Last weekend I completed my first 200km audax ride in four years. I started audax riding in the mid 1990's with a couple of work colleagues over the shorter 100km distance. My first 200km event was in 2005 as preparation for a two week holiday in the Alps climbing various Tour de France climbs. I continued to do a few per year over the next decade and in 2015 decided to do a 200km once per month for a year which I completed to become a ‘super ranndoneur’.
After a difficult summer in 2017 I struggled to find the motivation to get back to such events but late in 2019 I decided to get back to it. In February 2020 I did my first 100 mile ride since July 2017 and in March completed the 'Rose's to Wrags' 200km audax. However, 10 days later the first Covid lockdown was implemented and all such events were cancelled. In early 2021 my partner and I decided to move in together so I had a house move to sort out and somehow the last two years has included a lot of renovations. So another return to action was planned for the 2nd of March in the same, renamed event as four years ago, over a slightly different course.
The weather forecast leading up to the event had a lot of rain, February being the wettest since records began. 40 entered riders did not start the event. I packed plenty of warm kit, food and even some carbohydrate powder to top up my bottles at each stop which I have never done before. I filled the bottles the night before and put them in the fridge overnight as I have done previously.
The next morning at the start I looked at my bike and realised my bottles were still in the fridge. I had one bottle in the car which I was able to use and fortunately the organiser had a spare left behind at a previous event. It was 65km to the first control where I could be certain of getting water without going off course. I was nervous enough without this added complication.
At 8am the bunch set off through the streets of Alfreton and down the steep hill out of town and into the start of the hills. 5km in I was wondering where I had packed a few route notes with distances etc. when I realised my half frame bag was not there! I had taken it off my bike the day before in order to fit the bike to my bike rack and had left it in my large holdall. I was really annoyed now, I had to go back for it as it had my pump, food, spare batteries, one of my spare tubes plus a couple of other bits. So back to the start I went trying to convince myself to just get on with it. It was about 0835 by the time I left Alfreton all alone for the second time. Arriving in Pleasley 20km from the start the first of numerous heavy showers came down so I stopped to put on my waterproof which remained on for the rest of the day.
I was familiar with the route from previous audaxes but a slightly longer, quieter route into Gainsborough at 65km was much nicer than the usual main road with fast moving traffic as used previously.
I grabbed some water and a flapjack and was getting away quickly when two more riders showed up. One of them had had a snapped gear cable and the two of them had gone into Retford to get it replaced, I expected to see them shortly, but I never did. It was raining as I climbed out of town and into a series of quiet lanes. There is quite a sharp climb up to the old Roman road of Ermine Street and I spotted another rider ahead of me. At the time I did not know if it was another audax event rider or a local out for a few hours. Over the next kilometres it was clear he was on the audax and I eventually caught him about 5km before the mid way control at Wickenby airfield.
As I turned in to the café I saw a couple of riders leaving and a few more getting ready to depart. It was going to be half an hour before I left after a sausage sandwich, coffee and a chat with the fella I caught on the run in to the airfield.
The next control in Bardney was only 14km away but I needed to stop to get a receipt for proof of passage so more water and two eccles cakes later I was on my way as my new friend arrived at the supermarket. The next 43km to Newark were mostly on quiet, flattish roads but early in the section I got a puncture in my front wheel and while I was fixing it I was caught by the other rider who stopped to ensure I was OK. I got going quite quickly and expected to catch up with him based on how quickly I caught him previously. I felt I was riding strongly but it was a long time before I saw him and his rear lights and I was not getting any closer to him.
In the middle of Newark I was looking for a small shop when I saw another rider come out of a courtyard about 50 metres ahead of me so I decided to try it. Just a few metres up was a large supermarket and as I entered I saw my new ride buddy leaving the store. I quickly grabbed water and a smoothie and left quickly a few minutes after him.
Leaving Newark is not very pleasant, a busy road junction and fast roads for couple of miles is something to just get done. Approaching 7pm it was not too busy and as I turned onto the quieter lane near Kelham I caught the other rider and we rolled on together having a chat. I was familiar with this section and as we reached a level crossing and a couple of 90 degree bends I was riding on auto pilot. I was just in front and I was aware of a car behind and after the last bend was suddenly aware my gps was showing me off route and no sign of my companion. As I was getting my act together I heard him call me from a hidden gateway. This was another new section which I was not expecting as I was just gaily heading along the old route. It was a really nice traffic free track into Southwell, again well done to the organiser.
The route out of Southwell was up a long steady climb and I was feeling good and found myself pulling away from the other rider. At the top of the climb we forked left onto a minor road and realising I was ahead I initially eased off a little. On the run to the next village I decided I needed more food and to pee so I carried on at my pace expecting him to catch me while I was stopped. Despite my stop and a long straight road soon after I could not see any sign of him, perhaps he had punctured? I carried on at my pace taking care on some roads with big potholes and 5km from the end I saw another rider who I guessed was the guy who left Newark as I was arriving. I passed him on the long climb out of Pinxton and pushed on to the finish finishing around 2140. A couple of minutes later the guy I passed in Pinxton arrived. I had some tea, cake and biscuits, returned the bottle I borrowed and got my brevet card stamped. Tea never tasted so good.
Once finished I packed away my bike, changed and called back to HQ. Just as I was leaving, perhaps 40 minutes after I finished, the other rider arrived. It turns out he had problems with his front light which failed but he managed to find a garage to get some batteries for his spare light. I would have been unable to help but it was good to hear he was alright.
I have been very sore since finishing the event even in places I do not usually hurt. I also cannot understand why I was so slow. Last time I finished at 1930 and this weekend I was over two hours later. 35 minutes were wasted on my return to the start, 15 minutes for my puncture and 5 minutes at a level crossing so I was well over an hour slower. Something to ponder on my recovery rides.
Sent from my Galaxy
Last weekend I completed my first 200km audax ride in four years. I started audax riding in the mid 1990's with a couple of work colleagues over the shorter 100km distance. My first 200km event was in 2005 as preparation for a two week holiday in the Alps climbing various Tour de France climbs. I continued to do a few per year over the next decade and in 2015 decided to do a 200km once per month for a year. After a difficult summer in 2017 I struggled to find the mother to get back to such events but late in 2019 I decided to get back to it. In February 2020 I did my first 100 mile ride since July 2017 and in March completed 'Rose's to Wrags' 200km audax. However, 10 days later the first Covid lockdown was implemented and all such events were cancelled. In early 2021 ,y partner decided to move in together so I had a house move to sort out and somehow the last two years has included a lot of renovations. So another return to action was planned for the 2nd of March in the same, renamed event over a slightly different course.The weather forecast leading up to the event had a lot of rain, February was the wettest since records began. I packed plenty of warm kit, food and even some carbohydrate powder to top up my bottles at each stop which I have never done before. I filled the bottles the night before and put them in the fridge overnight as I have done previously. The next morning at the start I looked at my bike and realised my bottles were still in the fridge. I had one bottle in the car which I was able to use and fortunately the organiser had a spare left behind at a previous event. It was 65km to the first control where I could be certain of getting water without going off course. I was nervous enough without this added complication. At 8am the bunch set off through the streets of Alfreton and down the steep hill out of town and into the start of the hills. 5km in I was wondering where I had packed a few route notes with distances etc. when I realised my half frame bag was not there! I had taken it off my bike the day before in order to fit the bike to my bike rack and had left it in another bag. I was really annoyed now, I had to go back for it as it had my pump, batteries, food, a spare tube (I had another elsewhere) plus a couple of other bits. So back to the start I went trying to convince myself to just get on with it. It was about 0835 by the time I left all alone for the second time. Arriving in Pleasley 20km from the start the first of numerous heavy showers came down so I stopped to put on my waterproof. I was familiar with the route from previous audaxes but a slightly longer, but quieter route into Gainsborough at 65km was much nicer than the main road with fast moving traffic. I grabbed some water and a flapjack and was getting away quickly when two more riders showed up. One of them had a snapped gear cable and the two of them had gone into Retford to get it replaced, I expected to see them shortly. It was raining as I climbed out of town and into a number of quiet lanes. There is quite a sharp climb up to the old Roman road of Ermine Street and I spotted another rider. At the time I did not know if it was another event cyclist or a local out for a few hours. Over the next kilometres it was clear he was on the audax and I eventually caught him about 5km before the mid way control at Wickenby airfield. As I turned in to the café I saw a couple of riders leaving and a few more getting ready to depart. It was going to be half an hour before I left after a sausage sandwich, coffee and a chat with the fella I caught on the run in to the airfield. The next control in Bardney was only 14km away but I needed to stop to get a receipt for proof of passage so more water and two eccles cakes later I was on my way as my new friend arrived. The next 43km to Newark were mostly on quiet, flattish roads but early in the section I got a puncture in my front wheel and while I was fixing it I was caught by the other rider who stopped to ensure I was OK. I got going quite quickly and expected to catch up the other rider based on how quickly I caught him previously. I felt I was riding well enough but it was a long time before I saw him and his lights and I was not getting any closer. In the middle of Newark I was looking for a small shop when I saw another rider come out of a courtyard about 50 metres ahead of me so I decided to try it. Just a few metres up was a large supermarket and as I entered I saw my new ride buddy leaving the store. I quickly grabbed water and a smoothie and left quickly a few minutes after the other rider. Leaving Newark is not very pleasant, a busy road junction and fast roads for couple of miles. Approaching 7pm it was not too busy and as I turned onto the quieter lane I caught the other rider and we rolled on together having a chat. I was familiar with this section and as we reached a level crossing and a couple of 90 degree bends I was riding on auto pilot. I was just in front and I was aware of a car behind and after the last bend was suddenly aware my gps was showing me off route and no sign of my companion. As I was getting my act together I heard him call me from a gateway. This was another new section which I was not expecting as I was just heading along the old route. It was a really nice traffic free track into Southwell. The route out of Southwell was up a long steady climb and I was feeling good and found myself pulling away from the other rider. At the top of the climb we forked left onto a minor road and realising I was ahead I initially eased off a little. On the run to the next village I realised I needed more food and to pee so I carried on at my pace expecting him to catch me when I was stopped. Despite my stop and a long straight road soon after I could not see any sign of the other rider, perhaps he had punctured? I carried on at my pace taking care on some roads with big potholes and 5km from the end I saw another rider who I guessed was the guy who left Newark as I was arriving. I passed him on the long climb and pushed onto the finish finishing around 2140. A couple of minutes later the guy I passed in Pinxton arrived. I had some tea, cake and biscuits, returned the bottle I borrowed and got my brevet card stamped.
I finished all this, packed away my bike, changed and called back to HQ. Just as I was leaving, perhaps 40 minutes after I finished the other rider arrived. It turns out he had problems with his front light which failed but he managed to find a garage to get some batteries for another light. I have been very sore since finishing even in places I do not usually hurt. I also cannot understand why I was so slow. Last time I finished at 1930 and this weekend I was over two hours later. 35 minutes on my return to the start, 15 minutes for my puncture and 5 minutes at a level crossing so I was well over an hour slower. Something to ponder on.