Audax rides

Sure, only joking!

Oh, I definitely want to test them on it. But not while there's anything to do with an organised ride. If I find myself in the area though and I feel the need for "service"...

Kings, Castles, & Churches

you appear to have mislaid some priests

I removed that because it made my spreadsheet look neater and priests are obvious first to go

can't fault the logic

I see Mark has been at the scrabble bag of randomness coming up with new ride names.

scrabble bag of randomness

Wouldn't that end up looking more like 'YTBERUI, MIFAWUT, and EENBVCX'?

Some are Welsh, yes.

Heading up to Darlington tomorrow for the Pit Ponies 100. The combination of old rail trails and a coal-fired chippy at the half way mark was too much to resist. Probably going to spend the same amount of time on trains to get there and back as I will riding!

Great part of the world for riding, I used to live in Darlington. Never heard of a coal fired chippy though!

My first two audax points! Weirdly satisfying.

Lumpier than I expected! Figured a ride of mainly rail trails would be like the TPT or Middlewood Way. I was wrong.

Have you got a route for it? I’ll be up that way soon, might take a look. It’s usually classic sales type riding up there if you head inland- long flatish valleys followed by a big climb to get out of the valley and a long run back down the next one. Assuming you went more coast or north direction I’m less familiar

Sure! It was one of Dean Clementson's events, should find GPX and website link out to ridewithgps here: https://audax.uk/event-details?eventId=9225

All in all it was a good day out. Lot of fallen trees and muck about early on and quite busy in places (Stokton bypass to Thorpe Theweles, Haswell through Durham and then Crook to Shildon). Looks to be a bunch of other rail lines and NCN routes that might avoid some of those sections, if you don't mind bumping the distance up a bit.

Crappy photos attached. Chippy in Esh was very good. Should probably go clean the bike now...

4 Attachments

I saw 28% on the Garmin some of the climbs in yesterday's 50k DIY. The missus was not best pleased. Steal routes off RWGPS at your peril :)

Is anyone here doing LWL? I've signed up for it. I would really, really love riding partner(s) and I'm happy to suffer on the front for you as much as possible. This is for company but also safety reasons. Same for BCM (but entries don't open yet and I haven't mailed(!) my cheque(!) yet).

I've never ridden 400km before but I'd be open to being tugged behind you

I'm doing a series next year, but only with rides I have never done before, so have entered the Orbital the week after unfortunately. Not sure I'll be ready for consecutive weekends of 400s by then.
LWL was my first 400 and I was glad to have Clement there especially for the last part through the Chilterns in the small hours of the Sunday morning when I experienced cycling induced hallucinations for the first time.

I like LWL (Severn Across), so much so that I convinced the grrl (:-*) to ride it as her first 400k.

That would be awesome. I'll be fixed so it will be steady 14-16mph on the flat, fuck knows when it goes up hill but I don't plan on fannying about at the controls. Prob a small kip towards the end. PM me if you sign up and are keen. If I could tell my partner that I'm planning on riding it with someone it will ease both our minds. Plus of course it would be really nice to roll with you.

I need some motivation to kickstart myself, I'm supposed to be riding LEL, but haven't done any Audax distance since last summer - so I'll enter to give me a bit of a kick.

I meant to PM you when you shared your route last week - are you in Whitstable? I moved to Faversham in August and would be up for riding locally.

Update about entries and organisation of the BCM for next year: https://yacf.co.uk/forum/index.php?topic=104545.msg2680518#msg2680518

Ah man fuck yea! Yep I'm in Whitstable. There's a nice group of us that go out nearly every weekend for dad loops (45 miles +/- 15) and swing through Faversham all the time. Also keen to do the odd audax distance type ride as well as the other people aren't as hot on it. I'll def PM you!

but also safety reasons

I cannot recommend this enough. If its your first 400 / 600. ride with people. My first 400 I got caught out on a busy bit of a road during the evening and it was horrible - very nearly bailed it. Luckily some people id rode with earlier came past me as I was looking a bail out options in a petrol station.

Also good to have people around when you get sleepy as other people have already said.

I moved to Faversham

wait I thought you were in Hastings. This is a match made in heaven.