Audax rides

There’s a 20h more than the usual 40h 600 audax.

https://audax.uk/event-details?eventId=8688

Until I clicked the link I thought you meant it had to be done in 20 hours!

Got a route for this?

Yes we did full value. 200k to Woodbridge for diner via Billericay breakfast and Frinton ice creams. 200k night loop via Mc Donald’s Barton Mills back to kip in Woodbridge. Last 200k meander via Snape Maltings breakfast, Sudbury, Great Dunmow. If you interested I have gpx.

Oh, I assume DIYs are ok for getting the grrl her SR series badge or whatever the hell you get for doing 200,300,400,600 in one season?

Yes

That's a shame, my Rysy arrived, like Frank said, not windproof either. Although it does cut out quite a lot. Tempted to stich some parachute fabric panel inside the front, shouldn't add much weight.

Anyone doing the Tour of the Berwyns/Panorama Prospect next weekend? Entered the latter as it's been quite a while since my last audax ride and wanted to slowly ease back into things. That said, it's 35km over distance and I've got to ride back afterwards which will put me close to 200km... Oops!

Did this one last year but started it from my house, tweaked a section to pass my dad's front garden and ended it in Cambridge instead.

Route's really nice - some Sustrans bits which depending on recent weather would either be gravelly or squishy, but all doable on 28s.

The fens were awful and I hated riding through them.

https://ridewithgps.com/routes/33992019

Agree re BBC - did it a couple of years ago and really enjoyed the route: especially riding through the peak district. (Fens is tough but Radio 4 got me through)

Signed up for my first Audax in approx. 1 year on Sunday (The White Hart 200) - can't wait/a bit apprehensive as haven't really cycled at all over past 12 months...

commemorate the solstice this past weekend, I rode George Berwick's Twilight 600 perm. This is a perm version of a route originally put together by Duncan Peat.

To avoid peak tourist traffic on the A82 over Rannoch Moor and to enjoy the West Coast section during the day I started at 9pm Friday by first departing the Edinburgh Area and heading North to Aberfeldy and then West through Crianlarich, past the Green Welly in Tyndrum and then over the Moor to the Coast. Unfortunately there was nowhere to control at 4am in Crianlarich so a selfie at the station was the best I could do. As an aside, long distance perms are becoming increasingly difficult in Scotland with the reducing number of ATMs and 24 hour services. I grabbed a ticket for my control on the Corran Ferry (first time getting proof of passage while afloat) and then onward to the wee filling station in Strontian for my first refuel 230km in. A loop of the through the West Highland Pennisulas of Ardgour, Sunart, Ardnamuchan and Moidart reacquainted me with the West Coast Midge especially when stopped at the wee shop in Acharachle for second breakfast. A quick return east to Ft William for lunch before a 50k blast down the coastal road to Barcaldine where some audax friends put on some food and a bed for me, feeling like I wanted to keep moving forward with the light I only managed 30mins of sleep. Come 8pm I was ready to head East again with about 200k to go. Once back at Crianlarich the regular audax hotel (Train Station Waiting Room) was locked due to Covid, so somewhat like Mary and Joseph I was to find shelter in the station's toilet. As public toilets as sleep stops go this one I'd say gets 3.5 stars - Warm, enough, room for me and a bike, fairly clean and open 24/7. After about an hour of dozing in and out of sleep I decided best to push on and road into the few hours of darkness at midnight. By around 2am I was getting towards Callander, my next control, but suffering from the dozies found the shelter of a covered patio around a locked up tourist info center on Loch Lubnaig. The temperature was down at 6deg so my foil blanket and light down jacket did a good enough job, but when I woke up shivering after about an hour and a half I knew I had to press on to warm up. From there it was a rather uneventful final 75km through Stirling and the Skinflats to S. Queensferry for a celebratory pancake breakfast at McDs.

Keen to do this ride again, but perhaps with a central start at Crianlarich with a bunk house, or a morning start and take the risk of hellish traffic on the Moor.

https://www.strava.com/activities/5498877916

Nice. I'm going to try and do it in July/August all being well.

The Fens is a funny place but strangely I always enjoy riding through it. Fenland Friends & Flatlands have been some of my favourite 600s.

I remember 1-2 'gravel' (bridleway) sections in the fens which got on my nerves as by that point I just wanted to point myself at the finish and tap it out, rather than have to think about not crashing in a drainage ditch.

That, and the landscape basically not changing at all from Boston > Cambridge, and an unlucky crosswind the whole way.

that's bonkers, bravo

Ah yeah, I remember that bit, a bit of a buzzkill actually. Some of the corner shops are mad, it's like nothing has changed since the 80s. I went into one and the look of absolute horror on the owner's face when I took out a debit card!

Rode Dave Matthews' Panorama Prospect yesterday. It's an over-distance 100km starting just outside Tarporley and heading over to Llangollen, taking in the Panorama Walkway and onto Chirk before heading back via Malpas and along the edge of Beeston Castle.

I briefly considered ECEing this, but a 4am alarm wasn't that appealing and opted to ride over on Saturday afternoon instead, camping just outside Tattenhall. The ride out was pleasant enough, mostly following the Cheshire Cycleway. Despite being toasty all day, clear skies made for a chilly night. I'd skipped the tent inner and gone light on layers to make my life easy on Sunday, ended up waking a few times in the night with chilly toes! The upshot was catching a fantastic orange moon hovering over the Peckforton Hills as I stumbled out for a piss.

The ride itself was peppered with not entirely unpleasant navigational errors. Somewhere between entering the ride and turning on the GPS I cocked something up and managed to end up off down a number of bridleways, through a boggy river crossing and pushing up washed out tracks. This all before getting anywhere near the first hills of the day. Eventually I started ignoring the computer's beeps and flashes telling me to turn into every other field and started linking up roads to various bits of the track. Thankfully this got me to the first info and onto the first control, a Van of Delights™ imposter, at the sadly closed Prospect Tea Rooms.

From there navigation was a little easier and other than a little jaunt along the Llangollen Canal it was fairly straight forward getting back. I was starting to get a bit worried by my timing at Chirk, but despite a few punchy climbs, it felt like the return journey was mostly downhill and I was able to make up a bit of time. Stopping at the Coop in Malpas I was treated to a procession of tractors rumbling down the high street. There were easily 50+, from vintage to modern and with a variety of wheel combinations. So loud, such diesel fumes.

I was pretty pooped by the time I got back to the village hall and my left knee was feeling a little tender. Plans to ride back to Manchester were abandoned and a lift organised. Still put in a little over 200km for the weekend and able to walk this morning. Overall a good re-introduction to audax and a reminder that stopped time is as important as moving. Looking forward to The Budworths 100 next weekend and working my way up to some longer rides.

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Riding The Budworths this weekend. Another short one but will be good to get out on a Peak Audax event again.

Nice write-up!

Long, hilly, no support, gravel sections, a dash of hikeabike and a sip of whisky at the end. What's not to like: https://www.pedalution.co.uk/events/bristol-glasgow-bristol-1600/

Long, hilly, no support, gravel sections, a dash of hikeabike and a sip of whisky at the end. What's not to like: https://www.pedalution.co.uk/events/bris­tol-glasgow-bristol-1600/

I'm more than 50% there in convincing myself to do this. Kind of wish it was a Glasgow start... Bristol is a real pain to get to from Aberdeen.

You could always ECE it for Glasgow-Bristol-Glasgow-Bristol-Glasgow ;)

I wouldn't make it round the populaire at this point, but have been been inspired again to plan a few rides that take in some of the gravel bits and such.

this looks interesting. Quite a few off road sections there. hmm.

Pretty good day out on The Budworths earlier.

Very damp start, but dried after a couple of hours. Nothing much to report and no photos given the early weather. The run out to Holmes Chapel was a bit busy, but roads quietened down after that. Generally here did seem to be a higher-than-normal amount of impatient drivers in designer 4x4s. A lot of overtaking on blind bends or across solid lines. Tried to ignore it as best I could.

Used the new E-Brevet app for the first time, very quick and easy to set up in advance then just a case of hitting buttons at the controls. Can see it being handy for perms in the future.

Nice route, apart from the run to HC, that stretch of road past Jodders is evil, if we head out that way we tend to link the back lanes together.

Yeah. I don't remember it being this busy, but then again I'm not normally there at ~10am on a Saturday morning. Maybe it was the rain/sports/another event/???. Who knows.