Audax rides

Yeah, actually quite an emotive article really.

Amazing life on wheels though. Wonder what his lifetime mileage is? I know he passed half a million miles 20 years ago. Edit, just did some googling and found an article that say 650000 in 2006! Jaw dropping.

I remember listening to an interview on radio with him and he had a map of Scotland that he had marked up when he had ridden along a road. He certainly did not seem to think there was any left to be marked up.

I hope he has a good few years left in him still though!

Encountered him doing a 400 in Scotland last year, had no idea who he was at that point and was thinking 'who is this under-prepared looking old guy - surely he's not doing this whole ride'. Was obviously proved very wrong...
The pictures of the broken frame he did 500km on are great. http://www.owenphilipson.com/blog/2010/09/12/george-berwick-500km-on-a-broken-frame/

So, BCM weather - looking not bad, headwind for the first 300k, but possibility of no rain which seems too good to be true in Wales.
http://weatherbagel.com/f/28a1b0d8-b78b-4af3-9138-63a49de94fb4
(that's based on a 20kph average speed, people other than me will probably be faster).

There's a northerly?

Looks like it. Suppose that explains the drop in temperature as well. Though metoffice predictions seem to be less strong wind than weatherbagel, so I think I'm going to attempt to believe metoffice now.

What I really want to know is whether forecast of no rain means I can leave horrible clip on mudguards at home

What I really want to know is whether forecast of no rain means I can leave horrible clip on mudguards at home

Ha. Haha. Hahahahahaha.

Wales.

Yes, that was what I suspected. Maybe I'll ditch them in drop bag if first 200k stays dry...

The photo near the top of Page 4 of this thread was taken at Kings YH when the forecast said it was going to be dry.

I remember having to pedal quite hard straight into the rain to maintain even reasonable downhill speed at some point near the Elvis rock.

At least drop bag means luxury of dry socks. Briefly anyway.
You've just reminded me I should probably reproof my rain jacket before this ride.

I seem to have forgotten to start a thread for this years edition of the London Ditchling Devil. That will never do. Best checkout https://www.lfgss.com/events/1794/ now. :)

More than dry socks!

Gonna take a second set of kit entirely to hopefully feel as fresh as a daisy.

Got my wheel back so now wondering if I should stick with the PX or if I should take the Kinesis (with rear mudguard)? Maybe I could find some clip-on aerobars to test out?

This is my plan!

I've done a version of the BCM route sheets with control points for the controls, if anyone wants them:
https://ridewithgps.com/routes/13666047

https://ridewithgps.com/routes/13666218

Also noticed that the route takes in a bit of the Welsh 12-hour course, including the Chain Bridge traffic lights - where I got stopped three times when I did it

> Got my wheel back so now wondering if I should stick with the PX or if I should take the Kinesis (with rear mudguard)? Maybe I could find some clip-on aerobars to test out?

It's not a bad route for a TT bike - a good bit of main road and most of the hills (apart from the new section on the way out) are not that steep. I was planning to do it on a TT bike last time I entered.

If I can do it on fixed, etc, etc.

It's more about training specificity. I mean, if I wanted to I could ride the whole thing on Wiggo's Hour bike with nothing but heroin as sustenance but that's not really the point.

I was going to use the TT bike but then I thought "I'm building up a Kinesis with aerobars, why not use that kind of thing?". I've ordered aerobars and then of course found I have half the bars already so now I've ordered just extensions and I'll have to send the bars back.

Probably won't end up fitting either. Not sure the Revelate will fit on the stupid seatpost I have. What do they say about making changes before a big ride...

Are you riding this?
Sorry, I've forgotten, everything is slipping from my mental grasp at the moment.

Is your route based on the routesheet? I might nick it and use it. Cheers!

I got stopped more times... '_'

thx for posting that, been waiting a long while to attend a Brighton ride..

I believe those files follow the route sheet; I just took the ones that Doity Rat on YACF did, checked them a bit, and put in the bleeps for the controls.

I'm entered and planning to ride, subject to physio telling me not to later today.

I can't decide whether to take sleep kit or not. Forecast is 4-5 through night, which it could easily be in Switzerland - so probably sensible conditions to test, so perhaps I will

The control bleeps you mention, will I need to pay up to export them or do they 'just work' if I use a TCX file? Scared to move away from GPX now I have it working more often than not :)

I swapped wheels on the Kinesis this morning. It has a road double and a 28T cassette so perhaps a bit more suitable for Wales.

Ordered both a set of Zipp Vuka bars and a set of extensions but will send the bars back because I already have all the other parts. #idiot

Tempted to swap out the Cobl Goblr seatpost for my old Thomson one so the saddle pack fits better but then arghdjustments.

Then again, if the weather is nice, I could ditch all the sleep gear and specificity talk and jump on the TT bike and just smash it.

What would Jesus do?

The control bleeps you mention, will I need to pay up to export them or do they 'just work' if I use a TCX file? Scared to move away from GPX now I have it working more often than not :)

They should just work on a TCX (I don't have a paid subscription). But if you are happy with GPX then I can see why you'd stick with that.

Bike half packed for Cumbrian 200. Temp forecast to drop a fair bit so stuck with slightly more sleeping gear that I'd hoped for. Before any "how slow?!", plan is to bivvy on Friday with a couple of friends outside Staverly and to ride home on Saturday night (what's another 150km...). Might sleep out Saturday depending on how cold it is and what time I'm closing in on Rochdale/Greater Manchester - don't fancy riding into the city centre around kicking out time, drunk driving/taxi chaos etc.

If you've got the Kinesis set up, you might as well get some rides in on that: find out what needs to be changed...