The best bit IMHO is the night section from Llandovery to a stop near Brecon. Well surfaced, empty A roads originally constructed for coaches are great fun on a bike.

I finished after 3am and so had problems with sleepiness near the end

On long distance rides where the weather will vary they have the promise of making whatever clothing you are wearing more able to cope with the conditions. If it is too hot then the base should help wick away sweat. If it is too cold then the base should keep you warmer.

But some types work better than others.

This is the first base layer I ever bought. It worked well, much better wicking than cotton. Unfortunately it shrank in the wash. Merkalon is apparently some sort of polyester mix.

Next I moved on to the material that all the manufacturers are pushing at the moment, merino. I had a Howies short sleeved top like the one pictured above except it was an attractive stripped red and black colour. I quickly noticed that the wicking was not as good as my old base layer, despite being made of the “latest thing”. On events it got wet with sweat but on 600s I would let it dry out on my body and the next day it was fine to use again. To me that is the main advantage of merino, it seems to able to be reused comfortably without washing

Recently when I was considering the challenge of an early season ride starting at 2am I thought that a base layer (or two) that would actually stay dry would keep me warmer than a sodden merino top. So I got the above Helly Hansen LS base and the below “string vest” mesh sleeveless base. Wearing the LS over the mesh vest proved to be both dry under the sweat load of riding and also warm.

The mesh vest in particular seems to have excellent wicking properties for someone as sweaty as me. I’ve been wearing it in cool spring conditions under a wind proof LS jersey. It seems to keep me warm(er) but I don’t end up wet with sweat

So the overall conclusion is that merino fabrics don’t work so well for me. I need something that wicks better

Cheddar at 7am

Climbing the Gorge

Climbing the Gorge

This was a AUK perm route the Cheddar Gorge 300km. We were starting at Cheddar end instead of the Oxford end however. The notes on the route sheets said that most of the ascent was in the Cheddar and Wells area. And this was quite correct. After getting past the bottom of Bristol in the morning the terrain levelled out.

Blue Skies

Jono enjoys a garage coffee

Justin

Justin was a handy chap to have along. He was about my size but a bit more lively. So on the flat bits he was towing us along. Also I didn’t seem to have my navigating head on but Justin did. I over shot the turns and Justin shouted.

Because of the way we’d started in Cheddar the route had a built in “sting in the tail” of the section from Bradford Upon Avon to Wells. Some of the dreadful lanes on this bit could be compared with the horrors of the Hardboiled 300km from a couple of weekends ago. When I’m fresh and on lightly rolling terrain 50 might take just over 2 hours. It took me 4 hours to get from Bradford Upon Avon to the finish at Cheddar.

The White Horse

Like any ride this had it’s low points – The midday Saturday traffic in Cirencester and it’s high points, the lovely chalk hills on the section between Malborough and Bradford Upon Avon.

This event starts at 2am. It was very cold in the night. The first stop was at a Pub on the edge of Salisbury plain, for breakfast at 5am. The day was bright and the roads were dry. The route the ride took used a lot of tiny lanes. This was good for avoiding traffic and having great views but it was sometimes slow. I didn’t eat enough for the second part of the ride, which was hillier so I got slower and slower. I eventually rolled in to the finish control outside of BRM time although they did say I would be validated- I was dead last. Greatly enjoyed a pint of Tribute at the pub at the end.

what is it?

what is it?

what is it?

I just bought these gloves as part of an order as I noticed they were cheap.  I like Campagnolo clothing.  But when the box arrived and I got them out I squeaked with delight at the groovy circle patterns.

The gloves are Campagnolo Light Polari Windproof Thermo Gloves and seem like they’ll be good when it gets a tiny bit warmer

As well as the (I hope obvious) notions of eating and sleeping properly after events, I use the methods and items listed below to aid my recovery

Stretching

Stretching supposedly flushes out the waste products from inside the muscles. Whatever it does, it works for me. The basic stretches I use are ones for the Quadriceps, where the foot is pulled up to your backside, calf stretch leaning against a wall, a seated hamstring stretch and touching my toes.
I just do the poses for these different stretches and hold them for 20 seconds. If I feel like it I do them twice. Time to do: one or two minutes. Very quick to do and I’m sure they do some good

Hot Bath

The theory behind a hot bath is that it forces the body to flush blood to the surface of the skin and therefore out of muscles. Then fresh blood will go in the muscles. Some proper athletes (and Eddy Izard when he ran a load of marathons) use the technique of an ice bath to do this. I’m sure this is slightly more effective but a hot bath is a lot more pleasant. A bath is better than a shower as the whole body gets hot at the same time.
Minimal extra time to do as you’d be washing anyway after a sweaty bike ride.

ZMA

ZMA

Recovery Rides

The idea of the “hair of the dog” is familiar to drinkers. After a heavy session of alcoholic abuse the night before, nothing sorts out the bad feelings like a little more alcohol. Cycling is the same. After a heavy ride the day before, an easy ride the next day helps the body recover. The best way to do these is to not put any effort in. Go at a low rate of effort and don’t be tempted to sprint or push hard up hill. Time to do at least an hour so could be problem if you’ve just spent the whole of the last weekend riding around Wales.

Glycogen Replacement

Glycogen is a easily used muscle fuel within the body. It is most easily taken up in the form of carbohydrates. It is used up during aerobic exercise. After a couple of hours of cycling, Glycogen levels will usually be low. According to a lot of research, if lots of carbs are taken on immediately after exercise the Glycogen is converted really quickly and diverted to the muscles that are short of it. This speeds up recovery as normally it would take longer to “refuel” the body in this way. The correct sports science way to do this is to use a long chain glucose polymer drink or “even better” a glucose drink with extra predigested amino acids.
I use this as an excuse to generally over eat after a long ride but if I am training then I will use the recovery drinks. Time to do is quick, as the recovery drink has to be consumed as quickly as possible afterwards.

Recovery can mean different things to different people. If you need to go to work the next day without your legs feeling like they have been beaten with rods- that’s one criteria. If you need to get ready for another training ride the next day- that’s another criteria. But allowing time for recovery is a key thing to do if you want to get stronger over time

We had hopes for some great weather but it was overcast all day, I never turned my lights off. Not even as good as last year

I didn’t start off terribly well. I had somehow assumed that the start was at 8:30am but in fact it was 8am. So I missed most people. However, there were other late starters too, John and Jamie Howard. Jamie Howard is a bit of racing legend at our club, the Exeter Wheelers. He needed people to ride with as his GPS wasn’t working right. I was a bit dubious about riding with him on his first audax. But on the whole he didn’t go too fast and was quite entertaining to chat to.

The ride down to Budleigh was slowish and coldish with temperatures just above zero. After that the temperatures rose a bit and our state of warmth was helped by the climbs to go from Collumpton to Tiverton.

Pippa Wheeler the organiser at the Canal Tearooms

At the Canal Tearooms, John and Jamie decided to have a bacon butty. I waited for them and then we all set off up the Ex Valley. Unfortunately they were fitter and thinner than me so I was dropped on a climb somewhere after Black Cat.

The Badgers Holt pub, Ex Valley on the way to Wheddon X

I caught them again as John had punctured. I stopped to offer the use of my pump. We continued, they opened a small gap on the last big climb to Wheddon X but I caught them again as they were confused at the info control. Jamie apparently stopped to take a photo, I waited for him in Dunster for a few minutes.

The Driftwood Cafe in Blue Anchor was fab as usual.

Eventually Jamie said that he had to get going as he needed to get back. So with 50 miles to go he suddenly disappeared. One minute he was 10 seconds ahead, then we didn’t see him again. He was telling me he is doing a 50 mile road race next weekend so he would be able to do a ridiculous speed over this distance.

View from half way up the Dead Womans Ditch climb

Best bike is now muddy instead of shniey..

This runs from a town near me so I can ride to the start and the route isn’t especially difficult.

At 8:29am I got to the start, grabbed my brevet card from Sally (thanks Sally) and joined the bunch of riders. It was a good turn out, helped by the weather which looked like being good.

As we set off I tried to stick with the lead group but was dropped on the first proper climb. I didn’t stop for anything to eat at the first control just got a stamp and left asap. I was riding a lot with Julian but managed to loose him just before an info control as the gpx maps were split in two and I nudged the wrong button in my gloves just at that moment for the end of map one. It took me a minute to figure out what was going on, I should have been more aware of where the gpx ended.

Stopped at Heaphy’s Cafe in Glastonbury for a slightly over priced snack and then off again. Julian caught up with me, he’d found somewhere better to stop in Glastonbury.

I lost Julian again when the gps route decided to take us through a quagmire. I mean the “road” was mud, heavily potholed and all the potholes were full of water. I turned back and found a different route, Julian pressed on

It had been a beautiful day and was quite lovely as the sun set over the levels

I got to the finish at just after 5, which is a fairly slow 100 miles.

Lessons learn: 1) look at the gps trace beforehand 2) I am not an all fit, must try harder

First impressions were that the size 48 was about right for me, with winter weight socks on. My Specialized winter boots are size 47 and the Shimano are 48 for comparison. The enclosure system for the boots is good and they are sturdily made. A quick trip up the shops with them on confirmed that they were very stiff, which I like.

This weekend I really put them to the test by going for a proper winter ride in them. I only did about 40 miles but as you can see, it was cold.

I am always hoping for a miracle with winter boots. But the fact is that I have poor circulation in my toes. My toes were very cold and I had to stop halfway round at a cafe to let them warm up a bit. However, the boots were pretty good and they allowed sweat to escape. Also, as a bonus I found that the tread grips well in the snow!

But what if you have missed out? What are the alternatives?

UK Alternative Rides

The LEL is organised closely with Audax UK. Audax UK are involved with all the long, brevet style rides in the UK. So there won’t be any other rides that are really long and that “clash” with the LEL

The nearest long ride in date and geography to the LEL is The Buzzard 600km This is a much more self supported event than the LEL however.
For a less basic ride, you’ll have to go earlier and further away. The National 400km goes from Tiverton, Devon on June the 15th. It should have a large field of riders and excellent encouragement along the way

European Alternative Rides

If you want to ride 1000km+ then you’ll have to look outside the UK
In the rest of Europe there are plenty of long rides this year. In particular the Madrid-Gijon-Marid 1200km is running in Spain.

In France there are several 1000km events. I think that the Grimpeurs du Sud 1000km looks like great fun, and it’s only 10 Euros to enter but it is a lot more taxing than the LEL