Arts and Sciences Audax 2025 – return to the void…
- Gideon Rabinowitz
- 6 days ago
- 9 min read
Hmm, where do I start, not as easy as just the beginning, but where I am now, a few days after my second 600km audax of the month. Two days as you start to acclimatize from the heat stroke, dehydration and sleep deprivation, when all the chatter on Facebook and WhatsApp has died down. Time to reflect, that yes this was another biggy done, not everyone completed it, the heat and the wind made this tough, but then again any 600km ride isn’t easy. So parts of me hurt, the obvious bits from sitting on a saddle for over 35 hours, the bruised ribs from a stupid mistake 500m from the finish. Two days on, I’m almost feeling normal, so time to tell this unscheduled part of my fund raising plan for Dad and Jeroen…
Although it was a bit of a snap decision after the Bryan Chapman this one felt right – mature route, mature organiser, well mature enough not to have surveyed the audax hotel status, (bus shelters!) – well documented and also got to meet some others like Owen and Rob from ACME – Audax Club Mid Essex, a club that Owen Wood says led him to the dark side of long distance cycling. Also met up with Dick who’d I’d last seen in the January Sales audax and this time he was not wearing his heated boots…
I’d booked a Premier Inn just round the corner from King Cross, which was an inspired choice, but being new to cycling in London, (feeling a bit of a country bumpkin!), I plotted a route to Kings Cross, and also a route home from Paddington, just in case on Sunday it goes all pear shaped…a 70km contingency was really hoping not to rely on.
Set of from Newbury to catch the 19.30 train, and arrived all good. Fired up my Wahoo at Paddington and it took ages to figure out where it was! Loaded my route an off I went. It took me about 10 mins of cycling to realise all was not well, I realised I was now pointing in the wrong direction, cycling home… which would have been an even bigger surprise if I had arrived. Anyhow I turned tale loaded the right route and got to Kings Cross unscathed by around 9ish…not part of the plan…checked in, put bike in room and trotted of to McD’s for a quick eat. So all sorted, bottles filled, devices fully charged, ready for a 5.45 alarm.
5.45 Saturday came around pretty quickly, my room was very dark with no windows and cool and quiet – ideal unlike my friend Dick who’d booked above a pub – hot and noisy!!! We met up at McD’s for breakfast and went to what we thought was the assembly area in front of the station, only to find out the Audax organiser, Ian was around the corner!!! There were a lot of us, brevet card collected and at 7 in one large throng we joined the London traffic.
It took some time to get out of the urban environment – and after 90 mins I realised something was up as I had not started my Wahoo… I may know where I was going but I wasn’t recording the 1st 31km…well I hope that’s my only unforced error, which unfortunately it was not. My gears were a mess – in effect I only had 6 useful gears on my rear cassette so this was going to be hard, oh and just to compound my errors, the left shifter had worked loose, so I would be spending the next 30 odd hours with one arm longer than the other- whoops. Every time I selected a large cog on the rear cassette the bike made sound like a constipated infant chainsaw running on diesel.
It was already quite warm and we got to Hornchurch the 1st control – using E Brevet – at 37km in just under two hours making good time. The ride was going to be warm and my Wahoo measured 34 degC at it’s peak and the fact I had warm gear with me was complete overkill with hindsight. Although we had a Brevet Card, the plan was to use EBrevet to log the ride. For those not on the dark side an Ebrevet is an app run by Audax UK , which has the same controls but uses GPS to work out where you are and if you can register a control. Ride organisers can set the tolerances and they are not always where you think they might be… anyhow on this audax they were spot on.. well done Ian.
It was now getting rather warm and I was going through a litre and hour along with very necessary hydration tablets. We got to Thame – Morrisons- pedestrian areas -77km after just under another two hours… definitely preparing for a Saturday market, with dark looks from locals as we pushed our bikes through the main drag…well I say pushed, very slow considerate riding… at least we were not tearing down on modified Ebikes.
Approaching Chadlington – Jeremy Clarkson’s local 126km…only one crowded village shop, so pressed register on the phone and off I went to encounter the Diddly Squat farm shop and with it being solstice weekend was heaving with Jeremy’s, Kaleb’s and Clarksonites all doing poor impersonations of the unintelligible Gerald! So onwards.
Moreton in Marsh 146km- was another info control, and surprised to see another rider coming the other way, no doubt to register his location, I can imagine how he felt in the baking heat, if it had been me the air would be blue.
Wychbold 199km –a good time for lunch Tesco value meal with my fellow riders and loo stop before heading off to Kinver -224km where we had been warned that the single Co-Op may have ran out of food, fortunately not the case as water and ice cream were now essential….It was hard to leave the shop on account of the over powering aircon… which after baking outside felt wonderful. Here I bumped into a few riders I would see for much of the ride, one guy who’s name I did not get but I think was from Brighton, but had lived in Reading…Dick who I’d see much of the 1st day and a lady rider Helen, who I met at Wychbold, saw briefly at Rugeley as she was staying there and then out of nowhere caught me up in London on the approach to the Arivee.
In addition I saw some ACME friends Owen Wood and Rob Bullyment, at Kinver, who I’d assumed were wat ahead of me. I knew Owen’s plan was to ride through and Rob was staying over somewhere, but saw him again on the following morning at Colsterworth services.
Now it was time for Iron Bridge at 256Km, one of the real sights… gosh I was tired and hot…dived to the fish and chip shop for some carbs then cycled up a very cruel hill where the control registered… with my limited gearing if felt very unnecessary and painful! We all concurred when we talked about Ironbridge, that making the eBrevet on a steep section felt really mean, but then again, can’t complain as we do sign ourselves up to these events.
Gosh, now the distance is getting serious Rugeley -at 303km – at 9pm…that’s 14 hours for 300km, very happy but feeling quite wretched tired, hungry.. so a burger king whopper was partly consumed and shared thoughts on accommodation with Premier inns and Travelodge’s here, Ashby de la Zouch and Loughborough. I’d already booked my room in Loughborough and had mixed feelings about those who’d elected to stay there…as it would be a dark 3 hours ride by the time I left at 10 and dark.
I was on my own at this time pleasantly surprised at how warm it was with no extra clothes… just wires to keep my wahoo going. My flashing rear light had died, so I was back on constant rear lights, which meant that for seasoned audax riders I was safe from being attacked by either badgers or zombies. Arrived in Ashby after 2 hours which was heaving with the inebriated youth of del la Zouch, which no doubt were doing good impressions of zombies a few hours later. Much to surprise found myself on the A512 zooming into Loughborough. Used Google maps to send me in ever decreasing circles before landing at my Premier Inn at 12.45… very happy.
Checked in and went through the procedure of put everything on charge strip, shower and bed… for 4 hours luxury!!! Not sure how much I slept but I wanted to ride in the cool of the early morning ride so being up at 5 was required, plus application of much tea, sun cream, bottom cream and snacks so by 6, I was back on the road ...
The first control of the day Colsterworth services 407km – joined by another rider whose name I didn’t get but had lived in Reading, we arrived at 8am – met others enroute which was nice but . the downside was the card readers were down so cash it was for a tepid pasty and tea. Now I had 200km to go and although cooler the wind was picking up in the wrong direction. The route had been a continuous series of short climbs which had become very wearing with my dodgy gears… but onwards I went.
Next stop Helpston – info control and no issues as I’d really the hang of the Ebrevet…no food so onto more headwind. After what felt like lots of head wind found myself in Oundle at 465km for an early lunch at 1, good food stop and felt like the first proper food in 2 days… next stop was 80 odd km away, not helped by some awful moon like surfaces and my only puncture for the ride on my tubeless. I later realised I had no sealant in the tyre as it had been splatted the down tube of the bike becoming a very unsightly midge trap.
More headwind and fortunately the route diverted us around the main square and the car trap that marks the entry to the guided busway…14knm of tedium flatness and headwind, plus my rear end was not making me happy. Rolled into Girton at 523km at 14.30, just feeling tired and hot, not excited by the fact I had less than 100km to go. Girton was listed as the one an only mandatory control so there was no choice but enjoy a rest on the exposed concrete of the petrol station, such is the glamour and comfort of audax.
Onwards through more rolling countryside finally crossing what I assume was the M25 as slowly but surely, green fields gave way to grey concrete approaching Potters Bar, but not before a proper audax stop as below where the luxury seating was being vacated by the fine fellows below, leaving me a choice if fine seating…These fine fellow, shot past me on many occasions and obviously took advantage of their speed by having lots of leisurely breaks as below.
This stage was very galling as I felt my energy levels and speed drop, something that would stay until the end. Arrived in Potters Bar 596km at 18.40 and registered… now we definitely in urban chaos as the traffic built up and more riders from earlier caught up with me… this last 20 of km was hard, seeing that last hill count down and running into Kings Cross trying keep to the bread crumbs on my Wahoo the route – I dismounted went to zebra crossing didn’t look and bang over I went in front of a Merc, which didn’t feel like it was going to stop.. jumped up fatigued but just wanted to finish this with only a few hundred meters to go… I didn’t realise until now I now have some very bruised ribs…. But fatigue was playing it’s part.
I returned to where we started , to know it better than the first time… few chats with other riders, worried about my condition, but they were tired too and had trains to catch. Registered as finishing at 8 at 617km…almost the same elapsed time as 2 weeks ago, but as I later realised over an hour faster in the bike and a few km longer… I should be happy and triumphant now, but I was just tired, and wanted to go home. London was very busy and hot, so I started walking aback to Paddington, only to use the bike for the extra speed…
Caught a Reading train at 21.30 before transferring to the last Newbury train which got in at around 23.30…On the way in I contemplated getting off at either Thatcham or Newbury, more to avoid hills, (there aren’t any, but in my state any incline that meant I slowed down counted as hill!), Newbury won out and I was home just before mid-night…absolutely knackered… just dumped the bike in the study… stripped of in the shower room , washed trying to remove all the dead flies and sealant from my legs, not really understanding where it had come from… dried what was not too painful to dry and fell into bed…probably to much detail I guess.
So Dad and Jeroen that was my solstice adventure… felt hard not enjoyable, didn’t feel like an achievement, even though I was well within time and found out a number had bailed on the night section…next year – who knows.
Next stop London Edinburgh London, but not before a quick 200km up to Gospel Pass in July to keep my RTTy going… I’ll explain later!
Monday morning shall we say was hard, but by Tuesday I mustered up the energy to look at the bike and it was in a sorry state, anyhow, new gear cable fitted, indexing checked, another inner tube replaced and fixed, new chain as the other one was shot and removal of all the sealant from the front wheel that was black encrusted with dead flies.
Having made it to Wednesday and I’m still feeling the effects of this adventure… weekend soon time for recovery rides! I hope you enjoyed this account…If you haven’t done so, please contribute to my campaign.. .
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