Now that qualification is complete the last week has been spent constantly checking the Audax UK website to see if my brevet numbers have come up yet. These are needed to complete the PBP registration so that the Audax Club Parisien can verify that I have actually done the qualifiers.
These have finally come through and so my place is bought and paid for. The panic that has kept me occupied since about September, that all places would be sold out and I wouldn't get a place, never had any basis in fact. As it happens there are about 70 places left to GB participants and the process has been open to the general public for over a week.
With two months to go I must keep my motivation up and not think that just because I've qualified the job is done. More work needs to be done to avoid the process of 'reversibility', otherwise known as getting fat and unfit.
Yesterday I did a DIY 200km from home, which although it was pretty flat, had some long gentle climbs to keep the pressure on. It was my fastest ride ever over this distance. Next weekend there is a 200km from Winchester, and coming up at the end of July is the Raid Alpine from Lake Geneva to the Med; this has always been my planned final intensive phase before PBP after which I will taper and concentrate on shorter distances of up to 50km but ride them as fast as possible.
Monday 20 June 2011
Monday 6 June 2011
Super Randonneur. It's official. And PBP qualification complete.
A first 600 for me and quite an experience.
Decided not to stay the night before so 3.30am start. In the scheme of things I didn't think an hour would make much difference.
Started the ride with Tim from London and Gary from Winchester. Although the pace was OK for the first 100km it was just 1 or 2 km per hour faster than I was used to. So I could keep up, but felt the effects later. Lesson No. 1 learned. Round about the 100km mark I had a crap period as I made the mistake of thinking I had to do the same thing 5 more times.
Followed the usual Denmead route to Bishops Waltham, south of Winchester and into the Test valley to the first control Wilton; quick service and beans on toast. What more can you ask for? Then a pretty meander up to Bradford on Avon through some nice countryside, where there were a few riders coming back towards us and we wondered if we'd got it wrong, but they were on the Avalon Sunrise 400. All had that 'been up all night' look which we were working on.
BoA to Cirencester was not particulaly enjoyable. At Castle Coombe circuit there was a 'Bike Safety Day' with motorcyclists ripping it up around the circuit, then tearing round the roads afterwards. There was a bit of other traffic trying to see how close it could get to the end of my bars, and overtaking on corners when there's someting coming the other way just as a giant pothole approaches.
Lumpy around the info at Wootton under Edge and then a straightfoward run-in to Cirencester, except for my only punct*re of the qualifying campaign. Glad to get to sit down in McDonalds. Getting colder now at about 8pm so layered up and fixed lighting in preparation rather than stop again - lesson learnt from earlier audaxes.
Hilly work to Sutton Scotney; first bit flat then 'Lambourn, valley of the racehorse'. The village sign doesn't say it is unique in being a valley on top of a monster hill. In the distance was spectacular lightning and the top of the Membury transmitter to guide us. It felt the only hill in the area missing on the routesheet was Inkpen.
By now I'd had enough. The hills, the organiser and everyone was being gratuitously cursed for my state of tiredness and I was wondering how I was going to keep going for another 18 hours: it's hard not to think of the overall distance but I was more knackered at this point than the end of my 400. Gary was a star and shepherded me to Sutton Scotney for just before 3am, where I was attacked by 1. a rude garage assistant who was too busy talking to his mates on the phone to refill the coffee machine and 2. a huge flying beastie, clearly attracted to my hi viz.
Limped back to Denmead for just before 6am. Black thoughts all the way and could easily have packed but kept going because
(a) I've told the whole world I'm doing PBP
(b) a rational thought somewhere at the back of my mind reminded me I would always regret it if I packed
(c) I recalled AndyH's forum comment on the K&SW when he felt the same and his wife told him to man up and get on with it; he lived to tell the tale and complete and I should do the same
(d) might feel better after some sleep
(e) there had been a bit of effort made to get this far over the last year so another 12 hours of pain wouldn't make much difference
Funnily enough the only genuine excuse I might have had, that I came off the bike last week and was pretty sore having trashed hip, elbow and helmet, didn't even enter my mind.
Got an hour's sleep in the car and felt a whole load better. Had my toothbrush which made me feel reinvigorated - definately on the packing list for PBP. Looking back should have slept earlier, when it was dark and I needed it (lesson 2 learned). Next time I'll take a leaf out of Drew Buck's book, who we had passed having a catnap on the verge, and of whom I felt strangely jealous.
It was a classic audaxing scene - bike lain on the ground and rider horizontal beside it, arms crossed for warmth. I'd read about and seen pictures of people kipping anywhere and everywhere, but never seen it myself and this made the whole long distance thing seem real. I'd always smiled before thinking 'look how knackered they are, just sleeping anywhere'. Now I knew exactly how it felt and I could have fallen asleep on the central reservation of the M25 at that point.
The second loop was down to Lymington which was OK and I managed to keep up 20kph average which I was happy with as I was right on the time limit when I left Denmead. Careful not to thrash myself with 220km to go and gradually got some time back in hand.
Lots of cyclists out in the New Forest along with quite a few tw*ts driving too fast in souped up sports cars, black BMWs or camper vans with blacked out windows. Great views of the sailing boats on the solent on stretch from Bucklers Hard to Lymington, where it started to rain; in fact it was now properly pissing down, all the way to Ower control with another nice hill thrown in at Fordingbridge.
McDonalds chips at Ower services have become something of an audaxing tradition in this house and so it continued, fuelling me nicely for the last leg. As always the last 10km seem interminable but finally got in at 8.30pm for a rendevous with the cashpoint control. Had a chat with the legendary Drew Buck, who has done 5 PBPs including one dressed as an onion johnny (complete with onions) on a 1920s bike, and will be interested to see what he rides this year. He explained that on these bikes he cannot draft becuase the brakes are not responsive enough compared to modern ones. Triple chapeau then to do PBP without ever sitting on someone else's wheel.
The drive home was interesting and all sorts of funny shapes jumped out of the shadows and familiar roadside objects transformed themselves into something completely different. The wonders of sleep deprivation. Who needs drugs for a mind-altering experience? All you need to do is sit on a bike for 40 hours.
So that's my Super Randonneur series completed (a 200, 300, 400 and 600 in one year) and more importantly qualification for Paris Brest Paris in August.
Decided not to stay the night before so 3.30am start. In the scheme of things I didn't think an hour would make much difference.
Started the ride with Tim from London and Gary from Winchester. Although the pace was OK for the first 100km it was just 1 or 2 km per hour faster than I was used to. So I could keep up, but felt the effects later. Lesson No. 1 learned. Round about the 100km mark I had a crap period as I made the mistake of thinking I had to do the same thing 5 more times.
Followed the usual Denmead route to Bishops Waltham, south of Winchester and into the Test valley to the first control Wilton; quick service and beans on toast. What more can you ask for? Then a pretty meander up to Bradford on Avon through some nice countryside, where there were a few riders coming back towards us and we wondered if we'd got it wrong, but they were on the Avalon Sunrise 400. All had that 'been up all night' look which we were working on.
BoA to Cirencester was not particulaly enjoyable. At Castle Coombe circuit there was a 'Bike Safety Day' with motorcyclists ripping it up around the circuit, then tearing round the roads afterwards. There was a bit of other traffic trying to see how close it could get to the end of my bars, and overtaking on corners when there's someting coming the other way just as a giant pothole approaches.
Lumpy around the info at Wootton under Edge and then a straightfoward run-in to Cirencester, except for my only punct*re of the qualifying campaign. Glad to get to sit down in McDonalds. Getting colder now at about 8pm so layered up and fixed lighting in preparation rather than stop again - lesson learnt from earlier audaxes.
Hilly work to Sutton Scotney; first bit flat then 'Lambourn, valley of the racehorse'. The village sign doesn't say it is unique in being a valley on top of a monster hill. In the distance was spectacular lightning and the top of the Membury transmitter to guide us. It felt the only hill in the area missing on the routesheet was Inkpen.
By now I'd had enough. The hills, the organiser and everyone was being gratuitously cursed for my state of tiredness and I was wondering how I was going to keep going for another 18 hours: it's hard not to think of the overall distance but I was more knackered at this point than the end of my 400. Gary was a star and shepherded me to Sutton Scotney for just before 3am, where I was attacked by 1. a rude garage assistant who was too busy talking to his mates on the phone to refill the coffee machine and 2. a huge flying beastie, clearly attracted to my hi viz.
Limped back to Denmead for just before 6am. Black thoughts all the way and could easily have packed but kept going because
(a) I've told the whole world I'm doing PBP
(b) a rational thought somewhere at the back of my mind reminded me I would always regret it if I packed
(c) I recalled AndyH's forum comment on the K&SW when he felt the same and his wife told him to man up and get on with it; he lived to tell the tale and complete and I should do the same
(d) might feel better after some sleep
(e) there had been a bit of effort made to get this far over the last year so another 12 hours of pain wouldn't make much difference
Funnily enough the only genuine excuse I might have had, that I came off the bike last week and was pretty sore having trashed hip, elbow and helmet, didn't even enter my mind.
Got an hour's sleep in the car and felt a whole load better. Had my toothbrush which made me feel reinvigorated - definately on the packing list for PBP. Looking back should have slept earlier, when it was dark and I needed it (lesson 2 learned). Next time I'll take a leaf out of Drew Buck's book, who we had passed having a catnap on the verge, and of whom I felt strangely jealous.
It was a classic audaxing scene - bike lain on the ground and rider horizontal beside it, arms crossed for warmth. I'd read about and seen pictures of people kipping anywhere and everywhere, but never seen it myself and this made the whole long distance thing seem real. I'd always smiled before thinking 'look how knackered they are, just sleeping anywhere'. Now I knew exactly how it felt and I could have fallen asleep on the central reservation of the M25 at that point.
The second loop was down to Lymington which was OK and I managed to keep up 20kph average which I was happy with as I was right on the time limit when I left Denmead. Careful not to thrash myself with 220km to go and gradually got some time back in hand.
Lots of cyclists out in the New Forest along with quite a few tw*ts driving too fast in souped up sports cars, black BMWs or camper vans with blacked out windows. Great views of the sailing boats on the solent on stretch from Bucklers Hard to Lymington, where it started to rain; in fact it was now properly pissing down, all the way to Ower control with another nice hill thrown in at Fordingbridge.
McDonalds chips at Ower services have become something of an audaxing tradition in this house and so it continued, fuelling me nicely for the last leg. As always the last 10km seem interminable but finally got in at 8.30pm for a rendevous with the cashpoint control. Had a chat with the legendary Drew Buck, who has done 5 PBPs including one dressed as an onion johnny (complete with onions) on a 1920s bike, and will be interested to see what he rides this year. He explained that on these bikes he cannot draft becuase the brakes are not responsive enough compared to modern ones. Triple chapeau then to do PBP without ever sitting on someone else's wheel.
The drive home was interesting and all sorts of funny shapes jumped out of the shadows and familiar roadside objects transformed themselves into something completely different. The wonders of sleep deprivation. Who needs drugs for a mind-altering experience? All you need to do is sit on a bike for 40 hours.
So that's my Super Randonneur series completed (a 200, 300, 400 and 600 in one year) and more importantly qualification for Paris Brest Paris in August.
Wednesday 1 June 2011
Man down!
The glorious weather broke just in time for the Bank Holiday weekend, so I gave riding a miss on Saturday, plus which I wasn't feeling 100 percent.
Sunday, just did a quick 35km in an attempt to get the speed up. So the big ride of the weekend was to be Bank Holiday Monday.
The first 30 minutes went fine, bowling along at about 30 kph. Just past Dorchester there was small hill up, followed by the down. Got my speed up to about 50kph. A car came from the left and slowed at the junction to give way to me, I was on the main road with the right of way. Then it sped up again and didn't give way. I screamed at it and swerved to the right where my brakes locked up, my back wheel overtook me and I ended up bouncing off my hip, my elbow and my head in that order. Helmet fractured in three places so need a new one of those. Luckily the woman stopped and gave me her name and address and will get the bill later.
A bit shaken but carried on out to Wareham and Corfe Castle. Must be getting fitter because Creech Hill didn't seem too bad, certainly not as hard as it was last time I did it a couple of years ago when it was granny ring all the way.
A good run back, 100 km total.
Sunday, just did a quick 35km in an attempt to get the speed up. So the big ride of the weekend was to be Bank Holiday Monday.
The first 30 minutes went fine, bowling along at about 30 kph. Just past Dorchester there was small hill up, followed by the down. Got my speed up to about 50kph. A car came from the left and slowed at the junction to give way to me, I was on the main road with the right of way. Then it sped up again and didn't give way. I screamed at it and swerved to the right where my brakes locked up, my back wheel overtook me and I ended up bouncing off my hip, my elbow and my head in that order. Helmet fractured in three places so need a new one of those. Luckily the woman stopped and gave me her name and address and will get the bill later.
A bit shaken but carried on out to Wareham and Corfe Castle. Must be getting fitter because Creech Hill didn't seem too bad, certainly not as hard as it was last time I did it a couple of years ago when it was granny ring all the way.
A good run back, 100 km total.
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