Audax rides

I'm on the train back to London so had bit of time to write about the Highlands 1000k. It's a bit TLDR so the headline is I finished in 74 hours and it was great :)

We arrived in Edinburgh at 3pm on Thursday and headed to a great Bike Workshop/Cafe called Ronde, after coffee and cake and chatting to people intrigued by our bikes we headed up to meet other riders at the Waverley Station Spoons, after couple of pints and some dinner it was time to head to the start.

The start was at 8pm and was a van near a cycle track (the event is x-rated) we picked up our brevet and left our drop bags to be transported to Oban ahead of us, there were 63 people at the start.

We rode out of Edinburgh traffic free and through Stirling towards Dunblane, the first 100k was quick and relatively flat, the plan was to ride through the first night and get to Oban (456k) the following evening around 11pm.

The night section through the Trossocks was quick and rolling with nothing too lumpy, it only got dark around midnight and the sun was on the way up by 4am so a pleasant first night riding and we were well ahead of our schedule and starting to think 8pm might be feasible for Oban.

The route dropped down to do a loop from Tarbert to Campbeltown taking the eastern side, this section was 50k's of brutal climbing, it felt like we were on a Wessex ride, narrow single track and nothing but up and down for the whole way, everyone suffered on this section. We got to Campbeltown regrouped and found a cafe to fill up for the return, fortunately via the west side, which though lumpy was nothing compared to the last east road.

Another stop and more food before the ride back to Oban, the approach from the south to Oban turned out to be another lumpy section, I let my club mate get ahead and couldn't hold his wheel, I was also getting dozy so decided to stop and lie on an inviting patch of grass in the sunshine and have a powernap I then sat at my own pace back to Oban, there was a series of big climbs in this section and my knees were starting to feel all the climbing they had been subjected to that day, I decided to stick some music on (this part of the ride is dedicated to 2Pac) get my head down and push back as hard as I could, knowing the earlier I got back the longer I could sleep. I arrived at the control at 10pm, picked up my drop bag and headed to the hostel, quick shower and sorted out my kit, I was in bed by 11pm with a 4am alarm set to get back on the road.

By 4:30am we were back on the road, it was already getting light and today we had 290k to do, the aim again to get back early enough to have another sleep before the final day.

In the early morning my knee was hurting and I couldn't out any power down, I had soon lost my riding partner before 30k and then just seemed to be getting passed by everyone, I couldn't keep up with anyone, my mood turned dark and I started questioning my resolve, we were headed for a ferry and I had a choice to make, get the ferry and commit to carrying on or turn round and ride back to the hostel while it was still a straightforward option. I spent about thirty minutes stopping and starting before deciding I was going to pack, I turned around and started riding back the way I came, two minutes later, Ian a rider I met the day before spotted me shouted me to stop and checked if I was ok, he very gently got me to consider whether I wanted to carry on with him for a bit and I thought about it and said sure why not, we rode and chatted for a bit and before I knew it I was climbing Glencoe overtaking people on the way up.

We stopped for some breakfast (probably all I really needed) and decided to carry on riding together as our pace matched and we were having a good chat, at this point Ian spoke to another rider who was also considering packing and he ended up joining us too.

The miles started to disappear as we chatted and got to know each other. The rest of the day was pretty straightforward and easily my favourite day of the ride, there was loads of climbing but for the most part it was long draggy stuff and nothing too punchy, the scenery however was great payback for all the climbing. We rolled back into Oban at 11pm, agreed to ride together again the next day and set off the next morning at 5am.

I got back to my hostel planning on sorting out my kit in the communal area before heading to bed, as I arrived I could get really loud folk singing which I thought odd as I walked into the hostel and turned to the communal area which I needed to pass through to get to my room there was about eighty people singing. This was not what I needed in my sleep deprived state, they sounded pretty good to be fair but not at 11:15pm when all I wanted was quiet for a few hours, fortunately I had brought new earplugs I waded through all the bodies sitting all over the floor tired, stinking and grumpy. There were three other people that were not on the event asleep in my room already, Happily I got off straight away and managed a full four hours sleep, without waking once, which I've never managed on an Audax before. I dragged myself out of bed wondering what the other people in the room would make of the person that arrived and left in the night.

I met with my newly found riding buddies at 5am and we got on the road, we had 266k left and until 11pm that night to do it. Sounds straightforward, but having done so much already we were all suffering with minor ailments and pains to the order of the day was slow and steady and stick together.

We soon made 70k and found a Cafe open so dived in for breakfast and coffee which was often hard to come by on this ride. The route then headed towards Loch Lomond with plenty more climbing in-between.

As we carried on (slowly) we spotted a rider who I had chatted with in the previous days at the side of the road looking in pain, it turned out she was suffering from Shermers Neck and struggling with pain, we asked if she wanted to join us and our group became four for the rest of the ride.

The rest of the day ticked by, Loch Lomond was a stunning section and once we were back on familer roads in the Trossocks it was a boast knowing we were now heading in the direction of Edinburgh.

Perth, oh lovely Perth. Here I unfortunately had an encounter with a driver, I wasn't riding my bike just crossing the road he came around the corner a bit quick, got very angry that I was in his way, and started giving me abuse, I decided to keep calm mainly because I didn't really know my new companions that well, and a reputation as that bloke who lost his shit and had a fight with a Motorist wasn't how I wanted them to remember me after the ride either. Anyway as it transpires I'm an English b*****d, cyclists think they own the road, and if you see a car coming and you are already crossing the road you should get out of their way faster! I politely told him to go on his way, had a laugh about it with the others and vowed never to visit Perth again.

At this point everything hurt, and the pain just moved around my body, my achilles was causing me real grief, we carried on and got to Dunblane I found a Tesco where I was able to buy some Volterol, I was very tempted to strip off in the carpark and spread it over my entire body, Audax does funny things to your dignity on these long rides.

We now had 68k left and five hours to do it, we were plodding along with aches and pains, one of the group Lee got his second wind and started to get ahead, Ian jumped on behind him I decided to sit with Zoe, I thought it would be demoralising to be dropped at that point and in all honesty I was enjoying the company and with enough time in hand felt no need to push at this point. I was so impressed by Zoe's resolve, I nearly quit the day before, essentially because it was a bit hard, she had Shermers and was in constant pain, but just carried on and did 266k that day without even complaing, we chatted and tapped out the miles back, crossing the Forth Bridge lost us a little time as the approach was very confusing particularly after 950k, but was a great part of the ride and something I was looking forward to, ticking off iconic bridges has been an added bonus of Audaxing.

We were soon back on the cycle track into Edinburgh and discussing how much we were looking forward to a beer at the arrivee. We rolled in just before 10pm to a great welcome from the organisers and other riders, I had a beer in my hand as soon as I stepped in the door and caught up with all the other riders I had shared a wheel with over the last 75 hours, it was a great way to complete a ride.

If it runs again I would 100% recommend it, you need to be prepared for a lot of remote sections and manage your food well, apart from the first control on the first night you are on your own. The scenery is stunning and the climbing is rewarding. Graham the organiser was a lovely chap and the Arrive was really special. I love the sense of camaraderie in Audax and that four complete strangers can ride together and help each other out when they bare no responsibility to each other is what makes it so special, if Ian hadn't have stopped and offered a kind word, I would be sat on this train now wondering why I quit, and that's what I will take away from this ride - and I won't let my head undermine my confidence again.