Audax rides

Cheers. I've got a fork mount for a light so that's one option, and creative use of this kind of thing (or better variants thereof) might solve the rest:

http://www.topeak.com/products/xtras/barxtender

Or I could remove some or all of: light, backup light, backup backup light, garmin, phone, cache battery, camera, bell, whistle.

Anyone else riding the Fairies 300 this weekend?

No, I'm heading west - to do the Gospel Pass. Am going to ride out tonight and try out the bivvy kit.

"Nein kein Larrington!"

"Meridian Hills next to see how they compare."

Very enjoyable day on the Around the Weald expedition. Not even full value. My legs hurt.

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Do you know if it is possible to fit Di2 TT shifters to 3T clip on pro aero-bars?

TT shifters + mudguards should cause a few WTF moments so it's worth doing just for that.

I can't see why not. I have 3T Clip on Pro bars, but the extensions are old Profile ones. Are the 3T extensions anything other than hollow tubes?

I also have mudguards, and have not found any compatibility issues!

Anybody able to recommend a 400 for a first-timer?

Does anyone use caffeine pills or something else to avoid getting sleepy when you want to avoid it? I know I should just stop and lay down for a bit, but for a 24h ride I thought I could make it without it.

A friend suggested N.O.-Xplode, has anyone else tried it with positive results?

Yesterday finished my first 600km Brevet, 27h total, 23.5h riding... I was hoping for 24h but I've to improve how I deal with the early hours of the day (5:00 to 7:00) when sun is rising and I start to feel so sleepy I couldn't think straight.

Also used successfully, and for the first time, the combination: SP PD-8X dynamo hub + D1 Igaro Usb converter + GoalZero Flip 20 powerbank + Garmin Edge 1000

Dunwich Dynamo and back, The National 400 or Kingdom of the East Saxons?

Cheers!

Everyone feels like shit in the early hours - the trick is to not slow down too much. Caffeine can help but it's mostly willpower.

N.O. Xplode is heading too close to the WADA banned list for my liking. DMAE might not be on the list but anything that WADA consider as acting like other banned substances can get you a ban. You might not be WADA tested but then there's the ethics of using some freaky body builder shit to finish rides... that's another can of worms.

http://www.oneresult.com/articles/content/why-we-dont-sell-jack3d-or-no-xplode

BroChat: http://www.muscletalk.co.uk/Preworkout-supp-m4868380-p3.aspx

Toxicology: http://ntp.niehs.nih.gov/ntp/htdocs/chem_background/exsumpdf/dmae_update_110002_508.pdf

Everyone is different. Lots of people use caffeine. I don't use anything; gave up caffeine completely a couple of years ago, and don't notice any reduction in alertness at night.

If you are going for a fast ride, 3.5 hours is a lot of time to spend off the bike.

I've tried abstinence from caffeine before PBP and races and stuff and I'm not sure if it helps me or not. I'd have to check my PBP notes to see how dozy I was feeling. I consume loads of caffeine normally so going without sucks, so it's easier for me to just continue maintenance levels during events.

Fairies Flattest 300 was a lovely ride yesterday. Gorgeous weather and not too windy on the marshes. The section from Appledore to Dungeness had strong headwinds as always. Remained in a good mood all day and no dozies at all. Felt very comfortable on the bike with only minor aches and soreness. Very well catered with WI running the control at the 150k mark. Lots of hedgerows had honeysuckle growing in them (not sure if it was wild or planted) which of course enhanced the atmosphere greatly.

That's 2 out of 4 of SFW done. Thinking of riding Hereward The Wake on fixed. I imagine that I can count it as a 200 even though it's 300.

The highlight was the Iden Green control which is a van on the side of the road with two ladies brewing tea and camping tables laden with cakes, biscuits and sausage rolls. Even plastic cups half filled with jelly babies. This was where the 200 riders caught me as well others riding at my speed. Had that finish control feeling about it.

I'm trying to get back in to audax. Have ridden 5 SRs between 2008 and 2012, LEL in 2009, a DIY 1300 in 2010 and PBP in 2011 but drifted away from it over the last few years - had felt like I'd ridden everything I wanted to, and my wife and I had two kids (now aged 3 and 9 months) so ran out of time and energy. My last validated 200 was June 2013, though I've kept my membership running and have done a handful of long-ish rides in the meantime.

Finally got the motivation (and a new bike on the way) and have negotiated the time to start doing longer events again and have ridden a couple of DIY 100s over the last two weekends. I'm aiming to complete enough rides to get my Randonneur 1000 badge this season - with my eye on the Pengwern Pedal 300 from Shrewsbury in August as my 300. A couple of 200s over the next month or so should see me right, and as long as I can keep the momentum up.

Ultimately I want to complete an SR next year and ride LEL again. Spending £300 on the entry for that in January should keep me focused on completing it.

Did the 200 and think I saw you at the Iden Green control. I was riding with the two Penge riders and was being heckled for riding a carbon bike.

Well done on getting through the whole 300km!

Gospel Pass on Saturday was fun. It was very pretty but some vicious climbs. A couple of long twisting descents that you don't often find in the UK (something like 3-400 m of descent). I found the climbs hard - short, really steep sections in the middle of long climbs - possibly because I'd ridden out to the start overnight and because I was trying out carrying my full TCR kit.
TCR kit was a good conversation starter; rode with and chatted to a guy who had done TCR in 2014. A few stories and bits of advice were welcome. But evenutally my knee played up after the millionth climb, and I had to let him go.
Made it back, and immediately had to head off to Gloucester to get my train - or do another overnight ride if I missed it!

Anyone doing the Windmill Ride on Sunday? or Kingdom of East Saxons?

Yes 3.5h was too much :( I was hoping for 24-25h total with 2h stops, but it was my first 600km and also second ride through an entire night... I hope to get that part right in the 1000km brevet next month. I don't take caffeine daily, just when I ride, so I hoped to get more from it.

Thanks @hippy for the info on the N.O. Xplode, really don't care about WADA, but do care about my health. I'll change my strategy to get faster on those hours, getting cold didn't help at all this time.

Cheers! Saw you guys at the Iden Green control and was meaning to say hi as I live in Sydenham which is just next door to Penge.

The Windmill Ride was my first 200. Felt like a big step up at the time. Geared down way too much and rode it on a 63 or 65 as far as I remember. Spinny, spinny. Beautiful route.

Heya, anyone riding the Rural South 300 on Saturday?

My new aerobars arrived and they are the wrong (non-flip-up) 3T pads. I may be the new @hippy - never knowingly ordering the correct parts.

Fortunately my small hands still fit fine on the tops with the pads in place so all is good. Just hope I've done a better job with the big pile of di2 bits that have arrived at the same time.

Hey I ordered one wrong hub. It was freeborn who fucked the next order up, after I specifically queried it. Oh and SP not including the proper locking for their hubs.

My shit is pretty together considering it's all new tech.

diarised tomorrow's Windmill Ride, so maybe..., early night pending perhaps!