An overnighter to Dunwich

With Lucy being away for most of the weekend, I spontaneously planned a short solo camping trip to one of our favourite places on the British Isles: Dunwich. The plan was to simply cycle there from Diss, in Suffolk, wild camp, and back to Cambridge the following day to catch a train back to London.

The weather forecast for the weekend was surprisingly warm for being late October, however, a pretty nasty wind and rain storm was approaching the UK from the Southwest. Meteorlogists promised very high winds and torrential rain, but this was only to hit Suffolk by Monday night, so I should be more or less safe.

Although I did not particularly stuck to the route below, it's an idea of what I did, and certainly would be a good one if you indeed fancied a go...



A quick journey on a very old-fashioned Greater Anglia British Rail Class 90 train and I set off East towards Southwold, on the Suffolk coast. I initially followed some bits of a route published on Jack Thurston's excellent Lost Lanes book to then carry on towards the sea. It was the perfect cycling day, with temperatures in the early twenties, sunny spells, and a decent southeasterly wind, which pushed me much of the way. I took it very easy and simply enjoyed the quiet countryside of this part of the UK. Even though it is still close to the crowded Southeast, it certainly does not feel like it in terms of traffic...passing only a few cars per hour.

Southwold Pier - definitely above your average UK pier!

Southwold was a fairly pleasant coastal town, with a decent beach if it not were for the nasty view of Sizewell nuclear power plant in the background... Other than that, it has a very relaxed atmosphere, and lots of fresh fish in the fishing port. Again, a nice change from the average English coastal town.

Southwold beach, and the nuclear power plant in the background

From Southwold I first had to cross a little estuary to carry on South, towards Dunwich. You either take a tiny "ferry", which is paddled by a surely very strong man, or you take the pedestrian crossing a bit further inland. 90 p per person and 90 per bike did not seem too pricey, but I just didn't fancy carrying the heavy bike onto the tiny boat...so went for the second option and save the funds for a beer.

Surely the tiniest ferry in the UK!

Once on the other side, I followed the Suffolk coastal path, not because I planned it, but because it appeared on my GPS screen and thought of it as a nice alternative to the roads. I was glad to have thick tyres on the tourer, as recent rain had made the path very muddy and slippery. It was also narrow at places, but somehow managed to cycle through it without falling.

Yep, that's were your bacon and sausages come from!

Suffolk coastal trail - narrow and slippery

It was now approaching 5 pm, and Dunwich was only a few km ahead along the path. I started to seek out places to camp overnight, but first decided to continue on to the Dunwich car park, where there's 24 h toilet facilities where I was to stock up with water.

Dunwich Heath in the background

There were several fishing aficionados set up on the beach, and even a guy swimming. Speaking to one of them, it seems is now the time of the year to get flat fish, and most of them would be spending the night there. After I loaded up with water I considered my options, and staying on the beach seemed the most reasonable one.

The fishermen and I were the only ones on the beach when the sun set

Waiting on the sunset to pitch the tent

I figured if I could walk out along the beach for a while I could find a quiet (and flat) place in which to pitch my tent. I waited until it got dark and pitched by the fences. I would be out in the early morning, and being just me and my tiny tent, I figured I would not bother anyone.

As I had seen warnings of severe weather on all the national newspapers, I confirmed with Lucy that I would be ok for the night. It appeared I was to expect heavy rain showers and winds up to 50 km/h from the Southeast, but nothing worse than that. Being dark at 5:30 pm, I was tucked in my sleeping bag at 8 pm and asleep shortly after that.

The night storms were constant, and at 2:00 am I was abruptly woken up by a partially collapsed tent - the ground wasn't really quite solid and the gusty winds had pulled the pegs out, leaving me with a useless tent in the middle of a downpour. I got out and used the bike to pegged it down more securely, which worked brilliantly until the following morning.

How to peg the tent in soft ground and strong winds

I did not manage to get a very good nights sleep, but when the storms ceased, at about 4 am, I passed out for a couple hours. I hadn't realised that the time changed, so essentially woke up at 7 am to a walker and his dog. It turned out he was one of the maintenance guys working on the beach, but he wasn't bothered by me being there, and just said good morning and joked about the weather.

After a pretty miserable night, the skies opened and I enjoyed a nice sunrise with some porridge cooked on the stove. 

Can't beat the views!

Ready to go 

I noticed the wind was picking up again, and with that, more rainy clouds. What had been a very pleasant morning, had now turned into a horrible autumnal day, with heavy rain, wind a darkness. My GPS had also decided not to show my pre-planned route, so I was left without any idea of where to go. Luckily, I had some maps, and later on I managed to plot a new route with the GPS which seemed fairly reasonable.

The rain stopped a few km out of Dunwich, but then, the promised Southeasterly winds made an appearance. Even though the proper storm was yet not hitting Suffolk, I could certainly feel a very stiff headwind which was to accompany me for literally the entire route to Cambridge. 

The GPS took me on very quiet roads, all very flat and theoretically easy, if it not were for the gusty headwinds. The km did not seem to pass, and I struggled all the way, my speed being brought back down to 8 km/h on several occasions. It felt like a 120 km uphill, and eventually took me 10 hours to reach my destination.

Tons of fresh veg

It got dark by the time I reached Cambridge, and the station certainly was a very welcome sight. I was completely shattered, my face being wind-burnt, but it had been a good way of spending the weekend and seeing the autumnal colors. Of note also, a friendly truck driver congratulated me on my high visibility approach - he had seen me on the road and said my gear was spot-on with a high-vis vest, blinking red lights, and reflectives. Always good to be reassured! 

Back at home I was glad to see I had escaped one of the worst storms that have hit the UK. In a few hours time winds up to 160 km/h were registered in the Isle of Wight and chaos brought to the whole Southeast on Monday morning.

Sunset as I approached Cambridge

Sister Cycle: Pedalling against the Patriarchy

Rapha womens 100

Sunday 7 July was the Rapha Women's 100, a global event where the cycle company Rapha encouraged women all over the world to ride 100km on the same day. Working as I do in an organisation with many fabulous feminists, we decided we could take this one step further and make this not only a women's ride, but a feminist ride.

We didn't have as much time to plan as we would have liked but we managed to plot a route taking in a few of sites of feminist significance, starting and finishing in Cambridge--where the first women's college in the UK was founded. It felt approrpiate to do a feminist ride given the historical connections between cycling and women's liberation.

On Sunday morning, I cycled to King's Cross Station with a mixture of anxiety and excitement. I've only very rarely cycled a long distance without Alberto there to sort out mechanicals (and just generally be nice company of course!), and I haven't spent much time on the road bike this year so I wasn't sure how fit I really was. But I'd also literally never ridden a route without a man along for the ride and the idea of spending the day with only women was exciting. The forecast was for hot weather, sunny skies, and calm winds -- so we really couldnt complain. It was going to be a great day.

Four wonderful women--me, Emma, Rachael, and Kate--set out to takle the route in the 27 C (80 F) heat. Our route took us south out of Cambridge, first on the traffic-free cycle route for the first few kms, and then onto quieter roads. We all had a lot of enthusiasm early in the day, and the temperatures weren't quite so high, so before we knew it we were riding through Great Chesterford, where apparently the feminist icon Germaine Greer lives (we didn't check her address!).

We carred on South and the terrain got a bit hillier as we headed into Saffron Walden. On the approach to Saffron Walden we rode on our only really busy stretch of road of the ride, a B road combined with an uphill is really never a good plan. But we made it through and soon we were out the other side and onto quiet country lanes. By the time we arrived in Great Easton we were all ready for a break.

Enjoying the shade in Great Easton

Great Easton was home to Hannah Woolley, a woman writer in the 1600s who is believed to be the first woman to have earned a living by writing books (even if they were about household management!). On the approach to the town we found a pub with an inviting, shady beer garden and promptly stopped to have a soft drink and a small snack, reapply sunscreen, refill our bottles and recharge our bodies. We were 50km into the ride, and would now turn north to head back up to Cambridge.

Attacking the hills

Leaving Great Easton we had some more lovely country lanes back to Saffron Walden (some of which were retracing our steps from the way out) and, after Saffron Walden we passed our final feminist landmark, Audley End, an English Heritage site where Henrietta Howard omce lived. She was a mistress of King George II but also a feminist ahwad of her time, leaving an abusive husband, writing about women's equality, and eventually becoming self-sufficient and not needing a man's support at all after the King and her called it quits.

A quick break at Audley End

After Audley End came the only categorised climb of the day (as they would say in the Tour de France commentating), but it really wasn't too bad. I actually enjoyed it quite a bit. We finally decided to stop for lunch shortly afterwards, at a random pub we passed with about 15km to go from Cambridge. We sat in the beer garden, ate a pub lunch, and caught up with the Wimbledon final. Then it was time to get  back out on the road for a leisurely ride to the finish.

Taking in the view

Riding with women was really a different experience. I've never not enjoyed riding with men, but there's something different about being on the road with just women. We had a great time--I don't think I've ever laughed so much on a bike ride before! I'm so glad we got a chance to participate in the Womens 100, but I hope it's not another whole year before I ride with women again!

Ride report: the Milton Keynes 600 (or how I became a Super-randonneur)

It seems that 2012 has been (and still is) a good year for me. I have managed to fit in quite a lot of long rides, including 200s, three 300s, one 400 and two tours, with getting my PhD. But my other big objective for this year was to become a Super-randonneur (or SR in Audax terms). For no long distance cycling nerds, that is riding a 200, 300, 400 and 600 events all in one season.

Back in October 2012, Lucy and I gave it a go at our very first 200 km audax event. It was tough, and we did not have lots of time in hand by the time we got back to the finish, but we had been bitten by the long distance bugs. Since then, we have a good number of similar events under our belt, and 200s no longer seem as long as the first one.

My plans had gone ok, but the PhD viva was set just two days after my planned calendar 600. It did not seem to be a great idea to go for it and then have your brain fully ready to be able to respond to questions about your last 3.5 years of research. Fine, important things first. To my disappointment, there were no other calendar events left that I could join, and a DIY 600 seemed a bad idea for a newbie like me.

However, Steve, a nice chap who got the most points on an Audax season ever (riding >40.000 km in one year!), has been running his own DIY 600 from his house late in the season, for people who could not fit a calendar event earlier in the year, or were not fit enough. His aim is to help first timers achieve their first SR series. Great plan. Did not take me long to sign up for it, although back then I was not sure about my touring plans just the week earlier.  May not be an ideal plan to be riding in Scotland for 10 consecutive days, and then, ride a 600 with 4 days in between...but there was no other choice.


I took it very easy during the 4 days preciding this ride, only commuting to work. Started filling the gas tank a couple of days earlier but massively failed to get good sleep. The bike was fully ready on Thursday and I was up in Milton Keynes for dinner with the other participants on Friday night. There were 12 of us signed up for this, and amongst those, 5 of us were undertaking this ride as our very first 600 km.

Lights, GPS, Carradice bag, 2 bottles. Good to go.

After we stuffed our faces with a Sunday roast on a Friday, we all hit our beds by 11 pm for a 4:45 am wake up call. The ride would start at 6 am sharp, with British punctuality, of course.

I did not get very good sleep as it usually happens before new events. Maybe managed to get 3-4 hours throughout the night. I was glad I was not the only one though. Coffee, bacon roll and a few chocolates and we were off after collecting our first ATM receipt, which indicated 6:04 am. We had 42 hours to complete the 630 km.

From Milton Keynes to the Red Lodge Café, we rode the 110 km at a relatively fast pace, averaging more than 25 km/h without putting in much effort. The delights of group riding! The tailwind helped a bit I guess, and we were eating our second breakfast minutes after 10 am. Although this was the longest stretch of the whole ride, it felt easy as we were all fresh, and it probably was the best decision to get all those km out of the way sooner rather than later. Unfortunately, my rear hub started playing up just 5 miles after the off, making an incredibly loud noise anytime I freewheeled, which was also accompanied by a not-to-reassuring vibration of the whole bike. I had had the same problem a few weeks earlier in the Kidderminster Killer, but I thought the problem was gone now. It definitely was not. The bike was still functioning, yet I needed to pedal at all times, which essentially made me ride on a short of fixed wheel. It was not a ride-ending mechanical though, so I carried on annoying my companions whenever I attempted to freewheel. On top of this, my butt was not feeling comfortable on the ride, starting to hurt before we even hit the first 100 km. Not being able to freewheel was not going to make things any easier...

Peloton riding on towards Red Lodge

The next stretch to Eye involved another 60 km of flatness and wind-assisted riding, so we got there in very good spirits. Got a receipt, and carried on.100 miles done, and I did not feel tired at all, except for the sore butt. Again, I believe Audax has a massive mental component, as 100 miles (160 km) out of 400 miles (630 km) does not seem so much.

Steve had planned a proper stop with a sit-down meal near Norwich. It was at roughly 200 km into the ride, which was ideal, as it also coincided with Spanish lunch time. We were still doing a respectable average of 24 km/h and everyone was well, except Jethro, one of the experienced riders, who was having some knee problems.

On towards Norwich, a few of the guys diverted off to the hotel which would serve as our overnight stop. They went to pick up the keys for the rooms so that there would not be any faffing when we got back there at night. The rest of us pressed on for some well-deserved food. Jethro finished his ride here as his knee did not seem up for another 400 km.

A lasagna and plenty of bread kept me fuelled for the next stage. By the time we left it was almost 6 pm, and so we had a bit more than 90 min of daylight, and yet another 160 km to cover before the night stop. All in good spirits we said goodbye to Norwich and went onwards to Sheringham, on the coast. I was looking forward to this section of the ride, as it goes through some nice countryside that Lucy and I have cycled in a few times, and it's not as flat as the previous stages. It also meant cycling into the night, which is one my favourite times for being out on the bike.

Sun, tailwind, warmth

Sheringham was only 40 km from the lunch stop, and we got there when daylight was fading. I started to feel very sleepy, having not had very good sleep the previous night, and being more than 15 hours since I woke up. It was not too bad for a stop, so I pressed on with the group thinking about the nice hot coffee that I will down at the next control. At Sheringham, rather than going into town and the shore, we diverted off to the first garage for our proof of passage. I would have liked to have a quick look at the shore, but the clock was ticking. We were also unsure as to whether we would get another feed opportunity at Heacham (the next control) and so I ended up stuffing my saddle bag with bread, cheese and salami. Unfortunately, the coffee machine was out of order, and they did not sell any other sort of caffeinated drink, other than coke. So the third coke of the day it was...

Upon leaving Sheringham we entered into night riding mode: lights, high-vis vest, GPS backlight. All on. A few km later, I had to put leg and arm warmers on, but it was still rather pleasant out. The roads got a bit more rolling, with fast descents and very little traffic. The next control, some 300 km into the ride, was at Heacham, where supposedly Lyndsay, a very kind woman on her weekend off of audaxing, was supposed to be waiting for us with a boot full of delights. However, the last word from her was that she might not be able to make it in the end. With that in mind, we carried on hoping to find something open in case she did not turn up.

Riding into down, some 280 km after our departure. Still 350 km to go!

By 10 pm we hit Heacham, and quite amazingly, Lyndsay was there, waiting for us, in the middle of a dark country lane. Her boot and kindness made our day. All kinds of good audax food was made available to us, washed down with coffee, tea and rice puddings. I could not believe how kind some people are. It certainly made our last stage of the day a lot easier, and surely much faster. She and her daughter also acted as controllers, so no need to pop into the actual town for a proof of passage.

In very good spirits, yet a bit tired mentally, we set off at 10:30 pm for the last 65 km to our night stop. Steve had arranged proper beds and a few hours of much needed sleep.

Night riding is fantastic and I am a great advocate of it. Yet after a long day of cycling it was not as appealing as usual, knowing that our average speed would drop quite a bit, and that I would take us a bit longer to cover those km. I was also ready for bed. I tried to make conversation with my other companions, but I could see I was not the only one who was feeling a bit weary. At times, there was no conversations, just steady red and bright lights going ahead of me.

Just minutes past midnight, Steve started singing happy birthday to Denise, one of the experienced riders of the group. It was her birthday on Sunday, and I thought it was a nice gesture and felt very special. I would certainly not mind having my birthday while on the bike, quite literally!

At 1 am I started to see the blurred orange skies that you clearly see when approaching large towns. It was a sign that we were not too far from Norwich! The last 20 km felt very long and I was so ready for a quick shower and bed. At 1:45 am we hit the Travelodge and quickly got into our rooms. In 15 min I was showered, fed, and asleep. Alarm was set for 6 am.

It did not feel long when my phone started beeping. It had been less than 4 hours since I fell asleep and I was not in the best of my moods or states to continue on cycling for another 270 km. I shared the room with Tom, who has got a few Paris-Brest-Paris and London-Edinburgh-London on his legs, and he reassured me that it is tough but that soon I will be ok back on the bike. A coffee and some biscuits did the initial trick, and by 6:30 we were all ready to go. Quite amazing I thought, everyone seemed happy and ready for another long day on the saddle, having only had 4 hours sleep.

6:30 am, the start of the second day

The first stage of day 2 would take us to King's Lynn, a not particularly nice town on the Norffolk coast. But breakfast there made it look a bit more appetising, and with a slight tailwind we made our way there, hitting the town centre just after 9 am. Initial plans were to go for a full English breakfast in a pub that was meant to be on the route, but after some way finding and faffing, we could not find it. A diversion was made and we went to an OK cafe somewhere in town. I was quite surprised I had made it here without much food since the night before, and so I treated myself to plenty of English delicacies including eggs, bacon, sausages and beans on toast.

With a full stomach, we started to head back down to Milton Keynes. Now the wind was against us though, and would be for the remaineder of the day. It was so bad at times, that we would not average more than 15 km/h even when riding in a group. The next control up was only 20 km out of King's Lynn, but we needed a quick rest.

As we left Sutton Bridge, the wind got quite bad along the Lincolnshire flatlands and on to the Cambridgeshire Fens. It was also quite warm again. On a couple of occasions I stopped for a quick pee and found it very hard to get back to the group. The roads were also straight and featureless, and this was probably the toughest and most boring part of the whole ride. The strong guys sat at the front of the peloton and the rest got going behind them.

In Ely we stopped one more time for some more food, being all quite weary after the headwind. My stomach had been behaving itself quite OK during this ride, and it was craving for something sugary and filling. A couple of pancakes arrived on my table, literally swimming in gross Maple Syrup. Took me a while to realise that it's never a good idea to order adventurous stuff in a typically English café, so immediately afterwards I ordered a bacon bap, which was much nicer than the pancakes. With a full stomach, we left for the next control. Still more than 100 km to go, as the whole route was already being over the official stated km.

Lucy had been sending texts from Philly throughout the ride. Although I could not answer them, they did give me the motivation to carry on. Especially this one. My butt was extremely sore by now, and on a number of occasions I was really wondering why I was doing this. But her text saying "go go it's only a 100 km Sunday ride" lifted my spirits.

The next section crossed some familiar territory that I had cycled in one of the 300 km rides, and found it nice back then. The winds eased down quite a bit, and we had an easier ride from here on, yet had to stop a few times for a quick rest. It was on one of those rests, that an ambulance happened to come past us, saw one of the riders laying on the grass, and attempted to stop thinking there was an emergency, only to be waved by us with an "it's all OK" sign. Strange things happen while audaxing!

Having one of multiple rests

Biggleswade was the last control before Milton Keynes. For at least five of us this had already been the longest ride ever, at more than 550 km. More food supplies were needed for the last stretch of roads.

I cannot remember much other than I was again in good spirits, especially after Rob had kindly lent me some sudocream which I had high hopes would help with my saddle sores. The end was also in sight, with "only" about 60 km to go. Not that this feels like much on a normal day, but trust me, it felt like a long way to me on the day. At least 3 more hours or riding, again, into the night.

The last rest stop

I am not sure if the sudocream did a good job or whether I just blacked out my sores for a while, but made some interesting conversations with my companions and the km seemed a lot more pleasant now. Bad thoughts of "maybe I will ride another 600 km again" or "perhaps I should sign up for London-Edinburgh-London next year" sprung to mind again. None of these had even crossed my mind during any of the previous hours on this ride...

Milton Keynes outline started to appeared on the GPS, and Steve took us on some faster roads rather than on the lanes as to get some speed for the final 20 km. I started to feel strong again, and the realisation that I was actually going to make it till the end seemed real. The last few km into Milton Keynes I spent talking about the Bryan Chapman Memorial ride (a 600 km even that crosses Wales twice) with Matt, who almost nearly convinced me that 600 km are the best rides. 

The group dropped me off at the train station by 9:45 pm. Almost 40 h and 630 km since we started on Saturday. We had made it round, still withing BRM time. I was feeling ok, not particularly sleepy or tired, and was very pleased with myself, having had the rear wheel problem and the sore butt all the way. Also, I was surprised I was OK on only 4 hours sleep. 

Shook hands with everyone and thanked them all for being such a great company. Steve did an excellent job of arranging the hotels, route, and stops. It was a great pleasure to ride with a bunch of very experienced (long distance) cyclists and with 4 new Super Randonneurs. Well done to all of us!

After a bit of arguing with the Virgin Trains manger at the station, he let me on the train without a bike reservation. The train had no bikes on it, but apparently it's company's policy to not let anyone on without a reservation. I begged him, explained that I had been riding for 40 h almost non-stop and eventually he opened the bloody bike storage door. 

By 11 pm I was having some pasta at home and thinking where I could get some sudocream first thing on Monday am. My feelings about doing longer than 400 km rides were very mixed up during the ride, but I was now savouring being a new super-randonneur. Even considering doing another 600 km in May. I am now having two weekends off the bike which will probably get me all anxious about long distances again. It had been the most challenging ride for me thus far, not quite physically, but mentally. 

The stats for the even were as below

600 km ride stats

Ride Report: Rutland Ramble 200 km audax

In September 2011 we did a ride around Cambridgeshire where we met a guy who lived in Rutland. Back then we had never heard of what it turns out to be the smallest unitary authority in England, after the City of London. According to him, it was a fabulous cycling place, and so we included it on our to-do list straight away. I have also heard that is the only county in the UK without a McDonalds, which is yet another good reason to go visit it.

Conveniently, a new Audax ride had been set up by the Bedford CTC and we were quick to enter. We like to support new events and new organisers, and Bedford has good transport links with London. Came August 11th and our alarm set off at 5 am for a 7:30 am start. The route we had ahead of us was a lumpy 210 km, following a square shape heading west of Bedford, then North, then East and finally South back to the start. Navigation was meant to be rather easy (thanks to Paul for plotting the route). I would be taking my tourer, as I am still trying to break in its leather saddle. 

We had planned to take it rather easy, as we've been sort of idle for a few weeks due to my PhD exam preparations combined with the Olympics. Also the weather promised to be nice at last, so full value for money it was. We were both highly needing some sun exposure, as it has been rather dull ever since we returned from Spain after el Camino.

Bedford to Blisworth (42 km)

The start was uneventful, except for our fellow riders Dan and Paul, who were both late and would need to play catch up to the first control.  36 of us were ready for the off. Lucy and I set off on our own and behind the main peloton. We took the first 40 km rather easy until the first control. Bedford was surprisingly big, and took us longer than I had anticipated to get out of it. It seems that the nasty A428 was the only way west out of town, and despite being so early on a Saturday, traffic was not pleasant at all and we started wondering if the route was going to be the same for the remainder of the day. We are known to hate A roads and always stick to country or minor B roads when cycling on our own, but when doing somebody else's routes you risk these things.

Some sort of fog had settled in some areas in the early morning

At 24 km/h moving average, we got the first control in good spirits and ready for some food. Jackie, the organiser, had brought some Belgiam buns, water and some bananas. Paul and Dan arrived a few minutes later after I suppose it was a quick first km to catch up. From there on, the four of us would cycle together until the finish.

Blisworth to Wistow (54 km)

The second stage of the ride was just over 50 km, using quieter lanes on the way to Wistow. The were also getting a bit more lumpier, but nothing too significant, really. After our tour in Spain, we do not get too scared when people over here talk about hills. At least not when involving rides in the Southeast of England.

The four of us made progress and chatter along the way, making for a very relaxed ride catching up on rides, tours and other stuff.

Paul (left), Dan (centre), machaca Lucy (right)

The roads were also more scenic than in earlier sections, with some nice canal bridges and plenty of green farmlands. At one of those bridges we stopped to do something rather unusual for us this summer in the UK: apply sunscreen. I took the opportunity to eat one of my wraps and a banana, as I was feeling quite tired possibly due to lack of sleep the night before and also the fact that we had barely eaten any breakfast.

Having a quick rest

Love the canals

Shortly after this break, we made it to the control, where a kind helper was stamping our brevet cards. He also suggested we carried on a bit rather than eating at the café. It seemed rather busy and apparently prices were inflated. The helper was quite keen on learning about where I came from, which was mostly triggered by the fact that I was breaking the rules by wearing a jersey from a Spanish cycling club based in the Pyrinean town (i.e. Benasque) where I go skiing in the winter. I am obviously not a member of this club, but their jersey is cool and practical. 

We chatted to other riders, filled our bottles and intended to pedal another 10 miles to a different café in a town called Hallaton that would cater for cyclists at reasonable prices. Our controller was ranting a bit about audax being taken a bit too easy these days...but then I made my point: it's sunny! you've got to enjoy the sun. Remember that most UK audaxes will have to be cycled in overcast and/or rainy conditions. He agreed. 

Wistow to Alwalton (60 km)

With a rather empty stomach, we pressed on to the café the controller had suggested. What I thought it was going to be a quick 10 km, turned out to be more like 16 km (10 miles) of weird sensations on the bike. A headwind coming from the east was not helping. I was too hungry, tired and did not fancy any of the bonk rations we usually carry with us. I tried my best to wash down a few dry mango slices and somehow made it to the café in Hallaton. Once again, eating on an audax was proven a bit difficult this time, and have to remind myself to eat plenty before during and after a ride. 

Not really knowing how my stomach would react to food on this audax, I went for the soup, which is usually a safe bet. Also a milkshake that turned out to be chocolate milk, and a piece of cake. None of these was particularly great food, but did the trick and I got to replenish my energy stores. 

We left the café with a bit over plenty of buffer time on the next control. Even though we were taking it really easy and stopping plenty of times, we were still well within the limits. On a day like today, anyone can complete a 200 km audax, if well fed and hydrated. Even on a heavy bike like mine. 

Rutland was coming up next. The terrain turned a bit more lumpy and the views rather scenic, with the viaduct in the background.

First glimpse of the viaduct. Note Dan's perfect match of socks and frame. He is a professional of the rules.

The machacas and the viaduct

A nice sight

We made good progress to the third control, while climbing up some of the "toughest" hills of the ride. None of them really significant, but definitely slowed me down and had me on the granny ring a few times. The tourer rocks on the downhills, it is ok on the flat, but you can feel its weight on the inclines!!

One of the inclines in Rutland

Because of our slow progress, we would not make it on time for the café in Alwalton and so Paul diverted us to a Little Chef nearby. This was a truly new experience for both Lucy and me. Four years in the UK and still had not had the pleasure to eat in one of these chains! Lucy did the right thing by not ordering anything other than a drink, but I played adventurous and ordered eggs on toast. Two plasticky things came on top of two plain toasts. Never seen such a bad looking egg ever before, but hey, I was hungry and managed to eat them. Little Chef box ticked and never again.

Alwalton to Bedford (56 km)

I was glad to be heading back to Bedford. We were all a bit tired after the lumpy sections and headwind, although still quite enjoying the nice weather. Navigation was easy, sticking to the B660 for quite a while passing through some pretty towns including Old Weston, Catworth and Kimbolton (with its rather posh looking School). We were ok with time, but definitely not our fastest 200 km.

Quiet B660 and a few more km to go

Sunset around this time of the year is at around 9 pm, and according to our calculations, we will be back at the HQ by 8 pm. The terrain eased out a bit, and shortly before 8 pm we made our arrival to Jackie's house, the final control.

The organiser's house and final control

Jackie had some food for us. This was much appreciated as I was still hungry. Have learnt my lesson once again of eating loads on long rides. Looking back, I had not eaten more than on a regular day, and I had spent more than 10 hours pedalling. I am glad I did not bonk or anything, but have to sort this out for the future rides, even it means carrying my own pasta supplies and waking up even earlier for a big breakfast.

All in all, it was an excellent ride except the first stage with those nasty roads. The company was superb, and I am glad I could manage ok with the heavy tourer. The weather had been very kind to us, with the thermometers not going above 23 degrees or so. Perfect cycling temperatures.

We are now getting ready for a hilly 100 and 200 km ride in Shropshire.

The stats for the day were as below: