The Willy Warmer 200 - Jan 2011

Hooraahh!! No rain! But that is because we got sleet instead.

It may not have been that bad, but for somebody who wears glasses, rain or sleet is twice as bad as for those who don't wear glasses. First you have the rain in itself, then you have the droplets settling on your lenses. So you already have double the dose there. It may have stopped raining hours ago, but the spectacles wearer doesn't realise this until you are so fed up, you go to shelter in a bus stop. As you sit down and clean your glasses, you look up ... hear nothing, see dead flat puddles without ripples .... Oh! Typical, its just stopped raining! Every time, every time, you go and take a break from the rain it just stops! In reality, you've experienced not only double the dose, but double the dose in time also!

The trouble with sleet also, is the temperature of course. Its going to be around freezing right? So my tweeting got a bit weird. It became a little cryptic, SOS like. I didn't bother with capitals anymore. With shivering hands, you do a staccato on the keypad. Hitting the capitalisation button just twice is not easy. After trying to get it right and hitting that key probably and involuntary about 7 times, I thought nobody would care about capitals anyway. Anything that needed extra key strokes got left out, that is why the mileage was dropped also. So next time you see a: "halfway hungerford", please ready: "Freezing cold, hungry, can't see, don't ask, probably in Hungerford, probably around halfway ... I think".

A huge thanks to Anton. We cycled the whole way around together. We took turns to shout hole! pothole! hole left! hole right! hole middle! manhole! There were potholes left, right and centre. Centre?

We had some excellent views of kites. There were some low flying ones, but the one hunched on an antenna, calling to another, was unusual.

I did stop to take a picture of pheasants and partridges on the back of a truck. Anton, as a vegetarian, was appalled. There were many shoots going on, it is a little unnerving to hear those gun shots around you.

We said a quick hello to Iddu at the Hungerford Tutti Pole (nobody calls it that), and had a quick snack outside the bakery. That must be where I did the in-voluntary staccato in C minor.

It is really nice to now know so many people, compared with 3 years ago. And the world of audax is blurring with FNRttC, with Tim, Andrij and Pavel present.

This map gives an idea of the route: Chalfont St Peter, Henley, Pangbourne, Lambourne, Hungerford, Kingsclere, Risely, Winnersh, Chalfont St Peter

Double click to enlarge

A few pictures are on the slideshow till the next ride or here:Clicky

The Poor Student Jan 2011

Being able to turn down your car windscreen wiper speed from constant to intermittent can never be as enjoyable as when you're driving to the start of an audax. Earlier I had been woken up, before the alarm went off, by the sound of torrential rain. By the time I got to Oxford it had stopped raining altogether. Against all forecasts, we didn't get another drop of rain.

I detected many patterns on this ride.

It seems no audax is complete these days without the sight of MattC, at the start and at the finish.

MattC with DaveB at the start

Then, about an hour into the ride, as has happened on several rides, from behind me, comes my BCM 2009 angel Mel. We had a good chat, talked about PBP, of course. Then, he goes off into the distance, not to be seen again, till one hour into the next ride.

And just like on the Severn Across last year, about two thirds into the ride, I link up with Ray. Another of my heros. I love his audax and PBP stories, and his sense of humour.

Talking about thirds, this ride certainly was a games of three halves! During the first leg (Oxford to Malmesbury) there was a head wind. If, as forecasted, the wind was 23km/h and I'm doing 18km/h, I should be going backwards, right? It certainly felt like it! The second leg (Malmesbury to Chipping Camden) was hilly, not too bad, I didn't have to walk, but I was already sapped from energy from the first leg. Then the last leg was cold. At Chipping Camden, Ray gave me heat pads to put into my gloves. Brilliant, it certainly helped and I'll be getting some of those for myself.

I learned from Eddy Merckx' book not to look at average speed. But on this ride, I couldn't help looking at the stats my GPS was giving. Average speed was going down, down, down. And I don't know how long my distance stayed at 185km before it clicked to 186. It seemed like hours!

I've never drunk so much fluid on a winter ride, and weighing myself in the evening I had lost 1kg.

Still, I loved the whole day. Meeting up with known riders (like Manotea, LEE, Martin, speedy Howard, RichF, ...), meeting new ones like Tim and Emily, and Nick Windle. Heard a tawny owl, and a bird I couldn't immediately identify, then settled for the sound being from a yapping dog. The outdoor pigs were a wonderful sight. They were springing about like spring lambs. The herd of muntjac deer I had to wait for was another great sight.

There are a few more pictures on the slideshow till the next ride or here: Clicky

And have a look at these magnificent photos by underseer: Clicky

Its a great ride, and if anyone wonders what it would be like in the summer, here is a picture from a July version

Plan for 2011

The plan for 2011 is to do PBP in August. In order to qualify for that you need to do a Super Randonneur series (200, 300, 400, 600). And of course I'll fit in as many FNRttCs as I can.

A few things stand out:

• introducing friends to FNRttC to Southend,
• maybe a FNRttC from Manchester extended into a ride to York
• or maybe the Valley of the Rocks 200 in Devon
• BCM is always a highlight
• a new 600 in the Invicta or Wessex
• FNRttC to Whitstable, but I might not be able to do it
• FNRttC to Newhaven and home, will it be as good as last year?
• PBP

08 Jan: The Poor Student 200 - DONE

22 Jan: The Willy Warmer 200 - DONE

26 Feb: The Kennet Valley Run 200 - DONE

18 Mar: FNRttC Southend with Mandy and Rob - DONE without Mandy and Rob

26 Mar: The Dean 300 - DONE

15 Apr: FNRttC Manchester OR The Valley of the Rocks 200 - NOT DONE (Work reasons)

22 Apr: FNRttC Bognor - NOT DONE, Easter Arrow instead

22 Apr: Easter Arrow to York - DONE

30 Apr: The Severn Across 400 - DONE

14 May: The Bryan Chapman 600 - DONE

11 Jun: The Invicta 600 OR The Wessex 600 - NOT DONE, London to Brighton 300 DIY instead

17 Jun: FNRttC Whitstable - DONE
25 June: Yorkshire Dales 200 PERM - DONE 

15 Jul: FNRttC Brighton - DONE

21 Jul: FNRttC Newhaven - 300 to Rumbeke - DONE

06 Aug: The West Bay and Back 200 with Jamie - DONE

13 Aug: a 100 or DIY 200 - NOT DONE (can't remember why)

21 Aug: Le Paris Brest Paris 1200 - Frame number 5741 - DONE!!!

FNRttC November 2010

I was supping Madeira wine in Madeira when I looked up and saw this:

A full moon

A full moon now sparks one thought: FNRttC.

I could have done it you know, I could have done it. I could have dropped off my luggage at friends in Brighton beforehand, done the last FNRttC of the season and celebrated Simon getting a London Cycling Campaign award. Then I could have gone round to the friends, swapped bike for luggage and made my way to Gatwick to catch a 1PM flight to Madeira. Plenty of time!!

But of course that would run the risk of a FNRttC ban 2011-2013. Imagine, a holiday, postponed multiple times because of an 'imminent' knee op and several consultations, a vacation you both desperately need, and especially together, you come in from work on a Friday evening and you tell your partner: "I'm off for a night ride and I'll meet you at the airport tomorrow. Don't worry, I can sleep on the plane." No, that would not be right.

Anyway, this gave me an opportunity to be an armchair FNRttC'er.

So, we were sitting on a terrace on the Saturday evening, when I noticed the outdoor wifi hotspots everywhere. The sight of the moon had already made me wonder how it would have gone this time: rain? not too cold? many punctures? any severe mechanicals? how did the newbies get on? would Simon's health and safety routine have been the best ever? did StuAff come off his bike? any pictures up? .... I was quietly going to do a little browsing.

It didn't take long for Sarah to cotton on: "Are you reading about FNRttC or something?". Darn, I shouldn't have pointed out the moon! "Oh, just checking, 5 mins ...." Sarah would carry on chatting on and off. And I would make sure I gave her all my attention. Wasn't good enough though, she still ended up saying: "Am I disturbing you?".

Then I nearly fell off my chair when I realised how I had missed a trick!! The Madeira Cafe!! What a lovely tenuous link! Me raising a glass in Madeira while the FNRttC'ers would have raised a glass in the Madeira Cafe, and that under the same full moon. Now I can feel part of it.

I love tenuous links. I was reading Rob Penn's book: "It's all about the bike". Rob's dream bike needed only one compromise. He could not get a 32-spoke rear cassette hub from Royce and had to settle for a 28-spoke hub. The reason? The maker, Cliff Polton, was on a beekeeping course and therefore no hubs would be made for several weeks. Marvellous!! Sounds like an intensive commercial beekeeping course abroad to me.

And here comes the next tenuous link: from bees back to Madeira

Funchal coat of arms includes four skeps

At Mercades dos Lavradoros

At front of concert hall

At back of concert hall

The Upper Thames 200 - Update

I had wondered if this ride was going to be about 'blood, sweat and tears' or 'banter, scenery and tea'. It was the latter and especially 'scenery'. Scenery normally comes with climbing, but if there is such a thing as a scenery/climbing ratio, then the Upper Thames 200 would have a very favourable score. Have a look at the photos, the link is at the end or here: Clicky.

I'm very envious of 'iddu' who captured an image of a Victorian Water Tank (1895) at Bix. He is right, I rode straight by.

I did however, make a point of stopping off at the Maharajah's Well (1865) in Stoke Row.

This had caught my eye, because the well and its cover was funded by the Maharajah of Benares, 'possibly in response to poverty and drought'. This is such an extraordinary reverse direction of development aid (if I can call it that), that you have to think something personal, political or symbolic is going on. Nevertheless, I'm sure the beneficiaries didn't complain. Stoke Row and Bix are only 6km apart. Water sources must indeed have been scarce.

Benares, or Varanasi, is a special place. It is a special place in its own right, but it is a special place for me personally also. Although the good things in religion interest me, I am not religious. However, I can get a little spiritual. The Ganges and Kumb Mela, I find absolutely fascinating. Can you imagine, in the last Maha Kumbh Mela, held in 2001, around 60 million people attended. To be able to bathe in your goddess, the Ganges, at that time must be ..... I can't find the word. As for me, I had been wishing for something for a long time, a wish I thought was never going to come true. I don't believe in wishes either, but when all is beyond your control what else can you do but wish. So the magical Ganges at Varanasi was going to be the place where I made my wish one last time (which says enough about the outcome!!).

Varanasi 2006

From the Ganges back to the Upper Thames ... There were quite a few familiar faces. I was pleased to link up with LiamFitz, and it was nice of pipsuds to introduce himself. I'm sorry I had to ask pipsuds about three times to repeat his name. The pip was ok, but the suds just wasn't going in. If only he had mentioned his YACF picture is Tintin!! In Belgium, Tintin is called Kuifje, which translates as Quiff. Tintin rides a fixed track bike, that is important to know!

Thank you to the organiser and helpers. With over 90 entrants, the event has some logistics to take care of.

Photos are on the slideshow till the next ride or here:Clicky.

Photo taken by RichForrest

6 Nov - The Upper Thames 200

Let's get the new year going with a 200km ride and one I have never done before: The Upper Thames 200.

Will it be blood, sweat and tears? Or will it be banter, scenery and tea?

The route, going anti-clockwise.

From Bikely.com

Happy New Audax Year!

Today is the last day of the 2010 Audax season. Tomorrow is the start of PBP year! Happy New Year to all Audaxers and followers!!

Its been a fantastic year with a few new achievements for me.

First Randonneur Round the Year: ie a 200km ride every month.

First Audax abroad: Brussels Paris Brussels 600.

First DIY abroad: Dieppe to Beitem 200.

Here is the year's summary which makes it all look too easy!

(BPB in June not listed)

The PBP early registration rides lead to another super randonneur award.

Tomorrow it will be PBP year!