Audax : The Kennet Valley Run 200K

This saturday, 26th February, is my next Audax: The kennett Valley Run. A 200k ride that starts in Grazely, a small viallage jsut south of Reading and heads west to Hungerford and then further west to Bratton. It then returns via the same route to Hungerford but then heads on a northerly lumpy loop back to Grazely. This will be the 3rd time I have ridden this event and if the weather is kind to us then we'll be looking a for a 10.5 to 11 hour time....but be layed plans...!! It also has an element of nostalgia as my family lived in Bratton for many years when I was a wee laddy. Here's a photo from last year:

Crisp and Dry

What a difference a dry day can make! I was struggling to remember when the last time I had a ride without some rain and despite it being grey and overcaste it was a welcome change. Also the last few weeks of these regular South Downs rides are starting to pay off as I am definitely feeling fitter. Not much to report for Sundays excursion ...the usual collection of birds of prey and a little bit of spring like bird song occasionally heard. Naturally it would have been churlish not to pop into the usual cafe's so I enjoyed a nice chat with Al who runs the Beaches cafe at the sustainabillity centre and later a cuppa and chat with fellowcyclists in the tea rooms in Comptom ...the latter seems ot be a bit of a local hub ..even drawing people down from Liss!

It's the Kennett Valley Run 200K Audax next weekend so I won't be out on this route for a couple of weeks ...hopefully next time I can report that Spring has sprung and hpefully I also be able to bring in the South Harting extension. Here's the usual photo from Tegleaze down: spot the difference?
the fallen down signpost has disappeared ....gone for repairs or has someome taken a fancy to it ...I must check in Dave's garden....

Fundraising for Mary Rose School

right folks ...it's now time for you to dig deep ...and that's not on a South Downs climb ...but dig deep into you pockets and give generously for the charity I am supporting during this PBP year. To give me that extra motivation during all the long hours of training, qualification and the event itself I am raising money for the Mary Rose School. This is a local, Portsmouth based, school that caters predominantly for pupils with severe and complex learning disabilities. The plan is that the money raised will go towards the repair and maintenance of their specially adapted bicycles. If you wish to donate then please use the link to fundraising page on the Everyclick website on the right hand side of this Blog There is also a link to the school's website for more information about the work they do. Thank you.

4 Hills training route

just to give you an idea where I am spending 4-5 hours each weekend ...here's a clue ..Pompey at the bottom ;-)

not 3 Lions ....but 5

Once again you can choose the day but you can't choose the weather ...if only I had gone out on Saturday! Yesterday was one of those days where you can barely see where you are going on a fast downhill because the rain is stinging your face so much! It was another knuckle down and get on with getting fit again. However this time I remebered to bring cash so was able to enjoy a hot drink and a slice of flapjack not once but twice ....first time hot choc at the Beaches cafe and then my first visit to the tea rooms in Compton ...which won't be my last! There I met a couple of fellow wheelmen tucking into tea and cake who sheepishly admitted they had only cycled up the few miles from Emsworth before hiding from the rain...I did try and stop the owner from handing over the cake as they hadn't earned it yet!!

So another wet day on the bike but better than a wet day in the office ...or something like that ;-) ....88k in my legs and definitely feeling stronger than last week. Here's the photo from Teglease down .....spot the difference?


bigger puddles!

p.s.
I must have ridden my regular Meon Valley / South Downs training ride 20 or more times and it was only last week that I noticed out of the 10 or so pubs that I ride past 5 of them are called either the Red Lion , White Lion etc....so this time I managed to grab the proof...as you can see from the slide show on the right.

Winter Training - Pompey Style

Yesterday was a typical winter training day down Pompey way ...a wet, windy and grey overcaste day through potholled lanes and up some of the steeper/longer climbs of the South Downs. Following my nightmare on a bike during the recent Winter Windup 200 it was time to get back on the regular weekend training rides. The regular loop is approx 80k and takes in the 4 climbs ...Portsdown hill, Beacon Hill (overlooking the Meon Valley), Old Winchester Hill (on the other side of the Meon Valley) and Harvesting Lane (behind Buster Hill). The ride also has an extensions upto 110k and 160k for when the days get longer and warmer. I'm still out of form so unsuprisingly it felt pretty hard ...though I did resist the tempatation to bail out of the Harvesting Lane climb (a chevronned climb) and go for a cuppa at Dave's in Denmead. I'd even forgotten my wallet and couldn't grab a coffee at the beaches cafe (at the Sustainability centre) on the ridge above East Meon...doh. Fortunately I did find a couple of biscuits and some stale malt loaf in my saddle bag ...luxury! I started at 13:45 and got back at 18:15 with a couple of snack and photo breaks so not too shabby.....just in time for a full Sunday roast ...thanks Jules!!

Just for a bit of added fun and to mark the changing of the seasons and the weather I'm going to take a photo from the same spot each training ride from the crossroads at Teglease Down above the Hamlet of Coombe and with East Meon in the distance. Here's the first: the signpost appears to have taken a bit of a battering!

a little bit of PBP history

for those that are interested in a little bit of context there is a good summary of the history of PBP on Audax UK's website. Follow the 'Handbook' link on the left handside of AUKs homepage.

Ready, Steady, Go!

Time to get things rolling on this blog as the new year has arrived and the serious business of PBP qualification has begun. So far I have stuck to my target since september of riding a 200K ride each month through the winter months. It's not been a easy journey ...it's been a cold winter in here in the South of England ...not the usual damp and mild days so these winter rides have been tough , long cold days in the saddle ...starting and finishing in the dark ....and all taking around 12 hours or longer. I also completed my first solo 200 on the 6th january ....The Denmead 200 ...a trip out to the new forest and back ...on a cold and wet day! I have copied here a couple of ride reports from recent rides to give you a flavour of what winter randonneuring is like. A few days ago I completed my first PBP qualifier, The Winter Windup 200 ...certainly the toughest winter ride so far as you will see below! Next ride is the Kennett Valley 200 on the 26th Feb...hoping for an early Spring day for this one! For now I need to get lots of time in the saddle over the South Downs to make that a better day on the bike.


Recent Ride Reports:

Jan 30th : Winter Windup 200

A mare of a day on the bike for me. 3 weeks off the bike , with two of those in the glorious heat of Southern India, jet lag and sleep all out of kilter was not the best prep for a rolling 200 on a very cold winters day. You know you are in trouble when the 54k to the first control feels like 100...I'm glad the route sheet had no turn by turn distances as it would have been too demoralising. It was a real dig deep day for me, my legs felt like jelly and the cold air seemed to be searing my lungs. Fortunatley the route dished up some spectacular views to remind me that I was out on my bike and having fun!!
UB and LEE towed me through the low patches and I think I only managed to get on the front about twice ...and they were probably both downhill! The superb King Alfred Cafe in Wantage managed to serve up the perfect life saving full english (probably not a phrase you'd hear my doctor say!!) and made section3 fairly bearable and not too shabby. However by the time I reached the American diner (what an inspired venue for a control!) I was starting to come apart at the seams again and despite having fuelled up on pancakes the now rapidly falling temperature was taking it toll. However there is nothing like having Mr Spooner as your wheelman (who we met at the Diner) with his tales of this, that and daring deeds to raise your spirits and help let the km's slip past. Eventually we arrived at an almost deserted Fox and Hounds ...just Postie and a mountain of rolls ....with 10 mins or so to spare ...a true VFM ride ....not a pretty performance but enough to get the first qualifier done.


Jan 6th: Denmead 200

well that was definitely a game of two halves .....it was my first Solo 200 and my 5th 200 towards my rrty .....you can choose the date but you can't choose the weather!!

It was a bit of a late start for me at 08:30 and I was very much focussed on a second breakfast at Annie's Tea Rooms in Kimbridge as I pedalled my way over very familiar lanes for the first 50K ...I'm sure I know every stone on the roads between Bishops Waltham and Hursley!! However happy thoughts of hot tea and some brekky were dashed by the CLOSED sign on the tea room doors. The folks inside taking the Christmas tree down didn't look too impressed when I asked if they were really closed! I made my way back down to the Bear and Ragged Staff and while speaking to Lee ( at Faccomb4 HQ) to see if there was a garage nearby I noticeda couple of people going into the Pub .....hurrah ....I have sat outsidethe pub early in the morning many times for a snack but never when it was open. I resisted the tempation for a pint of Landlord (I can hear Hummers tutting at the thought) but did have a break in the dry with some coffee and crips! It was raining harder now but soon crossed over the A36 into the forest and picked up the bit of tailwind as I turned south towards bucklers hard. I was feeling decidely empty as I arrived at the cafe there and so necked tea and cake in record time, created a second Beaulieu lake around my table and squelched out all within 10 mins ...much to bemusement of the staff who were the only other people there.

As I set off again my hands were feeling really cold as my lighter weight winter gloves had given up the ghost and my hands were starting to go numb .....I thought I would tough it out to Lymington but as it started to sleet a bit I decided it was time to get the big guns out and put on the full monty seal skins. Good move ..it's amazing that doing something so simple can lift ones spirits. The Buttery in Lymington provided a proper audaxers lunch of a hearty soup and bread followed by apple pie and custard and of course lashing of tea.

Leaving was very hard ....I must have been running pretty low on energy as I arrived ......and when I left the food had not arrived in my legs. It was a rough 30 mins until they came back online. And then the sun came out ...and everything was good in the world of cycling again! The route North eventually picks up the road through the Ornamental drive ......there can't be many days when you can ridethe entire length and only see one car. Even in winter the trees look spectacular ...and the top section was espcially atmospheric as smoke from huge bonfires drifted down through the trees giving the whole scene quite mystical feel. After that it's a fairly uniteresting slog across the open heathland ....back towards the A36 ...past dozens of bedraggled cows and ponies stood by the roadside like some sort of depressed welcoming committee. the A36, rush hour. took me an ade to across that ......and now every lane between here and Otterbourne had become a rat run .....dark , cold and busy ...so it's heads down and crank out the miles ...although I did get a chance to show off my customised PBP reflective gilet as launched at the Denmead PBP planning meeting. The penulitmate control is at Shawford / twyford .....the Pub by the bridge was open and so I stopped there for a bowl of soup and coffee ....I say a bowl of soup ...however this must be one of those gastro pubs as the soup came in what I would call a slightly large saucer ...i tried to make up for it by eating as much of their complimetary bread as possible.

I was still making fairly good time as i left Shawford but then it all went horribly wrong ......just as i turned up the hill at the Twford lights I hit the mother of all pot holes and deflated my rear tyre immediately. There's nothing remotely more unpleasant about changing a tube in the dark and cold in someones driveway by the side of a busy road......unless that is ...you have to do it again 20 mins laters .....yep another flat just on the climb back into Bishops Waltham .... Fortunately the ride into Denmead from there was not further soured and bofore long I was turning by the Chairmakers, wishing I was on one of Postie's rides with a finish at the Fox and Hounds with a warm welcome from the Special Controller. Instead it was a receipt from the co-op for a cream egg (yes Easter is on it's way apparently) and the unstanding smile from the girl at the till who is used to all these strange comings and goings in Denmead.