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C Group – Barns Green 24 Sept 2011

Back on the road with the C group after missing a few recent runs. Destination was planned to be Billingshurst but it was changed to Barns Green. What ever, it began with a B, the sun was shining, and lunch by the lake was a good prospect. I knew it would be a longer than usual ride so I did some preparation by way of a solo ride to Tanhouse Farm the weekend before, took it easy on the cakes, then did some evening rides in Richmond Park mid-week to build up the mileage. Yes I have to train to keep up with the C group.

The group numbered 13 with new rider Bill joining in. Over the North Downs via East Horsley and Chalk Lane – downhill via Coombe Bottom, on to Shere, Peaslake, Ewhurst, Ellens Green, Rudgwick and Barns Green.

Arrived at the campsite by the lake to find the B group were already there – they must have taken a quicker route ho ho.


Oh dear what has John been up to?

Total ride back to Kingston – 75 miles

3 Days – 3 Cols with Oxshott PTC

You may remember David Butler's email a couple of months back looking for fellow cyclists to join him for 3 days of Pyreneean mountains - well, I signed up to the 3 day Pyrenees trips, with 9 others, which departed 15^th September.

This turned out to be a fantastic trip, and rather than spoil all the stories, this is only a short account, while the full version will appear in the next edition of Bottom Gear (if Steve pemits!).

Day 1: Col d’Aubisque: 110km, 2154m climbing

Our first morning, we had sunny skies and pleasant weather ahead of us. The climb up Aubisque is about 14km of steady 8% gradient. The road surface was excellent and wide.



But there was precious little shade and the temperature climbed up to around 30C. It was a long, long climb. My cycling performance was fine, I just kept grinding out the metres in my lowest 3 gears. But my lower back was killing me. I had to stop every 2 km to straighten out my back and stretch before continuing the climb. I didn't see any of my fellow cyclists as some had been caught out badly with cramp, and David Butler was massaging them back to life on the road!

I reached the summit of the Aubisque and waited about 40 minutes to be greeted by two others - Ravi and Peter. We then cycled along the “Circle of Death” (se picture left) between Col D’Aubisque and Col du Soulur – a precipitous cliff face where it’s best to keep your eyes on the road! Soulur was only a 100m up and then a fantastic ride down to Argoles-Gazost.

Day 2: Tourmalet: 77km, 1900m climbing.

The original plan was to do Tourmalet and Hautacam on Day 2, but David, our group leader, realised after Day 1, that we weren’t ready for that kind of torture, so we agreed to dial it back to “just the Tourmalet”. The weather has also closed in and an early start was postponed to make way for the Rugby World Cup on the TV.

While I was initially disappointed that I wasn’t going to be able to replicate (the hard bit of) the 2008 Etape, I can safely say that by the time I got to the top of Tourmalet, that aspiration had firmly left my mind. This time we set off from the B&B straight up a hill in grey mist, which seemed to get darker and colder as we cycled, and the group fragmented as we couldn’t see much more than 10m. We re-grouped for a warming coffee in Sainte-Marie-de-Campan, a small village just below the ascent.



The weather kept opening and closing in on us. David Butler and I reached La Mongie (4km from the top) around the same time, David 100m ahead of me. I would like to say that David and I played cat and mouse “dancing on the pedals” like Contador and Schleck in the 2010 Tour to the top. But it was nothing like that - it was just hard pushing! Above La Mongie, we were in bright sunlight with fantastic views across the mountains, which inspired us to get to the peak. We could barely get into the café, but coffees all round , and a shared plate of chips and we all agreed that we were thankful we weren’t off to Hautacam until the following day. Another fantastic technical descent to Argeles-Gazost, and back to the B&B for more physio and a fantastic dinner.

Day 3: Hautacam: 42km, 1150m climbing

Very cold, drizzly weather again, and a later start after the Rugby World. So our support team,Trevor and Tim, drove us and the bikes to a cycle path about 6km from the foot of Hautacam.



This hill was very different to the other 2 days. Much more like a small country lane, very narrow all the way up. Also the gradient was much more variable. Mostly in the 8% range, but anywhere between 4% and 12% in places. This time, as we ascended, the weather got worse and worse. Colder rain soaked through my kit, as the temperature dropped to 5C! The sound of those cow-bells was quite spooky when you couldn’t even see where it was coming from! The climb took about 1hour 40mins and instead of a warm inviting café at the top, all there was, was a desolate car park, with Trevor’s Luton van! I jumped into the van and switched rain jackets and found my winter gloves for the ride down. The descent was difficult – trying to get as much enjoyment as one could out of a mountain descent without freezing one’s fingers to the brakes or losing control on the corners. David and I cycled back down to the vans, where we waited for the rest of the group.

The rest of the day was a long drive back to Toulouse and a short flight back to Gatwick.

My huge thanks to David Butler for organising a great trip and being all-round great cycling buddy, to Trevor for always being on hand with kit and bikes whenever needed, and for fixing mechanicals as they happened, and to Tim for his physio and encouraging words. And I must mention all my Oxshott PTC cycling pals who really made the trip great: Emma & Alan, Ian, Matt, Peter, Paul, and Ravi.

And finally if you want a recommendation for a great B&B in the Pyrenees, please check out www.pyreneespursuits.com . Liz and Dominic really looked after and fed us well!

A bridge too far?

Simon did a great ride in the tour of the Surrey Hills event but now we see that he was so committed he took out his teeth to keep the weight down on those climbs…..

Lasham

We had a good ride out into Hampshire today when we rode out to Lasham airfield.






Here Niall leads us along the very straight Queens Avenue in Aldershot










After 50 miles we were ready for our lunches. Beans on toast was popular.








I was hoping to get a photo like this on with boys making a human pyramid.

BDCA 100

Funny how things turn out, I felt for sure that all I had to do was a reasonable ride in the final '100' of the year to confirm my position in the top 12 of the BBAR this year, the top 7 places are well out of reach above 27mph which must be a record and would have got you a top three place in most other years. The next three places all above 26.5mph and also out of reach for us mortals who have the final three places to fight for and the next 5 places covered by 0.04mph that's about 5 seconds in a 10 mile time trial

I had a consistent week of training, and felt good, tight calf muscles were sorted with a bit of stretching and I was good to go except late on Friday night I began to feel queasy and had a bit of indigestion but I was able to sleep fairly well maybe in the excitement I had got a bit tense but that what come with pressure and I did not feel it was unusual. In the morning I had breakfast in a bit of a sweat but I just went out for 30 minutes and did my stretching as normal and physically felt OK, my stomach was a bit bloated but I managed to put away a bit of pasta at midday as the first riders set off out onto the A50

Two identical laps from Etwall to Bylth Bridge and back along the Dual Carriageway with a dog leg to Doveridge where the JCB headquarters are situated, the wind had blown up from the South so it was pretty much a cross wind but harder on the way out as there was more uphill and the dreaded 'Concrete Mountain'. There was a bit of a plan to pace myself for the first outward leg and not go overboard I did not need a PB just inside 3:50 well within my capabilities, 100 miles a long way but I'm not going to get any fitter and I rated my chances of coping with any conditions baring in mind my recent form and plenty of experience

55:30 for the first 25 miles was good work as it was hard but I did not let my concentration slip even on the hardest sections but my HR would not go up to its normal 159/160 and hung around the 156 which could mean I was not overextending myself but every time I tried to go up there my body resisted. Coming back was easier but the dog leg was the hardest as we came back into a block headwind and  my second 25 of 56:02 so that's 1:51:38 to half way which was good and well  inside my target and on course for a PB

The second lap begins I had to have another gel (my second) and Fi had handed me a bottle at 35 miles, I had been using bigger gears (for me) so my style did not feel fluid so there was a drop in the speed back on the main road and I was not feeling very comfortable with the effort. Jeff Jones (Chippenhan & Didt) the BBAR elect caught me for 9 min at 60 miles super smooth and aero he is doing what is needed but I was having problems. Why can't I? I was expecting a bit of a slowdown but I just could not match this as I watched his flashing light disappear in the distance, I was catching riders myself but more slowly and with a laboured effort. I needed another gel to get me to the finish, my supplies gone too early Fi gave me one and I held it in reserve

It's always best to ride your own race and here I was beginning to feel that the ride was getting away from me I had a second time up the 'hill' to the far turn felt like it would make a difference but once around I still had nearly 30 miles to go (not 70 done!) even the downhill seemed an effort when It had been such an effort to climb you feel it should give back its power easily but in reality you have to toil to harvest the speed from the gradient and the wind all the time pulling at your side. 1:01:11 was a sudden shock for the third 25 and the ride was slipping away

The Doveridge section was a miserable experience,  you relish the hard times when you are going well, welcome them even, when there is nothing there they drag, Fi gave me a final bottle of water I feel disembodied as I look down at my legs, I drift away from myself and have to pull myself back down to carry on the effort and the pain

Derek Parkinson (Cleverly RC) catches me for 19 min with 10 to go and going strongly and cheers me , he is pounding  where I can only poke at the pedals, I see a couple of riders ahead that I have been closing in on and try to use them as bait for my effort, I am closing in on the final miles and there is effort and no effort, pain and no pain, tears of effort and tears of frustration closing in but not making the kill. I pass one Fiona at the side of the road cheering with Sean Childs urging me on, I have effort but it will not be urgent it will only subside at the finish

When I cross the line the twinges of cramp only for the final miles slip back into the water with the pain and I come up for air and breath properly, not the urgent breathing of a distorted mouth  but shallow breathing of late sunshine and a warm breeze, 3:52:20 the numbers stare back at me, not a disaster nothing really. After that good start I let it slip away, Was it the sickness? I felt sick in the race but my body was good, until I needed more. Was it the conditions? Did I underestimate them? When you look at the times of the other riders I feel a little bit more uncomfortable, I went out to race and got caught by the pace

Only '50' mile time trials remain to affect position in the season long BBAR, only 0.04mph between myself in 15th place and Antony Stapleton in 11th and  means riders only need fractions of minutes to move up a place, Mark Arnold only needs a single second improvement to move up a place and I only need 30 seconds to make the top 12

BDCA Result here

Current BBAR standing

BBAR times and '50'  times needed for improvement

Kidderminster Killer 200km audax

To continue with my schedule of riding an audax once a month, I found myself travelling 2hrs up the M40 to Birmingham and the 22nd running of the Kidderminster Killer. Dave Pountney from Kidderminster CTC had been the organiser for many years, but in his route notes, confirmed this would be the last time he would be running the event. With my 1200km PBP still fresh in my mind I didn’t think a 200km event would give me any trouble, after all it’s just like a long clubrun really. There was no need for a saddlebag or lights, just my usual waterproof top, wallet, phone, bars and a banana shoved in my back pockets. I was looking forward to a nice day out in the Shropshire hills. What I didn’t do and what I notice now as I type this report was that there are 4 x AAA points on offer for completing this event. This is quite clear as I read the AUK calendar, together with all the other abbreviations like free parking, free food, toilets & showers. The slight tingling I had been experiencing in my hands and the strained Achilles had all cleared up. I had replaced my cassette for one with slightly bigger sprockets on it, and was looking forward to the ride and hopeful the strong winds would stop it from raining.










Only about 25 cyclist assembled outside the village hall in Astley, which is a shame, because with helpers out at 4 controls around the route they could easily cope with more entrants. I hadn’t bothered to trace out the route on my Garmin, as I find following the route sheet easier to follow, so with the riders assembled we all head off at 8am. I rode for a few miles with a chap from the Beacon RCC who has ridden this a few times and told me that he would be running this event next year, however choosing a different hall closer to where his club are based. I stayed with the lead riders until we reached the first control at Craven Arms (64km). As always I skipped this one and headed off with a tough old (his words) ex-tester (9th in BBAR) from the Scunthorpe RC. We rode together because, as he put it, there was a tough climb coming up called Asterton Bank (76km) that takes you up onto The Long Mynd. He wasn’t joking as when I reached the bottom the Beacon rider was already walking and the Scunthorpe rider was too slow over the cattle grid and fell off, which could have been very nasty. I found it tough going, luckily there was a tail wind and I started to think this was turning into the ride I had done round Cornwall way back in May and which my knees took a bit of a pounding. The views at the top were worth it and made the control and feed station a Church Stretton (85km), all the more enjoyable. As the home made cakes were so nice, I thought I would just have to try some of each.
From here there was still more climbing, back over The Long Mynd by another narrow road, quite open and into a head wind so another excuse to take a photo. Well it isn’t a race or a sportive you know. Lunch was across the border in Wales and Tiffins tea room in Churchstoke (115km). It was that time of the day and it was a Sunday so I treated myself to a roast dinner as I didn’t fancy a fry up breakfast. Service was quick and 30 minutes later I was back on the bike heading back home. Mind you, with all that food inside me my legs had really turned to jelly and I struggling on all the climbs and there were still plenty to come. The lanes were absolutely deserted, as if the F.A.cup was being played. It did make me wonder about how busy the roads in Surrey are, which I suppose is why I do come and ride these type of event, not only for the breathtaking scenery but also because I don’t feel as if I’m about to get run over. With all that lunch still being digested when I arrived at the control in Ludlow (163km), it was surprising that I bothered to stop, but as there were quite a few others riders there I decided to have a coffee & cake. The clock in the cafe was made out of a bicycle wheel (Sorry but I forgot to take a photo) and it told me didn’t have too many hours of light left and there I was at the start of the day thinking this would be and easy day out. Well in truth it was a lot harder than I would like to mention here, because I hope to encourage more of you in the club to get out and ride a few audax events. Yes, by the time I had returned to the village hall I had earned my 4 AAA points and my Garmin concurred with what was on the route sheet that I had climbed 4000m/13,000ft. It had lived up to its name and I was ready for my bed.

No Retreat, No Surrender

Twas the morning of my 36th Birthday, but my son had decided he wanted to get up at 0130 and didn't go back down until 0330, but it did give me a chance to listen to the heavy rain overnight. The end result was 4 hours sleep and a late departure for the Southern Sportive. This meant I had to take to overflow car park some way away from registration and the start at Churchers College in Petersfield. As I was unloading the car SWRC rider Richard Fitzgerald pulled into the car park next to me, and it was great to see a friendly face.

Registration was swift with numbers and stickers on lids and seatposts. I finished this right before the heavens opened and the start was suspended for a while with people huddling under the tents and in the toilets. I was under a time pressure as the long route was supposed to start before 0900 and it was already 0855, so I wished Richard luck with his ride. With the rivers of water still running across the road, I started off and immediately realised I had not set my garmin, so started to waste time immediately. This was not the focused start I was looking for, and the end result for this as always is going off hard - a mistake on the 192km route. I was underway though and the weather looked like it would lift, but the 32km/h wind was going to be a problem.

Just 10 miles in I felt the dreaded bounce of the front rim on the tarmac so I decided that at this stage I couldn't afford to do a poor job and found the glass still lodged in my tyre. As I was putting the tyre back on, I was lucky enough to have one of the maintenance crews pull up and offer assistance, the main benefit of this was the use of a track pump to get back to full pressure. I was his 8th puncture repair that morning, but I was soon back on my way. Once again I went off too hard trying to make up time.

Heading generally East from Petersfield (South, then North) we were running with the wind down towards Rowlands Castle, then back up to Harting and then down to Lavant and back up through Singleton and over to Duncton Hill. From here we swept down to Lavant again, and then full into the wind all the way across to West Meon for the additional loop that made it up to 192Km. The picture above was at the 75 mile marker where my parents gave me a cheer and informed me that my brother, Steve, who had started at 0816 and was on the 155Km route was only 5 mins up the road. I focused and was on him soon, but I was suffering and it took a lot to actually take the left turn into the extra loop. Waiting for me there were even smaller roads covered in debris from the farm fields and it was here I found myself just trying to keep moving.

At the 100mile checkpoint, I filled my bottles for the last time and had two custard creams which sorted me out, combined with a turn to run with the wind until the finish. I had worked out that at my current average speed I would miss gold standard (17mph Av.) by 2 minutes. There was only one thing to do, so I got my head down a kept pushing - afteral it was only 1 hour of work right??

I crossed the line in 6h 50m (11 mins inside Gold Standard), and I was greeted by my brother who had finished, changed and packed his car.....this was payback for the Haywards Heath Howler where I had done the same to him. The results showed that 106 entries for the 192Km route resulted in only 30 finishers and I was 5th fastest on the day. I long tough ride, but well supported and well sign posted.

Andy in action

Despite the excitement of being about to set off to Duddleswell Tea Rooms,when Mr Hicks turned round to bid me good morning I noticed something odd about his shirt.He had a full length zip . How could that be I wondered ? Now I am rather happy with our kit in quality and fit but there are definite advantages to the full length opening and I was sure that option had not been on offer .So how had Mr Hicks accomplished such a feat. Had Kallas heard of his fame as a National Champion and a mere prompt from Mr Hicks was sufficient to have them scurrying to create a custom version for our Champion?

No- Marian had been pressed into action and had demonstrated her very fine handiwork with a professional standard job.Just to keep her Champion happy.
Andy opening his zip and showing his class
Nick A

Intelligence2 Cycling Festival

Graeme Obree, Will Self, Vin Cox, Patrick Field, Geoff Dyer & Bella Bathurst each gave a talk on cycling at the Royal Geographical Society. Excellent.

A Group - Lullingstone Castle

Maintaining the A group’s new found appetite for culture Saturday saw us heading to historic Lullingstone Castle. Our outward route followed familiar roads through Blindley Heath, past Haxted Mill then turning North at Four Elms. As it’s there and as the climbing had been fairly benign to this point we felt the need to put in a little loop up the sharp 20% climb of Yorks Hill, just beyond the top we suffered the first of, a rather surprising, three punctures; Richard Gordon being the 1st victim, to be followed on our return by Sabin and Andy.

The remainder of the route to Lullingstone is fairly unfamiliar SWRC territory and I was pleased the route I had loaded into my Garmin worked fairly reliably. Not perfectly though; I think I need a software update, either that or clear some old routes from memory as it seems adamant that we averaged 58mph for the outward journey (we weren’t hanging about but I think that’s a bit optimistic!).

The visitors’ centre cafe at Lullingstone seems to have improved over the years; it was certainly nice to be able to sit outside in the sun. Last year when we made this trip we forgot to go and look at the castle so this had to be done this time. Cycling to the castle is not quite as straightforward as one imagines, anyway, having found it, blagged out way past the man keen to relieve us of £7 per head we were able to have a quick look at the grounds for free. As you can see we were given the historical perspective by one of the staff, apparently there were two gate houses before the “castle” was built and that the lake is a recent addition from the 1960s. More details here: http://www.lullingstonecastle.co.uk/ ,as last week, this looks like a good non-cycling cultural day out.

Our more northerly return route began with the long climb up to the top of the Downs from Lullingstone; this including crossing an impromptu ford created by a burst water main and skirting a very large whole full of blokes trying to repair things. From here we headed west, plotting a distinctly lumpy course, dipping only to join the lower slopes of Botley Hill. At the top we said goodbye to Sabin as he headed north back to town, it was good to see him back out on his bike following his recent property empire building.

The remainder of our route followed familiar roads skirting Godstone, through Bletchingley, Nutfield and, a thankfully less gridlocked than a month ago, Redhill. Having got the nutrition part of riding sorted out this week, in total contrast to last week, I managed to engage in a potentially suicidal move of sitting on the front all the way from Bletchingley to Dorking, and survived. From here we dispersed leaving just Barry and I to tackle Juniper as the last climb of the day.

Southwater Cripplegate lake

Me and Jane did the off road to the Cripplegate tea shop today where we spotted the A group taking tea and cake al fresco ;)

A weekend away with Heather

I used the bank holiday for a trip up to Alnwick in Northumberland. Boarding the train was slightly tense as I had neglected to reserve a space for my bike in the guards van.It turned out there were 630 people on the train -of which 450 were lucky enough to have a seat ( not me until reaching York) .As those of you ever taking a bike on the train will know there is usually space for a maximum of 5 .I got the 5th spot as although it was reserved there was a no show.That saved what might have been an interesting debate as to whether I could successfully convert it into a package with some newspaper which I was quickly grabbing just in case.

For those of you have never been Northumberland is a top spot -for cycling or otherwise.It is almost a forgotten corner of the country. It has not been unusual to ride 40 miles or so on a summer evening and to see only one car an hour.On the sunday I went out for a 70 mile loop heading west from Alnwick to then contour round the base of the Cheviots and then back again.There is no road through the Cheviots ,rather a series of no through roads which follow a valley and then peter out.On balance this is a good thing as it preserves the remoteness of the area but it does mean the long climbs found in the Lakes or Wales are not present here.

Efficient use being made of the village's resources with a novel bit of office sharing.
Looking west up the entrance to the Ingram Valley -one of the most stunning parts of the Cheviots. The Cheviot itself rising to 815 m can be walked up from the end of the valley.
There are some interesting diversions available at the foot of the the Cheviots themselves. As well as being able to ride over 4 fords on this ride -I came across this "road" .It only lasted about a mile and as I road through a herd of sheep and then some cows it was good to be back on some tarmac again.
There was a lot of this in full bloom.
Not a sight I had seen before actually on a ride.Very friendly and the huntsman had time to suggest his ride was more comfortable than mine.

It is very rural . I came across this ford at Bampton and this is only the first half of the river that needs to be crossed.It is not one for the family saloon and this is the lowest I have seen the river here.
The signs are not quite the same as we come across in Surrey and Sussex. I should have stopped to take a photo of the Slow Down for Red Squirrels signs. Although I do not expect to see one every time I go out here I am disappointed if I dont. I was lucky to see one this trip -running along the top of a stone wall.They always remind me of mini red setter dogs their fur is so long .This photo is in the hamlet of Ingram which stands at the entrance to the Ingram Valley -one of the no through road trips. It was so windy this day that riding into the head wind I was in 39 25 on the flat and struggling to make 6 or 7 mph. So when I turned round to retrace my steps it was interesting to see I was going 27,28 ,29 mph -and not really pedalling.Once I started to turn the pedals,I was at 35 mph and life did not seem too bad until I sadly had to change direction.
A great place and Heather was in fine form.

Nick

My PBP ride by Parky

A 1200km (760 mile) cycle ride from Paris to Brest and back. 5225 cyclists came from all corners of the world to complete the route. I started with one of the 80 hour groups at 4:40pm on Sunday afternoon in the blazing heat. The first 300km (12hrs.) was like a race with groups of 100+ riders tearing along the flattish roads as we rode through the night. I had started with a couple of bottles but in the heat these were soon empty. I looked out for somewhere to re fill them and was able to, by being at the front of the group when I stopped, where by some local residents would be filling bottle from a hose. I then managed to sprint to get back on the back of the group, but now with 150 riders in front of me. It really was like riding the Tour de France. Inevitably with this amount of riders and a cross wind there was bound to be some crashes and I did see a couple. One guy climbing out of the roadside water filled ditch and another couple of riders who came down after a clash of pedals, all unhurt. In my group were some of the 70 riders from the Seattle International Randonneurs club (probably the biggest club there) resplendent in their retro blue woollen jerseys. A few were riding original 1950’s style bikes with fat 2” balloon tyres and wide fenders, but also wore carbon racing shoes!. It looked hard work but they were giving it a good go, mind you it was still early in the ride. I bumped the first control, just re-filling my bottles and because I had sweated so much I added some electrolyte to them, which I never bother with usually. This I did a few times more until I was sick of the salty taste and decided that it would probably make me sick if continued so from then on I would buy a bottle of Evian (1 euro) and a packet of energy powder from the bike mechanic (2.5 euro). This would generally be enough for an 80km stage although at night I found it difficult to drink enough. These early hours I was surviving on what I had in my saddlebag, a couple ham rolls and nutty bars. I realised that there would be ample food at the controls and it wasn’t necessary to take more than a few snacks in my back pockets. In fact the one thing that I do find I need is some hot food during the night stages, which you could get as most controls had vast catering facilities.

The second 300km (14hrs.) was ridden with smaller groups and eventually I hooked up with a bunch of British audax riders as we headed to the halfway point of Brest, the last 150km being the hilliest. As we rode the last stage into Brest we saw the first riders on their return to Paris, some in pairs, others in groups of 20. These riders were generally on stripped down racing bikes and had helpers in camper vans that followed them along the course. This is pretty much frowned on by the organising committee who do not want it to be a race but more of a personal challenge, and to which the British generally abide by. Yes I felt right at home with my carradice saddlebag even though it wasn’t very full now I had eaten all my food. As it was still early evening when we arrived in Brest, we all decided to carry on for another 80km, back to the control at Carhaix (703km). By the time we arrived at midnight it was raining quite heavily and the place was packed out with riders heading in both directions. We all eat and I managed to get a bed in the sports hall across the road for 3 hours of quality sleep. Mind you as soon as my head hit the pillow I felt someone shaking me to tell me it was time to get up, for the fastest sleep I've ever had. The group of riders I had been with, were now all split up, so I carried on either by myself of with small groups of riders. On reaching Loudeac (782km) around 9am, I stopped at a boulangerie for a filled baguette (lunch) and doughnut (breakfast).

I got some hot water to make tea (I took my own teabags) at the control and eat my large doughnut. Now I was heading away from the hills and back onto the faster smoother roads, especially now that I had a tail wind blowing me along, and it wasn't too hot. The 921km control at Fougeres had taken me almost 2 days (47hrs.) to reach and I had to decide whether I would ride the last 300km (about 15hrs.) straight or take a break at one of the controls. Only time would tell if I would be feeling tired or not. In the end the decision was made for me as I hooked up with a nice Canadian cyclist Martin Lacelle, from Ottawa, who was keen to get straight to the finish. This quite often happens with riders on a long audax when everyone has found their own speed and are pretty much going along together. Together we made good time and we flew along, which made my Achilles hurt but I was glad of the company and the time passed quickly. At Villaines-la-Juhel and 200km to go, we took on more food, Martin stocking up from the car which his wife was using to meet him every 200km. (You can’t blame him; he was new to the ideas of audaxing & self sufficiency) From here the finish was in sight and it was a case of just being able to ride through the night without feeling dozy. Simon Bennett from the VC Deal, who I had ridden with earlier in the event joined us here and together we made a merry band of brothers, fighting the fatigue of this long distance cycling event. I was beginning to get saddle sore, which I don’t normally suffer from butt (sorry) then again this was not a normal type of event. The last 2 controls were quiet and warm inside, it could have been easy to take a nap but we didn’t hang around, just filled our bottles and pockets and headed off into the night. Now up through the forest and along the flat roads around Dreux, before the final kms back into Paris and the finish at Guyancourt. I arrived back having managed to cycled 1230km in 62hr 18min. Equivalent of riding from London to Edinburgh and back, but that particular event isn’t until 2013.

For another riders perspective READ THIS from CC Basingstoke rider Colin Bezant.