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Bet that van was a welcome sight. Sounds like a really good ride.
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Also enjoyed National 400. Gravel trail bits in particular. Found it quite a bit harder than I expected - some aches and pains from new bike which I'm not quite used to yet, then got stung by a mini wasp that had got inside my jersey somehow. But Peak district scenery and loads of food made up for it. Unexpected highlight was the climb out of Llangollen, which I'd been dreading while at the control, but the tailwind made it easier than the ride down.
All audaxes should have dogs at controls.
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@cgg
So the National 400 was awesome. Top notch organisation and a profusion of TLC and food at every control. As one of the participants put it, it was "an eating event with a bit of cycling thrown in." I also found that body and bike were ticking along nicely for most of it, except for a painful chaffing on the inside of the left thigh. It was becoming borderline show-stopper around the penultimate control (km 306) and another rider kindly lended me a tube of chamois cream.
Also, it is a strange thing to find yourself thinking "right, only 100km to go, should be okay".
The so-called "Van of delight" (which certainly lived up to its name), which we had the pleasure to see twice during the ride.