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

Ride report: Dunwich Dynamo XX

It is nearly a year ago when we first joined the infamous Dunwich Dynamo peloton from London Fields, in central London, to Dunwich in the Suffolk Coast. This year the ride had been proposed a bit earlier than last year to avoid clashing with the Olympics.

It was also the first time I was going to attempt a ride of more than 130 km on my Long Haul Trucker, with a yet unbroken-in saddle. A lot to fear, maybe, but surely would add a bit of spice to an otherwise easy and flat ride to the coast.

Saturday evening and we, as always, are rushing to get things done on time. Pack loads of food, drink, check bikes, lights, clothing, weather forecast, routes, batteries, spares, and again, weather forecasts. The night promised to be very pleasant, with temperatures above 10C throughout and a tailwind all the way to the beach. Lovely, especially when comparing with last years predictions of rain (which never turned out to be true though!).

Relaxed atmosphere before the off

At 8:15 pm we made an appearance in the park, where we met our companion for the night, Dan, on his very first night ride. People were chilling on the grass, drinking beer, and some were already gone or about to go. We took things easy, chatted a bit and waited until almost 9 pm for the off, tagging along with a large group of relaxed cyclists. The fast boys had either departed already, or were leaving it till the end. Still, quite do not get why some folk take this really nice ride as if it was a race. There were large groups of club riders in their club gear and sporting featherlight bikes, with no more than a tiny saddlebag attach to it. I, on the contrary, was carrying a >15 kg bike and two half-full panniers, totalling more than 25 kg. There really is no rush in getting to the beach as it is usually freezing at silly o'clock and I rather have a siesta when it is nice and warm.


By 9 pm we were already battling our way through traffic to get out of Hackney. Heading North East we soon got on the road leading to Epping Forest. I grabbed a coke here as was already feeling tired and sleepy after a busy week with not much sleep. We re-joined the train of riders and made good progress, crossing the M25 still in (some sort of) daylight.

Audaxer (left) meets Mario Bros

Through Epping Forest

While passing through the town of Epping, we got the usual cheers from the drunk locals. Exactly the same thing as last year! It is fun though. Shortly after Epping, there's the first pub stop, or rather, where people stop to drink/eat something before the pubs start to shut.

Crazy number of cyclists going through

From here the ride become more laney, and our recollection from last year was that the field spread all over and you do not feel a part of large group anymore, seeing the occasional cyclist every now and then. However, this year, numbers have increased quite a lot, and we were surrounded by other cyclists throughout the ride.

Proper night time cycling it was now. Very few motorised traffic, and the lanes became ours, with the exception of a few random drunkards that we saw on the roads, in the dark, going who knows where. We made progress passing through familiar Essex towns, and eventually got to the half way stop in Sibble Hendigham by 2 am. As expected, it was packed with cyclists, with queues that were completely off-putting for getting food. Luckily we had brought our own food, and it was still relatively warm, so ate our sandwiches happily while observing others pulling in and out.

All types of bikes, at the half way stop

Still another 90 km or so to go. Sunrise scheduled for 4 am, so very little left of night riding and clear skies were to be expected after we left. Still, plenty of us on the road. I was feeling great - all the night riding done up until now seemed to have a positive effect. Also Lucy was in very good spirits, and so was Dan, who was doing very well for his first night excursion - and was clearly capable of going much faster than us if he had wanted to.

Sunrise in the countryside

Lucy in good spirits

50 km or so to the coast we came across the famous bacon butties stop, in someone's garden. We too stopped here last year, both feeling completely knackered and in much need of a rest. This time though, we knew what to expect and made a quick incursion into the garden for some hot food and a coffee. Dan was being hit by the sleep deprivation bug, so he was happy to get some caffeine in. Pop up stops are all over the place now - people have realised there's potential for business here! The owners of this garden had also set up a tent where people seemed to be having naps in their cozy sleeping bags! Had it been cold and rainy I would not have minded, but it was time to go hit the roads again for the last stretch to the beach.

Bacon roll and coffee stop

Wheat fields and sunshine

The final km to the beach were rather nice, pootling around with others at a very relaxed pace. You could notice the type of bike and rider at this point. Most of us carrying panniers, heavy bikes, and lots of them not even wearing cycling-specific clothes. But it does not matter, this ride accommodates everyone. Some of the faster guys were already heading back home, having probably reached the beach by 4 am or so.

Lucy enjoying the final kms

Lucy & Dan followed by many others

The final bit into the beach is always very pleasurable as it passes through the Dunwich Heath. A bit of gentle up and downs, the famous sign to Dunwich, and we were there!

Final lanes

Made it!

Rolling into the beach, although not as spectacular as the very first time you do this ride, is always a highlight. A field packed with sleeping cyclists is something that we cannot get to see everyday and something that will certainly impress anyone. It was 8:30 am.

Finding a clear spot for a snooze

The beach full of tired bodies

After we found a clear space and ate some of our snacks, we went for a well-deserved siesta. For most, this is the end of a very long night on the saddle. Plenty of coaches organised by the Southwark Cyclists would take them back to London, but we found this to be extremely stressful last year. Also, prices had gone up, and the bikes got some abuse being loaded onto the trucks last year. For said reasons, we had decided to return by train, via Diss, some 40 km East of Dunwich.

Some folk came very well prepared!

Siesta time!

All in all, it was an excellent ride with great and warmer weather than last years. Something I would suggest all people to do at least once. Everyone gets to the beach, on all sorts of bike and styles. It was also the first time I had taken the tourer (>25 kg of weight!) on a >200 km ride, and it felt so comfortable, despite slowing me down quite considerably on the hills! The brooks saddle seems to be breaking in and had no sores at the end of the day

Bring on Dunwich Dynamo 2013!!!

Ride report: the National 400 Audax

 The National 400 was back on the calendar this year. Apparently it used to be an annual 400 km ride organised in a way to help new riders complete their first ever 400. It sounded good for us Audax newbies, yet the distance and time on the saddle is quite considerable. 400km, or 250 miles, is roughly equivalent to a ride from Madrid to Valencia (and a bit more, yet not as hilly), or from New York to Washington DC (and again, a bit more). The ride was intended to be pretty flat and looped around East Anglia as seen below:

On Friday eventing, after a pleasant train journey through Suffolk and Norfolk, we arrived in Norwich, from where we cycled down the 17 km to Seething, location of the hall that the organisers had arranged for the pre-ride dinner and overnight stay. Most people were either camping or staying in their campervans, but we, poor youngsters, chose the hall. It turned out to be a good option actually, as there were only a few of us there and the snoring was not too bad. Despite the ride being targeted at unexperienced audaxers like us, we had the impression that everyone was pretty hardcore when we were chatting over dinner.

Saturday Morning - by 6 am people started to get ready. Despite the horrendous weather forecasted for the weekend, it was warm and with relatively calm winds for the start. During breakfast I was asked if I was eating my toast the French way. As it happens, people do not dip their toast in their coffee here! After some last minute preparations, we headed over to Hempnall, the official start of the route. Getting there 20 minutes prior to the off, we met a few familiar faces, got our brevet cards and left minutes after 9 am. A good day of cycling awaited us.

The luxurious Hempnall Hall at the start, 8:45 am

Hempnall to Thordon (81 km)

75 of us rode off at 9:01am. 402 km ahead of us.

Initially we got rolling with a large group, which ended up in 15-20 riders. Similarly to my Dean audax ride in March, people tend to stick together until the first control. With them we made very good progress despite the persistent cross winds coming from the south. The route headed east towards the coast, where we found the first info control, some 32 km into the ride. This control was in Dunwich, a mini coastal town that we have visited on two occasions already, famous for being the end of the Dunwich Dynamo.

Roads leading up to Dunwich

 The riders in the front of our mini-peloton were working hard against the wind, and we, at the very back, enjoyed a very pleasant tow. At some point I decided that I should also do my turn at the front, so there I went with another fellow audaxer. We were so focused on keeping a good pace that ended up missing a turn, although luckily, the rest of the riders did not follow us. Playing catch up proved a bit hard, and at this point I started to see that Lucy was finding it hard to keep up. She's still not very confident with group riding, and the pace was just a bit outside her comfort zone. Despite all our efforts, we had to let them go and rode the last 15 km on our own. Even then, we averaged above 25 km/h and it was a very fast 81 km, quite possibly the fastest we've ever done together!

Thorndon control

The control was in a village hall (as were all the controls on this ride) and had plenty of cake and drink. Good fuel for audaxing. Everyone was (still) in very good spirits, fresh, and smiley. Got our brevets stamped, ate some cake and left half an hour later. From here on we would just set our own pace, which in a way, worried me a little because of the winds we will later encounter. Riding in a group is always much easier, especially against the wind.

Thorndon to Long Melford (81 km)

With sugar levels replenished, we set off into the cross winds again. The terrain was quite familiar to us, and it looped around the north of Bury St Edmunds to then head back south and finally east. That meant we would, at some point, encounter the promised head winds. We would also be passing through Hartest, a nice little town that we visited a couple years ago when Lucy's parents came over to visit her and some of their friends.

Superb lanes of Suffolk

Despite the winds, we managed to stay ahead of our initial plan, which was to get to Hartest between 5 and 6 pm. After a little detour, we were knocking on the door of Lucy's parents' friends to say hi just past 4:30 pm. It felt a little weird, being in audax mode, smelly, full lycra, and still with 240 km ahead of us, talking to other, more civilised people. The usual questions arose: are you doing it for charity? where are you staying overnight? when did you say you started this morning? where are you going now? and best of all...why? I let Lucy answer to all these questions. We filled our water bottles but didn't stay long, as we had the steepest hill in Suffolk coming up just past Hartest.

At the front of Lucy's friends' cute cottage

Contrasting colours

We left Hartest the hard way, up Hartest Hill. This would be the only hill that would test our legs on this ride, especially since our legs are still used to the hills of Spain!

Lucy machacando Hartest hill

The last 10 km into the control were tough. Lots of wind and my energy levels dropped very suddenly. I started to sweat quite a bit, feel sleepy and super tired all of the sudden. I had to stop and get some snacks in or else I was seeing myself bonking. I slowed the pace and hoped to get to the control as soon as possible. Luckily we got there and the food was plentiful. Very good job by the Sudbury CC, they had even printed out menus...all included in the entry fee.

Menu at the 2nd control

Somehow I managed to refuel by eating 5 sandwiches, beans on toast (a classic!), 4 or 5 cakes, rice pudding with strawberry jam and some other snacks that I thought would do me good. Shortly after indulging on all this, I had to visit the toilet 3 times in a row. This seems also a classic on all my long audax outings, and have yet to figure out why or what ingredient causes it.

Long Melfod to Barnham Broom (82 km)

Left the control just before 6pm hoping to do this stage in daylight. We would now be wind assisted all the way to the coast, so that would help us keep the momentum going, and probably up our average speed a little. 

Rolling terrain on the way to the north of Norfolk

The km seemed to fly by, and we managed to keep 25 km/h for almost the whole leg. It started to get dark towards the end of the stage, and that was one of the best moments of the ride. Rolling on quiet lanes, with no one else around. Sometimes one thinks that this whole 24 h riding thing is pointless, but in moments like this it is all worth it. Speeding up the lanes into the sunset was great, and we arrived in good spirits into the control. A wonderful hot soup was waiting for us, along with the usual cakes. Here we caught up with one other rider who was also doing this as his first 400 and who had also ridden the Green and Yellow fields 300. He reckoned that at our current speed we will be well within the time limit of 27 hours, despite already being at the back of the peloton. By the time we left it was past 10 pm and completely dark, so all night riding gear on and lights ready to go.

This says it all. Riding into the sunset.

Barnham Broom to Salthouse (75 km)

Left the control with another couple. They were following their routesheet and at some point we parted ways. We followed the gps track and they apparently followed the routesheet. We do check the routesheet, but at night it becomes tricky unless you wear a headtorch as well, so we stick to the GPS and its backlight. 

Despite that we told them that we were pretty certain that they were taking the wrong turn, they carried on their own way. They had a map, so we did not worry much about them, and also seemed very experienced. Our GPS however indicated that the road they took lead nowhere near the route. Oh well. Lucy and I carried on from here until Salthouse completely on our own. We both love night riding, and even better when it's only us and nothing else on the roads.

Night riding deceives you into thinking you're going much faster than you are. We still had a tailwind, but were not going any faster than 20 km/h on the flat. It took us quite a while to hit the north, where we had to work a bit to find an info control. Sleep deprivation and dark was not a good combination to find the road sign in quesiton, but we somehow managed after having double back a few meters. 

Lucy in night riding mode

After a right turn and a quick incursion in Cley-next-the-sea (which actually looked nice in the middle of the night) we progressed along the coastal road A149. Normally busy, it was completely empty at 2 am. Not a single car for almost the last 2 h into the control.

The A149 was really enjoyable, but we were also looking forward to stopping for some tea and coffee. At 2:45 am we pulled into the control to find a bunch of bikes resting outside. Some fellow riders were getting ready for the final leg into the headwind, while others, apparently, were having some sleep inside. We were warned of the snorers.

A hot drink and some cereal were most welcome. I still find it amazing that 4 or 5 people were there waiting for us, in a random town, in the middle of the night, to give us hospitality. I could not thank them enough. 

Most riders were having some sleep in one way or another. It was very funny to see their faces as they fell asleep on the table or anywhere really. Some were snoring quite loudly and seemed to be enjoying some good rest. We were not sure whether to give it a go or not to having some rest on the floor, but figured we'd rather sleep at the control than carry on and then have to nap later on out in the cold. Lucy went first. I tried to follow, but due to the adrenalin and also feeling a bit worried about oversleeping, I could only shut my eyes for a few minutes. 

Lucy sneaking in a nap

After 30 minutes, we had some more coffee and chatted with the helpers as we got ready for our final leg. One interesting fact is that the first rider in to this control left it at 21:15! So that is more than 6 h earlier than us. Very fit people out there. 

Salthouse to Hempnal (82 km)


Past 4 am we made our departure after thanking the controller and the helpers. They too seemed very tired. One thing I love about audaxes is the normality of everything. Despite the length of the ride, and silly hours, the cold, and sometimes the rain, it all seems normal and you don't get any "well dones" or anything like that. There's no reward other than your own achievement. There's no record of the rider's time after the event. They don't publish the order you've finished the ride in, just your name if you have completed it.

A few meters after the control the road went uphill. It was not a "massive hill" as other riders had described it , but it had us on our lowest gear pretty quickly. We were tired, a bit cold and about to face some headwinds for the last 80 km. Luckily, the sun was rising quickly and we no longer needed our front lights. When I looked back I could see the sea, the green fields and the sunrise. We were lucky to be at the right place at the right time I guess!

Climbing up away from the sea. 4:30 am

The terrain in northern Norfolk qualifies as rolling, so more ups and downs came while we made our way back down to Hempnall. Not surprisingly, given the time and it being a Sunday, we did not see a single car until 40 km into the stage. However, we had to stop more than usual as Lucy was feeling quite tired. We ate our snacks and kept pedalling. Eventually we made it to our last info control and turned East towards Hempnall.

On one of these roads we saw three guys on triathlon bikes flying, quite literally, in front of us. Pretty impressive speed, but surely they had not been cycling for 24 hours. At 9:43 am we got to the hall in Hempnal, where Keith (the main organiser) kindly validated our cards and gave us the commemorative key ring. That meant 24h and 43 min to complete the 403 km of the event. Another 7 riders were still behind us, but most seemed gone by the time we arrived. Our train back to London was not due until the afternoon, so we took it easy, ate and chatted to Tim, a guy we know from the Fnrttc who had also been riding all night in his own 400 km DIY event from the Easternmost town in Wales to the Easternmost town in England. 

This was my longest day on the bike and overall I really enjoyed it. It was tough at times, especially since we were on our own on the windiest bits, but we do not this because it is easy or comfortable, do we? It certainly felt a lot easier than the 300 we did in April, the Green and Yellow Fields. Maybe the reasonable weather helped a bit. Surely the great organisation and plenty of food/beverages did. I am now looking forward to riding the 600 km event I have planned in September. Lucy has decided not to do any more 400s until at least 2015 (that is Paris-Brest-Paris year!).  

400!

Our souvenir 

All in all the stats said:

- 406 km (plus another 40 km on the day)

- Moving average: 20.9 km/h

- Overall average: 16.7 km/h

- Max speed: 56.7 km/h

- Total moving time: 19h 27min

- Total stopped time: 4h 50min

Looking forward to the Dunwich Dynamo 2012

Hello! We're still cycling the Camino de Santiago but thought we'd schedule some posts while we're away. Enjoy!

It was almost exactly one year ago when we took the roads from London to Brighton, but through the night. It was so much fun that we were soon hooked up with night riding, and have been doing as much of it as possible.

Soon after that, we discovered the Dunwich Dynamo ride, an annual night outing where some 1000 cyclists set off from a central London location (London Fields, in Hackney) and cycle the 200 km to the Suffolk coast. There's no formalities required for this one, you just turn up and ride. Meet at 7 pm at the Pub on the Park and depart between 8 and 10 pm. Assuming you ride a normal pace and don't stop too much, you will get to the beach by 6-8 am.

Happy faces in 2011 after having reached the beach, and the sun was out!

Now it is a bit over a month and a half and I have already seen some nice write ups on other blogs. People are getting excited about it. This years will be the 20th edition, so meant to be a big one!

So, if you are regular-ish cyclist and want to have an amazing experience, you should come along on the night June 30th. Riders from further afield have made it to this ride, so no excuses in you're not London-based! The only three things that are needed: some sleep beforehand, a good front light, and a working bicycle. The rest is easy. Pedal, drink and eat and you'll eventually get there. Trust me, not-super-fit people reached the beach last year, some even on a 25 kg Boris bike.

As for the return to home options, Southwark cyclists provide a coach back for £14 if booked in advance. That will drop you back in central London, but we found it so stressful that this year we're riding to a station some 50 km from the beach, for a train back.

If you fancy coming along, do let us know!

Last year's write ups below

Dunwich Dynamo 2011

Ride report: Green & Yellow Fields 300 km audax

For the first time that I can recall, I did not wake up to an early morning alarm to catch a train to the start of a ride. Instead, I had handed in my PhD thesis that same morning, and worked pretty much all day. It seemed like I was going to be productive. We had also signed up for an unusual ride starting at midnight, from a random town called Manningtree in the Essex county. It was going to be Lucy's first attempt at riding a 300 km, and only my second one following the Dean 300 in March.

Left work on time to have a siesta, having not had enough sleep during the week. Riding all night meant I had to catch up on sleep or else it will turn into a unpleasant experience. From our previous rides with the Fnrttc folk, we already knew how tired we feel after a long night of riding. Similar to when you go out all night, you can easily fall asleep anywhere and anytime, and the same applies here. Somehow managed to fit in a two hours siesta and were soon on our way to Manningtree. A few riders were going on a pre-ride curry, something very English it seems, and we decided to join them.

Once at the station, we asked a local about the location of the High Street and he dared to ask what we were doing in full lycra at 9:30 pm. After Lucy explained our intention to ride from there to the top of Norfolk, and back down, he just wished us luck. This, together with a facial expression of "you're mental/what?/get a life/why?" seems normal when we get asked about where we're going or came from. After a short ride we arrived at the restaurant and had the promised curry with another 12 riders, some of who had ridden a good number of miles from places such as London, Greenwich or Cambridge, to the start.

Bike park at the curry house

The ride itself was not meant to be particularly challenging or over difficult terrain. The overall climb was just about 1000 m, which is rather flat, given the distance. The only problem would be riding through the whole night, and into a great deal of the second day. And of course, the great English weather. All those problems will make a presence at various points during the ride.



Left the curry house and headed for the station to meet up with the rest of the riders, about 40 in total. The atmosphere was nice, and once again,  good reassurance that we are not the only crazy people in this part of the world getting ready for a ride, with forecasts of down to 3C and potentially heavy showers. While chatting to one chap about his custom made Roberts frame, we saw people leaving. It was 00:01.

23:55 at Manningtree station, ready for the off

The first leg of the ride involved 75 km to the first garage control. The weather seemed rather good, and I was still feeling optimistic to those comments over dinner "I've checked the forecast and it said dry overnight, with the occasional shower the following day". We managed to stick to one group, but were left behind shortly afterwards and ended up riding with a Scot and Paul (with whom we've completed Up the Uts earlier in March). I did not attempt to talk to the Scottish guy, as literally could not understand a word of what he was saying. After all these years in the UK it was very discouraging. Paul kept him entertained until we somehow dropped him, never to see him again on the ride.

At some point rain started and we decided to put some waterproofs on. It turned out to be a good decision, as it was very cold by then, and the last thing you want is a soaked, cold body in the middle of the countryside. Paul had stopped a bit earlier and we thought we had lost him, so ended up going round in a roundabout waiting for him in order to keep the warmth up. A police car was resting nearby, and surely wondered what the hell we were doing past 2 am in that heavy rain. Luckily they did not bother to ask. At around 4 am we made it to the garage control, which we were all looking forward to. Warmth and hot coffee were waiting for us. We later learnt that the nice man in the garage had actually opened the shop for us, as it usually only serves through the hatch. What a huge difference that hot drink made!

A typical audax photo. Garage control, 4 am.

Lucy's GPS predicted sunrise in 2.5 hours from now. We set off again for yet another 75 km to the top of Norfolk, where a hot breakfast would be waiting for us. It was on this section were I hit my first down of the ride. I cannot remember much of it now, just feeling very tired and trying to avoid looking at the GPS or anywhere other than the horizon. Luckily for us, rain had stopped and we were dry, but still very cold.

We then joined the A1065 for almost 40 km. Although a busy road during the day, it was very quiet at night and we enjoyed it very much. It is on one of these roads where I think to myself how nice it is to be doing this. The scenery was fabulous, with trees lining the road on both sides. The sun was also trying to break through the clouds. I had to stop and take a picture, while seeing Lucy and Paul get lost in the horizon. 

Light beam and the A1065 at sunrise, 5 am (ish)

The kms went past very quickly. We were in good spirits and very much looking forward for a sit down meal in the halfway control. Not much happened here, just kept the pedals moving, fought a little bit with my sleep deprivation, and tried to enjoy the ride as much as possible. The scenery was quite nice and I kept myself entertained (and hot) sprinting up to take pictures of the scenery, Lucy and Paul.

Well worth the effort!

Paul in night riding mode

We made it to the café control, near Burnham Market at 8:30 am, and seemed to be at the back of the peloton. 153 km down. Another 150 km to go. Not too bad, and weather was holding up at this point. We were well within the time limits, with more than 1.5 h to spare. The next section, however, was not very enjoyable due to traffic along the B1355. Surely this road should have been fine for the faster riders, but for us it was not. Being an area with plenty of quiet lanes it was a shame that the organiser had picked the faster route instead of the more scenic. We tried to keep a decent average to the suggested control, a Waitrose in Wymondham. It was on this part of the route where my tummy problems started, with quite a lot of pain and the visits to the toilet. Once at the Waitrose, we got another receipt as proof of passage and enjoyed 5 minutes of sun.

My Canyon in audax mode, having a break

Left the Waitrose past noon, while seeing some threatening clouds head over us. Rain started hitting on us shortly afterwards, and did not really stop for the next 2 h. Next control will be in another 60 km, or 3 h of riding. The roads seemed a lot better now, more scenic and with plenty of green and yellow fields (thus the name of the audax, duh!!!). Rain stopped and I had a chance to take a few more pictures.

Lucy 's still going strong

No idea what the green is. The yellow is rapeseed.

Although we rode pretty much on our own for the entire day legs, we met a few others on this section. In fact we were pleased to see that we were not the youngest ones on the ride, as two other audaxers appeared to be in their early twenties, which again, is good for reassurance. Once again, I started to feel pretty crap here, in need of sleep and/or caffeine. I would have gone for a short nap here, but then I thought...20 more km and you can have tea and cake to keep you going. Easier said than done though. 20 km is not that short when you're tired, hungry and with stomach aches. I stopped thinking too much about it, stuck to Paul's wheel and carried on.

Shortly before the stop, we saw a very nice sign of what audaxing is. One of the riders had a snapped chain, and was covered in grease. That, together with the rain, had made it impossible for him to re-join his chain with his power link. However, another rider had stopped, took his gloves out and fixed the chain in seconds. Made a note on the tools to carry while out audaxing: nitrile gloves. Carried on for a little while to reach the last control: a Farm Shop.

First ever visit to a (posh) farm shop

It was a shame to be in this very nice farm shop in lycra and somewhat in a hurry. I was not feeling great and wanted to get going. But it was the right call. Lucy too was feeling tired and we stopped for some cake and tea. The menu looked great, but at this point, and with only 30 km left, I just wanted to get back to the station and have a beer.

Left the control to find ourselves on a dual carriage way. Weird, we thought. It did not appear as such on the maps, but somehow it was. Our thoughts were the same again, why would the organiser put us on these unpleasant roads? Lesson learnt for the next ride though: pick your own route if it does not look great.

The last 15 km went by very quickly, again on quiet lanes. Hit a few short hills, which were good to keep us awake. Pulled into Manningree station minutes past 6 pm, and a gigantic storm rolled in literally minutes behind us.

A pub in a train station. What a great idea! It actually got featured on the guardian as one of the best 10 railway cafes in Britain! Got our last receipt upon ordering a beer and an icecream. To our surprise, we happened not to be the last ones, as two more riders turned up after being hit by rain and hail from that storm we had just missed! Got on the train and fell asleep pretty much immediately.

Job done. 300 km. What's next Lucy?

Although the legs were feeling absolutely ok, I think it was the toughest ride I've ever done. It was not the distance nor the terrain, but the night riding and the lack of sleep from previous days. Also, have to sort out food habits while out on long rides. They say food is one the most difficult thing to master in long-distance events. I am certainly not surprised!

That's it for now, until my 400 km event in June.

The stats for the day as shown on the GPS screen:

- 47.2 km/h max speed

- 14 h 55 min riding time

- 3 h stopped time

- 302 km (plus another 20 km to & from the station)

- Rolling average: 20.3 km/h

- Overall average (including stops): 16.9 km/h