Audax rides

Actually, can it be done as a Perm?

Probably possibly but on the second day with some brilliant lanes I was mostly craving A roads. Surprised, best macadam in Britain by far on those roads in Wales.

Unfortunately not, as it left the remnants in the tube, seemingly stuck firm.

Really cross with myself about it, especially as I am in Texas for the next two weeks. Not sure I am going to get a 600 done before the cutoff...

Can you ride a 600 in the US?

Couldn't see any listed when I checked yesterday, though I wasn't at my cognitive best. Will try tomorrow. Currently sat on plans, waiting for the off, with two empty seats next to me. I am really looking forward to a kip.

Going to hire something in Houston to get some miles in though

@fussballclub I also suffer from pain on the outside of my right knee and have been told its the IT band. I've been doing stretches daily and using a foam roller for the past week and managed to get round the BCM with a fraction of the discomfort I had on the Brevet Cymru

Ah thank you, it felt straight away different to the usual arthritic issues. The good news is I spent a very long time on the bike on day two, over 13h with around 45 min pauses, anew experience in endurance for me.

@hippy new found respect for not taking any brakes! Around how many miles is the Lanterne rouge at the 12h?

The Newbury 12hr? If you discard all the DNFs then around 200mi I think.

Completed the Flatlands 600.
Chain went at start, no quicklinks. The one spare I didn't pack, even had a spare tyre. Found that my chain tool didn't fit the chain. Got hold of one that did , got a link out and managed to get off.half an hour late. very noisy ride....
Stung on the head by a wasp at 270km, throbbing helped keep me awake for a while, recommended.
Going to do a few 200's now to keep the legs going until Paris.

Dear audaxers, you lot must know a thing or two about long drop calliper brakes, help a man out and share the knowledge would you?http://www.lfgss.com/conversations/268412/#comment12297386

Give Mike Wigley a shout and see if he can fit you on the Pair of Kirtons 600. One big hill near the start, plenty of flat and then a couple of lumps towards the end but nothing major.

I'll be at the sleep control singing lullabies to tired riders.

I had a DNF on BCM :( . The Cycling Gods struck me down for my travel light philosophy. I suffered a series of spoke breakages. The first occurred Sat lunchtime close to Aberystwyth so had a repair and retrue at a bike shop. The second happened just shy of the halfway point and that was that. So nearly 300Km ridden and nearly £300 total spent on cabs to get back to Chepstow (wasn't going to go through a 6hr multiple changes Bank Holiday train journey with no guarantee of getting the bike onboard) . Live and Learn!
Going to invest in some kevlar repair spokes.
WCW this weekend

Kevlar repair spokes? Cool. I'd pose the question why were you breaking spokes in the first place though? Are you running silly light wheels? Was the build less than perfect? Were they crashed? Spokes tend to just fail unless there's an issue already.

Do they only run 600s before PBP? The last 600 of the year seems to be June 20th.

I was thinking of doing one in late July, early August on the road bike to suss out any issues with it before PBP.

Will I have to do one as a Perm?

Its like a string so you don't need to remove the cassette; http://www.amazon.com/FiberFix-Emergency-Spoke-Replacement-Kit/dp/B001GSMQZC
Spokes failed midpoint which is unheard of apparently - I did have a slight issue with the derailleur just catching the spokes in lowest gear a few weeks back, but quickly fixed and there was no apparent damage.
Thinking about it I have had an occasional "pinging" noise ( that I thought was from the front but could have been the back) on really rough surfaces, so the spoke tensions may have been out?

Spokes failed midpoint

They might've taken an impact at some stage?
Or perhaps that derailler nicking was enough to wear down a weak point and if the tension was already high on some of them, it might've been enough to send them to their deaths?

£9 at SJS
http://www.sjscycles.co.uk/fiber-fix-emergency-replacement-spoke-prod20155/

I would love that 600. Your midway stop in Corby Glen used to be an old stomping ground of mine. Unfortunately I am in the US with work and fly back on the day of that ride :-(

Good luck with it :-) and 20 years ago the Royal Oak at Swayfield, just up the road from Corby Glen was an excellent pub...

Anything above 300 is running early this year due to PBP. Usually the last is early July before the nights shorten too much. Once most people are over their SR series in any given year, there isn't a lot of demand for them.

It'll be a Perm basically. You could do the Lincolnshire Poacher 400k on 11/07 and then ride home from there to bump up the distance. Get follow the A17 & A15 south after the event while the roads are quiet as far as Peterborough (services just by the A1) and then pick your way south from there. Should be easy enough to draw up a GPS track of mostly minor A and B roads until you're back on familiar territory.

Will make a voodoo necklace out of one to keep evil spoke breaking spirits away. I have the "fear" for WCW now.

Might not have enough time to do it. Mersey is Jul 18/19, leaving 3 weekends before PBP weekend. 1st/2nd of Aug would be best then I guess.

I could do Straight Outta Hackney three times :)

Good beer there after the ride, but no loops please. Ride to Cambridge and back and then the new AC Hackney 300km from Greenwich. Just add another 100km and voila.

http://www.aukweb.net/events/detail/15-91/

If I do a Perm it's probably going to be out West in familiar territory. Maybe the Severn Across again.

First pangs of "maybe I should have gone for PBP again this year" looking through the results of random Audaxes (Severn Across 400, etc) and all this talk of the BCM.

Think I might be back for LEL in 2017 depending on how slvlss adventures in 2016 go.

Is there any pre-qualification for LEL or just a mad rush to register/pay?

No pre-qualification for LEL

Ok, thanks!