Audax rides

Strong work, Jake. Enjoy the next 200.

G'warn JB!

Jesus. Fucking great effort fella.

Good effort JB, enjoy the next loop

Fini. Probably won't do a ride report tbh as there's not much to report, but will write some stuff after I've showered, eaten and slept. In that order!

Well done mate, great achievement particularly at this time of year!

Things I learnt in no particular order:

1. It's all well and good riding on small lanes at this time of year, but even with a Luxos U and a Hope Vision 1, it can still be a bit hairy descending in the pitch black of night with wet leaves etc strewn across the road.
   
2. Tubes tubes tubes. I had four punctures yesterday. Luckily I had four tubes and three patches but my god I started to feel disheartened and worried by the fourth.
   
3. The temperature yesterday was very pleasant. Overnight/this morning was quite the opposite. I found it quite hard to keep my legs turning at times. I couldn't feel my fingers or toes for about six hours.
   
4. My goodness, Kingston Hill at the edge of the Chilterns is absolutely brutal. 3/4's of the way to the top I had to get off and walk. Single speed and nothing in the legs>>>
   
5. Storm Barabra wasn't very nice to me on my way to the Cotswolds.
   
6. The Cotswolds weren't very nice to me. Steep. Up up up.
   
7. Bumping into three colleagues in the middle of Gloucestershire is weird.
   
8. Bibury Duck Race is a big deal.
   
9. Even 24 hour petrol stations aren't open in the early hours of Boxing Day.
   
10. Stow-on-the-Wold is lovely.
    
11. I can't wait to have a geared bike again.
    
12. I got home last night and was totally delirious.
    
13. Don't change the length of your stem, even if it is 20mm shorter, the night before a long bike ride. Totally fucked myself over there...
    
14. I never get bored of having dynamo lights - so good.
    
15. South West is best.
    
16. The first 300k loop at this time of the year was much harder than 600k in the summer.
    
17. Have proper breaks instead of having loads of pointless micro breaks. I did this on the 200k leg and felt much better for it.
    
18. Don't trust Ridewithgps's route planning. A few too many bike paths for my liking that I missed. Generally went over the route and got rid of all of them but the few that I did miss caused many a diversion.
    
19. Riding that distance solo is morally very challenging, also physically having nobody to take a turn.
    
20. Having three hours of sleep was massively beneficial.
    
    

Superb effort, Jake. I suspect you win the HTFU prize for rides around Christmas this year. :)

That list keeps getting added to.

*refreshes page*

Ha - all done now, Oliver. Thanks for the kind words.

Jesus, strong work Jake .. ss too! Loon!

Well done!

Super strong work dude, well done.

Duck races on Boxing Day are a bit of a thing around here... I really can't explain why. I went to the Kenilworth one the other year. The Cotswolds are nice but yes hilly and perhaps best avoided if you're doing 500km in one go on a singlespeed!

If you tell ridewithgps to plot the route for driving it avoids the bike paths. It's good at finding them for cyclists - too good if you want to avoid them.

I can't imagine how cold your hands/feet got. I just got back from an totally un-epic 28 miles in Warwickshire and my toes were frozen (forgot my overshoes but did have thick merino winter socks on).

Well done, sounds like an epic ride!

Strong work. Loving the typo in point 19; how many puppies did you squish?

200 to a closed gelateria in the Netherlands (I knew it would be closed so I had cake in Belgium).

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On the way back the after climbing the L24 for a good few miles gps this downhill. I said why not but it got better and had to reroute onto the road after I had a puncture that blew my sense of adventure. Which I am pretty sure has to do with the tubeless rimtape in the new DT460 as it was on the side of the valve and had nothing to do with the 4Season.

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Nice in the morning.

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And nice in the afternoon.

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Dewey Phillips served around Vossenack in WWII. It was recommended that you stood up when they shelled the pine trees above.

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That rapha logo spells funny

You look like you're having a great time.

Strong look - like it much.

Favourite place.

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Yes Ludwig!