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We road with Julian on the outbound leg through the Black Downs before he cracked on ahead. He was riding really well and was about the 3rd finisher I believe. Within the first 100km his front brake caliper's spring broke and it wouldn't release off the rim, so he had to rig up some rubber bands to get it working again.
It was good to meet you briefly in the first 5km before you went to chase down Jas and the fast riders. Well done! I had a similar experience where I constantly felt like we were last on the road and had to speed up to catch up with phantom riders ahead, only to then get passed by said phantom riders who were in fact behind as they'd had later starts from the sleep stops.
motoko-
You too!
Yeah I was convinced a group was ahead of me who'd bivvied somewhere past Exeter to beat the rain that was forecast. Spent much of Saturday 'chasing them down', except they didn't exist.
I also thought I saw a dead body in the road (!) at one point so I think my mental faculties were a little off on the third day. :)
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Julian is a very strong single-speed rider, having ridden the Shark every month last year I believe. Have managed to persuade him to join ACH so now have four finishers for LLEL I believe!
The ride was fairly firmly pitched at experienced randonneurs only so was surprised by the DNS/DNF rate as well - @motoko witnessed that when I found out I was 8th back just after him & Anne.
I had previously abandoned the Cornish Riveria Express due to the atrocious levels of traffic so was mentally prepared for that, but of course it's only got worse over the last two years and will probably continue to deteriorate until the sea level has risen enough to destroy Cornwall as a tourist destination.
Turns out I messed my calculations up, not compensating for my 30mm rear tyre, so rather than being on 77" then gearing down in Langport to 71", actually did it on 79"/74", which might explain the amount of walking I had to do but generally happy with my setup.
Having experienced the Blackdown hills before on the Brimstone 600 knew what to expect and opted to avoid them on the way back. Had originally planned to bivvy outside Taunton Deane services, but having seen the forecast and the thought of carrying an extra kg of gear didn't appeal so made a last minute £80 booking for Tiverton Parkway Travelodge which was worth every penny. This also meant my last day the shortest which I knew psychologically would help a lot, and could set off at the relatively civilised time of 6:30 to make the control closing time at Langport with ease.
honk
danera
Agree on the Black Downs, especially coming back over them on the third day!
As well as Ivan there was another guy (Julian?) riding a Cinelli single speed, which is also pretty impressive over that distance. Forget what ratio he was riding but it was very spinny - I passed him around 1am Saturday morning in the Black Downs and I think he finished too.
Must be challenging doing a hilly route like this as a pair as everyone climbs / gets tired quite differently, I was in quite a fast group over the first night which fell apart as soon as the climbing began properly.