Audax rides

Hanging out with Adam K after the ALPI has now got me trying to convince the missus that Le Mille Sud would be a good idea...

https://sites.google.com/site/le1000dusud/

Anyone done this, doing this, know about it, etc? It has Ventoux as its sting in the tail which is one of the big ones I've never climbed before so that is almost reason enough to ride. Bit worried that I should be saving myself for @skinny L'Espirit but it's not like I haven't overdone stuff before :)

Just followed some other riders doing it, does look at lot of fun. With my AAA hat on, as it's not a BRM ride, I reckon you should be able to enter it as a 1000km Brevet Populaire (BP) DIY giving you the full 100hrs to complete it if you opt for the Randonneur option - so no distance points then but can still claim AAA for it.

Ah, I see. I still forget to think about all that BRM stuff so thanks for the tip. No concern for distance points but obvs "AAA is everything" this year :)

I first heard about it about 10 years ago and thought it sounded great, but timing has never worked for me. Different route every year.

A few people on YACF have done it, there will be old threads on there with info.

Yeah, good point. Need to do a little google. Still trying to sort out everything post-ALPI

Anyone doing Hereward the Wake 300k this Friday? Will be my first 300 and first overnighter so would be good to say hello and hopefully ride for a bit with someone from here :)

I left it late and entries are closed now on AUK website but emailed organiser and he confirmed you can pay cash and register on start line.

https://ridewithgps.com/routes/39975350

Nope, soz. Have fun. I don't like the night starts for the most part having done quite enough night riding please and thankyou, but they are quite a novelty, so make the most of the warm evenings and short nights.

We have entered the 10 Peaks 200k from Chepstow though. That should be some nice lumps to add to the collection. Would've done Oliver's 300k/6.5AAA but we have to travel early the next day so didn't want the extra time on the road.

Fair enough! Yeah I'm a little nervous but hopefully it'll be a fun one. If it turns out to be as hot as forecast then there's a big incentive to make swift progress through the night, don't fancy riding well into the afternoon in 30+ degrees!

Warm nights are lovely. Cold nights suck. Makes it so much harder to stay awake.

Not riding this year but I've done it a couple of times before, sometimes as a final shakedown before a big event.
It's a good event. Main thing I remember is that it is very fast out, flat and usually a tailwind, but much slower back, and the biggest hill is right at the end.
Good luck!

Your inspirational speeches need work hahaha

Ha, thanks! I'll try and have something left for the big hill. Think I'll set up Garmin to remind me to drink/eat as I'm not great at staying on top of things.

Yes, I tell it like it is!

What I really remember from last time I did it, which was I think 2014,is that it was a warm night, and I was drinking lots. I was only doing liquid food as I was getting ready for the 24. Then, around midnight, it cooled down, and I slowed down, and suddenly I needed to piss about 12 times in an hour and a half! I've had the same thing in the 24 before, basically need to drink a lot less at night than in the day, and hard to get it right when to reduce amount.
@hippy did you find this was a thing on 24s?

Um, not really. I normally tune my liquid intake based on previous experience at different temps but generally erring on the side of dehydration. I definitely overdid this in the Breckland but I knew it was a bit risky and combined with going out too hard, I tanked hard in the finale rather than speeding up like normal.

I'd maybe pee 3-4 times during a 24hr I guess but that probably depends on how well I got the drink strategy nailed in the first 1/3rd of the race. I definitely remember getting off the bike, stopping and pissing the year before I won because I got so fed up of pissing off the bike - that's hard to do when the course isn't so hilly and there's always traffic.

I did this in 2019 as PBP prep. Rode there straight from work, and then home again to SE London afterwards which seems ridiculous to me now. Anyway. One of the best rides I've ever done. Loved it.

Hereward the Wake delivered, it was a pretty awesome ride. Quite chilly through the night but treated to a belting sunrise. I'd had a long day at work on Friday and couldn't find time for a nap beforehand so was fairly apprehensive about how I'd react to the lack of sleep, held up surprisingly well though, it was only with about 30k to go that I entered 'fuck this shit, I'm done' territory.

Ended up riding about 80% of the route with Adam Young, the organiser of Way to the Sea. Really nice guy and definitely owe him for dragging me round!

Going to sleep for about 15 hours now.

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i am enjoying your ride reports

Thanks! Might do a couple more 200s this year, tbc.

After 12 hours sleep I'm still quite broken :/

i am enjoying your ride reports

Same here. Cracking photos as well!

Back from London Anglesey London. Cracking route and weather for the most part (I've no desire to ride on Anglesey again, also hilariously anticlimactic that the 'halfway' control point was a depressing village there with a bleak McColls 😂)

The mountain roads west of Bala were fantastic. Bleak, beautiful, remote and never ending. A highlight of the route for me.

Climbing Llanberis at 3am and having the mountains to myself was another highlight.

Managed to accidentally load up an earlier section of the ride in Henley while sleep deprived and gave myself an extra 30km detour uphill, which prompted a sense of humour failure but a few pints of bitter from Richard and team at the arrive helped me forget about it. Recommended!

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Well done both @honk and @ElGonzo!

Agree about Anglesey, really missable. Extra 30km is a good one - should get you the course record!

Purrty

Who's the fixed gear rider from the US on here that was in latest Arrivee?

You're joking right...

@youramericanlover