly -into our faces. Our average pace for the first leg had been 25kph, but with this wind and the hills to come it was going to get slower.
We missed a turn halfway through this leg and added a few miles on getting back on route. There was a particularly miserable section where the route description said "left at T to cross M40". Well could see the M40 and so expected the T to appear imminently, but the route went alongside the M40 for a long way before a nastly little climb to the T.
We came back into Ludgershall feeling very tired, just as the rain started again. A bit of a longer rest, more tea, and then off for the last 48k to the finish. The wind didn't let up, and we knew there wers some nasty hills coming as we had to climb the cotswolds to get back up to Great Kingshill. We were both getting very tired, conversation had stopped as we cranked through the miles. Jim was pushing hard, in spite of his protestations of being exhausted and it got to the stage when I was glad of a hill, because as I seemed to be better up the hills than him, it meant I could slow down a bit!
It started to get dark as we came to Bledlow Ridge, and I had to get a torch out to read the route sheet and the road signs. We both have Nexus dynohubs and good lights so there was no problem seeing the road, but as the temerature dropped and in the dark, and with our fatigue, we got a bit lost again, and T junctions appeared where the route said there should be cross-roads. There were one or two terrible hills right at th end, in the dark you can't tell how long they go on for, so I just changed down to the granny ring and ground away till I got to the top. By the time we got to the finish we were incoherent and babbling! My speedo said 218k instead of the scheduled 210 and the final average speed was 23kph, so a much slower return leg.
I was surprised to find this ride so much harder than the one 3 weeks ago. It must have been because the ride was hillier and the wind was against us for the return. I also found eating difficult and exhausting on this ride, in the final leg even drinking left me shattered.
It was the first Audax ride that I haven't enjoyed, but as the rides get longer (a 300k is next on April 27th) I'm sure its mental toughness as much as fitness that will get me through, and I'm taking this last ride as an exercise in that dogged mental attitude.
Stew (trying to rustle up the enthusisam to go and clean and service the bike after the long wet ride 2 days ago)