Straight On At Rosies

I did my first audax on Saturday in Nottingham. What an experience. The day was windy and cool but most importantly it remained dry.

My first Audax (a sportive is a race that pretends to not be a race, an audax is not a race that pretends to be a race) was 125 miles around Nottinghamshire with only 1100 metres of climb.

I had been invited to join two fellows (one being my friend S) from Team MK on this audax. I stayed overnight at S's in MK and we were up at 4:30 AM for a cooked breakfast. 5:45 A joined us and we set off for Junction 28 on the M1.

We arrived in plenty of time, checked in, had a biscuit and a cup of tea. There were only 42 riders in the event. I assumed we could start at our leisure, WRONG! It was a Grand Prix type start at 8:00 AM. I was wandering towards the toilets at that time and had to let the riders all pass in front of me before I could cross to the conveniences. Then, after completing that task I returned to my bike and the three of us set off to catch everyone else - except that I had not adjusted my saddle. We stopped and I got the Allen key out and did the adjustment.

After getting going we kept up a steady 20-22 MPH slowly going through the field. At just after 22 miles we caught the main bunch (of about 8 riders) and settled in the pack. When we got to the first stop at 38 miles (Rosies) the faster riders who arrived before us (about 4 riders) were enjoying their snacks.

The prevailing wind on the outward section was a cross wind.

We left Rosies after a muffin and a tea. There were about 4 riders on the road ahead of us and the bunch were behind. They caught us some 10 miles later and we split a few miles later when there was some confusion over the directions and we stopped to check the map. The last 10 miles before the half way point you go out and back on the same route. The route then splits and you return in a westerly circle. The advantage of this is you get to see how far people are in front of you and we were quite pleasantly surprised to see that there was not much between us and the leaders. We stopped at the turning point and watched as others got there and turned.

We got on our way after 10 minutes or so. The next checkpoint was another 13 miles. This turned out to be a very pleasant cafe serving excellent cakes and cream teas. All the riders were gathered there and we stopped for refreshment. We sat outside at a table and chairs enjoying the atmosphere. The bunch offered to wait for us but we were tiring and they were obviously faster than us at this point so we let them go.

We got going again and passed through a number of villages, one hosting a wedding which was just finishing as we passed. Everyone was coming out in their finery returning to their cars. I remarked to S about one particularly large cuddly lass in a low top, short skirt and high heels. Just after that I got my punishment as we rode into a strong head wind and I found myself in front of S and A. It was a nightmare and the speedo was dropping. It was a struggle to keep up 10 mph. After what seemed like an eternity (but was probably only a couple of miles) we turned sharply and got the cross wind back.

Strangely, as they had left the cafe before us, the bunch caught us up. It seems that their navigation skills were not up to those of A. We jumped on the back, wheelsuckers that we are. A few miles further I turned around and S and A were no where to be seen. Decisions, do I stop and wait or continue with the bunch. I was feeling a bit tired so I stayed with the bunch. As time went on I kept falling off the back. With about 15 miles to go one of the older veteran gentlemen who was also suffering stopped (there were two guys in that bunch over 70 and another younger guy on an old steel 531 frame!). I stopped with him, not from good manners but from exhaustion.

I consumed half a loaf of Soreen, another gel and a lot of water and after about 5 minutes we set off again (I was fully expecting S and A to pass me like S had done on the Dragon last month). The veteran gentleman got off and walked at the next hill whilst I continued in my lowest gear (34 X 28).

I struggled to the finish alone. It was definitely longer than advertised which is always a challenge at the end. A time of 8:36 and a top ten finish. The veteran gentleman came in closely followed by S and A (13 minutes after me). I was collapsed with a cup of tea and a biscuit at the time. As usual, my face caked with salt.

The organisers were telling us that they also organise 300 and 400 Kilometre events - not that I will be doing them.

We reflected in the car on the way home how it had been a good day, but we were all tired.

Post Scrip added by S

Duncan,

Sorry, but I had to clarify/emphasise a few things:

1. We actually visited five different counties on this ride (Derbyshire, Nottinghamshire, South Yorkshire, South and North Humberside... and we went very close to Lincolnshire)!
2. You correctly pointed out that there was little climbing, but at times the headwind over some very flat countryside made it feel as if we were climbing mountains!
3. The organiser mentioned that they had a 600k coming through Alfreton at the half-way stage. I'm still struggling to understand how that could be done in a single day!

Cheers,
S