randonneur
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Amesbury Amble
The second Kingston Wheelers audax of the season and the 300km one in their Paris-Brest-Paris qualifier series. Due to the early start we went up the night before to sleep over on the scout hut floor, same as for Wander Wye last year. As with the WW I was riding with Simon. It’s cold when…
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The Route to the Silver Dollar Moment
Earlier this year I saw that The Orielles were going to be on tour in February. No Brighton show but there was one in Bristol on a Sunday night. Hmm, I thought, there are plans for later in the year that require long distance training, I’ve ridden to Bristol a few times before, I have…
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Armistice Day 200
After storms on the south coast and a rough crossing we rumble down the ferry ramp into France in calm, dry weather. It’s really early, a bit after 4am local time, body clocks on 3am and barely a handful of hours of sleep. Rather than heading straight onto the road we nip into the port…
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Not Quite The Hailsham 600 (reprise)
I walk through the door of the empty café. It’s almost 11am, prime Sunday brunch time. “Hello, you’re our first customer”, the girl behind the counter greets me. She looks bored as does another girl behind the counter looking at her phone. I’m soaked through and dripping water on the floor. My shoes squelch as…
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Wander Wye
Friday Sitting on the train to London a small amount of trepidation floats around my mind. I’ve yet to complete a 600 kilometre audax having failed to complete the Hailsham 600 and the DIY in France last year for different reasons. I know I can do the distance but it’s been a while since I’ve…
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Controlling
Almost half past 4, officially open. We wait. Stroll up the street to cable tie AUK Control signs to lamp posts. Wander back to the sports club… and wait. Scan the start list for familiar names, a few. Stare out of the window… and wait. The first rider pulls into the car park, wheels his…
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Seven hundred
Orange-pink cracks of light in the murky grey sky to the east contradict the weather forecast I saw the day before. This is good. If it lasts. The predicted headwind is present though. By 35km I’m cowering in a bus stop on a junction, 5km later when I spot an open café I’m wringing water…
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Further
I’ve always been attracted to landscape and distance rather than speed. I watch grand tours for the helicopter shots of roads winding around mountains, along valleys and across patchwork fields as much as the actual racing. As a kid I would often go out and ride my bike all day, and it’s something that has…
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Mayhem Weekender
Sometime after midnight on Monday morning in a 24 hour petrol station on the edge of Brighton Cashier: “Have you done the bike ride today?” [Sunday was the annual London to Brighton charity ride] Me: “No, I’ve done a different bike ride. A little bit further.” Cashier: “Wow, further! Where have you ridden from then?”…
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The (Not Quite) Midsummer 300
When I started to audax a few years back I came up with a 300km route that I planned to do on midsummer’s day – along the Sussex and southern Kent coast, then turn inland and cut across Romney Marsh over the Downs and through Canterbury to Whitstable on the north coast, and back to…
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