arrivee_130_2015

Arrivée
©MARK FAIRHURST 2015
Number 130 Autumn 2015
the Long Distance Cyclists’ Association
www.aukweb.net

Riders on PBP2015. From the top: Kevin Sammons, Jack Farricy, Alex Peeke, with others

EDITORIAL
Arrivée is the free magazine of Audax United
Kingdom—the long distance cyclists’ association
which represents the Randonneurs Mondiaux in
the UK. AUK membership is open to any cyclist,
regardless of club or other affiliation, who is imbued
with the spirit of long-distance cycling. Full details
in the AUK Handbook.
HOW TO CONTACT US
Membership Enquiries: Mike Wigley (AUK Membership
Secretary), Higher Grange Farm, Millcroft Lane, Delph
OL3 5UX. Email: membership@audax.uk
Membership Application Form: www.aukweb.net/
enroll
Membership fees
Renewal: £14 or £56 for five years.
New or lapsed members £19 (inc. £5 enrolment fee) or
£61 for five years.
Household members: £5 or £20 for five years. No
enrolment fee for new household members. Life
member’s Arrivée: £9, or £45 for five years.
Arrivée
Extra current Arrivée copies, where available, are £3
(UK), £4 (EEC), £5 (non-EEC). Contact Mike Wigley
(address above).
Mudguard stickers four for £1. AUK cloth badges
£2 (includes UK post, EEC add £1, non-EEC add £2).
Contact Mike Wigley (above).
Contributions
Articles, info, cartoons, photos, all welcome. Please
read the contributors’ advice in the Handbook.
Views expressed in Arrivée are not necessarily those
of the Club.
Produced by AUK: editing, typesetting, layout, design
by Peter Moir.
Printed and distributed: Headley Brothers Ltd,
Ashford, Kent TN24 8HH.
Distribution data from AUK membership team.
TO ADVERTISE
Advertising Manager: Tim Wainwright
4a Brambledown Road, Sanderstead,
South Croydon, Surrey CR2 0BL
Email: twain@blueyonder.co.uk
Rates per issue: 1/₁₂ page £25, pro-rata to £300 per
full page. Payment in advance. Businesses must be
recommended by a member. We rely on good faith
and Arrivée cannot be held responsible for advertisers’
misrepresentations or failure to supply goods or
services.
Members’ private sales, wants and events
advertising: free.
PUBLICATIONS MANAGERS
February Editor: Sheila Simpson
33 Hawk Green Road, Marple SK6 7HR
Tel: 0161 449 9309 Fax: 0709 237 4245
Email: sheila@aukadia.net
May Editor: Tim Wainwright
4a Brambledown Road, Sanderstead,
South Croydon, Surrey CR2 0BL Tel: 020 8657 8179
Email: twain@blueyonder.co.uk
August Editor: David Kenning
Little Orchard, Pean Hill, Whitstable CT5 3BQ
Tel: 07734 815133 / 01227 471448
Email: dave@widdersbel.co.uk
November Editor: Peter Moir
2 Peel Close, Ducklington, Witney, Oxfordshire
OX29 7YB Tel: 01993 704913
Email: peter@moir.co.uk
To subscribe to the AUK e-mailing discussion list, send
an Email to audax-subscribe@yahoogroups.com
Our WWW site: www.aukweb.net
AUK clothing can be purchased directly on-line at
www.forcegb.cc
Copyright © 2015 Arrivée
Audax UK Long Distance Cyclists’ Association
Company No. 05920055 (England & Wales)
Registered Office: 25 Bluewater Drive, Elborough,
Weston-Super-Mare BS24 8PF
So, PBP, for many the ultimate randonneuring
experience, is over for another four years. On
August 16 and 17, over six thousand riders set off
from Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines to ride 1230 km
on a return trip through Britanny to the Atlantic
Coast and back. Of those riders, over 450 were
from the UK, and some of those participating
have kindly taken the time to document their
experiences for Arrivée, whether they returned
triumphant, or slightly less so. I hope you'll enjoy
the selection of stories and photos I've managed
to include in this issue, and that it will encourage
you – if you were not already sufficiently
motivated – to get training for our own flagship
London-Edinburgh-London in 2017.
One of those participating in PBP 2015 was
our very own teethgrinder, Steve Abraham,
using the mere 760 miles from Paris to Brest and
back to add to his total accumulated for the
One Year Time Trial record attempt. As detailed
in the last Arrivée, August 8 saw Steve start a
concurrent record attempt to run alongside the
original he started in January, but which was so
unfortunately interrupted by his accident and
resulting fractured bones. As I write this, 76 days
into the concurrent attempt, Steve's new total
stands at 15,562 miles. As always… Go Steve!
4
Official News
5 Obituaries
Little Legs – Big Ambitions
Jo-Anne Whitehead
7
8
Return to Gladestry
Alison Smedley
10 Paris–Loudéac–Paris
James Bradbury
14
53 Years of Cyclo-Climbing
Bob Damper
18 #PBP
Adam Young
Our 1st 100k - Grantown Gallop
20
21
22
24
27
29
Mary & Owen Morgan
SPOT Tracker
Graham Adcock
Garboldisham Groveller 200
John Thompson
From Zero to PBP finisher
Carlos Wong
Ten Years Below Average
Arabella Maude
Boguillie, Borderline OCD
Paul Harrison
Front cover
©Mark Fairhurst, www.zeitgeistimages.co.uk
Photos opposite : Dave Robinson
Contents
Autumn 2015
On the subject of
Arrivée, I do hope you
like the slightly different
front cover I've chosen
for this Autumn
edition - a bit of a break
from the traditional,
but one I hope will
be appreciated.
Renowned cycling
artist Mark Fairhurst
kindly provided the unique
illustration expecially for the magazine and
Audax UK, and my heartfelt thanks go to him for
taking the time to produce a piece so evocative
of those coming autumn and winter rides. You
may have seen Mark's work in his fabulous book,
P is for Peleton. Mark's website, showcasing
much of his cycling-related artwork is at www.
zeitgeistimages.co.uk Thanks again, Mark!
The next issue of Arrivée is due with you in
February 2016, so please send any articles or
photographs to Sheila in plenty of time - contact
details in the panel at the left.
Good luck for a successful Audax UK 40th
anniversary year!
Peter
Answers from a Stoker
30 Sylvie Gorog
The Devélo Code
Dave Morrison
32
35
36
38
40
42
48
51
52
53
54
57
Devon Delight 100k
Ribble Blue
Getting to PBP
Marcia Roberts
I Was on Fixed, You Know…
Ian Hennessey
Tour of the Hills
Tim Harrison
PBP 2015 on an ElliptiGO
Idai Makaya
PDP : Penicuik-Durness-Penicuik
Alf Chamings
Filming PDP
Damon Peacock
Utterly Butterleigh
Ribble Blue
Paris–Brest–Paris, or…?
Phil Hodgson
Annual Report & AGM Agenda
AUK Calendar
PLEASE MENTION ARRIVÉE WHEN
REPLYING TO OUR ADVERTISERS
www.aukweb.netArrivée Autumn 2015 No. 130 3

OFFICIAL NEWS
NOTICE TO MEMBERS
Voting Arrangements for
Annual General Meeting 2015
This is a notice to members regarding voting arrangements for AGM2015 of
AUDAX UNITED KINGDOM LONG DISTANCE CYCLISTS’ ASSOCIATION Ltd to be
held at the Holiday Inn, Peterebough West on Saturday Nov, 2015 commencing
at 2pm.
As described in the Notice to Members published through the AUK Website
on Forum on May 5 2015, and in the 2015 Summer Edition of Arrivée, No 129, AUK
have retained Electoral Reform Services (ERS) to provide the voting services on
their behalf.
Members with a registered email address with AUK on Oct 1, 2015 will receive
an email detailing their signon credentials for an voting website managed by
ERS. This will contain details of the online voting ballot and instructions on the
procedure to be followed to cast the votes. The email sender address will be
onlinevoting@electoralreform.co.uk and have the subject line Audax UK Long
Distance Cyclists’ Association Ltd - Ballot 2015.
Members who have registered for a postal vote via a printed ballot by Oct 1,
2015 will receive this through the post. The full annual report and AGM Agenda
will be published through the AUK Website and a printed copy will be posted
to members who have registered for a printed ballot. The printed report will
be sent out seperately/immediately prior to the printed ballot. Members
receiving a printed ballot may cast their vote by voting online using the supplied
credentials or by returning the printed ballot in the pre-addressed envelope
supplied.
The ballots will be despatched to members on Wednesday October 21, 2015.
The ballots may be cast at any time until 12:00 (noon) on Wednesday November
11, 2015 (3 weeks elapsed) when voting will end.
All members are entitled to attend the AGM and cast their votes in person,
however once cast postal votes cannot be changed or withdrawn.
Paul Stewart, Secretary,
AUDAX UNITED KINGDOM
LONG DISTANCE CYCLISTS’ ASSOCIATION Ltd.
Company No. 05920055 registered in England & Wales
Registered Address: 25 Bluewater Drive, Elborough,
Weston-Super-Mare BS24 8PF
SECRETARY'S REPORT
Just a Second
Once again I have returned, this time hotfoot from the Board Meeting
on October 7 where we welcomed Ged Lennox who has offered
himself as candidate for the position of AUK Communications Director.
Ged is a communications professional who has married a career in
communications and design with being a Super Randonneur and a
passionate interest in all things bike, and would be a great addition to the
team
Moving on, plans for badges, frame stickers and other merchandise to
celebrate AUKs 40 season are being progressed, and doubtless designs
for these will be presented in Arrivée and through the AUK website in
due course, along with the refresh of the various other award medals and
badges that is being progressed. Looking slightly further ahead, the AUK
Chair, FD and Events Secretary have met with Danial Webb regarding
LEL2017 to discuss how AUK and LEL will work together to support the
event and the general progress to date. The LEL team are very much
building on the experience gained from 2013 to the satisfaction of all
concerned.
More immediately though, this year’s Annual Reunion and AGM,
which will be held in Peterborough on Saturday 14 th November, is rapidly
approaching. The booking form is available through the AUK website if
you lost the copy distributed with the previous edition of Arrivee. It’s not
too late to attend either the Reunion dinner or just the AGM as you prefer.
For more details on the AGM arrangements see the notice to members
Mileater Delegate
Audax UK is looking for a member to take over the administration
of the Mileater Award Scheme when the existing delegate retires
shortly
Scheme entrants are encouraged to record their daily mileages
in a diary over the year, or in some cases online, and to make
comments. These are submitted at year end to the delegate who
uses the distances noted to determine the winners of the Jan &
Mick Latimer awards, and the experiences of the participants to
inform a report of the competition published annually in ARRIVEE.
The Mileater delegate is responsible for taking entries, ordering
and distributing diaries and medals, keeping appropriate records,
liaising with entrants, and any other associated tasks.
Knowledge and/or experience of the Mileater scheme as a current
participant would be useful for anybody considering taking on this
post, but committed members without those qualifications should
soon be able to learn.
Any member interested in this opportunity should contact
Chris Crossland, Audax UK Chair.
Email: chair@audax.uk
Phone: 01322 832 853
Address: 14 Stanley Street West, Sowerby Bridge, West Yorkshire
HX6 1EF
published here and through the AUK website. This will be the second
year we have had postal voting, and the expectation is that the formal
AGM itself will be shorter affair followed by a less formal meeting after
to discuss matter of interest. As I write though arrangements for this are
being progressed..
Otherwise arrangements for the weekend otherwise follow the usual
pattern. There will be a social ride organised for the Saturday morning
organised by Noel Toone, and the AGM will commence at 2pm in the
afternoon, with the Reunion Dinner commencing at 7pm. Full details will
be available through the AUK website nearer the time.
Attendees at the Reunion Dinner will note that we will have a new range
of trophies to hand out, replacing the traditional trophies which are to
take up residence at the National Cycling Museum in Llandrindod Wells.
It is intended the new awards will help rebalance the awards ceremony
component of the Reunion Dinner, giving greater prominence to areas of
achievement outside of the ‘competitive’ awards, something members
have been asking for.
On the subject of trophies, Chris Crossland, attended the LRM
quadrennial (is that a word?) meeting in Paris where he met
representatives from ACP affiliates from around the world, and in the
process collected an award presented by ACP for the second most
highly represented country at PBP, which demonstrates the strength
of Randonneuring in the UK with a new record number of Super
Randonneurs.
I look forward to seeing you all in Peterborough!
All the best,
Paul Stewart,
AUK Secretary
4
Arrivée Autumn 2015 No. 130
www.aukweb.net

OBITUARIES
Ian Dixon
With much sadness we report that Ian Dixon of Longtown, Cumbria died
suddenly from a heart attack on 10th July whilst out riding with friends.
The death of Ian at only 61 came as a big shock to everyone. He was
always such a lively character and always cheery, seemingly taking
everything easily within his stride. There was never any panic at all even
on Paris-Brest-Paris where he finished with 5 minutes to spare in all the
bad weather of the 2007 edition or even when he misjudged a sharp bend
early on in the Nae Bother to Us 400 one year and ended up bouncing
off a hedge (the day he became known as Hedgebanger). He just dusted
himself down and carried on riding.
He was always willing to help and was often found acting as controller
somewhere for other’s events. He organised his own Clarten Ower
Caldbeck 200km which was a lovely route on quiet Cumbria roads. He
helped organise Cycle the Solway, a charity ride which raised tens of
thousands for the Eden Valley Hospice and Jigsaw. He also helped on LEL
at Brampton fitting in shifts there between a busy time on his farm.
We’ll miss his cheery banter and sense of humour no end, especially
when we ride the many roads we shared with him and try to remember his
spirit to carry us through when times are hard.
He leaves behind his wife Doreen and three daughters, Stephanie,
Rachael and Helen. We wish them all the best.
Here’s hoping he’s out there somewhere pedalling in the sunshine with
a tailwind. Chapeau Ian.
Lucy McTaggart
Ian Dixon riding the Ower the Edge 400, May 2006
Ed Jones
We are sad to report that long-time Audax UK member Ed Jones died
in the early hours of Sunday 19 July 2015. Ed passed away peacefully, with
his family by his side, as a result of complications related to Parkinson's
Disease, from which he had been suffering for some time. A five-time
Paris-Brest-Paris rider, first completing the event in 1979, Ed was wellknown
to many AUK members.
Ed leaves his wife, Maggie, and daughters Ellie and Marion, and we all
join in sending them, and the rest of his family, our best wishes.
Training Centre for
2 and 5 Day General Maintenance
3 Day Wheelbuilding
Rohloff upgrades & servicing
Custom Building INVICTA
FRAMES and complete bikes
Frame Building Courses
Standard 5 day and Advanced 10 Day
Build your own fillet brazed or lugged frame
julie@downlandcycles.co.uk | 01227 709706
www.downlandcycles.co.uk | Canterbury Kent CT4 6EG
martin@campagservice.co.uk | www.campagservice.co.uk
Ed Jones at Knutsford on the 1995 Windsor-Chester-Windsor
www.aukweb.netArrivée Autumn 2015 No. 130 5

THIS & THAT
Pat Kenny
CORRESPONDENCE
Behold : the new president (chairman) of Les Randonneurs Mondiaux,
Keith Benton, former treasurer, then chairman of AUK, seen here with Ann,
in the garden of Dee and Noel, S.W. France. He was elected at the LRM
meeting following the 2015 PBP.
The LRM was set up in 1983 by Audax Club Parisien and
“correspondents” or representatives of six clubs, including AUK, to be
responsible for the validation of audax rides over 1000 km, except for the
PBP of course. We wish him a problem-free 4 years as chairman, checking
routes, validating results and awarding medals.
I attended the recent PBP in St. Quentin en Yvelines and enjoyed ,
however briefly, being reunited with a number of AUK friends and also
those in Audax Club Parisien. Briefly since with some 6,200 riders from 75
countries, there was little time to talk and volunteers were hard pressed
to cope. Bob Lepertel, “father” of post war PBP, maintained that a limit of
3,500 riders should be set. Disappointingly, the self-reliant atmosphere
of earlier PBPs was not apparent, the majority of riders were reliant, I
believe, upon expensive gadgetry and motorised support (cars, caravans
and mobile homes). Nostalgia? There were many “abandons” despite the
clement weather. Too many new inexperienced riders?
Altogether a rather expensive and disappointing trip. Should I reach the
age of 85 in 4 years time, I won’t be returning there!
Noel Simpson
Former AUK, ACP, LRM Correspondent
Pat Kenny's eldest daughter, Helen, is running the Chester marathon
in memory of Pat, who was killed in a road accident in 2011. This is also
being done to raise money for the charity RoadPeace. Many riders in AUK
knew Pat and had ridden with him, so if you wish to contribute details are
on Helen's JustGiving page at
www.justgiving.com/Helen-Kirkup2
PBP 2015 photos by (left) Dave Robinson & (right) Damon Peacock
Easter Trail : What’s that all about?
From Easter 2016 Audax UK will be organising a Trace Nationale, or Easter
Trail † . This is a team event taking place over Easter, run according to rules set
by the ACP, which finishes at the same location as the Fleche Nationale, or
Easter Arrow. The 2016 event will start on Good Friday 25th March 2016.
Although initially the Easter Trail can appear very similar to the Easter
Arrow there are possibly more differences than similarities.
Team sizes for a Trail can vary from 2 to 6 machines (tandems count as one
machine).
Teams are free to start whenever they like after 6am on Friday but must
arrive in York between 8am and 11am on Saturday. This is not a 24 hour event
like the Arrow and teams are free to take however long they like as long as
they comply with the start and finish times.
Routes must be between 201km and 360km. There must be three
intermediate controls at least 50km apart. The finish control must be in
York. I’m hoping to be in York in person to collect the cards but there will be
further details nearer the time.
There is a mandatory overnight stop of 8 hours. Teams will be asked
to provide some evidence of their time of arrival and departure from the
overnight stop. It’s anticipated most teams will choose to spend this time
at a hotel or B&B but anyone wishing to spend 8 hours in a bus shelter may
have to get a little creative with their proof of departure/arrival. There aren’t
any rules regarding precisely what time you stop although it would likely be
best to stop late evening and then set off again early in the morning.
There is no prescribed maximum or minimum speeds for the event.
Anyone wishing to take the maximum allowable time to ride the minimum
distance would need to average a little over 9 kph (201 km / 21 hours) but
any teams feeling confident of maintaining a high speed can delay their
departure as late into Friday as they dare.
Unlike the Arrow, there is no option to ride less or more than your
declared distance and still have the ride validated. All teams must complete
their declared route and arrive in York between 8 and 11 am on Saturday.
Obviously, arriving early in York is not a huge problem as you will just have to
wait until 8am before the finish control is open.
For a ride to be validated at least 2 machines must arrive in York.
All finishers will receive a certificate from Audax Club Parisien. It is a Brevet
Populaire rather than a BRM event and as such is not eligible for any AUK
points nor the majority of AUK’s and ACP’s awards or championships.
As it’s the first time we have run an Easter Trail, or any event like it, it’s
unclear how many or which type of riders will take part. It may appeal to
experienced riders who wish to still take place in experience of the Arrivée in
York but want a little TLC in the shape of 8 hours in a warm bed on the way
there. Alternately, it’s an ideal introduction to anyone new to team events,
as the distance and riding requirements are less than an Arrow, and it would
serve as an ideal stepping stone to the longer event. There are similar events
run in a few other countries which prove to be very popular.
This event is more about putting together a team, planning your route,
participating and hopefully having an enjoyable time rather than winning
prizes. In fact, unlike the Arrow, there is no prize for the team riding the
furthest distance. If you fancy doing something new and a bit different get a
team together and we’ll see you in York at Easter.
† subject to AGM 2014 vote
Martin Foley
Events Secretary
6
Arrivée Autumn 2015 No. 130
www.aukweb.net

BREVET POPULAIRE
Little Legs – Big Ambitions
Jo-Anne Whitehead
On the 6th of September 2015, the
youngest rider to date undertook
the momentous challenge of riding
the New Forest Autumn 50km Challenge for
the first time. Samuel Whitehead aged just
6 spent months training for the event in his
own individual way; riding his Islabike through
the woods and back roads of Hampshire,
trampolining, running around with water pistols
and sticks saving the world from imaginary
baddies as well as going out with his father Paul
Whitehead on their kiddie-back tandem. Like
all highlytrained
athletes
Samuel
had to
build
himself up
mentally
and
not just
physically,
hence an
excuse for
father and
son to sit
down on
the sofa
every
afternoon
and
commandeer the television in order to watch
the Tour De France, La Vuelta a España and
The Cycle Show, banishing non-cyclist Mum,
Jo-Anne, from the room.
The weather gods smiled down as the big day
dawned bright & sunny. It was an early start for
father & son as it involved a train journey from
Emsworth to the start of the event in Lymington.
There was an air of excitement as they arrived
and as expected such a young rider caused
quite a stir. At 10:15 they set off, with Samuel
having no problem keeping up with the group,
for the first few miles before settling down into
his own pace. That didn’t mean he was slacking
off though, when 3 riders on Bromptons went
past he gave chase, giving the ladies a run for
their money.
After a pit stop in Bucklers Hard, to devour
Mum’s homemade “magic” flapjack, it was back
on the road. Dropping down into Beaulieu,
Samuel dealt with the busy Boat Jumble traffic
like a pro, riding with confidence. Stopped in
Lepe for lunch joining other riders who were
making the most of the warm weather. Of
course in any 6-year-old's world lunch had to
include an ice cream, giving him the energy to
jump back on his bike and start the journey back
to the finish. Samuel was a bit sluggish to start,
though who isn’t after a large lunch, but soon
got back into his stride. They approach Bucklers
Hard on the return and faced a short sharp hill,
to Samuel’s little legs it must have seemed huge
but he got out of the saddle, dancing on the
pedals, easily making his way to the top.
The last few miles seemed to fly by, dropping
down the final hill into Lymington Samuel
clocked up an impressive 24mph (don’t tell
Mum). Mum Jo-Anne and the event organiser
John were waiting at the finish with cameras
poised ready to record the momentous
acheivement as father and son climbed their
way to the finish, both with big, proud smiles on
their faces.
Samuel who rode the event in his Dad’s
Hampshire Road Club Colours is also a member
of the Solent Pirates Youth Cycling Club and
took part in the event for not only the guts
and the glory but in order to raise money for
Charity. Samuel, having heard the story of
Widja Deysel, a 2-year-old profoundly deaf girl,
who is in desperate need of cochlear implants,
decided the best way to have some fun and
help someone else was to: “do a really long bike
ride”. Dad, Paul, is a seasoned Audax rider who
recently completed Paris-Brest-Paris and has
achieved the coveted super randonneur status
22 times in the last 25 years, and is proud that
Samuel seems determined to not only follow
in his footsteps but has big ambitions to far
surpass them.
In the end, all of Samuel’s efforts paid off
because not only did he finish in an amazing
time of less than 4:30 but he also managed to
raise £500 going toward Widja’s Gear to Hear. We
spoke to Samuel following the ride to see what
he thought of it all.
What was the best bit? – “When I went 24
miles an hour down a big hill.”
What was the worst bit? – “When I hurt myself
but I carried on because I didn’t want to let
Widja down.”
Hardest Part? – “Going up the hill at the end
to the finish.”
How did you feel at the end? – “Very tired but
very happy.”
What do you want to do next? – “I want to do
a 100km bike ride with my daddy on the tandem
and be a professional cyclist doing the Tour de
France”
When we asked Paul how it felt to cross the
finish line with his son on their first Audax he
said: “Amazing! A very, very proud dad.”
If you wish to find out more about Widja’s
Gear to Hear or would like to make a donation
please contact Jo-Anne Whitehead at
mrsjoannewhitehead@yahoo.co.uk
www.aukweb.netArrivée Autumn 2015 No. 130 7

RANDONNEE
Return
to
Gladestry
Hundred House Hill
On the last day of July, Paul and I
made our way back to where it all
began — Gladestry, Powys, near
the border town of Kington. We
live in Dolgellau and are spoilt for
beautiful cycling. However the last 12 months
has given our cycling a whole new dimension —
we caught the Audax bug!
During 2014 we were both feeling fit and
strong; Paul through lots of cycling and a
handful of tough sportives and me through
discovering triathlon the previous year (yes, it
was a midlife crisis thing!) We both had a bit of
a “what next?” feeling. I don’t take any pleasure
from running more than 5 km so upping the tri
distances didn’t appeal and Paul was suffering
some aches and pains from riding fast. We
were looking for something challenging but
not posey or competitive. At about this time,
I met up with former school friend Marcus on
Facebook and was inspired and a little in awe
of his Audacity. His BCM blog brought back
memories of hosting the event in the late 1990s
when I was manager at Kings Youth Hostel.
These people seemed far removed from my
humble abilities, yet after some research I found
an event which fitted the bill; both in terms of
distance and scenery.
August 2014 – an early start and a
brand new bike
We left Dolgellau at silly o’clock and travelled
off into the unknown, fuelled by oats and
enthusiasm. After Llanidloes we were in lesserknown
territory; only in Mid-Wales could you
be unsurprised by a cattle grid on a trunk road!
On arrival Paul unloaded his new bike, as yet
only ridden 5km and, with a little trepidation,
embarked on the 200 km Elan and Ystwyth
Randonnee. It was all new — Brevet cards;
controls; what the heck are those?! I waved the
Alison Smedley
group off at 8am and settled down to tea and
toast, happy in the knowledge that my ride
was a more manageable 100km; the “Radnor
Roundabout”. Gradually the group assembled
and I had fun sneaking a peek at some of the
very varied bikes including a tandem and several
individual looking titanium machines.
We set off with the minimum of fuss at 9am
and at a very comfortable pace. Some riders
disappeared into the distance; the tandemists
amidst cries of ‘one, two, three up’! I had my
route sheet visible in my barbag and it didn’t
let me down. I soon fell into pace with a man
using GPS and I asked him if he minded me
navigating so I could see how I got on. “Ok, but
if I disappear, you’ve probably gone wrong!” was
his response. Fair enough, but it was me who
spotted the small left turn at Newbridge, well
described on the route sheet.
The ride was undulating, clearly earning its
1.75 AAA points. The terrain was pretty similar
to my favoured rides closer to home; small
quiet lanes, hills, breath-taking views. Bwlch y
Sarnau and the road to Hundred House stood
out among these. The ride was punctuated at
around 60 km by a café stop in Rhayader. I was
ready for this; 60 km was quite a long stretch for
me in one go.
Replenished, cards stamped, we carried
on down the valley; an ideal flat section for
digestion. I was really pleased with how it was
going and with only around 30 km to go felt
we were nearly back already. I had reckoned
without Hundred House hill and the Glascwm
‘walls’. My GPS companion commented that
we still had 800 m of ascent remaining and that
a 1-in-4 was coming up. I was happier in my
ignorance and asked for no further information!
This last section was very hilly but outstandingly
scenic and peaceful which reminded me
why I always choose minor roads wherever
possible. I felt quite sad when the ride was
over. It had been the perfect little adventure;
companionable, challenging and comfortable
riding. After a cup of tea and a snack I gave some
thought to the evening ahead. I wondered how
Paul was getting on with his new steed and I
made the decision to camp. We hadn’t packed
any beer and the pub appeared to be closed so
I rode with (well, attempted to keep up with!)
Ashley and Cathy, the tandemists, to Kington in
order to rectify the situation. I was pleased to
add some more kilometres to my day and get
to know the area a little better. Paul returned
at dusk having had a brilliant day. The only
disappointment was that we had to return home
on the Sunday morning after waving off the
various rides. We would happily have entered
the 100km Gladestry Gallop and went home
vowing to return the following year.
The route to randonneur
Well, Paul had done it and now it was my
turn. I achieved my first imperial century at a
memorial ride in Hampshire in September (I
thought it was flat “down south”!) and booked
onto a 200 km Audax from Upton Magna in
October. After another early start, this ride
began well. I was feeling strong and found a
comfortable pace, this time riding with Paul.
However, at around 50 km something went
awry with my right knee. I plodded on and
hoped it would pass after resting at the first
control in Ludlow. A couple of miles on and it
was agony. I had to make a decision to give up
before heading off into the wilds of Mid-Wales.
I sat in the lovely brewery in Ludlow while Paul
returned to Upton Magna to fetch the car. Beer
followed by fish and chips in Welshpool served
to remind me that ‘DNF’ is not the end of the
8
Arrivée Autumn 2015 No. 130
www.aukweb.net

RANDONNEE
world and I was pleased with how we had
managed the situation. I wasn’t pleased with
myself however, when I discovered the source of
my pain was a new cleat at the wrong angle!
Paul went on to complete a permanent ride
in October, the “Cambrian”, and suggested
a permanent ride for my next attempt. We
chose John Perrin’s ”Cheshire Loops” for late
November and booked a B&B on the Erddig
estate as a treat for afterwards. We opted to
start from Holt, the closest control to home,
and proceeded to visit the Ice Cream Farm at
Tattenhall three times (the hub of the loops). It
was only open on the second visit, when we had
lunch outside on an unusually mild, sunny day
for the time of year. The ride took us through a
range of Cheshire scenery — Macclesfield and
the edge of the Peak; Frodsham and the orange
glow of refineries; and Chester along the canal
(except for where the towpath was closed and
we had to walk along the city walls!). My knee
behaved itself and we completed the ride in
the dark, early evening. I was ecstatic! We ate
our packed dinner and proceeded to the B&B
where tea and chocolates and a very comfy bed
awaited.
Paul at cafe, Kinver, Circuit of Clee perm
Another 200 km calendar DNF in January and
a successful permanent in February left me
wondering what I was doing wrong! I decided
that the Elan and Ystwyth from Gladestry would
be my ‘third time lucky’ attempt at a calendar
randonée. In the meantime I completed
some 100-120 km permanents; The “Cambrian
1A” and the “Circuit of Clee”, and then John
Perrin’s “Lutudarum” 120 km calendar event in
Derbyshire, which was outstanding — my first
meeting with the “van of delights”! A charity 105
mile ride in July felt very comfortable and my
confidence increased.
August 2015 – Onward and Upward!
And so, one year on and with many lessons
learnt, we headed to Gladestry. This time we
arrived on Friday evening, in time for a drink
at the local and a chat with fellow riders. There
were familiar faces from last year and the
Audax-related conversations made more sense.
Saturday soon came round (the camping mats
made much more comfortable by the beer!)
and we collected our brevet cards (we now
knew what to do with them!) and left at 8am.
The weather was cool and dry, with rumour
of showers and the ride to Rhayader passed
smoothly. We had decided to ride together and
it was one of our most well-matched rides in
terms of pace and I felt
unusually relaxed and
confident. The road
to the Elan reservoirs
was a new one to
me, beautiful and
not as demanding as
expected. We both
had a major energy
slump at the same
time as drizzle set in
above Devil’s bridge.
We were just in time
with the chocolate
‘slab’ cake and lots
of fruit pastilles. Lunch felt ‘so near and yet
so far’. The heaviest rain occurred as we rode
towards the prom in Aberystwyth and we ate
our sandwiches and chips in a huddle under PDs
Diner’s welcome parasols. The weather put paid
to my tendency to want a leisurely lunch break
and we were soon heading east. Once past
Pontrhydygroes and its climbs I resumed my
contented state of earlier and it was plain sailing
with a tailwind and drier conditions to Rhayader.
We were both cheerful and ‘together’ still and
were well within time
so made a conscious
decision to enjoy the
hilly section at the end
of the ride. Glascwm
“walls” were no
mystery to us now but
the sun was shining,
the waterproofs
were packed away,
and the views were
outstanding in the predusk
light. It was with
a little surprise and an
emotional tear that
I completed my first
calendar randonnee, AAAs and all!
At various points on Saturday’s ride, I decided
I wouldn’t ride on Sunday. However, after a
convivial evening with fellow riders, some beer
and a great deal of food, those thoughts were
history and I had a great night’s sleep.
We were to part company on the Sunday. Paul
was joining the 200km “Tregaron Dragon” and I
was booked onto the 100km ”Gladestry Gallop”.
Well, “galloping” round was unlikely but I was
happy to have another day out on the bike and
hopefully be fresh and recovered for the drive
home when Paul returned.
The first section of the ride was a bit
challenging with a
bee/wasp sting inside
my jersey within 5 km.
I chose to ignore it;
after all, the sting
pain was a welcome
distraction from the
saddle soreness!
This was my grumpy
state all the way to
Knighton, where I
got confused with
directions and added
4 km to the route. I
was very relieved to
On the Cambrian 1A perm
eventually rejoin the route and caught up with
Mary and Bob who had been behind me earlier
in the ride. This was only the first time today
I would cause them such confusion! Coffee
and cake at Clun were excellent and the ride
then took us what felt like south but may have
been otherwise! A couple of big climbs were
interspersed by undulating Shropshire lanes
and one hill seemed to defy the information
on my routesheet. Apparently I mistook/
missed a junction and the next village didn’t
appear where it should. Well, it did appear on
a signpost and by the time I reached it, I was
10 km over distance! I was pleased I had packed
my OS map as it helped me decipher what had
happened, although my thoughts did turn to
GPS at this stage. I arrived at Shobdon airfield,
a surreal place to arrive by bike, and gave Mary
and Bob a second surprise! Lunch seemed to
take an age to arrive, but I decided to enjoy the
sunshine and planes rather than panic about
time. The ride from Shobdon, definitely south
this time, was fairly level and should have been
easy but I was tired now and the opportunities
to ride out of the saddle were fewer! The lanes
became progressively narrower and I eventually
saw the “Powys” sign which marked the end of
my adventure into England. Just as it seemed I
was nearly back at base came the “sting in the
tail” — nothing like Glascwm but still worthy
of the name. I was delighted to complete what
I had set out to ride. The long wait for Paul
involved countless cups of tea, food, packing the
camping equipment and a dip in the hot-tub.
I think we have been quite spoilt by Ross, who
definitely sets the bar high with his hospitality!
So, “what next?” I feel I have only skimmed
the surface of the possibilities of Audax riding
and look forward to whatever the next twelve
months has to offer, before we return once again
to Gladestry. ◆
Camping at Gladestry
www.aukweb.netArrivée Autumn 2015 No. 130 9

PARIS–BREST–PARIS 2015
Paris–Loudéac–Paris
James Bradbury
It's not the title I had hoped to be writing,
but I guess it's the most accurate one. I'd
never attempted an audax of more than
600km before, but as I'd finished the three
600s I've done with some time to spare
I felt confident, perhaps too confident, that I
could complete the 1230km of Paris-Brest-Paris.
It wasn't particularly that I was unprepared,
although admittedly I hadn't studied the
route or worked out a proper pace plan. I had
however, given a lot of thought to clothing
and equipment and
ridden two 600s in
case one of my earlier
qualifiers hadn't
worked out. However,
my training in the
weeks leading up to
the event consisted
only of commuting
74km twice a week.
Family responsibilities
occupied much of
my time. I'd rarely
been away from my
wife and daughter for
more than a couple of
days and I knew I was
going to miss them,
so I tried to spend as
much time with them
as possible. Besides,
At the start
having a young child is
like taking on a part time job, where you are on
call 24 hours a day. Asking my wife to take on my
share of that for a week is enough of a favour,
without insisting that she cover all the weekends
leading up to it as well.
When registering for PBP I'd chosen the
90 hours “tourist” time limit, but been a bit
slow off the mark, ending up with a 1845 start
time in group M. I would’ve preferred to start
earlier, giving me a chance to build up a time
buffer before I needed to sleep. However, the
advantage of going off later was that I had
plenty of time to take photos of the many
varieties of human-powered vehicles people
were riding. Vintage bikes with plunger brakes,
tandems, Bromptons, hand cycles, several kinds
of recumbent and lozenge-shaped velomobiles.
There was equal variety in the kinds of lights
and luggage riders had and how they attached
them. Great fun for a bike geek like me. More
than 60 countries were represented and I'm
ashamed to say that I could only recognise a
handful of the flags shown on each bike's frame
label.
I was impatient to get going but, with only
a couple of hours to my start, my stomach
rebelled. I’m not sure if it was something I
ate but I do have a delicate stomach at times.
Anyway, I made repeated trips to the busy
portaloos and, when the loo roll ran out, was
very glad I’d taken Marcus Jackson-Baker’s
advice to pack some of my own!
Disaster averted, I joined the 300-strong
queue for my start and chatted to a Canadian
chap about his wooden mudguards/fenders.
The atmosphere as we set off was wonderful,
people cheered, clapped and yelled “Allez vous”
or “Courage”. I got the impression that it wasn’t
just other cyclists and their relatives, but local
people who had come along for the show. What
I didn't realise was that this support would
continue at every town or village we passed
through.
Progress into the
countryside was swift
but not frantic, smaller
groups formed and
broke up as people
got into their rhythms
or climbed at different
speeds. I didn't know anyone in my group,
but chatted briefly with a few. It was a fairly
warm evening, so I was wearing shorts and
short sleeves along with the official reflective
vest which would be
mandatory after dark.
To my surprise, I saw
a group of cyclists
from India wearing
full length trousers,
winter jackets and
helmet covers. There
were others who had
even covered their
faces, although the
temperature was
around 20°C. I guess
it shows that people
need to acclimatise to
temperature as well
as distance. No doubt
us northern European
riders would struggle
to ride in 40 degree
heat that felt normal to
others.
Before two hours had passed, about ten riders
from group N caught us up. I was tempted to
join them and benefit from drafting behind
faster cyclists who had set off 15 minutes
after my M group, but decided against it. I've
learnt that there's a comfortable pace for each
individual which changes as the ride progresses.
Not so fast that you're sweating and getting out
of breath, but not so slow that you get bored or
cool down too much. Some people use a heart
rate monitor to determine what that pace is,
today I was going on feel. Either way, it seems
to make a ride go better if you stay in that
comfortable zone.
As the light began to fade I came across an
Indian rider stood by the roadside examining his
10
Arrivée Autumn 2015 No. 130
www.aukweb.net

PARIS–BREST–PARIS 2015
bike. I called out the usual, “You ok? Have you
got what you need?”, to which he replied, “No,
help!”. One of his pedals was coming loose and
I was very pleased to have the 8mm allen key
to fix it for him. Riding on, we chatted for a bit
before I pressed on, keen to build up some sleep
time. I didn’t see him again, but I hope his pedal
stayed on and he had a good ride.
I now had my lights on but, as they were
battery powered, I tried to conserve power
by setting them to low when in groups,
reserving the brightest setting for when
descending. I had an Ixon IQ and Fenix
LD22 on the front and a B&M Toplight
Senso on the back. All take AA batteries
as does my GPS. I normally feel like too
much of an environmental criminal to use
disposable batteries, but for PBP I had
made an exception and used lithium ones
for their long life. I hope to get dynamo
lighting soon.
As I rode through a quiet village late
at night I heard an unusual noise. For a
moment I thought there was a problem
with my bike or part of my luggage was
loose. Then I realised it was a man stood
outside his house clapping! Children who had
probably been sent to bed hours ago waved out
of upstairs windows and a few had joined their
parents outside to give us encouragement.
By the time I reached Mortagne-au-Perche it
was after midnight and the car park was filled
with bikes. I was a bit bewildered and it took me
a minute or two to find a space to park. Inside I
joined the queue for food, which was long but
moved quickly. I looked around anxiously for
the control-card stamping desk and eventually
asked another rider who explained that this
stop was for food only. The first control wasn't
until 220km. Perhaps I should've done a bit more
planning so I'd have known things like this! After
some food and chatting I found a relatively
quiet spot behind a display board and got an
uncomfortable half hour's sleep. I didn't set
an alarm thinking I'd be flexible on timing and
with the noise and hard floor oversleeping was
unlikely. Somehow I managed to spend nearly
three hours faffing at Mortagne, which I knew I
was far from efficient. At Villains-la-Juhel some
hours later I was a bit quicker, but still managed
breakfast and another nap.
Back on the road I soon had a visitation from
the puncture fairy. Mildly frustrating, but soon
fixed. I didn't mind too much as the weather
was good and the people were friendly. Many
of the towns and villages had been decorated
for the event, as if they weren't picturesque
enough already. Old bikes were spray painted in
luminous colours or adorned with flowers. Small
groups of supporters sat in garden chairs at the
end of their drives calling “Courage!” or “Bonne
route”. Some offered water, tea, coffee or cake.
One of the things I had intended to do when I
first arrived in Paris was to send postcards to my
family, but I'd forgotten to do this so I popped
into a village shop and quickly chose three with
pictures of Normandy châteaux. Unfortunately
the shop was out of stamps and the local post
office was shut — at ten a.m. on a Monday!
At a larger town some local supporters kindly
directed me to one that was open. None of this
took much time, but I could easily have saved
twenty minutes had I done it in advance.
At Fougères things were relatively quiet and
service was quick. I was always around other
riders on the road, but had no idea whether
there were large groups ahead or behind me. I
ate well and wrote the post cards as my lunch
went down. Feeling good, I got back on the
road with 309km done — a quarter of the ride.
However, aware that I had been far too much
of a tourist so far, I "bounced" the control at
Tinteneac; brevet card
“I'd made a great
big error by not
eating for 140km”
stamped and bottles refilled
in about fifteen minutes.
People's opinions of the
hills varied depending on
what they were used to. I
found them long but not
steep. I often got hot by the top of the climbs,
but the descents were rarely difficult and I'd
usually keep pedalling gently on the way down.
I could certainly feel the distance by this stage
and was going a bit slower than normal. When
I reached the optional food stop at Quédillac
I hastily decided to keep going to gain time
for a proper rest later. It was 45km to Loudeac,
which seemed quite manageable. A short while
later a rider overtook me in the familiar orange
and white stripes of Chippenham Wheelers. I
hadn't seen any of the others from my home
club since the start, so I was keen to catch up
for a chat. It was Sheni who, after a slow start,
was riding strongly and planned to push on
to St Nicholas to sleep. It felt good to
ride a bit faster and I enjoyed comparing
our experiences so far. However, I soon
realised that I was riding faster than felt
comfortable at that stage, so I eased
off. Sheni also slowed down, possibly in
sympathy or because he was also feeling
the distance. It was now getting dark and
the last ten kilometres to Loudeac became
a struggle to keep the pedals turning. My
wrists, neck and shoulders started aching.
I urgently needed a rest and something
to eat. I usually carry a chewy bar, dried
fruit or a banana on any long ride, but
I had neglected to stock up on these
essentials. If I'd had a five minute breather
and something sugary to eat at this stage, I
think I would've been fine.
But I wasn't fine. When we got to
Loudeac around 9pm I was feeling achy,
exhausted and couldn't contemplate food. I sat
in the canteen and tried to nap, but it wasn't
happening. Sheni arrived with his dinner and
kindly offered me one of his
drinks, but I didn't feel like it.
Maybe I should've tried it, but
I was afraid I wouldn't keep
it down. He finished his meal
and set off to do another 45km
before bed. I was glad to hear
later that he made it around within the time
limit. After getting my card stamped, I found a
bed, asking to be woken at 4am. I'm not really
sure why I said 4am. I vaguely thought that this
might not give me enough time to reach Carhaix
before it officially closed. On the other hand, if
I was giving up, why not sleep in late? I guess I
was tired and indecisive.
I woke around 3, still tired but much more
myself again. I calculated that, once I'd eaten
breakfast and packed up I would have three
hours to cover the 76km to Carhaix. That sort
of speed would be no problem if I was feeling
fresh, but at that moment it felt completely
unrealistic. So I got myself a good breakfast and
chewed over the idea of abandoning — packing
— DNF — not something I've ever had to do in
the last two-and-a-half years of audaxing. I was
feeling better and better, but not like I could
race to the next control. Even if I made it there I
wouldn't be left with much time to eat and rest
before racing on to the next one. I had foolishly
squandered too much time early on, leaving no
margin for error. Then I'd made a great big error
by not eating for 140km! It's one of those things
that people who've done PBP warn you not to
do — why hadn't I listened? Well I suppose I
had listened to a lot of advice and it had been
very helpful. What to pack, how to train, how to
get there and where to stay, all that had gone
to plan. I'd been more concerned about the
logistics of getting me and the bike to the start,
with the right kit, than actually doing the ride.
I returned to the control room, handed in my
www.aukweb.netArrivée Autumn 2015 No. 130 11

PARIS–BREST–PARIS 2015
timing chip and abandoned the randonée. So
what now? I could carry on to Brest at my own
pace, making use of the controls and resting as
required, but I wanted to be sure I'd get back to
Paris in time to get a good night's sleep in the
hotel and for the train back to England the next
morning. I could possibly get a train from Brest
or Loudeac, but as I wasn't injured I liked the
idea of returning under my own steam, being
self-sufficient.
So, feeling at least that I had a plan, I set
off into the darkness, this time heading East,
following the pink and blue Paris arrows. I saw
plenty of bright white LEDs heading the other
way and it took me a while to realise that they
were from the 84-hour group, who had started
on Monday morning.
Starting a ride when it is still dark is often
unpleasant and takes a bit of extra effort,
especially when riding alone. However, it
all seems worthwhile when the sun comes
up, revealing the countryside in a new light.
Everything feels fresh and hopeful. Today was
no exception. The sun filtered though the mist
as it hung in silky waves over the fields. After the
previous day's crowds and excitement, the quiet
was blissful. I took time to enjoy the peace and
solitude, taking a few pictures, aware that my
photographic skills wouldn't do justice to the
scenes.
After a few hours, I arrived at Quédillac and
decided that I could definitely manage a hobbitstyle
second breakfast. The place was almost
deserted, less than ten people including about
three volunteers. I suppose most of them were
taking a rest before the next waves of cyclists
returned from Brest. One of the few others there
was an American lady called Laurie who had
started in my group. She was still on her way
West and would probably be out of time, but
like me was philosophical about not completing
her first 1200km audax. Her aim was to reach
Brest and enjoy the ride. We sat and chatted
about cycling and life and taking time to build
fitness for a good half an hour — the sort of time
I might not have spent sitting still if I'd still been
trying to keep to my vague schedule.
Making sure I kept a banana in my jersey
pocket in case of hunger, I rode east in the
sunshine, enjoying the scenery but feeling
slightly guilty being cheered by people
unaware of my significant
shortcut. At Tinténeac
the volunteers tried to
helpfully wave me into
the control, but I rode
past calling “J’ai déja
abandonné”. I'm not sure
if that's the best way to
say it in French, but it was
a phrase I was to repeat
many times over the next
few days and people
seemed to understand.
At some point on my
return journey, I'm not
sure where, near the top
of a hill I spotted a very
well-stocked table at the
roadside. Home-made
cakes, biscuits and, oh
joy, crêpes! In broken and breathless French I
’fessed up and explained my situation to the
three children attending the food. It seemed I
was still allowed to partake, so I helped myself
to a crêpe au sucre and dropped some coins
into the donation bowl. Such a spread would've
cost a fair bit to make. I did my best to make
conversation with the kids,
“…he thumped his
chest with his fist
and mouthed the
word ‘Courage!’…
but to be honest I struggled.
After I left I spent much time
rehearsing French phrases
as I rode in the hope I
wouldn't stumble over my
words so much next time.
I arrived in the beautiful
town of Villaines-la-Juhel late afternoon having
covered about 230km that day. I wasn't really
sure what to do next. The basic eat-sleep-ride
pattern was disrupted, so I just stood there,
taking it in. I was soon awakened from my
reverie as a volunteer blew his whistle; there
were more riders coming in and they needed
to clear the thoroughfare. I parked the bike and
headed for some food. At this relatively quiet
time volunteers of all ages were taking the
chance to use the catering facilities. Someone
spotted me as I wandered in and called
“cycliste!”. Five people leapt aside and ushered
me to the front of the queue. I was getting tired
of explaining that I was really in no rush, so I
sheepishly thanked them and enjoyed a good
meal. After that I had a shower and slept for ten
— yes, ten — hours. The makeshift dormitory
was a school music room, judging by the records
on the walls, but it had thick mats and I had it to
myself. I think some others came to catch a nap
during the night, but by the time I woke up I was
alone again.
Getting up I felt good and I only had a 90km
day planned which would leave a 141km ride
back to Paris for Thursday morning. As I rode
I chatted to a few riders who were, in effect,
330km ahead of me. I found that how I felt about
abandoning the randonnée changed depending
on who I was speaking to. Those whose attitude
was most relaxed, “Well, it’s still a nice ride”,
made me feel comfortable about it, but others
who had an, “Argh, what a shame!”, response
made me feel more disappointed in myself.
Curious, and something I'll bear in mind next
time I meet someone else who has packed. By
lunchtime I was most of the way through the
day's riding, so in Mamers I found an Italian cafe
and had a large pizza and dessert. More than
I'd usually eat in one go on a ride, but I figured I
could ride gently if I had any digestive trouble.
The town had an attractive square, but I wasn't
quite sure I liked the atmosphere away from
the main PBP route. It was
generally quiet, but I noticed
groups of youths hanging
around, apparently with not
enough to do. Perhaps I was
getting paranoid travelling
alone, but I find it harder to
read situations in foreign
countries, even when I can speak a bit of the
language.
So I got back on the road and before long I
was back at Mortagne, where I took some time
to watch the riders arriving, applaud and take
photos. I caught up with some other club mates
who were tired, but doing well and hoping to
reach Paris that night. After a lazy, but sociable
afternoon I went to find a bed. I was amused
when the volunteer described me as “Ce petit
jeune” — “this little youngster”, but explained
that although I was 36, I probably look young
due to being slight of build, and having had
much more sleep than everyone else.
The thin mat on the floor was not particularly
comfortable and I appreciated having ear plugs
and a buff to cover my eyes — I think someone
took a flash photo at some point. Still, I got
enough sleep to set me up for another predawn
start.
The next morning when I got on the road the
main thing I noticed was that I was overtaking
everyone. I wasn't trying to, I was just going at
what seemed like a comfortable pace. Of course
it wasn't really fair
as I had done a
shorter distance
and probably
had much more
sleep, but I was
surprised how
much difference it
made. The dawn
was not as dramatic
as the last time. The
sky remained a dark
grey and looked
rather threatening.
A chap called Alex
introduced himself
and asked if he
minded if he chat to
me to keep himself
awake. I was happy
12
Arrivée Autumn 2015 No. 130
www.aukweb.net

PARIS–BREST–PARIS 2015
to listen and learnt a few things about Ukraine, his home
country. I wasn't aware that their flag — blue at the top and
yellow underneath — represented the sky and wheat, the
latter being the country's major export. We rode together for
a couple of hours, sharing a love of Campagnolo ergonomics
and home-brew bicycle hacks. I admired his Garmin mount
made from an old bottle cage as we stopped for free roadside
soup — "Je vous remerci les Francais!".
At one point we were passed by Steve Abraham clocking
up the miles for his one-year time-trial. I was delighted that
he looked around and gave me a big grin — he must've
recognised my YACF forum name plate.
Alex and I parted ways at Dreux. He was meeting up with
his team mates and I wanted to grab a quick bite to eat
without cooling down too much. Having been really lucky
with the weather it was now raining persistently, so I didn't
want to hang around. I think it was as I was leaving Dreux,
climbing a small hill, that I spotted a van wanting to turn into
a side road across my path. In the UK, drivers can get a bit
impatient in this situation, but he waited calmly. When I got
out of the saddle to clear the road more quickly, he thumped
his chest with his fist and mouthed the word “Courage!” I was
grinning for a while after that.
After another pleasant chat, this time with a British
recumbent rider I was soon rolling along familiar roads into
the outskirts of Paris. I was feeling strong and still overtaking
people who had done the full distance with hardly a chance
to close their eyes. Again I felt a bit guilty and got a couple
of grumpy looks. I decided not to try and strike up any
conversations.
The mood at the finish was one of muted elation and relief.
I left my bike in the parking lot, congratulated a couple of
friends who had made the full distance and headed into
the velodrome for paperwork and pasta. I couldn't find
anyone I knew, so ended up sitting with a couple of older
French men who'd just finished the ride. I was pleased that
by this time I'd remembered how to speak French and one
of them spoke English to a similar standard, so we took it in
turns. It was a great way to learn and I could've chatted with
them all day. No doubt I made plenty of blunders, but also
managed a few jokes. It was the first PBP for Jean-Claude,
at age 68. His younger friend joked that it had been easy
for him to train, being retired. I explained my failed attempt
and enjoyable journey back, how kind the French public
had been and the wonderful scenery that made a pleasant
change from England. In the months leading up to Paris
Brest Paris, all through the qualifying brevets, I had felt oddly
unenthusiastic about it, but now I understood why it is so
special. Like many I thought it would be a one-off, but even
if I had completed the randonée successfully, I think I'd still
want to ride it again. It may be a big commitment, but if
circumstances allow I do hope to come back in 2019, and do it
properly. ◆
PBP 2015 (from top): Tracy Short & Bob Johnson,
Ian Hennessey,
George Hanna,
Steve Abraham
(Photos : Damon Peacock)
www.aukweb.netArrivée Autumn 2015 No. 130 13

ORDRE DES COL DURS
I
recently rejoined AUK after several years'
absence, during which time I continued to
cycle regularly but for a variety of reasons
(mostly to do with work commitments and
health), long-distance riding took a backseat
in favour of more leisurely outings. Now
retired and with health issues banished, I can
look forward to stretching my legs a little. One
interesting change I noticed on rejoining was
that OCD CycloClimbing, a British organisation
separate from but modelled on the Ordre des
Cols Durs in France, had become part of AUK.
Scanning the requirements for membership
set me wondering if I qualified and, if so, at
what level. Fortunately, I have kept a cycling
diary (or more accurately a variety of diaries,
logs, spreadsheets and miscellaneous jottings)
stretching back to 1962 although a constant
regret these days is that I never started to
record my mileage until 1976. (My grand total
currently stands at almost 220,000 miles so
there is every chance that I could have qualified
for the 300,000 Mile Club by now, but that
remains a target for the future.)
In principle, then, the task of putting together
a consolidated claim for OCD membership
was not out of the question, although it was
obviously going to take a lot of effort to
trawl back through my records, locate all the
occasions that I had climbed over 300 metres,
and check which of these were admissible under
OCD rules. After musing over the logistics of
the task, I decided to give it a go and see how
it went. I am pleased I did, because it turned
out to be hugely enjoyable looking back at my
diaries, logs and photos extending over more
than 50 years of cycling. When younger, I often
wondered why I was bothering to keep records
of rides in such a fastidious and obsessive
fashion, and I think I always knew it was to
capture memories that I would value in later
life. It was nice to see this intuition confirmed
after all these years. When completed at the
beginning of this year (2015) my consolidated
claim amounted to 175,101 metres, more than
enough to qualify as OCD “Officer” (which
requires 100,000 metres). The claim was duly
sent off to Rod Dalitz for confirmation and I
await Rod’s verdict! In the meantime, trips to
Exmoor, Shropshire and mid-Wales have added
another 5462 metres for 2015 so far.
Claims as far back as 1960 are allowed. This
Sheila on Col du Brabant (879 metres), Vosges mountains, France, 19 August 1976.
is the year in which
(aged 12) I joined the
Cyclists' Touring Club,
which now likes to play
down its history and
traditions as a club for
touring cyclists and
styles itself simply
“CTC”. As I spent
my early cycling life
riding with West Kent
District Association of
the CTC, there were
no opportunities to
breach the magical
300 metre barrier until
such time as increased
independence
meant I was able to
range outside of the
immediate area. A brief
dalliance with cycle
camping, in which I
managed to reach the
New Forest before
taking the train back to
Kent, convinced me that
there had to be an easier
way to tour. So my first
extended solo tour (as a
13-year-old at Easter 1962) to the Brecon Beacons
was based on youth hostels. Riding my trusty
Raleigh Lenton, handed down from my Dad and
equipped with Sturmey Archer 3-speed hub and
Cyclo Benelux 2-speed derailleur conversion
giving a bottom gear of 32 inches, I did this trip
staying in the youth hostels at Oxford, Welsh
Bicknor, Ystradfellte, Glascwm, Mitcheldean,
Marlborough and Ewhurst Green, most of which
have long since closed. So it happens that my
very first OCD claim was for the beautiful roughstuff
crossing of Cleeve Cloud (330 metres, 1083
feet) in the Cotswolds between Brockhampton
and Cleeve Hill en route from Oxford to Welsh
Bicknor on a cold but wonderfully sunny April
afternoon.
The next day (Good Friday), I ventured outside
England (and into Wales) for the first time in my
life. The day was blighted by a front hub spindle
breakage, which meant that I lost 7 hours (try
finding a bike shop open on Good Friday in the
1960s) and was constantly pushed for time to
The infamous A939 Lecht Road from Tomintoul to Cock Bridge, 25 July 1980.
Joining OCD
53 Years of
CycloClimbing
get to Ystradfellte
before it closed at Bob Damper
10pm. As my hostel
accommodation
was pre-booked,
and I had no
money to pay
for alternative
lodgings, I simply
had to make
Ystradfellte.
Pressured for time,
I changed my
intended scenic
route and took the more direct but deeply
unpleasant A465 Heads of the Valleys road. My
first real Welsh mountain climb was the early
evening ascent into a strong headwind from
Abergavenny up to 389 metres at Beaufort. (The
high point on the Heads of the Valleys road
is now 410 metres on the section bypassing
Beaufort, but that had not been built then). This
Stuart Illingworth on the beautiful Ryvoan Pass (408 metres) from Glenmore to Nethy Bridge, Cairngorm
mountains, 18 August 1979.
14
Arrivée Autumn 2015 No. 130
www.aukweb.net

ORDRE DES COL DURS
Location Height (m) Date
Cleeve Cloud, Gloucestershire 326 19 April 1962
Beaufort, A465 Heads of the Valleys 389 20 April 1962
Bryn Melyn, Brecon Beacons 446 21 April 1962
Cnapiau’r Ferlen, Elan Valley 560 17 April 1976
Signal de Botrange, Belgium 694 7 August 1976
Col du Donon, Haut-Rhin, France 727 13 August 1976
Xonrupt-Longemar, Vosges, France 829 17 August 1976
Col de Gros Pierre, Vosges, France 955 19 August 1976
Ballon d’Alsace, Haut-Rhin, France 1178 19 August 1976
Grand Ballon, Haut-Rhin, France 1343 22 August 1976
Maloja Pass, Switzerland 1815 2 May 1983
Abo Pass/Gran Quivera, New Mexico 2082 1 April 1990
Tijera, New Mexico 2303 2 April 1990
Apache Summit, New Mexico 2314 8 April 1990
The evolution of highest point reached
was a real culture shock. Never before in my
short cycling career had I experienced such a
relentless uphill slog. Shorn of the imperative
of reaching Ystradfellte, I swear I would have
given up CycloClimbing there and then! And it
wasn’t over at Beaufort, with another couple
of 300-metre-plus climbs to come (the last
one over Carn yr Arian in the dark, lit by a
truly pathetic Ever Ready battery light) before
I gained the hostel bang on 10pm and was
greeted by a welcome late supper, which the
warden had kindly kept hot for me well past the
official meal time.
Since that memorable Easter, I have
accumulated OCD claims in 12 different countries
(England, Wales, Belgium, Luxembourg, France,
Germany, Switzerland, Scotland, Italy, USA,
Spain and Northern Ireland) on 13 different
bikes (Raleigh Lenton, Carlton Catalina, F
H Grubb “Galibier”, 1958 Gillott Nervex Pro,
1981 F W Evans, Peugeot tandem, a hired
mountain bike, 1986 Rotrax, Airnimal, Dawes
Galaxy, Carlton Flyer, 1949 Gillott Spearpoint,
1957 Gillott lugless). With the exception of the
(aluminium-framed) Airnimal and the hire
bike, these are or were all steel-framed bikes
and the vast majority of my climbs have been
done heavily-loaded with touring gear. Not
for me the luxury of an ultra-light carbon-fibre
road bike! My most claimed ascent is the A93
Cairnwell road between Spittal of Glenshee
and Braemar, ridden six times in all when I was
At the top of the legendary Rosedale Chimney Bank (312 metres), Rough-Stuff Fellowship Easter Meet at
Malton, North Yorkshire, 5 April 1980. 10 years later, Penny and I stripped the splines off of the low gear cog on
our Peugeot tandem ascending the Chimney Bank.
living in Dundee
from 1976 to 1980.
Coincidentally,
this is also Britain’s
highest road. The
first two of these
crossings were
in heavy snow in
November 1977,
riding to and from
a freezing cold
hostel weekend
at Braemar. At
665 metres, the
Cairnwell alone
accounts for 3990
metres of my
175,101-metre total.
Higher and higher...
One intriguing exercise is to see how the
highest point I have reached by cycle has
evolved over the last 53 years, which I’ve shown
in the table. It’s interesting to note the 14
year gap between Bryn Melyn at 446 metres
on Easter Saturday 1962 and the crossing of
Cnapiau'r Ferlen (560 metres) in the Elan Valley
at the Rough-Stuff Fellowship Easter Meet in
Builth Wells in April 1976. It certainly wasn’t a
conscious decision to avoid hills during this
period although on reflection I was giving a lot
of priority to studying hard to build an academic
career, and I also had a more diverse social life
back then. It definitely looks like the annual tour
to Belgium, Luxembourg, France, Germany and
Switzerland in August 1976 firmly re-established
my climbing credentials with 6 “high water
marks” and a total of 15,157 metres claimed in
three weeks.
My August 1976 “high water mark” of Grand
Ballon in France’s Vosges Mountains at 1343
metres stood for almost 7 years, until I climbed
the Maloja Pass in Switzerland on a short tour
out from Milan in May 1983. Although Maloja is
considered a year-round pass, it is frequently
closed by snow and I was lucky to find it
open this early in the year. The last couple of
kilometres of the climb up from the Italian
border at Castasegna were truly spectacular
with a series of progressively tighter and steeper
hairpins, and with snow and ice increasingly
affecting the road surface as the summit was
approached.
In turn, Maloja held my height record for
another (almost) 7 years until a work-related
visit to Albuquerque in 1990 afforded the
opportunity for a couple of weekend trips into
rural New Mexico. On the way out to a twonight
stay at Mountainair, the Abo Pass was
climbed in beautiful spring sunshine on 1 April
but not claimed as the next day I went even
higher (2082 metres) en route to the Pueblo
Indian Missions National Monument at Gran
Quivera. This is truly remote and desolate high
country. I did not pass a single building in the
25 miles between Mountainair and the mission
ruins, only a couple of mobile homes replete
with obligatory mean dog intent on seeing
off intrepid cyclists. I can have seen no more
than five or so cars in the complete 50 mile
ride out and back to Mountainair. To cap it all,
the temperature plummeted and the weather
broke for the worse at Gran Quivera. My return
to Mountainair was accompanied by high winds
blowing tumbleweed across the road, heavy
snow, hail, thunder and lightning in an aweinspiring
demonstration of the power of nature
in these high South-Western parts of the US. To
say I was more than a little frightened would be
an understatement. Still, at least the inclement
weather kept the mean dogs sheltering in their
kennels!
The next weekend I visited “Billy the Kid
Country”, staying for three nights at Alto,
perched at 2270 metres high above the little
town of Ruidoso. After spending Saturday
following the “Billy the Kid Trail” to historic
Lincoln, I rode on Sunday through the Apache
Indian reservation and over Apache Summit at
2314 metres to Mescalero. As there is a paucity
of roads in the area, I returned over Apache
Summit although I took a different route into
Ruidoso, visiting the Inn of the Mountain Gods
for afternoon tea. To date, this remains my high
water mark, having stood for 25 years.
Highlights
There have been many climbing highlights
during these 53 years and it is hard to single out
particular ones. Nevertheless, I have had a crack
and gone for my top three, which (in best reality-
TV style) I give in reverse order:
In August 1982, the Conquering Hero Inn at Rhewl,
after which the pass was named,
was still open for our ploughman’s lunch.
www.aukweb.netArrivée Autumn 2015 No. 130 15

ORDRE DES COL DURS
Penny and Peter attacking the Horseshoe Pass (417 metres), CTC Birthday Rides, 5 August 1982
3. Mackenzie Pass, Oregon, USA (1635
metres), 10 August 1997: I rode this solo as
part of a truly spectacular 82 mile circuit on a
very hot but clear day. After an early breakfast
in the little town of Sisters, the first part of the
ascent climbed up through dense forest on a
wonderfully deserted road before suddenly
breaking out into an open lava field. The last
part of the ascent gave wonderful views of
the Three Sisters (prosaically named North,
Middle and South, each over 3000 metres) and
the various glaciers that adorn them. A long
descent (22 miles of freewheeling) took me to
the low point of the circuit at just 507 metres.
There followed a long climb up to Santiam Pass
(1468 metres) and back to Sisters on the heavily
trafficked Highway 20. On this stretch, the
unpleasant company of hordes of fast moving
cars was relieved by exquisite views of Mount
Washington to the right and Three Fingered Jack
to the left. I arrived back at Sisters after 12 hours,
tired and hungry, not having passed a single
habitable building (never mind a café or shop)
since leaving at 7pm. Bike ridden: 1958 Gillott
Nervex Pro. Total claim for the day: 3091 metres.
The author, Apache Summit, New Mexico (2314 m). My all-time highest
claim, climbed in both directions (to & from Mescalero) on 8 April 1990
2. Portillo de la Sia, Castile &
Leon, Spain (1240 metres), 29 July
1991: Penny and I crossed this high pass during
a wonderful 45-mile ride out from Ramales
de la Victoria in Cantabria. It was a beautiful
summer day lower down, but the top of the pass
was wreathed in cloud, lending an eerie feel
to the scene and causing us to don hat, jacket
and gloves for the exhilarating descent. Poor
visibility made the first few hairpins truly hairy
(well, they would be, wouldn’t they?). We broke
out of the cloud a few hundred feet below the
summit to be met by a stunning vista of peaks
and limestone crags as far as the eye could see.
We barely saw a car in the whole crossing. Bike
ridden: 1981 F W Evans. Total claim for the day: 2160
metres.
1. The Conquering Hero, Denbighshire,
Wales (428 metres), 5 August 1982: This
little-known rough-stuff route across Llantysilio
Mountain is named after the now-defunct pub
in Rhewl at its southern end. I rode (no, walked)
it on a hot and humid day as part of an official
59-mile ride during the week of the CTC Birthday
Rides in Chester in the company of Penny
and her son Peter on the tandem together
with our old (and now sadly departed) friends
Tony “Chalky” White and Barbara Braithwaite.
Although quite short, it is a true delight with a
riot of heather, and wonderful views of the Dee
Valley, Berwyns and Snowdonia. The descent
to the pub was steep! So steep that I had to
abandon my bike temporarily to assist Penny in
getting the tandem down. While she steered at
the front, I held on to the back of the tandem
to stop it running away. Then I retraced to
rescue my own bike. The pub was still trading
at this time and we had a ploughman’s lunch
there, sitting outside in the hazy sunshine. The
afternoon was pretty challenging to say the
least, with further climbs over the Horseshoe
Pass (417 metres), the celebrated Shelf Road (347
metres) and Eryrys (355 metres). Good thing it
wasn’t me piloting the tandem! We then had
an excellent cyclists’ tea at Maeshafn youth
hostel before returning to Chester to round off
a perfect day. Bike ridden: 1958 Gillott Nervex Pro.
Total claim for the day: 1547 metres.
Lowlights
You don’t get to complete 53 years of
CycloClimbing without some low spots! I have
Penny and Peter on Bwlch y Groes, the “Hellfire Pass”, 8 August 1982. There are 11 chevrons
on the OS map on the descent to Blaen-pennant! Bwlch y Groes vies with the Gospel Pass
for the title of Wales’ highest road. I have them at 545 metres and 549 metres, respectively,
with the Gospel Pass just shading the honours.
good reason to want to forget the following
(again, given in reverse order) but unfortunately
I cannot:
3. Carn yr Arian, Breconshire, Wales (342
metres), 20 April 1962: I’ve already mentioned
this when recounting tales of my intrepid Easter
tour. I’m sure it would be a delightful climb in
better circumstances, but cold, hungry, tired
and unsure of a bed for the night at Ystradfellte
hostel, I struggled up this steep little horror in
the pitch dark with only an Ever Ready battery
light for company. I was not a happy 13-year old.
Bike ridden: Raleigh Lenton.
2. Gathemo, Manche, France (336 metres),
1 May 2006: This was a disgusting cold day of
heavy rain and high winds. I did not have far to
go, so I intended treating myself to a leisurely
restaurant lunch in the warm and dry. But it was
Monday in northern France and nowhere was
open. There were not even any shops open to
buy food. So I stopped for a “lunch” break in this
unremarkable and deserted high village and
sheltered in my cape in the porch of the town
hall (which was locked) with nothing to eat and
16
Arrivée Autumn 2015 No. 130
www.aukweb.net

ORDRE DES COL DURS
Mount Washington viewed from Santiam Pass (1468 metres),
10 August 1997.
only water to drink, and felt sorry for myself.
That night, I stayed at a wonderful chambre
d’hôte at Juvigny and had a fine evening meal
replete with homemade cider in front of an
open wood fire, so all’s well that ends well I
suppose. Bike ridden: 1981 F W Evans.
1. Fishpools, Radnorshire, Wales (366
metres), 9 April 1995: It happens that most of
my claims relate to individual tours and many
are rough-stuff crossings. Relatively few were
done on Audaxes, notable exceptions being Roc
de Trevezel on PBP and the numerous Welsh
mountain climbs on the Brian Chapman 600
— and this nasty wretch on the Monmouth CC
The spectacular Tregaron mountain road will earn
you two OCD claims of over 400 metres: Esgair Ffrwd
at 481 metres and the legendary Devil’s Staircase at
475 metres, 11 August 1982.
Welsh Borders 300. As I was barely recovered
from flu, I really should not have ridden but
I needed a qualifying 300 for PBP and was
running out of opportunities. I felt pretty
good on the outward leg to Craven Arms
considering I’d spent most of the previous
week in bed, but I did have the benefit of a
strong tail wind. This ascent of Fishpools (on the
A488 between Presteigne and Crossgates) was
well over half way but I was beginning to flag
badly in the head wind. I’d also lost my water
bottle somewhere en route and was getting
dehydrated. Towards the top, my legs were
giving out, but I just about made it. Then as I
started the descent, I got a puncture. I never
felt less like mending a puncture in my life.
Completing in time was a mammoth struggle,
but I did it. I was convinced I was going to be the
last rider home, and was beginning to feel guilty
for keeping the controller out of bed late into
the night, but guess
what… I wasn’t the
very last one back. That
was someone who
shall remain nameless
(but their initials are
“MB”). Bike ridden: 1958
Gillott Nervex Pro.
Some surprises and
near misses
Looking back
through my records,
I was struck by
several roads that I
fully expected to be
good for a claim but
which failed to attain
the magical 300 metre mark. For example, the
famous Trough of Bowland road in Lancashire
certainly has all the look and feel of a high
mountain pass but reaches only 295 metres.
Another disappointment is Bwlch Llyn Bach
between Corris and Dolgellau, every inch a
mountain pass but actually just 285m. And one
of the hardest climbs in the country has to be
Sutton Bank in North Yorkshire, with six arrows
on the Ordnance Survey map, which pulls up
tantalisingly short at 298 metres. It is something
of a shame not to be able to claim these climbs,
just as it is for Leith Hill in Surrey (which I have
ascended countless times over the years) at
294 metres, Birdlip Hill in Gloucestershire
at 299 metres and
Sudeley Hill also in
Gloucestershire and
also 299 metres high.
Another near miss
is the climb out of
Davistow in Cornwall
up to 299 metres on
the edge of Bodmin
Moor that I rode in
2010 en route to the
CTC Birthday Rides in
Falmouth. (Actually,
a short detour to the
main A39 would have
enabled a valid claim
but I was not at that
time an OCD obsessive
so the thought never crossed my mind.) Finally,
it is surprising how few of Ireland’s mountain
roads reach much in the way of height. In
spite of several tours of the Emerald Island,
both North and South, to date my only claim is
Shillanavogy in County Antrim at 380 metres.
At the other end of the spectrum are those
ascents that turn out to be much higher than
expected. Even in what is nominally lowland
Britain, there are OCD claims to be had
reasonably close to my Hampshire home in
the Mendips and Blackdown Hills, and in the
Cotswolds. Further afield, I well recall on my first
trip to the Hautes Fagnes region of Belgium in
1976 the surprise at finding myself 695 metres
up. And I thought Belgium was supposed to be
flat! Well, I have now accumulated 3792 metres of
claims in this “flat” country. Another surprisingly
elevated area is Normandy in northern France,
which is also “supposed” to be flat but easily
tops 300 metres at several places.
Fixing elevation
Measuring elevation accurately (“altimetry”)
is notoriously difficult, and is really beyond the
capabilities of the individual cyclist. Consistent
with the honour principle on which the OCD
claims system operates, all one can really do
is have the best possible stab at establishing
height. Good values for well-known major
climbs, like Apache Summit and Maloja Pass,
can usually be got on-line from the likes of
Wikipedia or climbbybike. Otherwise, for my
claims in Britain and in France, I have favoured
spot heights taken from the official large-scale
maps produced by the Ordnance Survey (OS)
and Institut Géographique National (IGN),
respectively, since it is reasonable to suppose
that some resource and effort will have been
devoted to getting these as accurate as possible.
For those cases where my high point does not
coincide with an official spot height, I have
used the elevation data accompanying these
maps as purchased from Memory-Map. This is
presumably satellite data of good resolution
(probably OS Terrain 50 for Britain). Nonetheless,
satellite data remains subject to anomalies and
artefacts, but it’s about the best you can do.
This leaves the problem of establishing
heights for countries where I don’t have maps
of the same quality and detail as OS and IGN,
often because they simply don’t exist or aren’t
available to the public. In these cases, I have
resorted to using elevationmap.net, which
is doubtless based on satellite (rather than
barometric) data with all its attendant problems.
Sadly, the elevationmap.net data seems not to
be of the same quality as the OS and IGN data.
My experience is that quite large areas are
sometimes labelled with the same elevation
even in quite hilly terrain.
These days, Garmin is of course an option, but
Garmin devices use either a low-cost barometer,
which is highly sensitive to atmospheric
conditions, proper calibration, etc; or GPS, which
is notoriously inaccurate when, for example,
there is extensive tree cover, you are in the
shadow of a mountain, or all available satellites
are close to the horizon. The best bet is to treat
Garmin readings as of passing interest, but
unsuitable for verifying OCD claims.
What next?
I am completing writing of this article just
before setting out for the Pyrenees where
we hope to climb several of the major cols
made famous by the Tour de France, including
Tourmalet at 2115m. In July, I travel to Serbia
and intend to take in some big climbs (on
exceedingly bad roads) in the Stara Planina
National Park, where my friend has a holiday
house (well, actually, it’s more of a holiday
hovel). Then in August, I will attend the
International Cycle History Conference, where
an ascent of Mont Ventoux has been included
in the programme by the organisers. All this
should see me well on the way to my next target
of 200,000 metres ascent, which will qualify me
for the OCD grade of “Commander”, although
exactly who or what I will be in command of I am
unsure. ◆
www.aukweb.netArrivée Autumn 2015 No. 130 17

Adam Young tweets PBP 2015
The following report of PBP is based on my tweets from the event and gives a reflection of my thoughts during the ride.
My adventure started at 5 am on Monday 17th August and I had 84 hours to complete.
Saturday 15 August • 10:16
I’m on the Eurostar to Paris which is the start of my PBP journey.
Hopefully my Burls titanium bike is somewhere on the train”
Sunday 16 August 15:16
Howard Waller at the start
Sunday 16 August • 21:18
Waved off lots of riders inc. Toby Hopper; Howard Waller; Shu Pillinger;
Rob Bullyment; Rob Webb; Chris Smith; Joth & Emma Dixon; Simon
Proven; and Pete Tredget
21:22
Fingers crossed for Rob Webb on his Pashley because his crank came
loose after only a few km. I hope he’ll be OK on PBP”
Unfortunately Rob failed
to finish, having lost too
much time with this early
mechanical
Monday 17 August • 10:05
140 km done. Food time! Sandwich avec fromage. I can’t spin fast enough
to stay in the groups :-( ”
10:07
Empty food stop for 84 hour start :-) ”
13:38
Now at 220 km control [Villaines la Juhel] so 175 km for today before I
reach my hotel. Lots of loooooong straight roads so far.”
17:22
[It was Fougères…!]
I’m at a control. Don’t ask me the name! 310 km done so 90 km to Brit
Hotel in Saint-Méen-le-Grand. Been riding with a Kiwi also on fixed”
17:34
Food time on PBP”
20:06
Tinténiac control. Got monsoon rain after last control but sun is now out
so dry again. 35 km to Brit Hotel in Saint-Méen-le-Grand”
21:55
397 km done & now at the Brit Hotel. It has been a lovely evening after a
bit of a cold day. My gilet hasn’t come off.”
22:44
Looks like I’m not the only person riding PBP who is staying in the Brit
Hotel tonight.”
Sunday 16 August 16:08
Nick Wilkinson with his Brompton at the start
Tuesday 18 August • 04:44
I’ve had a good sleep in my hotel. It is now time to get up & leave Saint-
Méen-le-Grand. Next stop is the Loudéac control”
07:31
Loudéac at 7.25 am. This morning was beautiful but it got colder from
5am, not warmer, very odd. Nice fog patches”
07:40
Quick 15 min stop and I’m off again. 78 km to the next control.”
09:54
Oh, bonus control at 495 km. Shhh, it is a secret!”
10:02
Sorry to hear that Rob Webb & Drew Buck have both packed :-( ”
10:05
My PBP brevet card is starting to look pretty but I still need more stamps!”
11:13
Puncture stop for the person I’m riding with. Good job I stopped as he
had no tyre levers....”
12:01
Carhaix-Plouguer control on PBP. That last leg took far too long.
Hopefully the next leg to Brest is quicker. But sun is out”
16:14
At Brest. Time to get blown home. It’s been good seeing lots of riders
heading east. Lots of VC167 & LEL tops”
16:45
Pasta eaten. Time to hit the road back to Paris”
20:37
I’m back at Carhaix-Plouguer but 130 km to Saint-Méen-le-Grand where
I’ll sleep. Shame it isn’t a bit closer but hey ho.”
Sunday 16 August •16:28
Rob Webb with his Pashley
18
Arrivée Autumn 2015 No. 130
www.aukweb.net

Monday 17 August 11:39
A selfie taken around the 170 km mark
Wednesday 19 August • 00:51
At Loudéac. 50 km until sleep. It is a nice night. Overtaking 100s of 90 hr
riders”
03:47
Long day 2 on PBP. Back at Saint-Méen-le-Grand at 3.15 am. 840km now
done. Feeling good. Beautiful night. No dozies, but now sleep”
08:50
8.50 am and back on the road to Paris after a good sleep in
Saint-Méen-le-Grand”
10:26
Tinténiac control. Nice cool morning. I feel nice & awake after my sleep.
Just a short 50ish km hop to Fougères.”
10:27
Keep sending me messages to keep me going on PBP. Even tho I don’t
get chance to reply it is good to read them.”
12:49
Fougères. Rode last 50km with 2 French guys. No common language but
the paceline worked magnificently.”
13:08
Now in main budge of 90 hour riders so long queue for food at the
Fougères control. Instead I’m in a café. I hope service is quick! Next leg is
~85km”
17:02
Just leaving Villaines-la-Juhel control”
21:46
Mortagne-au-Perche on PBP. Some dull straight roads but pretty skies.
Next stop is a hotel in Senonches about 40 km away”
Tuesday 18 August 08:06
Sunrise somewhere after Loudéac
Thursday 20 August • 00:09
In great hotel in Senonches. Lovely room & views of PBP from the
window. Good work by Philippa for booking the hotel. 100 km by 5pm
tomorrow, so all good”
07:55
Back on the road to Paris after a good sleep & breakfast. It is drizzling, but
hopefully I’ve missed the worse off the rain”
09:43
63 km until end of PBP. It’s raining so I can finally enjoy the ride!”
12:42
PBP c’est tou :-) The last section was wet but was a really lovely ride
through the woods. Now to get my brevet card stamped”
16:50
Now back at the velodrome with Toby Hopper for celebratory beers”
17:17
Velodrome at PBP has run out of beer; 1200 km of cycling and the bar is
dry. Time to leave.”
Friday 22 August • 12:33
I’m waiting for the Eurostar home after my PBP adventure. Soon I’ll have
forgotten the dull roads & just remember all the highlights.”
13:07
Despite riding PBP I’m not the smelliest or weirdest person on the
Eurostar. That medal goes to the guy next to me.”
13:16
The Eurostar has departed & it isn’t full so the smelly weirdo has moved
to a window seat. I’m relieved”
Tuesday 18 August 15:37
Arriving in Brest
Saturday 23 August • 14:22
I did PBP in 79½ hrs. My GPX tracklog [which is here: http://tiny.cc/PBP]
gives 50¼ hrs of cycling & 21 hrs in hotels. Ride fast; sleep lots.”
www.aukweb.netArrivée Autumn 2015 No. 130 19

BREVET POPULAIRE
Event
Grantown Gallop
Date 29 August 2015
Distance
Organiser
100km (104km)
Steve Carroll
Our First 100k
The Grantown Gallop
I
had been thinking about bringing my 8-yearold
son, Owen, on an audax on our tandem
for a while. I had asked if he would like to do
a 50k, but as a veteran of a 50-mile sportive,
he told me he wasn’t interested in anything
shorter than 100k. I picked the flatter of the two
Scottish 100s left on the calendar for the year
— the Grantown Gallop. We have taken several
holidays in nearby Aviemore and Boat of Garten,
so I was also familiar with the roads. It wouldn’t
normally trouble me too much on my own, but I
wouldn’t want to get lost with Owen.
We drove up the A9 on the Saturday morning
for the relaxed 10am start. I installed Owen
in the Chef’s Grill with a bacon roll, while I
reconstructed the tandem. We have a Circe
Helios and I have discovered that by removing
the rear wheel and turning the front wheel 90
degrees, I can carry it on a tow ball mounted
rack. We were just about ready to go when
Alex Pattison came over to let us know we had
missed the start — I assured him we would not
be troubling the peloton and let him press on to
catch up.
We set off in dry but overcast conditions
and had a tailwind assisted pedal through
Newtonmore and Kingussie towards Aviemore.
I’m still not entirely sure what the problem was
with the gears but we were spinning out very
quickly, apparently in top gear. When we got
back it appeared that we were unable to get
up to the smallest 3 rings at the back (the gears
are 2×8 speed). No doubt there will be some
readers who know exactly what I did wrong.
I’m assuming it must have been something to
do with the wheel placement, because when I
reconstructed the bike back at home after the
event, the problem seemed to be sorted.
When I came up for Steve Carroll’s Forres
Foray a couple of years ago, I remember seeing
many motorbikes. I checked online this year and
confirmed that “Thunder in the Glens” bike rally
was on again this year. I thought Owen would
enjoy the spectacle, and he shouted “Thunder
in the Glens!” every time a motorbike passed.
When we got to Aviemore we accidentally got
caught up in an unoffical procession of Harley
Davidsons travelling up the main street, much to
our amusement.
Unfortunately it was at this point that we
came to the attention of the Cycling Gods, who
decided that we were having altogether far too
much fun. We were dealt a deluge of rain and
a chain off incident in quick succession. By the
time we reached Carrbridge, our planned lunch
stop, we were soaking wet and Owen was pretty
cold and feeling miserable. The café we have
visited previously was full, but there is another
across the road, and we were served a splendid
meatball and mozzarella panini each. Warmed
Start
Newtonmore
Inverness-Shire
up and cheered up we pressed on to Grantown.
The rain had stopped and we took a lovely quiet
back road. We could see some other cyclists
ahead of us, and I was treated to a sudden surge
of power from the back. “Catch them up, Mum”,
Owen instructed me, but I suggested we take it
easy and save energy instead.
We got to Grantown fairly quickly (for us)
and we weren’t really ready for another stop.
We bought an ice cream and stopped briefly
to watch the official Thunder in the Glens
procession arrive. I was a bit concerned we were
due a headwind for the next section and I really
wasn’t sure if we would manage to get back in
time, so I was keen to get moving again. Owen
had selected the largest ice cream in the shop
and was still only half way through, so I asked
if he would manage to eat it whilst sitting on
the back of the tandem. He reckoned he could,
so we got going, and he managed without
incident.
Next was the "irksome middle section". I have
discovered that most audaxes seem to have
one these, usually coinciding with a headwind.
Far enough on to have lost all freshness, but
not far enough to see light at the end of the
tunnel. The road through Nethybridge and on
to Coylumbridge is quiet, with views towards
the Cairngorm mountains and should have been
20
Arrivée Autumn 2015 No. 130
www.aukweb.net

REVIEW
SPOT Tracker
I thought some AUK members may be
interested in a device which I recently found out
about, called Spot Tracker.
It is a personal GPS Tracker that when
switched on gives a live update of your position,
wherever you are in the world. The position of
the Tracker can be seen by using a computer
with the correct link and thus family and friends
can view your location in real time.
Spot Trackers have been used by sportsman
in long distance races, e.g. The TransContinental
Cycle Race, and in such events a special web
page is set up so all the racers carrying the
trackers can be viewed at the same time to see
who is leading and their current location. Having
watched a friend in the race it did become quite
addictive watching his progress across Europe
from Belgium to Instanbul.
I bought a Spot Tracker recently for a small (2-
day) bikepacking MTB Event — my wife enjoyed
watching my (lack of) progress!
The Tracker has a button that can be pressed
for extreme / life-threatening SOS situations. A
quote from their web site says:
The SPOT Gen3’s SOS function can be used in the
unfortunate event of an emergency scenario or
other life-threatening situation. Once activated,
SPOT will acquire its exact coordinates from the
GPS network, and send that location along with
a distress message to the GEOS International
Emergency Response Coordinating Center every
five minutes until cancelled or until the batteries
are depleted. The Emergency Response Center
notifies the appropriate emergency responders
based on your GPS location and personal data
as well as notifying your emergency contacts
about the receipt of a distress signal.
I found this very reassuring when mountain
biking in a remote areas on my own, a good
insurance policy, so to speak, and was my main
reason for buying the tracker. I often ride into
remote areas on my MTB and one slip with
broken bones in a non-phone-coverage area
and it could be hard to summon assistance —
but I can call SOS in extreme emergency on the
Tracker.
There is also a “help” button which sends
a signal to a person whom you have already
identified as a recipient, telling them you need
their assistance but it is not an
emergency. All this in areas of no
mobile phone coverage.
There are some other
functions more suited to really
remote locations, e.g. send an
“I am OK” message to home,
but not really needed for most
Audax uses.
However for Audax use I
thought it would be great to
involve your family and friends
so they can view your progress
in some of the longer events and
Tours, e.g. PBP or LEJOG etc.
It would also be useful for Cycle Tour
Organisers who could track lost riders who go
off route!
The unit weighs approximately 100g, and the
signal can be sent out a time interval that you
choose, from every 2½, 5, 10, 30 or 60 minutes,
the longer intervals improving battery life.
Batteries are AA and last 20 days’ continuous
use at 2½ minute signal intervals. The Tracker is
waterproof to one metre for 30 minutes.
I also now carry it on walking trips into the
hills, switched off but ready to switch on should
I have an accident and need to summon help.
It turns itself off when you stop and on when
you go, and could possibly be used as a simple
theft tracking device if hidden in luggage on
your bike.
Phone apps are available so people can watch
your position and progress on a smart phone,
but I usually just use a link to the web page and
never used an app.
The only real downside is that a subscription
needs to be paid monthly, approx £100 per year,
to keep the tracker active. But for remote use,
mountain biking or remote cycling on your
own, I believe it is like an insurance and
useful to have.
The cost of the unit is approximately
£100 to buy, but hire options are
available, and sharing a Tracker with
friends can help save costs.
The organisers of the event which
I did set up control points alongside
which the tracker had to pass to
register the rider being on the correct
route. Maybe sometime in the future
this could be the future of Audax? Who
knows? Steve Abraham is carrying a
Spot Tracker on his One Year Time Trial, and
his progress can be seen on the TrackLeaders
website:
http://trackleaders.com/
oneyeartimetrial15i.php?name=Steve_Abraham
I hope you found this interesting, and maybe
family and friends can spot-track your next
400 km.
Graham Adcock
more enjoyable but we were getting a little too tired to appreciate
it. I was relieved to reach Coylumbridge and after a brief spell on
the main road, we turned off on to the road to Glenfeshie. The café
control at Inshriach Nursery was a welcome sight and they had a
great selection of cakes. I ordered a raspberry sponge and Owen
opted for a chocolate cake. Unfortunately he was too full to finish
it, having been grazing on the contents of his tri-bag (mostly jelly
babies) throughout the ride.
For the last leg I pressed the boomBOTTLE in to action, which is a
Bluetooth speaker which fits into a bottle cage. I don’t like to annoy
other cyclists with my music, but we were travelling alone and it
provided a great boost to Owen’s morale. We headed back to the
arrivée with an eclectic mix of Queen, David Guetta, Afro beats and
90s europop.
A warm welcome awaited and we tucked in to our tea whilst riders
on the 200 Rothes Reccie came in. We had made it with an hour to
spare and very few complaints from the back of the tandem.
I think the most important thing when cycling with children is not
to over do it and put them off cycling. I was greatly encouraged the
following morning to be asked, “next can we do a 150k?”
Thanks very much to Steve and Denise for a wonderful audax and,
of course, to my most excellent stoker, Owen. ◆
Mary and Owen Morgan
A traditional shop with well equipped
workshop and experienced staff.
For ALL your cycling needs.
8 Shelfhanger Road, Diss, Norfolk IP22 4EH
01379 650419
www.madgettscycles.com
www.aukweb.net Arrivée Autumn 2015 No. 130 21

BREVET POPULAIRE
Garboldisham Groveller 200
John Thompson
At the time of writing — late July — some
might say the weather in East Anglia is good but
my judgement is “the better side of reasonable”.
When the sun breaks through it is very warm but
it keeps clouding over sometimes with showers.
When it is sunny I get optimistic we are going
to get a good summer and when it clouds over
I think it more likely it will be looked on as that
brief warm spell that built our hopes up but
as usual didn't come to much. By the time this
appears in Arrivée we should know.
Whatever, the week up to the “Garboldisham
Groveller” was the period of a heatwave when
some areas reached 31°C. I followed the weather
forecasts and they consistently indicated the
hot spell would continue all week but Sunday
would be a bit cooler. No bad thing, I thought,
and it was also predicted the wind would drop
—GREAT! However, the other prediction for the
Sunday was the possibility of a few showers —
“oh no, I will get the blame for that, especially
as rain is not forecast for any other day”. For the
benefit of those who have not read my article
on Andy Terry’s “Santa Special”, I explained that
my events have a reputation for heavy rain, so
when it rains in the events I ride it is popular to
blame me!
According to organiser Tom Elkins, it
depended which channel you watched Saturday
evening as to whether rain was forecast. I
watched the ITV local forecast, which indicated
a slight possibility of light showers in the
afternoon in, guess where, north Norfolk! It still
Getting ready…
indicated the wind would drop for most of the
day, which I was relieved about. I rode a 10-mile
time trial on the Saturday afternoon and the
headwind on the return was an absolute brute.
I have explained before that I often like to
take digs for audax rides. However, I regard 40
miles as a tolerable driving distance and rising at
5.00 am was a lay-in relative to the times I have
been getting up for some time trials. While the
kettle was on I opened the back door to get a
feel of the weather. Of course that time of day
is not necessarily a good indicator and I had
to allow for early morning coolness. However,
it felt it might be accurate that it was going to
be a bit cooler. I did not take too much notice
of there being no wind — yet! Nothing had
changed when I went to the car just before 6am,
but I hadn't driven far before the sun came out
properly and even that early I felt the need to
wind the window down. Nevertheless, on arrival
at the HQ it did feel cooler than it had previously
at that time of day, but still good. I tend to be
cautious about 'dressing down' so the fact I
started an event at 8am in shorts, short-sleeved
top and headband says it all!
I last rode the “Groveller” in 2011. Tom
has made some changes to the route since
then and this year had to make some late
changes. The route had been
going to Sandringham but this
year it clashed with the royal
christening, which meant road
closures and many of those that
weren't closed were busy. Very
inconsiderate, and on the day
Tom had yet to receive a reply
to his letter of complaint! The
prediction that the wind would
drop was proved right — it
was forecast to get up in the
afternoon so more on that in
a while — giving an easy ride
to start along pleasant lanes
through south Norfolk including parts of
Thetford forest and the village of Kenninghall
to the info control at Spooner Row (23km). I
had ridden most of the lanes before but there
were some new ones for me, which was good.
David Gigg (East Anglian CC) caught me up at
one point and we rode together for a little way,
David asking me about the time trial the day
before, which he had decided not
to enter. I assured him he hadn't
missed much. David explained
he was doing an extended (ECE)
ride having ridden from Norwich
to Garboldisham and was riding
back afterwards to make it up to a
300. I judged it would be tactless
to say I would think of him while
I was in the pub! David is a much
faster (and younger!) rider than me
so he bashed on. It was during the
next leg after Spooner Row that it
clouded over and rain
looked likely. The route was through
Wymondham (a picturesque historic
market town), past a cafe I intend
using for a 160/200 event I am
planning and then along part of
my intended routes, albeit in the
opposite direction, to Barnham
Broom. The next info control at
40km was at a crossroads near
Honingham and then it was on to
the control at Aylsham. I suffered a
little frustration near Attlebridge,
not properly understanding the
instruction about using an off-road
path. I missed it and did the very thing we were
instructed not to do, in going to the junction
with the the main road. On retracing, another
The author at the Great Bircham Control
rider, who had a Sat Nav, came along and
pointed out the path. Annoying, but not a lot
of time lost. However, my next error was more
annoying. The name of the Aylsham control on
the card was Purdy's tea room but the name
displayed at the entrance is Woodgate nursery.
I stress this is not a criticism of Tom as the
instruction on the route sheet did say Woodgate
nursery. However, I was not studying the route
sheet as I was following someone with a Garmin,
whom I figured was sure to get it right — he
didn't! We ended up in Aylsham
town having ridden past the
control. It is a fair way before the
town so quite a lot of time lost.
Aylsham was at 63km and I had
a quiche, chips and salad, which
filled me well and kept me going
for a long way. It was while I
was in the control that it started
raining. At around 10.45 am it was
earlier than had been indicated.
On leaving the control it was on
with the long-sleeve top and the
rain was continuous for I think
nearly three hours, sometimes
heavy but mostly light.
From Aylsham through to Wighton (at around
105km) the route follows my own routes quite a
lot, either in the same or opposite direction, and
to varying extents depending on the distance.
It was just outside Aylsham on the B1354 that
I suffered another 'silly' delay. An HGV was
blocking the road, the driver trying to reverse
into a driveway. After throwing up his arms in
exasperation a few times the driver managed to
sort it and I proceeded into the area between
Aylsham and north Norfolk I jokingly call the
“Beeching-hills area”. I expect most realise the
saying “the only hills in Norfolk are railway
bridges” is not correct. Nevertheless, in that part
of Norfolk there was once a “maze” of rail lines,
and thus there are a lot of old railway bridges
so I extend the saying with “…and Beeching
closed the lines”. (Those with railway knowledge
might realise I am being somewhat unfair to
Dr Beeching as most of the lines closed before
At Spooner Row Info Control
his time as British Railways chairman, but is it
really considered important?!) That said, very
few of the hills of note — by Norfolk standards
22
Arrivée Autumn 2015 No. 130
www.aukweb.net

BREVET POPULAIRE
CC Sudbury at the Bircham Control
— are railway bridges, including those on the
B1354 between Aylsham and Melton Constable.
This stretch is used by Norwich clubs for their
reliability rides and I always dread it knowing I
will be trying to “hold someone's wheel” for dear
life but will probably get dropped anyway. I was
therefore pleased to find the long drag between
Saxthorpe and Briston easy. I entertained
thoughts that I might be getting fitter as I don't
usually find it that easy even at my own pace.
Melton Constable was once dubbed “The
Crewe of East Anglia”, due to being one of the
main interchanges between the former Midland
and Great Northern Railway and some of the
other lines. Even then it was joked that M&GNR
stood for “muddle and get nowhere railway”.
Very little can now be seen of the village’s
former railway glory other than a “sentimental”
reference of paintings of steam engines on
the village sign. I am not old enough — no,
I'm not! — to be certain of the location of the
former station but I think it is at the north-west
end of the village alongside the B1354 in the
early stages of another long drag of a hill. There
is a building that looks vaguely like it might
have been a railway station, and it is in a big
Great Massingham
yard suggesting it might have been the site of
the considerable railway activity that archive
photographs indicate. The hill however is a
”natural” one. If it was a railway bridge, one
could curse Beeching because the “final nail
in the coffin” was during his era when closure
of the line between Sheringham and Melton
Constable in effect stopped the village's rail
service to and from Norwich.
Back to the ride. It follows the long drag
that starts in Melton Constable village along
the B1354 toward the junction with the A148 to
turn into lovely north Norfolk lanes through the
picturesque village of Thursford — renowned
for steam rallies — skirting the Walsinghams to
the also picturesque village of Wighton. It was
around now that the rain stopped and the sun
got out again, making it a good time to be in
that pretty part of Norfolk. Just after
Wighton there was a short stretch
along the A149 coast road to the
info control at Burnham Deepdale
(110km). In 2011 it had been a full
control using the café. Clearly a lot
decided to unofficially use it! While
answering the info question I said
to Peter Evans that, because of the
rain, no doubt certain things had
been said about me behind my back
— which he confirmed (although he
didn't say what!)
Being a slower rider I decided against an
unofficial stop continuing along further lovely
lanes and scenery to the info control at a
crossroads near Snettisham (128km) and then
to the full control at the cafe at the
preserved Bircham windmill (136km).
In the bright sunshine the windmill
was an attractive sight so with this
article in mind I conceded to losing
a little more time to take photos.
The setting and the cafe both being
good made it a particularly nice
control.
The return of the sun had
of course come at a price with
the wind getting up, but it was
not particularly troublesome. It
was after leaving Bircham late
afternoon — well, that was when I did! — that
it got up strong (again, the forecast had been
accurate). In fairness, the precise time of the rain
and perhaps how long it lasted were the only
slight inaccuracies, but luck was on-side as it
was predominantly side-tail. Considering the
strength of it I admit a feeling of relief.
The leg from Bircham to the info control at
Necton (166 km) was along a lot
of pleasant wooded lanes, many
of them new to me, and included
the picturesque village of Great
Massingham, where I paused to
take a photo. I was very disciplined
at Necton! The info question was
about the Premier store, which was
open making it tempting to grab a
drink and sandwich but I resisted.
I was helped by looking at my
watch and realising I could be on a
personal best ride. Also, I was not
particularly hungry, the ham and
cheese sandwiches with crisps and salad plus a
slice of banana cake at Bircham having well filled
me, and my bottles were also pretty full.
From Necton it was along a mixture of
familiar and “new” lanes to Watton and into
Thetford forest to the info control at, wait for
it… Thompson (182km)! It was here that I had
my only disappointment of the ride. As I was
alone there was nobody to take a photo of
“Thompson in Thompson!” As the info question
was about the village sign it would surely have
been the perfect pose! I realise it is possible to
take photos of yourself with a digital camera
but I decided it would be too time-consuming,
particularly as it still seemed I was just about on
a PB.
From Thompson the route was simple
enough, joining the A1075 for a little way and
then along the B1111 through East Harling to
Garboldisham. I looked at my watch a lot trying
to judge whether I was still on a PB. It was clearly
a close call, which caused me frustration with
discrepancies on signposts with regard to the
distance to Garboldisham and when stopped at
the level crossing by Harling Road station it felt
as though the train had just left Cambridge —
not the sort of comment you expect from a rail
campaigner!
Good news however; on finishing, I had
beaten my PB by three minutes. That was
despite losing a fair amount of time with
navigational errors and if it wasn't for them I
would probably have missed the HGV blocking
the road. Also, while I must not exaggerate the
time it took, I stopped for photos — oh yes, and
Bircham Windmill
the level crossing!
After three cups of tea and a bit of food I
decided it was time to get home to then get to
the pub ASAP. Imagine my frustration driving
home when on reaching Diss I discovered there
was a not-inconsiderable roadworks diversion,
and began to be concerned that if the pub was
quiet they might close early. Fortunately I need
not have worried and finished the day relaxing
over pints of Adnams and reflecting on a PB.
David Gigg entered my thoughts but I suspect
he had got home well before I was in the pub.
Indeed, while he may not have been home by
the time I finished the ride — it is possible he
was! — I expect he was well on the way. ◆
Event
Garboldisham
Groveller
Date 5 July 2015
Distance
Organiser
Start
200 km
Tom Elkins
Smallworth
Garboldisham
www.aukweb.net Arrivée Autumn 2015 No. 130 23

PARIS–BREST–PARIS 2015
Photomontage by
Carlos Wong
24
Arrivée Autumn 2015 No. 130
www.aukweb.net

PARIS–BREST–PARIS 2015
It all started with an email from my
preferred charity in April 2013. With no
previous sporting experience, after a three
month rigorous training programme I
managed to complete RideLondon 100,
my first of several 100+ mile rides. I had got the
cycling bug. I did not want to lose my newly
gained fitness and, despite not being a fast
rider, I did enjoy the long miles exploring new
places in the countryside.
I came to know about Audax when my cycling
mate and neighbour, Noel Toone, suggested we
do a 400 km ride in France in less than 27 hours
the following July (“The Bataille de Normandie”,
organised by the Cyclo Club de Montebourg).
Less than 10 mph average sounded easy.
Soon I would discover that it would be more
challenging than the simple arithmetic seemed
to imply. As a way of preparation, I felt that
I needed to do some of the shorter brevet
distances first. A few 100- and 150-mile DIYs
would be followed by “The End of Hibernation
200” from Hauxton in March, and a much
warmer “Rutland Weekend 300” from Baldock in
June 2014.
By July I had got my Randonneur 1000 for
the year. Conscious that having done a BRM400
during that season allowed me to pre-register
for PBP, I started considering it seriously. The
fact that I did not have to commit firmly until
close to having completed the qualifying Super
Randonneur series also gave me some flexibility.
I managed to ride all my PBP qualifiers
with Noel. “The Yellowbelly Tour 200”
from Carlton Le Moorland in mid-March
would be followed by “The Dean 300” from
Oxford two weeks later. After that, the
“Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch 400”,
Near Oundle, East Northants.
Training for RideLondon 2013, my first 100+ mile event. August 2013
starting from Poynton in early May and, to
finish, the “Windsor-Chester-Windsor 600”
at the end of the month. The latter, having
originally been created with the specific
purpose of allowing British riders to qualify
for Paris-Brest-Paris locally for the first time,
provides the ideal elevation profile to prepare
you for the main experience in France almost
three months later.
Finally on Monday 17th August 2015, we
started with the 84-hour group in the 5:15 am
wave. The much larger 90 hour limit waves had
started the day before. We had ridden about 60
miles as a warm up that weekend, to and from
train stations and, on Sunday, around Paris. I was
really impressed by the magnitude of the event
and diversity of nationalities. What had started
as a once-in-a-lifetime plan would begin to give
room in my mind to the possibility of a second
time.
In a comparatively quieter group, without
the massive cheering crowds from the previous
afternoon, we were all following the leading
motorbikes which opened the traffic for several
miles until we left Paris. In the middle of several
hundreds of riders in the dark with their lights
on, this was the kind of experience that can
only be had every four years if you are lucky.
For somebody relatively slow like me, used
to training on my own, the benefits of group
riding became more than evident. That first
day I clocked just above 240 miles to Quédillac
at 16mph moving average. After a brief hour’s
sleep and a cup of hot chocolate, I started my
second day at 4am, stopping at Loudéac for a
proper breakfast and an additional 30 minute
nap, seated, leaning
against a conveniently
located wall.
After a cold morning start with the first light
of the day, the temperatures would soon rise to
jersey-only levels. I could still keep a good pace
with a group of American and French riders
going through the forest before Commana.
As the route got hillier though, I needed a few
stops to take layers off and re-hydrate, which
forced me to ride on my own for a few hours.
The approach to Brest was clearly the main
milestone of my ride. Arriving at around 4pm
(less than 35 hours for 600 km), it compared very
From
Zero to
PBP
finisher
(in less than
three years)
Carlos Wong
favourably to Windsor-
Chester-Windsor,
which had taken me
almost 39 hours about
three months earlier.
Being cheered on by
the locals — some of
whom thought this
was the final point of
our ride – was very
uplifting and for a
moment would make
me forget that there
were still another
600 km to go with a
few long hills on the way back.
At the Brest control, I was pleasantly surprised
to meet up with Noel again. His company and
support were crucial at a point when I was
starting to feel tired and a bit intimidated by
the prospect of having to retrace what until
then had been my longest distance on a bike.
Long hills and fast descents with a sun setting
as a background would accompany us into
Carhaix, where hot food had run out and we
had to make do with just a bowl of soup. There,
we met Lucyna Kunc, who had started on the
Saint Germain de Tournebut. At the end of “La Bataille de Normandie
400km” (with Noel Toone). July 2014.
www.aukweb.netArrivée Autumn 2015 No. 130 25

PARIS–BREST–PARIS 2015
Lileshall control, Windsor-Chester-Windsor 600km, with Noel Toone
— May 2015.
Sunday group and happened to be a bit tight on
time. We would ride with her to Saint-Nicolasdu-Pélem.
Lucy was, however, having trouble
staying awake and would leave us at some
point in the middle of the night well before
Loudéac. A couple of days later, we would learn
via facebook that she had managed to complete
the whole route in 102 hours (well above her 90-
hour target, but in her own words “who cares?”).
A real show of determination.
We arrived in Loudéac at around
5:30 am. It had been my second
consecutive 240+ mile day. One hour
sleep, quick hot breakfast and off
again. We had a slow start, partly due
to tiredness and lower temperatures
than expected, but also because Noel
had started to develop tendonitis.
With several stops and undisclosed
amounts of Ibuprofen gel, we managed to get
to Tinténiac for a hot lunch and some medical
assistance. Another 30-minute nap was all we
could afford to avoid missing the next control’s
closing time. By now, unfortunately, Noel
realised that his Achilles was not going to get
better and decided to call it a day. It must have
been devastating.
The next leg to Fougères and Villainesla-Juhel
would feel like a very long one, in
particular the last few miles. It was already
pitch black when I got there, simply following
the lights of the riders in front of me. The
town exuded a very celebratory atmosphere,
making all of us cyclists feel really special. The
layout of the buildings making up the control
was, however, a bit confusing. It was a bit late
when I realised that there was actually a proper
restaurant and I did not have to restrict myself
to only croissants and pain au chocolat. Another
Harringworth Viaduct, “Rutland Weekend 300km”. June 2014
“…several
stops and
undisclosed
amounts of
Ibuprofen
gel…”
one-hour nap, a hot
drink and cake and
off I went. This, after
having to spend a few
minutes explaining
to the insistent lovely
volunteers that I had
eaten enough and did
not have to take any
more cake to carry with
me.
Leaving at around
midnight, I had five
hours left for the 51
miles to Mortagneau-Perche.
It was
a very mild and
clear night, so even
accounting for hills, a target of 10mph total
average seemed quite easy to achieve. There
were, however, three factors I had not taken
into account: rain, sleep and my stomach, all
of them conspiring against me at
about 3 am. When the unexpected
rain started, I regretted having
been so economical with weight
to the extent of over-relying on
the favourable weather forecast. I
only had a light windbreaker, which
was getting wetter and colder
by the minute. That, and the lack
of sleep, forced me to stop at a
village, opposite a café where a couple of dozen
riders were having a hot drink, waiting for the
rain to end or simply having a kip. It was at this
point where, for the first time, I considered the
possibility of either abandoning or finishing
late. After starting some small
talk about the weather, though,
I happened to mention how
unprepared and silly I had been.
Unexpectedly, a very kind German,
Heiner Neumann, whose yellow
velomobile I had bumped into a
few times earlier during the day,
asked me what size I was. Our size
differences mattered not one jot.
His XXXL spare rain jacket would
still keep my M frame very warm
and dry all the way to Mortagne. What is more,
Heiner’s words, “And don’t think of giving up!”
would resonate in my mind all the way to Paris.
It definitely saved my
ride.
During the
remainder of that
leg, I stopped several
times for a brief rest
— sort of taking a
nap while standing.
I managed to avoid
sleeping wrapped in a
space blanket on the
roadside under the rain
as many had decided
to do. Having a slightly
upset stomach, I
wrongly asked a lady
volunteer in my very
rudimentary French
for “bains publics” (I
At the end of “Windsor-Chester-Windsor 600km” with Noel Toone — May 2015
“the locals
tell you
‘the next
hill is the
last one’…
which is not
always true”
should have just said “toilettes”, but in my mind
“bains” — “baths” — sounded more polite). It
was embarrassing when, very obligingly and
in a motherly manner, she walked with me for
100 metres to the closest “banc public” — “park
bench” — thinking that I wanted to sleep for a
few minutes. Fortunately, I managed to carry on
and my stomach started to feel better, although
I was not feeling less tired. The last 10 km felt
like another 50 miles. With just a few km to go
until the next control, I even stopped to sleep
in somebody’s courtyard, one of the numerous
improvised resting stops that the locals offer
for free during PBP, coffee and cake included.
Eventually, I got to Mortagne, almost with the
first signs of daylight.
I had arrived past my closing time. However,
to my delight, the volunteer who stamped my
card said “C’est pas grave”. My understanding
was that, even arriving late at Dreux
(the next and last control before
Paris), I would be ok as long as I
managed to complete the whole ride
in 84 hours. I still hope that is the case.
It was at this point that I decided
to relax a bit. It was 6 am, so even
stopping for 3 hours I had about 8
hours to do the remaining 90 miles
to Paris. I had a proper hot meal,
shower, fresh clothes for the first
time in three days and a 90-minute
nap (simply resting my head on the table). I had
some encouraging words from the volunteers,
reassuring me that there were only hills for the
following 20km, which is sort of true. What they
did not mention was that the long flat areas
before and after Dreux would be the most
boring and soporific ones, and the last 10 to 15
miles into Paris can get quite lumpy at times
as well. Something else that I would also learn
is that the locals will always tell you, almost
apologetically, that the next hill is “the last one”,
which is not always true.
When I arrived in Dreux it was clear that the
place was winding down. I was one of the last
finishers who had started in one of the last
waves. I was not particularly hungry, but tired
and could not get hold of any sugary stuff or
energy drinks, which I felt could be very helpful
for the last 40-mile leg. With the benefit of
being on my own, I had also discovered the
effectiveness of shouting; and even swearing;
in order to stay alert. However, I would soon
26
Arrivée Autumn 2015 No. 130
www.aukweb.net

AUDAXING
Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines Velodrome. PBP. August 2015
discover that the benefits of this, as with
concentrated sugar, are short lived.
Clearly struggling with sleep and running
almost only on water since the last stop, it
was almost a surreal experience trying to
keep pushing the pedals on the hills while
approaching Paris. In my blurry recollection — it
felt almost like a dream — it must have been
the last sizeable hill (yes,
the very last, regardless of
whatever I had been told
while passing the previous
ones) where I was really
struggling and close to
collapse. At the summit, and
“one of the ladies
discovered a pack of
Jaffa cakes under the
table”
to my delight, there was a table set up by some
locals with drinks and cake (or the remains of it).
They must have seen my face of disappointment
at noticing that there was only water and a
small piece of lemon sponge left. Luckily, one
of the ladies discovered a pack of Jaffa cakes
under the table. Despite my repeated “pardon”,
I guess I did not exhibit my best manners with
the way I must have gobbled up three or four
pieces in a row. By the way they kept cheering
us on with their “Allez!!!”, “Courage!!!”, and “Bon
retour!” I presume they were trying to be very
understanding.
From then on, I started to feel that I was
properly entering Paris. I could recognise in
daylight some of the long stretches that three
days earlier had been only a huge swarm of
red lights going in the opposite direction.
The first roads into Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines
became clearly familiar, and the last few miles
leading to the velodrome unnecessarily long.
I have to confess, the small area around the
final mat on the finishing line was a bit of an
anti-climax, compared to the crowds gathered
the previous Sunday. Having
said that, once my bike
was parked in the official
area and I dragged myself
to the control desk in the
velodrome to get my card
stamped, I was over the
moon. I had completed the 1,230 km of Paris-
Brest-Paris in 83 hours and 30 minutes.
It has been two full weeks since Paris-Brest-
Paris, and the excitement has not worn off. I am
sure I am not alone. During the ride, I met several
multi-PBP finishers. Many of them had made
transcontinental, far longer and more expensive
journeys than my brief Channel crossing. All for
this landmark ride. It is clear to me that PBP has
something that other events would struggle to
offer. Not just the high number of participants
and nationalities, but also the long history and
traditions, the hospitality of little towns and
villages, the respect and appreciation they have
for the riders.
It is still another four years to go, but I am
already looking forward to it. ◆
Ten Years Below Average
Arabella Maude
When I started audaxing 10 years ago, the
average audaxer on most rides was about 48.
I’ve nearly got there, but in the meantime I still
proudly admit to being “below average”. To
celebrate being nearly there, I share with you
some experiences due only to audaxing.
1
Arrive at an audax
in an
ambulance.
Once upon a time I cycled over to Henham.
One minute I was cycling along looking for a
right turn, possibly even signposted Henham,
and the next I was face down on the verge
with someone’s jacket/rug/whatever over me
and the words “the ambulance is on its way”
being uttered. I’ve still no idea what actually
happened. The ambulance loaded up me and
the bike, checked me out and delivered me
to ride HQ (with A(2)). That nice Mr Abraham
accompanied me most of the way round the
ride itself which was just as well as I couldn’t
remember an instruction for more than about
three milliseconds after reading it. He also
chased down my light when it made a bid for
freedom, and shooed away my attempts to help
him fix his wotsit with his tyre. In spite of which
I don’t recomend you purchase this particular
“experience’.
2
Be denied service
at a “24 hour”
MuckDonnas
I’m looking at you, Thetford franchisee. It
says “24 hours”, not “24 hours unless you’re
lorries, pedestrians or cyclists”. “Tiredness can
kill so take a break”, it says on the hoardings.
Fat chance; no sign of anything else around
either. I queued up. I reached the front of the
queue. Nothing happened. I went on waiting.
Eventually some chap was sent out to explain
they couldn’t/wouldn’t serve me. When I told my
colleagues later, they said I should have asked
to see the manager, etc. Too late - I splorted
at the messenger and hied my weary carcass
down to Barton Mills — 9 miles or ¾ hour
away as the Arabella cycles. In response to my
subsequent query about why service had been
denied I received a polite response detailing
why pedestrians and cars shouldn’t mix at a
drive through. I replied in my turn, saying that
this was all very well for pedestrians but that
cycles regularly mixed with traffic and that I’d
gone on down the A11 etc. They may have filed
this away in the bin as I haven’t received any
further reply… But I still think calling it “open
24 hours” is misleading (cont’d p143). Note that
the King’s Lynn / A47 branch is open to all for 24
hours. Also not recommended other than for
entertainment purposes.
3 Sleep in a bus shelter
Until about 4 years ago I’d managed to
limit myself to verges. However, eventually I
succumbed. They’re useful in inclement weather,
strong sushine etc. Some have en-suite loos,
and I did find one with a water fountain also,
www.aukweb.netArrivée Autumn 2015 No. 130 27

AUDAXING
in Milldale — and a museum. Suffice it to say
that beyond a weather and sleep-deprivationdependent
minimum, the details aren’t really
important. Essential for the overnight audaxer.
ATM lobbies and vaguely level surfaces at 24
hour garages also applicable. Verges need to
be selected carefully though, I’ve had passers
by stop and check if I was OK on a number of
occasions now, and although I laud their caring
attitude it doesn’t make for a good snooze. One
had to be dissuaded from loading up my bike
and delivering me to the nearest town (whither I
claimed I was bound), fortunately the driver was
equally unenthusiastic… For the curious, local
yoof and WVM are included in the stopees.
4
Eat a Ginsters pastie
on a garage forecourt,
in sleet
As the years roll on I find my I-dont-knowwhat-I-want-to-eat-itis
gets worse. Thus it was
that one March ride (possibly only last year) saw
me tick this particular box. ’Nuff said.
5
Cycle over the Humber bridge
in daylight (other bridges may
apply to not southern-softies)
I’ve picked the Humber bridge in daylight
because, in my experience, York arrows (for
which, from the south, the Humber Bridge is
high on the list of roads to use) don’t cross the
Humber until dark o’clock. However, on yet
another DIY I decided to do it in daylight, at
which point I realised that Brigg is followed by a
hill (dimple to you northern and other not-eastanglian
folk). It doesn’t really show up in the
dark. The following arrow did not go over the
Humber bridge, nor go via Brigg, etc…
6
Get a wheel stuck in the railway
line at a level crossing and end
up with blood all over
(see Arrivée mumble years ago, article
betitled in search of shiny badges)
Once upon a time I laughed in the face of
level crossings. I stopped doing so because
the juddering caused by the average unlevel
crossing (©Dave Hudson) made my teeth rattle.
From thereon in it was a grim, determined
approach; until one dry, sunny-ish early
afternoon I was pottling southwards from
Newmarket having completed approx 1% of
the Great Eastern (i.e. 10 km). Lo! and behold! A
slanty (\\) level crossing. “Pah!”, thought I, until
my attempt to drift leftwards away from the
impending bus of doom (as it became) meant
my wheel fell into the crack whereat the rest
of me continued leftwards in a downwards
trajectory towards the kerbstone, on which my
head landed. Cue rapid shuffling of my bike out
of the way of the bus and a pouring (OK, a few
drops) of blood.
Since when, I try to aim so I cross railway lines
perpendicularly.
7
Live off the fat of
the land.
Well, hardly
Apparently the average hunter-gatherer
“works” only about 3-4 hours per day
and spends the rest of the time relaxing.
Unfortunately I don’t usually have 3–4 hours
spare on the average audax to hunt/gather
enough food to sustain me. Added to which it’s
probably frowned on by TPTB. However, there
is always scope for: (i) stuffing my face with
blackberries, plums or whatever else is ready to
eat in your handy local hedgerow; (ii) knocking
on people’s doors — generally works if you just
want your water bottle refilled, if lucky you get
to pass the time of day as well and on a couple
of occasions with less clement weather I’ve been
offered coffee. The shopkeeper on the latter
occasion was particularly impressed by the
coldness of my hands. Equally at I much appreciated the chat and
water freshly drawn from the owner’s personal
borehole. I’ve also been known to deliberately
stop off at ’s house for tea and
cucumber sandwiches followed by cake and
more cake. Oh, that wasn’t cucumber? Well, it
was definitely food.
On a related note, it’s also possible to time
your audax to include a sporting event. In my
case this involved watching a tennis lesson
though I have heard of DIYs including footy
matches.
8
The utility audax
aka the advantages
of DIY routes
Spend 18 hours on the way back from a
meeting ’cos you turned it into an audax (no,
I didn’t claim mileage — it seemed unfair as
I’d inserted an extra 70 km to round it up. Plus
the current expenses system is a PITA). Or, less
usefully, leave work, cycle 300km overnight
and be back at work the next morning (not
recommended!). Similarly, as a way of avoiding
yet another circuit of East Anglia:
Cycle from B back to A for not-work - cycling
back from university open day
Cycle from A to B but not back again -
prepend a holiday with that year’s 600
9 Take audaxing VERY seriously
Turn up accompanied by random child (OK,
my then nine-year-old) and mumble years of the
average age of people on the audax.
Ride (in civvies) on a sit-up-and-beg - I still
don’t see the point of fancy garb much before
200 km and even then it depends on the
weather and the state of my laundry pile. I’ve
been looking for an A-line or possibly pleated
tweed skirt (with generous lining) for autumnal
rides but have so far failed to spot one in my
price range (under £2.50). The SUAB has taken
me round an SR series or few though, generally
in the flatter end of the country on account of
having only one (fixed) gear.
10 Most fun you can have?
Here’s a suggestion. Scene: sleety snow lying
on the road, temperature hovering around
freezing, 75% of the field DNS on account of the
weather. Arabella is proceeding apace and by
dint of strategic selection of a control to bounce
finds herself at the front of the field. This lasts
until everyone else leapfrogs on account of not
neeeding to stop next time, leaving Arabella
mainly behind the field. More sleet, more
winding lanes and so forth. Inner tube requires
to be changed. Spare inner broken out of the
box, tyre levers depoyed and so forth. All is
ready to be put back. Spanner eployed on RH
nut. Axle rotates. Fingers are deployed to hold
axe in place. Fingers found to be numb and
fail to do their duty. Fingers waved around the
place to the accompaniment of tra la la. This
fails to do the trick. Further cyclists emerge, but
without 2nd spanners as they have QR skewers.
Arm is whirled around like a windmill in the
hope of encouraging warmth to the extremity,
this time to the accompaniment of a muttering
sound. This also fails to produce any result.
Further spanner-free cyclists appear. Option
Z is deployed and be-gunked fingers sucked
vigourously which finally warms them enough
to hold the left nut/axle still while the right one
did up and so on. (and those of you at the back
saying why didn’t she just please
feel free to pass on the for my
illumination and future reference. Oh, what fun
I had. But it was satisfying to have got to the
end. This narrowly eclipses watching chocolatecoated
coffee beans escape through the bottom
of a sodden paper bag as an experience to
avoid. YMMV.
11 other fun things about audaxing
••
Ride down a road with not only grass
growing down the middle but also the
occasional (small) shrub
••
Swap second- and third-hand spooner
stories
••
Cycle across Wales, twice, in a weekend
••
Breakfast and dine at ’Spoons
••
Be totalled by a deer
••
Know more jokes at silly o’clock than
A.N. Other (and they were all clean)
••
Volunteering’s fun too!
28
Arrivée Autumn 2015 No. 130
www.aukweb.net

ORDRE DES COL DURS
Isle of Arran - Boguillie, Borderline OCD
Friday 17th April, and getting out of bed
before I’m awake is difficult. Janet, who is
used to early starts, shepherds me to the
Caledonian MacBrayne ferry from Ardrossan
departing at 06.45. Before arriving at Brodick at
07.36 (CalMac like their precise timings despite
the vagaries of wind and tide), we manage to
keep down the ship’s breakfast, complete with
haggis, notwithstanding the early hour and the
gently rolling boat.
Once across the Outer Firth of Clyde,
we disembark at Brodick full of breakfast,
excitement at what lies before us, and
satisfaction with the value for money
of the crossing (£7.50 each, return
fare, including bikes). There’s
slight disappointment as we
ride away from the ferry; lots of
traffic that’s just disembarked
and a shady climb which
seems rather steep with our
as yet unwarmed-up legs. Our
disappointment is soon dispelled
on the descent to sunlit Lamlash Bay
with its church and white painted buildings
along the sea front and the view of Holy Island.
Continuing southwards through equally
pleasant Whiting Bay we’re soon turning to
the west along the southern coast with distant
views of Ailsa Craig and a ripping tailwind to
boot.
The view of Ailsa Craig is replaced by the
Mull of Kintyre as we gradually round the coast
towards the north. Having arrived on Arran
by boat, it’s hard to believe that this piece of
land to our west is reachable overland, albeit
by a long and circuitous route. After a picnic
lunch on the beach we ride along Machrie bay
before passing the delightful row of cottages
at Catacol. I am not yet aware that this will be
only a borderline OCD day, but I do find myself
wondering if this name has something to do
with a feline cyclo-climber. I have also observed
that the traffic is very light, but have resisted
going into car-counting mode . The sea is crystal
clear in the calm lea of the island, and, on this
sunny day, it resembles the Mediterranean.
We meet some fellow club members who
have decided to tour the island in an anticlockwise
direction. They caught a later boat
than us and now I’m thinking, “was such an
A stray sheep at Corrie
Paul Harrison
early start really necessary?” “Hey,
it’s easier this way round!”, they
declare. But this doesn’t bother us
too much as we always prefer to
be on the side of the road nearest
the sea. We’re out for a day in the
countryside and model ourselves on
Albert Winstanley (worth Googling
if you like magical cycling nostalgia),
rather than Chris Froome. Like
Chris Keeling-Roberts (page 15,
Arriveé Number 128), we value our
saddlebags.
Beyond Lochranza, the road starts
to climb seriously. I only have my
Ordnance Survey Road Map 3 with
me (scale 1 inch to 4 miles and with
heights in feet). I scrutinise the
map– is this climb a col? It certainly
feels like it as I creep up the long
straight towards the summit.
Even though I don’t actually need
it in the event, I’m glad to know that
there’s a 36 tooth emergency sprocket
lurking somewhere there at the back. The map
shows a spot height on the road of 654 feet. I
try some mental arithmetic and
conclude that that is very close to
200m (under OCD rules, this is the
minimum claimable col height from
sea level when riding on an island).
And the road is certainly col shaped
as it goes between two summits
and into North Glen Sannox. Soon
we’ve passed down to the east coast
(where did that strong easterly
wind disappear to?), through Corrie
with its immobile sheep and past
countless chocolate box cottages.
We’re in good time to catch the
16.40 ferry back to Ardrossan,
arriving at 17.35 (55 minutes,
compared to 51 minutes for the
outward journey, which you may or
may not find interesting).
As soon as I’ve got internet
access, I go to http://www.bikehike.
co.uk/mapview.php which is my
favourite route finding site as it
simultaneously shows Google maps
and the matching location on the
Ordnance Survey map.
Much to my relief, the
OS map shows the
road crossing the 200m
contour, having passed
up Glen Chalmadale,
past something called
Boguillie (though
it’s not clear what a
Boguillie is) before
descending to North
Glen Sannox. I also see
that the two summits
Janet near Mackrie Bay
Lamlash Bay
were Clachan (311m) and Fionn Bhealac, a
more impressive 444m. Don’t you just love
these strange and wonderful Scottish names?
I christen the col “Boguillie”, being arrogant
enough to assume no one has “named and
claimed” it before.
Some later thoughts. The A841 is a circular
route all round Arran, so you can climb the col,
keep going, and end up where you started,
and… a last minute Googling of “Boguillie”
reveals that this is in fact the official name of the
road, but am I the first to put it into the annals of
the OCD? ◆
The distant Ailsa Craig
Picnic on the beach
www.aukweb.net Arrivée Autumn 2015 No. 130 29

ANSWERS FROM A STOKER
Questions on
tandem…
Answers from a
stoker
Sylvie Gorog,
with input from Arabella Maude
Sylvie’s profile: I am a woman who began
cycling in 2010. I never did cycling before. I
began cycling as a stoker and on my single bike
at the same time. All this happened thanks to
Alain Ratle who has an experience on cycling.
During the first days on my bike, I was very afraid
of having attached feet and would fall at stop!
My first audax was the LVIS Audax in Bristol 2011
(200 km, nice cakes) on our first tandem bike,
a blue old stand-up Folis. I would like to thank
two women that I met there. They give me an
enthusiastic example. I observed the young
women having the black bike and long hair
because she got a very nice position on the bike.
And the women who had the swiss dress gives
me encouragement in cycling. Two years later,
we decide to ride the LEL (C7-C8), our first long
distance and my second audax. Many thanks to
all volunteers, Danial Webb, and many riders for
giving us a so beautiful travel. Meeting the bikes
quickly at Barnard Castle’s control back and
using the published photos, it seems to me that
seven classical tandem mixed crews participated
in LEL. Several tandems are participating in PBP
this summer, including a tandem with three
riders. Since my first audax, I noticed recurring
questions about the tandem from riders. I
would like to share the ideas explaining these
questions by giving my point of view as a stoker
and also to propose some answers. I hope that
the reader will better know the tandem and
would like to try it! Thank you Alain!
I thank Arabella for helping me to write
this article. Arabella was one of the helpful
volunteers during the LEL and she is a rider and
author, including riding Mersey road 24 hours
with Jane Swain on a tandem trike (See Arrivée
122 (Autumn 2013) p34-37). Thank you Arabella!
Any tandem causes questions because the
tandem shows, on the same bike, a first rider,
the driver in front, called captain, and a second
rider, the rear rider, called stoker. But it seems
not obvious that they are working together.
The first rider is ‘a normal rider’ but what about
the second one who ‘follows’ at rear ? The
exclamation ‘she/he is not pedalling behind!’
is then very usual. Each rider has to forget this
stupid remark but to be not worried can be
difficult after several kilometers. Fortunately,
most often, the tandem bike provides beautiful
smiles. Hence, let me propose that
the tandem bike is mostly observed
because it shows two humans
looking at the same direction and
going ahead together.
Are you partners? « husband and
wife » ? That relationship is often
misunderstood. This is obviously
not necessary in aim to ride a
tandem bike but the people feel
reassured, sometimes surprised,
when the answer is ‘yes’. Let
discuss that they are two kinds
of reason.
The first one concerns the intimacy that the
riders must be developed in a team as well as
dancers or rowing crews. Moroever, think about
blind riders. The gender need not be under
consideration here. There are four kinds of
captain/stoker couple : female/female, female/
male, male/female and male/male. Classical
races are devoted to the first and the fourth
crews. The question points out that the tandem
riders must have a good human connection
and that is true. Let's cite Mark Brooking but his
statement does not concern only the piloting
because it can be applied for the tandem itself:
« It is also a position of trust which has to be
earned » [Arrivée 122, (Autumn 2013)].
The second one seems to be socio-cultural.
The problem lies in your own idea about the
relationship between two people, especially
man and woman. There is a bad feeling
concerning the effort of a female: The man is the
stronger human obviously! As a consequence,
the female is seen as a weight or a package on
the bike. Hence, the man is able to endure the
woman! At the opposite side, the man has the
woman ‘on his back’, or, the woman has to give
the hard work to him. Hence, it is clear, first,
that the tandem brings on questioning and,
secondly, that the given remarks are arbitrary.
Such kind of thoughts comes often from
pedestrians that didn’t know the tandem but
unfortunately this is also shared by some riders.
The advice ‘Cycling on a tandem with your
wife is a good relaxing day’ can be read also to
prepare an audax for men. Please, try it! Such a
test could be an accelerator of your relationship.
How can you pedal together ? Many times,
Sylvie and Alain on their Bob Jackson tandem designed and equipped by Alain
somebody asks me if I can rest while Alain is
pedaling, or, how can I participate as well as
him. Even more often, I heard that it is more
restful to be a stoker. That question indicates
that it is not clear that the riders have the same
motion: a tandem bike is not a taxi bike. The
stoker lives the same events that the captain
and participates as well at any time. In aim to
reach the same goal that is to complete the ride,
both move on with the same willpower even if
they have not the same physical abilities. The
question is not how to do the same effort at any
time but how to do any effort at the same time.
There is no doubt that the two riders have
to give an identical dynamical rotation of the
pedals. There are two chains on a tandem bike.
Most often, one chain connects the front crank
to the rear crank and the second one connects
the rear crank to the freewheel. Therefore, if
somebody turns the front _or rear_ pedals, it
actuates the rear _or front_ pedals. The main
action is to facilitate the synchronized rotation
because it is the more efficient in aim to go
forward. The tired stoker has to think of raising
her/his pedals towards the back more than of
pushing the pedals because an irregular action
of the push causes blows and hampers the
rotation.
In case of long distance, the most important
is that the riders become tired at the same time.
If one is fresh and not the second, the bike can
not go forward. Sometimes, it is also possible
to apply the main effort in aim to relieve the
other rider of a pain such as an ankle pain for
instance, with a common complicity. Depending
on her/his size, the stoker is less subjected to
the wind and mosquitoes. The pain due to the
photograph: Tim Wainwright
30
Arrivée Autumn 2015 No. 130
www.aukweb.net

ANSWERS FROM A STOKER
photograph: Charlotte Barnes, www.charlottebarnes.co.uk
nuchal rigidity is less present for the stoker.
These two last points can explain why the rear
seat is seen as the restful seat with the benefit
of a protection. A classical pain for the stoker
concerns the hands because the fatigue leads
to lean against the handlebar. Hence, the stoker
has to think of moving or of shaking her/his
hands often.
Who decides? The team decides to follow
the route sheet. The communication is the
best way on a tandem. The captain has to drive
carefully and therefore decides when to apply
the brakes or when to turn into a corner for
instance. The tandem bike needs more attention
for improving the trajectory that for a single
bike because it is longer and heavier. The stoker
has the same motion and therefore seems to
be not a decider. By giving the trajectory of the
bike, the captain warns and the stoker answers
for finding the best positions and the best
dynamical action. The stoker helps too by giving
informations on signs, on cars and so on. The
stoker seems to ask the captain for something
often but it is not a problem of decision because
that concerns the stability of the tandem. We
are on the same bike and each trust the other.
For improving the motion of the bike, the
simultaneity is the key to success and it works by
being attentive to each other.
Even if the riders must be into the same
dynamics, each role needs to be patient,
reactive and attentive because it is not obvious
to prevent all on the road. For instance, if one
stops rotating the pedals suddenly, it gives
a blow to the other that is very unpleasant.
Both riders have the same aim: go forward and
avoid falling. When it is needed, the stoker or
the captain asks to move herself/himself or to
re-sit down. At the beginning, we spoke often
together at the bad time but we learn when
and how to inform for choosing to stop the
pedals, to give an acceleration, to stand up, to
drink or to move cans, to eat and so on. Simple
words can be used. Complicity is growing
with the number of kilometers and the right
communication becomes easier.
Despite a good communication, it is true that
the captain has to choose how to ride the bike
depending on the road. Hence, she/he ‘decides’
the dynamical events according to the stoker:
the change of the chainring, the change of the
On the Humber Bridge, LEL 2013. Some lonely riders are surprised to hear twice "good morning".
Thank you to the rider on left because he told us about the history of the bridge.
rhythm of pedaling, the use of the brakes and
so on. Note that there are bikes with brakes or
shifters actuated by the stoker. Both riders are
moving on the bike for changing their positions
at the right time according to the road. Hence,
the confidence is the most important feeling.
Can you switch? If the riders have similar sizes
and weights, they can decide to swap roles. It
seems that it is a good improvement in a ride by
knowing and practicing the both seats. Most of
time, the heaviest rider is in front of for ensuring
a better driving and a better stability but the
opposite can work.
It is very common to observe that the woman
is the stoker on a mixed classical tandem.
The woman is lighter than the man generally.
Nevertheless, in case you have sizes too different
like us for instance, — I need 48cm frame and
Alain 63 for single bikes! — it is not possible to
change the tandem bike during the ride. Hence,
another question is: Do you see anything? The
small stoker cannot look at forward obviously
but she/he watches the landscape well anyway.
About the choice of the seats, the major
reason concerns the experience in cycling. One
of the riders, often the man for a mixed crew,
has already practiced cycling and therefore she/
he more feels at ease with the piloting. Hence,
be a stoker becomes a logical decision taking
account the both cycling experiences. Many
women admit easily that they have a lack of
confidence to pilot or to manage the tandem
bike. Sometimes, the relationship between the
two riders is not clear: ‘He, or she, is happy to
be the driver’. To be the captain seems to be a
honorable task, especially for men. Ask yourself :
are you (wo)man enough to let _her/him_ drive?
One can understand that some situations can
be upsetting for both parts regardless of their
genders.
Discussing actually of who should be the
captain and who should be the stoker is very
important. Each team member has to be
comfortable on the bike, happy with her/his
role and respectful of the other one. There
exist several different kinds of successful
arrangements. One difficulty lies in having a
photo of the tandem with both riders because,
very often, the stoker disappears on the picture.
This is due to the right position of the stoker !
Anyway, riding a tandem is based on trust and a
good communication
between the two
riders.
Do you stand up ?
There is no problem
to get-up within a
classical tandem bike
and it is very useful for
hilly rides. To get up
and to sit back down
request again a right
communication. For
the trike, the position
is different while the
two riders slide off the
seats in order to turn.
The practice leads to
the simultaneity of
the motion and that
is the way to improve
A famous trike : Arabella Maude and Jane Swain, Mersey Roads 24 h
(Arrivée, Number 122 Autumn 2013, pp34-37)
any action on a tandem bike. Like dancers, you
take the same run-up. I learn to stand up on
the tandem bike before on my solo bike. It is a
good experience to get up on your solo bike
for learning the motion but there is neither the
same feeling nor the same position. The stoker
has to find the right position avoiding to touch
the captain and, with her/him, balances the
swing motion. When the crew has to sit down,
each has to be careful not to fall on her/his seat.
The dynamical motion can stay continuous and
regular.
How do you get your tandem? Many
possibilities exist for designing a tandem.
Choosing the dimensions of the frame lies in
a compromise between the two positions and
consequently, the sizes of the two riders are the
starting point. Because two riders are heavier
than one, the frame is submitted to bigger
dynamical efforts than those of a solo bike.
Geometry, material and equipments have to be
chosen carefully but it is not the aim to discuss
this here. A mechanical weak point is known
in between the bar of the stoker and the seat
tube of the captain. The frame can break here
after a few thousand km. Some tandem bikes
have three brakes in order to avoid of heating
the rims what can be a serious problem for
riding downhill. One tells that the stoker needs
good padding or suspension for her/his saddle
because she/he can’t see the route ahead. This
wrong idea is based on the ‘passager’ effect.
There is no relation between the sight and the
choice of the saddle. Good padding can be
useful for the captain too. On a tandem bike,
the route is identical for both riders and they
are active simultaneously, speaking together
as explained above, because the captain warns
bumps or roughness of the road for having the
best stable positions. If you prefer having a
suspension to less suffer unexpected jarring, it
is your personal choice. Each saddle has to be
confortable for riding a long time and getting
up. Some people ask me for having a bell or a
mileage indicator or a speed computer at rear
but I never needed such things. The best choices
are those that must agree upon the two seats
and personalities. To conclude, a tandem bike is
something unique.
Bonne route!
www.aukweb.netArrivée Autumn 2015 No. 130 31

ORDRE DES COL DURS
THE
DEVÉLO
CODE
Dave Morrison enters the covert
world of cresting cols and is
initiated in to the inner circles of
vélOCD
Croix de Fer
Until relatively recently, L’Ordre des
Cols Durs (OCD) was unknown to
me, a curious corner of cycling
just waiting to be discovered.
Something shrouded in mystery,
seemingly a secret society only open to those
worthy enough to be introduced to its customs
and rituals. Enlightenment came via a fantastic
article in Arrivée which aroused my curiosity; I
wanted and needed to find out more. It was like
discovering the Prieuré de Sion, the mythical
secret society that was first hatched in the 1980s
bestseller ‘The Holy Blood and the Holy Grail’
and later fictionalised in Dan Brown’s novel ‘The
Da Vinci Code’. Like Professor Robert Langdon,
played by Tom Hanks in the Da Vinci Code
movie, for me the quest was on, an adventure
was unfolding.
Unlike the Prieuré de Sion and Professor
Robert Langdon however, l’Ordre des Cols Durs
(OCD) and Dave Morrison (me) do actually exist.
If you follow the OCD trail, rather like tracing
my ancestry and the finale of the Da Vinci Code,
you will end up in Scotland finding a noble
and righteous dedicated keeper of the cult.
In this case, a wonderful chap by the name of
Rod Dalitz who has watched over the OCD for
a number of years now. Rod, as custodian of
one of cycling’s most sacred orders, realised
that the OCD heritage was at risk of decline and
sought sanctuary through an alliance with an
appropriate organisation able to help protect
and nurture the legacy. Whereas the Knights
Templars may have suited a Holy Grail tale,
Rod got a message out to the ‘Night Pedalers’
of Audax UK… and an allegiance was formed.
Whilst Tom Hanks and Audrey Tautou sought
the ‘bloodline’ in the Da Vinci Code, reassuringly,
Rod and the chevaliers of Audax UK continue to
watch over those of us who like to soar above
the treeline.
Mysterious goings on
For those of you unfamiliar with the Holy
Blood and the Holy Grail, it was a book which
stemmed from a 1972 BBC documentary about
some mysterious events in the foothills
of the Pyrenees, involving a priest
in a village named Rennes-le-
Château. It will not go unnoticed
that, coincidentally perhaps,
there are quite a few Cols Durs
in les Pyrenees with, no doubt,
many a cycling secret or two
entwined into their legend. Is this
more than coincidence, was the
priest, Bérenger Saunière, secretly an
OCD man perhaps?
If the BBC journalists / Holy Blood and the
Holy Grail authors were intrigued by French
media reports of the strange events at Rennesle-Château,
I was equally drawn by that article in
Arrivée by Rod Dalitz explaining the background
of the merger of OCD with AUK. I was familiar
with the concept of cycling distances and
counting one’s ascent, but what was this
mysterious code that counted how high you
went without being unduly concerned about
how far you travelled or climbed to get there?
This enigmatic code needed deciphering, so I
did it secretly tucked away, Bletchley Park style,
at home on my laptop. It kept me occupied over
a number of winter’s evenings, admittedly it
wasn’t as exciting as reading the Da Vinci Code
book, but beat watching Tom Hanks and Audrey
Tautou being chased from Paris to Scotland in
the disappointing film version.
The Altitudian Heresy
Those of you familiar with the general
theme of Grail Stories, Knights Templar and
the Bloodline will probably also be aware
that between 1209 to 1229 there was a 20
year ‘crusade’ to eliminate Catharism from
the Languedoc in Southern France by Pope
Innocent III (ethnic cleansing in modern
parlance) which is commonly referred to as the
Albigensian Heresy (named after Albi,
a French town that has featured on
intermediate stages of the Tour de
France between the Pyrenees and
Alps).
Whilst the Cathars were
Christians, they took a less than
orthodox views on a range of
matters, much to the discomfort of
the Papacy. Traditionally, us cyclists
measure our hillier rides based on how
many metres we ascended during the ride.
It may, therefore, seem a bit of a heresy that
the formula for claiming OCD points / metres
has little to do with how much ascending one
does, but rather, where one ends up in terms of
height. An Altitudian Heresy perhaps?
To some, claiming 2,000 points/metres for
a Col that you may have conquered when you
started at, say, 1,500 metres and only physically
climbed 500 metres may sound strange but I
urge you to read on in search of enlightenment.
I too found this time-honoured code a bit
odd at first, but once one comes to terms with
the concept, it actually adds another exciting
dimension and a fresh approach to one’s
randonneuring.
OCD has been around since 1960, and you
can claim any qualifying ascents, right back to
then. Who knows what you may have lurking
in your palmares, so have a shuffle around in
your memory and see if you have any ‘Antique
Roadshows’ just waiting to be valued. That
climb up Mont Ventoux in your younger days
could be worth up to 1892m in today’s OCD!
Perhaps another way of looking at this is
as ‘Col Collecting’, which may sound like a
32
Arrivée Autumn 2015 No. 130
www.aukweb.net

ORDRE DES COL DURS
Col de la Madeleine
reversed-charge US phone call but is quite a
popular pursuit. There are numerous books
listed on Amazon describing famous cycling
climbs, not least Simon Warren’s successful
series. At the back of these books there is often
a set of boxes in order that the reader may tick
off the climbs ascended. I would suggest that
OCD is a far better way of Col Collecting as
you are not restricted to the author’s choices,
you can claim any qualifying col anywhere in
the world… what’s not to like? Every single
qualifying col gives you points/metres towards
your goal!
The code - It’s summat about summits
However, a col must be a ‘qualifying’ col and
consequently, this is not just about ticking off
climbs, it is about notching up summits, yep
it only counts if you pass a col or a summit
(mountain or hill top). So, if the road ends
before the top, it doesn’t count. Only cols and
summits.
A col is, as you will be aware, a pass. Typically,
the road will find a relatively low point to pass
over from one valley to another. So, this will
generally represent the highest point one
crosses in transferring from one valley to the
other. OCD rules define a col as having higher
ground to each side of the road, and drainage
to rivers flowing from either side of the climb
Dave Morrison - OCD qualifying climbs claim 2015
AUK membership number 12405
Conversion: metres per foot metres feet
3.2808399 300 984.25197
(i.e. ahead and
behind). This makes
sense, although this
will be more obvious
on some cols than
others. I would
suggest that the Col
de La Madeleine or
Col du Tourmalet are
good examples of
this.
Meanwhile a
summit, should
generally be the
highest point on the
hill or mountain. To be fair, a road may not quite
reach the highest point, by a couple of metres,
or so, but somewhere like Alpe
D’Huez stops a long way short of
the top and I think it is fairly clear
when you can and can’t claim.
Essentially, ski stations (like Alpe
d’Huez, la Toussuire, Hautacam
etc) are unlikely to qualify, whereas
Mont Ventoux does.
If you pass two cols in quick
succession, then so long as you
have climbed at least 100m since
the first one, the second one will
count too. So, a 1,900 metre col followed by
a 2,100 metre col bags the rider 4,000 points/
metres. Think Col du Télégraphe followed by
Col du Galibier.
Cols and summits only count if over 300
metres in altitude, with special rules for islands
(terms and conditions apply). Unfortunately,
despite the clear evidence to the contrary, OCD
don’t count the British mainland as an island. I
suspect Australia and New Zealand fail too!
Joining the Order - the swearing in
To join this esteemed order, one must amass
100,000 metres worth of qualifying hill- or
mountain-tops before becoming an ‘Officer’.
The noble sounding majestic titles are evocative
of comparisons with the age of chivalry, not
http://elevationmap.net
Date Climb location Country Metres Latitude Longitude
Cumulative claims in previous years:
Various dates Various climbs previously submitted and recorded 84658 Various Various
Previous years climbs not previously claimed:
22/05/2013 Mont Ventoux FRANCE 1892 Latitude: 44.17344 North Longitude: 5.27893 East
Cingles du Mont Ventoux only one ascent previously claimed FRANCE 1892 Latitude: 44.17344 North Longitude: 5.27893 East
3784
14/05/2015 DIY Cannes Cols Collection
Col de Vence, Route de Coursegoules, France (N of Nice) FRANCE 960 Latitude: 43.76039 North Longitude: 7.07523 East
Col de Pinpinnier, Route de St.auban Le Mas France FRANCE 1119 Lattitude 43.80478 North Longitude 6.81997 East
Col de Bleine, Route de st.Auban, Andon, France FRANCE 1424 Latitude 43.81255 North Longitude 6.8029 East
15/05/2015 DIY Cannes - Agay
Route de Tanneron France FRANCE 427 Latitude 43.56513 North Longitude 6.90412 East
Route de Montauroux France FRANCE 317 Latitude 43.53398 North Longitude 6.81294 east
14/06/2015 Velothon Wales
The Tumble, B4246, Abergavenny WALES 481 Latitude 51.78842 North Longitude 3.08236 east
17/07/2015 DIY Col de La Madeleine
North side ascent FRANCE 1994 Latitude 43.43544 North Longitude 6.37558 east
South Side ascent - Can't claim FRANCE - Latitude 43.43544 North Longitude 6.37558 east
19/07/2015 L'Etape du Tour 2015
Col du Chaussy FRANCE 1561 Latitude 45.34334 North Longitude 6.35933 east
Col du Glandon FRANCE 1924 Latitude 45.2397 North Longitude 6.17557 east
Col de la Croix de Fer FRANCE 2067 Latitude 45.22749North Longitude 6.20348 east
Col du Mollard FRANCE 1638 Latitude 45.21062North Longitude 6.33721 east
24/09/2015 Harrison's Fund Charity Ride
B7007 Near Carcant Wind Farm Scottish Borders/Midlothian SCOTLAND 367 Latitude 55.78191North Longitude 2.6478 West
B6357 Hawick, Scottish Borders SCOTLAND 356 Latitude 55.32799North Longitude 3.03424 West
14635
CUMULATIVE CLAIMS TO DATE 103077
“I was on
course to
becoming an
Officer of the
sacred order of
cyclists that is
OCD”
least, that most enigmatic of orders, the Knights
Templar. Another 100,000 will elevate the rider
to the rank of Commander, the honour of being
Honourable requires 500,000 and Venerable
necessitates 1 million metres.
Whilst there may be no ‘swearing in’
ceremony, there may be a little swearing in
getting a claim ready, I certainly let the odd
‘Oh bother’ or ‘Blast’ slip out. Unfortunately,
the route profiles you have amassed on your
bike computer over the years will not give you
evidence that the high points you cycled were
either cols or summits and probably don’t
provide a grid reference either. You will need
to research and, sadly, resign yourself to some
refusals… some tough climbs won’t count,
others will. You may swear as a claim gets
rejected, but those with true
faith will soldier on in search of
fulfilment, the worthy, keepers
of the faith will prevail. In fact,
there will probably be a few
pleasant surprises in there too,
climbs that counted when you
were dubious, especially UK
climbs in my experience.
Luckily, however, there is
a specialist website that can
relieve some of the frustration,
and it doesn’t even have an ‘nl’ suffix! Yes,
relief is at hand, albeit that there will still be
some disappointments along the way. www.
elevationmap.net allows one to hover the
cursor over a road summit and read off the
elevation and grid reference… how simple
is that? By looking at the contours one can
discern whether it represents a col or summit....
awesome! The grid references appear like
cryptic ciphers, codes which must be passed on
to Rod so that he can locate the col.
Here’s one I prepared earlier
So, as the winter nights of 2015 draw in and
weekend rides get shorter, those seeking
something more stimulating than Tom Hanks
movies for entertainment could turn to their
laptops and review previous hilly rides from
the past. Any climbs over 300m or more should
then be entered on to a spreadsheet.
I conceived a spreadsheet in late 2014,
nurturing it over a period of weeks, feeding my
obsession whenever I had a spare moment and
the wife wasn’t looking. First I trawled through
the evidence on Garmin Connect. Anytime the
profile went above 300 metres I noted it down.
Next I carefully checked each climb above 300
metres on www.elevationmap.net. I could tell
from the contour lines on the website whether
the top of the climb was a summit or a col and
it gave me the grid reference… the clues I
needed to seek out the inner sanctums of the
Ordre des Cols Durs.
These were the fragments of information
that, when pieced together, would lead me to
the Holy Grail. Whilst Tom Hanks and Audrey
Tautou were visiting the Rose Line (France’s
attempt to have the Meridian line run through
Paris) in the Da Vinci Code, my quest took me
over contour lines, I was on course to becoming
an Officer of the sacred order of cyclists that
is OCD. Like Dr Langdon working through the
www.aukweb.netArrivée Autumn 2015 No. 130 33

ORDRE DES COL DURS
Maratona dles Dolomites
clues in the Da Vinci Code, I was cracking the
OCD criteria. I got adept at spotting cols on
www.elevationmap.net, learned to accept that
some climbs wouldn’t count, but that there
would be some moments of joy too, especially
where one col followed another shortly
afterwards.
So, yes, I admit, I swore a little when a climb
didn’t count, but even so, after a few weeks of
this gripping ‘edge of the seat’ thriller, the ‘does
it or doesn’t it count’ enigma finally unfolded
and concluded with me having over 84,000
metres worth of qualifying claims! I realised that
2015 could be the ‘Year of the Collie’.
2015 a race odyssey
Now I realise that the British are supposed
to regard Sportives as non-competitive events,
but enter an Italian Gran Fondo and you’ll soon
realise that the Europeans don’t necessarily
take the same view. Britain, of course, is a
protestant country, road racing was historically
protested against and effectively banned, and
that non-competitive
ethos remains in
today’s UK sportives.
Racers could only find
their Holy Grail on the
continent once upon
a time, but like the Da
Vinci Code, the story
eventually wound its
way to Britain. Sportives
have exploded in the
UK and they represent
a potential gateway to
Audaxing. Furthermore,
whilst they don’t count
for Audax points, they
can be used for OCD
purposes. Touring
Rides, Independent
Rides, Charity Rides, Races can also be used as
OCD conduits… it is just the pilgrimage to the
col or summit that matters, not the package
you travelled by. So, as the adage goes, ‘there’s
something for everyone’, you can achieve OCD
through all sorts of routes. Indeed, there is even
the potential ‘Full Monty’ of Audax Points, AAA
Points, OCD Points / Metres and Col Collecting
all in one ride!
I had amassed a pretty good ‘Col Toll’ from
racy European sportives, 3 Etape du Tours,
la Marmotte, Maratona dles Dolomites, Gran
Fondo Stelvio and others. So, I only needed a
few big climbs in 2015 and, ‘Hey Presto’, one
business trip to France, the Velothon Wales and
L’Etape du Tour would do the trick… and that’s
what I did for the ‘home straight’ in 2015.
But don't write off the good old British hill
climb, there are still thrills in those hills! I claimed
some very valuable Welsh climbs, particularly
from the Dragon Ride Sportive, and snuck in a
lot of 300 metre(ish) English climbs too, ranging
from Dartmoor, The Lake District, Peak District
and others. They all added up and in fact I could
not have done it without them. Just call me
‘Morrison Chevalier’… ‘thank heaven for little
cols’!
My claim for the year was finally given a little,
da Vinci Code authenticity with a couple of late
season climbs in the Scottish Borders, one of
them only a few kilometres from the Rosslyn
Chapel where the Da Vinci Code climaxes. I
rode from Edinburgh to London for charity and
claimed Audax, AAA and OCD points on the first
section where I rode solo overnight to catch up
the other participants at Scotch Corner. Fittingly,
for a man of my age, everything was heading
South.
So, like the Da Vinci Code the penultimate
events took place further South in London as I
collated the climbs on a spreadsheet (with the
added bonus that it distracted me from QPR's
disastrous season). Then, in the final dramatic
act, it was all despatched back North to Scotland
for a gripping climax… err, well, more precisely,
I sent an email to Rod Dalitz listing the dates,
climbs, altitude and grid references from www.
elevationmap.net on a spreadsheet.
‘Top’ tips to ‘Col’ on when needed
Firstly, plan your ride in the right order. I did
one ride where I passed the two highest cols
first and three or four others on the way down.
If I had done the ride the other way around, the
climb from each col up to the next would have
bagged me about 5 cols and thousands more
metres, as there was 100 metres ascent at least
from each one to the next!
Don’t come back over the same Col, you can
only claim a col once in a day. When I went over
the Col de la Madeleine, and climbed it all the
way back up from the other side on the return
journey, it only counted once! There is one
exception to this rule and that is the ‘Cingles du
Mont Ventoux’ where all three ascents are done
in one day.
Take the opportunity to travel, you can’t claim
a col more than 5 times a year, so even if you
live near a big climb, you will need to go further
afield at some point! There are Permanent Rides
on the AUK website that you might like, I did
the Mortirolo and Gavia in Italy on a perm, and
scored AAA points too! Remember that, a 200k
DIY ride over cols could bag Audax points, AAA
points, OCD points / metres, as well as some
famous climbs ticked off in your Simon Warren
books!
And don’t forget to send Rod ‘Da List’
Claiming OCD metres really is simple, all you
need is a record of your past rides and www.
elevationmap.net. It is something that can
be done during those dark and dim autumn
evenings but ensure
that your claim, listing
your cols and summits,
is with Rod Dalitz by 31st
December so that you
can be included in the
subsequent Honours List
featured in Arrivée. You
don’t have to wait until
100,000 metres have been
amassed and you can
claim on rides right back
to the 1960s, before even
the mythical Prieuré de
Sion had been thought of!
2015 will go down as the
©elevationmap.net 2015
year I reached the Holy
Grail, or should that be
Holy Trail? I am now an
Officer, ‘peak’ conditioned, hauled over the cols
and carbon fibre ‘enlightened’ with a certificate
to prove my OCD credentials. A pilgrimage that
should appeal to many an AUK member. ◆
Dave Morrison
(who is no longer ‘out of ordre’, even if
some of his tabloid style puns are)
34
Arrivée Autumn 2015 No. 130
www.aukweb.net

BREVET POPULAIRE
Devon Delight 100k
This event has suddenly become very
popular over the last couple of years with
entries topping the 150 mark. While it
doesn’t come up to the numbers experienced
by the other local cycling event, the Dartmoor
Classic sportive, it does show that there is a
strong following for Audax rides in the west
country.
Same start venue as last year in Newton
Abbot which involves for me a downhill ride
of just 4 miles from my home in Ipplepen, so
no early morning car drive for this one. A great
deal of activity at the start with a large numbers
signing on ‘on the line’ and joining the wrong
queue to get their cards, what’s wrong with
sending an entry in by post these days?
Off at nine down a narrow cycle path to head
out through Kingsteignton and Sandygate
to climb over the Haldon hills. Most seemed
to have learned from last year's event not
to try and use the dual carriageway out of
Kingsteignton but to stick to the lane through
Sandygate. Graham Brodie, the organiser, had
even stuck up a few arrows to ensure everybody
went the correct way.
Quite a pull to get to the top of Haldon which
meant that the ride got broken up into small
groups making it easier for other road users to
get past. Down the steep drop into Ashcombe,
turning by the church to record the letter
displayed at the phone box and on down the
valley to the first control just outside Dawlish,
the scene of all the problems with the railways
during the other year's winter storms. A flurry
of activity at the control with groups all arriving
Riders in
Cockwood
at much the same time, but unlike last year no
‘goodies’ on offer. How am I going to manage
the next 25k to the control at Stoke Canon!
Through Dawlish Warren, a place where
caravans and holiday chalets far outnumber
houses. In the summer you can hardly move
for visitors but in the winter you rarely see
anyone other than a man and dog on the
beach. Cockwood, Starcross, place names
with a nice ring to them are passed through in
getting to the outskirts of Exeter to cross the
river and circle the city. No problems this year
in decyphering the route sheet to get through
all the new roads that keep appearing around
Exeter — Graham had displayed more of his
arrows. Quiet rural lanes east of the city where
horse riders appeared to be the only other road
users that day, to pass through Poltimore and
into the control at Stoke Canon.
Tea and cakes were most welcome and a sit
down for a few minutes before tackling the hills
the other side of Crediton. It appeared that there
was another cycle ride on in the Stoke Canon
area, the Devon Classic sportive which proved
the undoing of a few riders. Some fell into the
trap of following the rider in front instead of
consulting their route sheet as they left the
control, one rider rode over 10 miles on the
wrong route before he realized he had joined
up with the wrong group. He was one of a group
who were hoping to do a quick time but arrived
at the finish with his tale of woe.
It never ceases to amaze me the amount
of rides to fail to notice the
turn for Shute on the way to
Dawlish
Control
Crediton and continue back
towards Exeter. The road is
used on several audaxes each year
but people still get it wrong. The
info control in Crediton proved to
be a problem, the sign informing us
the distance to the Tarka trail had
disappeared but I found another one
down at the railway station
Riders in
and recorded that.
Ashcombe
A lumpy route through to Tedburn
St Mary and on to the Teign valley. I
should have topped up my water bottle at the
Stoke Canon control as temperatures were
now in the twenties which brought on some
Event
Devon Delight
Date 19 July 2015
Distance
Organiser
Start
Website
100 km (107 km)
Graham Brodie
Newton Abbot
Devon
devondelight.org
painful cramps in the legs forcing me to resort
to walking up to the ridge outside Tedburn.
Fortunately after that the route takes on a
flatter appearance down the valley beside the
river Teign. One short climb past the quarries
then join the new road going back through
Kingsteignton to take me into the finish at the
Pro Bike Centre.
Great day out, Graham, sunny weather with
cloudless skies, but at times a little too hot on
the climbs.
Looking forward to next years event.
Ribble Blue
start group
photos : Graham Brodie
www.aukweb.net Arrivée Autumn 2015 No. 130 35

PARIS–BREST–PARIS 2015
Getting to PBP
A Full-Value Experience
Marcia Roberts
My journey to PBP was long and arduous. Four
years ago, as I waved my fellow weekly riders
(Portsmouth Wednesday Night Pub Riders) off
to France, I thought “if only I could do that, but it
will never be me”.
Whilst I have been a lifelong cyclist, Audax
was new to me at the time, and a standard
sportive was considered long distance and a
major challenge for me, especially as I am not in
the camp of quick riders, and generally use up
much of the allotted ride time.
However, a seed was sown and I’m never
one to shirk a challenge. I am very well-versed
in multiday challenges, having completed a
number over the years. But these were always
modest daily distances, not long distances in
one go without a nice B&B every 60-80 miles or
so.
The seed began to grow and I started doing
more Audaxes, including 200s. I began to
develop a determination to take part in the next
PBP.
Last year I committed to go for it, but had
a pretty quiet year on the bike, other than a
What is a girl to wear on the ride...or at least, which one first
pre-qualifying 200 or two. As a result my speeds
actually got slower, and once I was into 2015
I was finding it difficult to pick up the speed
needed to comfortably complete the qualifying
rides. So I concentrated on the distances. I
had tried a 300k once — and bailed at 200k —
although after that I determined never to bail on
a ride again.
I started through my qualifiers, completing
a couple of 200s; the 300 that had beaten me
before; and then onto totally unknown territory
in the 400s. My first 400 was Brevet Cymru,
Ready and excited at the start line
maybe not a good initiation, but I loved it,
despite finishing 1 ½ hours out of time. I learned
a lot about control tactics (or lack of) on that
ride. Something I got right on the next 400, The
Avalon Sunrise — an awesome ride if you get
the chance — which I completed with about
20 mins to spare. Next off was the only UK 600
that I entered. I made storming progress (by my
standards) for the first 300k, but then got ill for 3
stages, which just blew me up. I recovered, but
too late to make up for lost time. Another DNF,
an hour out of time.
I was ready to give up PBP hopes, but was
encouraged by other riders to give it one more
go. So I found a ride in France, gave it a go, and
by a whisker got my qualification. Conveniently,
it followed much of the PBP route, but I didn’t
know how I felt about it. Six-hundred kilometres
had been tough for me, and qualifying at such
a full value level made me wonder whether I
should just let this rest. I had got a series (despite
being almost a double effort), but wasn’t sure I
was committed to PBP after all. After all, I only
just finished my 600k in time, and PBP was
going into very unknown territory in terms of
distance and potential sleep deprivation. In the
400s & 600s, tiredness in my head has been my
nemesis, even when my legs were quite content
to keep pedalling.
A friend gave me a very brutal and honest
talking to and I came to the conclusion that,
while it was only 50:50 that I could complete
PBP in time (not so much doubt over my ability
to complete the distance), I would kick myself
if I decided to wait another 4 years to find out.
I’ve since heard that others who decided not to
enter for similar reasons have been regretting
the decision.
So there I was, at the start line, as excited as
the next person, and ready to go for it. Just to be
clear, not finishing the
event never crossed
my mind, and I was as sure as I could be that I
could ride the distance, and I hadn’t bailed on a
single ride — even if out of time — in 3 years.
I loved it. The constant stream of tail lights
ahead on that first 140k section through the
night, reminded me of lights strung along a
distant seafront. On the first full day, I was mostly
overtaking people, which is a rare thing and was
very uplifting for me. There aren’t usually many
slower riders for me to pass as we all usually
start at the same time. Sadly, by the 2nd day the
tables were turned and all the Monday morning
starters were overtaking me, and I began to see
the really fast guys starting to come back.
All was going well until I decided I would
Registration day encouragement from a fellow rider… a chap that is a
well known voice of enthusiasm in the Audax UK community
sleep at Loudiac. At most controls previously, I
was at the end of the big wave of riders, so the
controls were busy, but not manic — perfect
for me. But I hit Loudiac at the wrong time. All 3
groups of riders filled it (the really quick riders on
their way back, the faster of the Monday riders,
and lots of the Sunday starters too). The queues
were crazy for toilets, water, and especially beds.
I waited and got a bed, opted for 2 ½ hrs sleep,
but couldn’t sleep. Despite being tired, I was
Vintage Italians on their beautiful vintage bikes…
certainly the star riders in our hotel.
36
Arrivée Autumn 2015 No. 130
www.aukweb.net

PARIS–BREST–PARIS 2015
Loads of bikes on the DNF train from Le Mans (yes we had to change
there to get back)
cold and just shivered for 2 hours, before giving
up, having something to eat, and deciding I
was better off on my bike. This really was my
downfall I think. I never recovered from missing
that sleep, and it caught up with me big time
from Carhaix on the return leg on night three.
By this time I had fallen way behind, as I had to
keep hopping off the bike to sleep. I found that
I can nap in all kinds of positions and locations,
and when really, really tired I can’t even feel
uneven ground and stones. I was very grateful
for the space blanket that I had packed. I had
never used one before, but they really are a
micro-miracle of warmth.
I noted though, that my riding pace hadn’t
actually dropped off at all, my problem was the
amount of time off the bike as I couldn’t stay
awake. I worked out that if I could keep my pace
going and minimise stops, then I was in with a
chance of still completing within 90 hours. So I
ploughed on and on and on. I also determined
that, even if it looked likely that I wouldn’t finish
in time, I would just keep riding and see how far
I could get in the allocated 90 hours.
However, my next downfall (and a surprise),
when I got to Fougères, they announced to
get in quickly as they were closing up. Another
seed was planted, but this time it was a weed. I
was about to go into my fourth night, and had
about 280 km to go. All I could think about was
the controls ahead. Gorron was the last town
of any note with open facilities in the evening,
but what would happen if the next controls
in the night were closed? I wasn’t going to
able to get through to morning without food,
replenishments etc, and I really didn’t want to
get marooned. Yes, yes I know it wasn’t likely,
but I wasn’t thinking clearly. Also I knew I
wouldn’t get through the night safely without
sleep — the next control was a long way away.
For the first time in 3 years I decided to bail
on a ride for my own safety. I stopped in a hotel
in Gorron and called it a day. I managed 950km,
which is 350km further than I had ever gone
before. My body didn’t give up on me, and I
am still convinced that I could have ridden the
1230 km. Maybe, like my qualifiers, if I was to do
it again in a month or two I would crack it. Who
knows?
The next day, I needed to find my way back
to Paris. Once I had stopped I was in no mind
to cycle the route back, so I figured I would
find the nearest train station with trains back
to Paris. It turned out to be a town called Laval.
So I rode there, bought my ticket, only to find
out that the next couple of trains were full to
bikes (other DNF’ers), so I had about 4 hours to
kill. Not difficult as it turned out. Other PBP’ers
were discovered in the same predicament, so we
settled down to lunch in a bar by the station and
whiled away the afternoon, planning a little post
PBP party on the train on the way back. We even
made it into an article (very tongue-in-cheek) in
the regional newspaper.
I finally got back to my hotel around 11pm on
the Thursday evening.
Was I disappointed in not finishing? Yes a
little. Is it going to put me off the long rides? Not
a chance. I’ve continued to learn more about
these kind of rides on each one
I loved the whole experience: the
international field; the oriental riders wrapped
up like it was the middle of winter; and all the
other nationalities that I talked to along the
way, despite language barriers. The local people
in France made the event, with their shouts of
“allez”, and “bon courage”, along the way, as
well as their hospitality all through the day and
especially the night.
The support I have had from most of my local
cycling group has been superb. I was always
going to find it more difficult than most of our
much quicker local entrants, but they have
encouraged me all the way. And those that
decided I was never going to make it anyway
aren’t really worth bothering about.
Full value riders, I tell you now, if you are good
at endurance, but maybe not speed, but you
have thought about entering a long distance
event like this, I urge you to give it a go. Don’t
listen to what anyone else says. If you can get
through the qualifiers, then you have as much
right to be there as anyone else — regardless of
whether you complete it or not.
Next stop LEL — in time! ◆
Louise Rigby and Mary-Jane Watson riding the AAA Milne perm. Photo by Martin Malins
www.aukweb.netArrivée Autumn 2015 No. 130 37

PARIS–BREST–PARIS 2015
“I Was on
Fixed,
Towards the latter part of 2014 I
started thinking about the next
Paris-Brest-Paris, and how to ring the
changes. To explain: I had ridden two
90-hour PBPs — one on gears and
one on fixed — and an 84 hr and an 80 hr, both
on gears. I didn’t particularly want to repeat
myself. So the logical thing would be to ride an
84 on fixed, except that I hadn’t ridden anything
serious on fixed-wheel for several years, and I
was conscious of advancing decrepitude.
My fixed-wheel bike was ancient , much
altered and bodged, in fact the same bike
(except for the forks) that I had ridden in 1999.
It was old even then. I started looking for a
replacement and eventually found someone
who could build a titanium frame with forwardfacing
dropouts as befits a road bike.
Meanwhile I rode a couple of 200s on the
ancient bike and, with panniers attached, toured
to the AUK Reunion and back. The weight
My old frame
You Know”
of the luggage helped me to a respectable
150 rpm cadence on some long downhills. That
encouraged me to think I still had the knack. The
bike seemed quite flexible, but it only had to last
until January.
Not that the frame was on time (are they
ever?). In February, pootling around Devon
lanes, I stood on the pedals to crest a hill and
there was a loud crack. I wobbled into a field
gateway. The top-tube had cracked in two. A
piece of rope lying in the road caught my eye
and I tied it round the head-tube and back to the
seat-pin to hold the bike together. A toestrap
stabilised things a bit more. Then I cautiously
rode the 15 miles home.
A rummage in the garage uncovered another
old frame. I gave it a quick lick of Hammerite
and assembled all the fixed components on to
it. Riding the Mad March 200 I had to walk some
of one hill. This fixed thing might just be a silly
idea. I rode my first 300 on gears, not feeling
particularly fit at all. Still, it seemed to loosen
my legs, because a couple of weeks later I rode
a hilly 300, the Turf ’n’ Surf, on the fixed without
suffering to much. However, this was on the new
frame, which had arrived at the end of March
and proved a revelation, turning my feeble
power-output into more speed than seemed
feasible.
Encouraged, I used the new bike for a Brevet
Cymru 400, a Flatlands 600 (the first part ridden
at knee-trembling speed owing to an optimistic
B&B booking), and a Buzzard 600 for luck
completed my BRM preparations. The Buzzard
was a real graunch, I had to turn the wheel
round from 67 inch to 63 part-way round. I also
rode the Mersey Roads 24 (with gears) which
won me another age-group medal despite a
disappointing distance (I’m very grateful to
George and Elaine for supporting me there).
In the meantime I had booked a ferry, hired
a self-catering cabin in Versailles and, most
importantly, entered the French event.
I decided on my usual gentle build-up
to the 2015 Paris-Brest-Paris, got a train to
Southampton, and then rode to Portsmouth for
the night ferry across to Le Havre.
I was surprised from behind (yes, really) by the
Hampshire contingent as I showed my passport.
The antics of Paul and the others (who were
taking the other ferry, to Caen) had the man in
the ticket booth nearly helpless with laughter.
Aidan met me as I rode to the first waiting point
— it was early so, bike parked, we went for a
coffee.
Nigel and Drew, and Ron and Dai on tandem,
were waiting when I returned, with Drew’s latest
Ian Hennessey
old machine. It had an evocative patina of rust
and worn paint. He was particularly proud of
the ancient saddle,
pointing out the ridges
and seams of future
discomfort.
None of the others
were around as I left
the boat the following
morning. I tried a new
route out of Le Havre,
parallel with the main
road through the town
to join the old road
alongside the Seine. It
worked well apart from
the unbuilt bridge over
the railway. A footbridge saved the day. The bike
felt heavy with a crammed Barley saddlebag
and a similarly-sized stuffsac strapped to it. As
the bac over the river to Quillebeuf docked, a
rainstorm came, hammering on the cobbles as I
found shelter until it passed. A little further on I
found a bar with a bakery attached and stopped
for coffee and croissants, then meandered on
towards Evreux and a budget hotel.
The next day I diverted from my Garmin
track to join the outbound P-B-P route to Saint
Quentin. There were lots of small groups of
cyclists on the road, conversing in various
languages.
Richard and Carla were already at the cabin.
There was a babel-buzz of German, Australian,
Ian Hennessey, John Spooner, Drew Buck
38
Arrivée Autumn 2015 No. 130
www.aukweb.net

PARIS–BREST–PARIS 2015
The new bike
and Yorkshire from the surrounding cabins.
The Dixons arrived later, having mislaid their
tandem somewhere on the flight from the
USA – this would keep us all (but particularly
the Dixons) on tenterhooks until late Saturday
night when it finally arrived in a small,
grubby Peugeot van. ACP had been
understanding and checked them
through without their bike, so all they
had to do was assemble it and wait for
the start.
Anne was settled in her campervan
and carefully preparing for her
fourth P-B-P. We found food in a little
Malaysian cafe-restaurant where
the owner weighed and priced each
ingredient as it was served.
Saturday morning we rode to the
velodrome, and I watched the others
disappear into the milling crowds below. That
barriers were being constantly readjusted to
cope with the ever-lengthening queue.
My check-in was on Sunday and it was much
less crowded. It was lovely to meet Noel there,
manning the check-in and still as ebullient as
ever. Richard Leon was looking forward to his
eleventh start, and Jim Hopper his ninth.
Sunday evening I watched the 90hr riders
starting in seemingly endless streams. I was
Jim Roberson, Anne Learmonth & Tony Pember
embarrassed to have forgotten my “Riding after
Dave Lewis” badge, but Anne gave me another
before she followed Jim and Tony into the start
area. Steve, still chasing Tommy Godwin, was
in the last wave, unflustered by the general
excitement. Heather interviewed him before his
start.
It was still dark the following morning when
I made my way to join the 84hr group. The bike
was much livelier without the extra luggage, but
my knees were persistently aching, which was a
worry. Someone stopped suddenly in the start
pen and I came down quite slowly on top of
another rider. Embarrassing, but no damage.
Then we were off through urban streets
behind the neutral car. There was a regular
clattering of lights and stuff hitting the road, and
one or two riders behind me hit the low centre
kerbs .
Dawn came and my knees still hurt. I was
climbing surprisingly fast compared with geared
groups, but they would catch me on steeper
descents. Then, after about five hours on the
road, my knees gave in and stopped hurting – as
if to say, “okay, you win, we’ll stop complaining”.
I was feeding on coffee and sandwiches from
the outside stalls to save queuing for food, as
well as using some of the bars and impromptu
food stops on the route.
At some point I came across Dai and Ron,
visibly upset that mechanical failure had
scotched their ride. Elsewhere Rob
had failed to coax his Pashley to
enough speed and was out of time
“Richard Leon
was looking
forward to
his eleventh
start, and Jim
Hopper his
ninth”
to sleep.
Coming out of Fougères raindrops
the size of walnuts splattered
around, giving nearly enough
warning to take shelter. A multinational
group of cyclists gathered
in a large barn-like entrance and
watched as the road, the cars, and
the occasional foolhardy cyclist
disappeared in a blur of storm and
spray.
I slept for four hours at Loudeac in an
enormous hanger carpeted with truckle beds.
Damon interviewed me at Carhaix. On the video
I appeared not to have much of a clue where I
actually was.
It was bright sunshine over the Roc Trevezel.
Enormous Italian campervans stood in clusters
on the verges. On the descent I shouted at the
Dixons heading upwards and Emma looked
blankly at me. Shortly after that Idai, standing
absurdly tall amongst conventional bikes,
hailed me across the
carriageway. His was an
epic ride on a barkingly
eccentric machine.
Then there was a
shout from the verge.
Anne was watching
the world go by. I
stopped and we saw
the Hedley-Swallow
tandem trike heading
east, Judith urging us
to stop slacking. We
parted company in
opposite directions and
Jim Roberson and Ian Hennessey
I continued to Brest.
It was a seemingly endless urban climb to the
control, just awkwardly on the cusp of seated
or standing effort on a 67 inch gear. But I was
halfway and feeling fit.
I slept at Loudeac again on the return. A touch
of saddle-discomfort encouraged me to take
descents more slowly, so I was using the brakes
a little more. I slept again at Mortagne, on the
Ian with Noel Simpson
floor this time, and again somewhere in a sunny
field. I probably got around 12 hours’ sleep in
total.
I think it was either the food or the water
at Villaines that poisoned me. Fortunately
it manifested as no more than gradually
increasingly discomfort as I weaved between
increasing numbers of very tired meandering
90hr riders.
The rain started somewhere around Dreux
and got steadily heavier. The landscape offered
little protection. I encountered young Adam,
also on fixed, around this time, and he finished
somewhat ahead of me.
For the last section I switched on the Garmin
to be sure I kept to the route through urban
streets. The sun came out for just long
➢
www.aukweb.netArrivée Autumn 2015 No. 130 39

BREVET POPULAIRE
←
enough to steam off most of the damp
and then I was on the track around the park,
dodging puddles and the occasional dogwalker.
Small knots of spectators clapped as I
entered the finish, bumped over the tracking
sensors and stopped to hand back the tracking
widget. It was a properly subdued end to 80
hours of riding.
It seemed like a long walk to finally hand in
my brevet card. Drew, John, Jim, Dave, Tony and
others were seated at a table full of half-empty
glasses and ride detritus. I got a beer. Ivo was
asleep sagging sideways on a chair. I woke him
to say hello; he bleared at me and went back
to sleep. After a while the Villaines discomfort
made itself felt and I left to return to the cabin.
Richard and the Dixons were already there,
quietly meditating on the event. Chris, Anne
and I met later for a pizza, after which point my
guts finally exploded.
Friday morning everyone was packing. Joth
and Emma were dismantling the tandem for
a car journey to the ferry. Richard and Carla
were packing their van. I had an extra night
booked before my return journey, so Anne
and I wandered around the Versailles gardens,
looking at the Anish Kapoor constructions and
being treated to an explanation of the higher
significance of one piece delivered in a manner
that only the French can do with a straight face.
Heather and Damon were there, having been
told off for leaving their bikes on the grass. We
rowed the Grand Canal (a cruciform lake) as an
antidote to all that pedalling. And finally there
was the unexpected pleasure of discovering
a little bistro in a back-street which served
exquisite food under an awning as life passed by.
It always surprises me how stuff takes up
more room the second time you come to pack
it. It was a struggle to get everything back on
the bike for the journey home, and boy did it
feel heavy. I made my goodbyes, handed back
the keys to the cabin, and set off at a gentle
pace for Evreux. My guts were still complaining
and so progress was slow. I found the same
hotel and took a room. The restaurant was
closed for the weekend (it had been closed
for ‘la vacance’ first time) but the receptionist,
whilst apologising that she wasn’t a chef, made
me a fine ham salad and even produced a
cheese board.
The second day I was feeling better.
Approaching Le Havre centre a cyclist hailed
me from across the street. He’d seen my frame
number and his bike still sported his. He asked
after Drew, who had run out of time before
Brest. In my tiredness I failed to get his name.
Which just left the ferry crossing, the
late-night rain-soaked ride to a hotel in
Fareham (and the puzzled look when I asked
where I could put my bike), the train from
Southampton, and finally being reunited with
Elly at Dorchester. Even at that point, Paris-
Brest-Paris seemed like a long time ago.
Actually, there is one more thing — “ringing
the changes”. I am not all that keen, at the
moment at least, on the idea of a fixed-wheel
80-hour in four years when I shall be nearer
70 than 60. That’s four years to consider the
options. ◆
First Failure!
TOUR
of the
HILLS 2015
After several decades of being
sedentary I bought a racing bike
in 2010 to rediscover the cycling
of my youth. In the process I also
discovered Audax and a whole
new world opened up to me. I have become
enthused by the award system and have slowly
built a small collection of badges and each
year set my sights on something bigger and
better. I do realise that I am still on the very
verge of long distance cycling but I can at least
legitimately call myself a Randonneur!
When I show friends and family my collection
they see me in a new light (often this also helps
them hurry home). I used to be a Boy Scout but
never achieved much beyond perhaps a badge
for “joining in”, so I suppose Audax is helping
me fill another gap in my life. Either way it
amuses me and provides a sense of purpose.
In 2014 I completed a Bronze Grimpeur event
with my eldest daughter Sophie, so it seemed
a logical progression to move up to Silver this
year. The Surrey Tour of the Hills caught my eye
as it had the necessary number of AAA points
and was ideally situated close to London,
where Sophie lives, and near my brother in law
Tim Harrison
who kindly agreed to accommodate us before
and after. At this point my son, Jack, asked to
be involved as he was working in Basingstoke
not too far from Surrey. This had the makings of
a family fun time so we duly entered along with
Joe, one of Sophie’s friends.
Progress so far
I am a Randonneur so felt pretty confident
that with a few more hills put into my schedule
this would be easily achievable, after all my
regular Wednesday rides with the Evesham
Before the start and full of confidence, Sophie, Tim, Joe and Jack
40
Arrivée Autumn 2015 No. 130
www.aukweb.net

BREVET POPULAIRE
To get this right takes some doing - Hilary, Margaret, Heidi, Louise and Laurie at work
Wheelers had taken me from someone who
could barely manage 20k to someone who
routinely rides 100k before lunch — albeit a
late one.
Sophie rides in the Surrey area with the
VC Godalming Haslemere cycling club so
knows the roads, can easily manage 100k, and
has true grit. Jack on the other hand, whilst
undoubtedly very fit, does not have a bike
and has ridden less than 10 miles this year
but promises me he will train. Joe’s longest
ride is 50 miles but he is a regular cyclist and
Sophie helps Jack with his lactic acid; or is it just bullying?
also in good shape. So all looks good and the
countdown to the event begins.
Don Gray the organiser kindly put me in
touch with Chris Jeggo who was one of the
original founders of this event back in 1981
when, in its first incarnation, it was the Surrey
Super Grimpeur, setting out to rival the
Yorkshire Super Grimpeur. As I read through
the material he sent me I started to realise
that this event would be more challenging
than I thought. Described by one entrant as
“Exquisite Torture”, and with high rates of
attrition (fortunately not accidents) I started to
understand that this was one of the tougher
events in the UK. A total of 2,300 metres of
climbing with at least eleven significant climbs
including some from the Olympic route.
I checked on Jack’s training schedule and
soon realised he had done literally nothing so I
attempted to dissuade him from starting — he
was insulted by my lack of confidence in him
and was determined to start. “Oh
and can I borrow a bike and some
of your cycling gear?”
The event promises excellent,
nutritionally balanced foods at
the start, midpoint and finish and
when we arrived this had clearly
been very well thought through.
We dutifully followed the pre event
recommendation and fired up
with enthusiasm received our start
time – the event starts at 5 minute
intervals to ease congestion.
With near perfect conditions we
set off to conquer the hills and it all
started well enough as we jockeyed
for position and raced for the top of the first
ascent. I am well used to being the last up hills,
and being overtaken by later starting groups
was no surprise but what did surprise me was
the sheer speed with which it happened. Not
only does this event qualify for Silver Grimpeur
but there are also special “Tour of the Hills”
badges — gold and silver — for the quicker
finishers. It seemed to me that gold was on
everyone’s must-have list.
The Surrey Hills make the Cotswolds, where
I usually ride, seem like a forgotten, quiet
backwater — I have never seen so many
cyclists out on the roads. It was really very
impressive especially as
they were universally
faster than me both up
(of course) but down
also — I think fear and
caution must be in short
supply in the Surrey
Hills.
Box Hill was a joy and
at this point we were
well on schedule and all
performing well, even
taking time to pose for
a few pictures and some
stretching exercises.
Unfortunately as the
ride progressed lack
of training by one unspecified member of our
group made the hill climbs just too slow and I
watched our overall moving average drop from
20 km/h to less than 15 km/h. At this speed we
would run out of time.
The starting point at Shere Village Hall is
also the midpoint so when we finally arrived
there for a lunch stop we had already missed
the last control’s time window and there was
little prospect in completing the course before
everyone had packed up and gone home.
Event
Tour of the Hills
Date 16 August 2015
Distance
Organiser
Start
100 km (115 km)
Don Gray
Shere
Guildford
Website
westsurreyctcda.org.uk
Don and his team were very supportive and
did encourage us to continue for the fun of it
but I was genuinely tired and stressed by the
sight of my precious children haring down
hills. I realised I had seriously underestimated
Box Hill, and feeling good
the Surrey Hills and the respect they deserve.
Sophie and Joe were keen to continue but in
the end it was logistics that stopped them as
we had a variety of car/rider combinations and
we all needed to be somewhere else the next
day.
So no new medal for my collection but an
excellent, well organised event that is well
worth entering. For sure the Silver Grimpeur
medal will be mine one day soon! Surrey Hills
— we will be back. ◆
Recommended Eating Schedule
www.aukweb.net Arrivée Autumn 2015 No. 130 41

PARIS–BREST–PARIS 2015
A Different Point of View
PBP 2015
on an
ElliptiGO Bike
Idai
Makaya
The plan to assemble a team of
riders to take on the Paris Brest
Paris 1,200km Audax challenge on
ElliptiGO bikes was pretty much
formulated in my mind after the
completion (on 13 September 2014) of the
Flatlands 600km Audax, which I rode with Alan
McDonogh, Carl Nanton and Stuart Blofeld [see
Arrivée 126 (Autumn 2014) p53].
The ‘experiment’ for me (at the time) had
been to see whether or not we could get the
completely inexperienced Carl Nanton through
the 600km audax event as comfortably as the
rest of us by simply providing a pacing format,
based on our own experience with longdistance
ElliptiGO riding (and his generally high
fitness levels).
I had surmised that if such a thing would
be possible then it also made sense that the
long-distance cycling training we’d been doing
on ElliptiGO bikes over the past few years could
pretty much be replicated by any other athlete
with the inclination to do it. I was pleased (but
not surprised) to see that Carl made it through
the Flatlands 600k as comfortably as those of us
with more long-distance riding experience - and
he successfully completed his first ever Audax
ride.
I like validating things in health & fitness —
especially new things — and after 4 years of
studying long-distance elliptical cycling, by the
summer of 2014 I had pretty much reached a
point where I had felt that I was in a position to
legitimately validate the learnings I had amassed
in relation to elliptical cycling (and performing
in long-distance cycling events on an elliptical
bike).
I must make it clear that my ‘obsession’ with
extreme endurance sports training has not
‘blinded’ me to the realities of health & fitness
in general — and my main driver in what I do
in endurance sport is probably exploration.
There’s nothing particularly healthy about
taking on the types of endurance challenges
I do, although I do believe that they can be
successfully incorporated into one’s long term
health strategy, as I’ve explained in the past.
But I mainly want to know what’s possible for
the human body and the human mind. The
complete understanding of human physical
performance — and the associated mentality
required to optimise it — is what mainly
interests me…
I do not particularly feel that what I have
done in the past few years in endurance cycling
is something that needs to be ‘rolled out’ or
‘built up’ in any big way. Nor do I feel that the
participation levels in long-distance elliptical
cycling particularly need to be increased. But I
do feel that the knowledge base I am building
with my growing number of ‘hard-core’ team
mates is very important in the ‘science’ and ‘art’
that I am a part of – and that this information
is crucially important for those individuals out
there of a similar inclination to my own (people
who have an irresistible urge to push themselves
towards the absolute limits of what’s possible
for their bodies).
Ultimately, that’s always what this has been
about for me. It’s mainly about finding my limits
and actually knowing when I have truly reached
them. My training journey started when I was
7 or 8 years old (my exploration of my physical
capabilities) and it has advanced relentlessly
Setting off…
from that point until now (at 41 years old)
when I have probably neared the peak of my
understanding of how the human body works
— and what that knowledge allows it to do.
Why Paris–Brest–Paris 2015? PBP is possibly
the oldest mass-participation endurance sports
event in the world. It has been run regularly for
well over a century, driven initially by a spirit
of exploration of the absolute limitations of
cycling equipment (and the absolute limits of
the human condition). Some of the pioneering
aspects have now been lost in an event so
established, as we have become completely
familiar with the capabilities of the equipment
used and the methods for preparing human
beings for such exploits, using that equipment.
But this ‘essence’ of the PBP challenge has
not been lost on me – and having had the
opportunity since 2010 to explore professionally
the new frontier that is elliptical biking, the
concept of converging in Paris for PBP 2015 (and
once again using the traditional challenge as a
‘proving ground’ for new equipment and new
preparatory techniques) had started to make
more and more sense to me, serving as a neat
way of ‘wrapping up’ the knowledge base I’ve
been working so hard to understand over these
last few years — as well as a means of validating
a couple of concepts (to myself, mainly).
Building The ElliptiGO Team:
It had become clear during our preparations
for the 2013 London–Edinburgh–London
audax that there are a variety of methods for
approaching a very long ElliptiGO ride. An
optimisation of training volume and training
intensity needs to be established, and it
needs to match the personality of the rider
being trained. Certain individuals cannot bear
extremely long training sessions over the long
term (purely from a psychological perspective;
but sometimes simply for practical reasons
around lifestyle and personal commitments).
Others are almost at the opposite end of the
spectrum, and simply cannot handle high
intensity work over the long term.
So the first thing to establish when taking
on a challenge like this is what type of athlete
you are dealing with and what they actually
like doing. You cannot prepare well for an
endurance event if you do not actually like/enjoy
the training. There’s virtually no point in doing
it if you cannot enjoy it for the majority of the
time that you do it. So it is important to select
the ‘right’ people for this type of challenge. I had
fielded this ‘query’ to about 30 ElliptiGO athletes
whom I knew, and whose physical abilities I
was well aware of, especially targeting the most
genetically talented individuals in my sphere of
influence.
I had also targeted those individuals whom I
42
Arrivée Autumn 2015 No. 130
www.aukweb.net

PARIS–BREST–PARIS 2015
already knew had a ‘need’ to take on challenges
of this nature and whose mindset I was already
familiar with (in relation to their passion and
relentlessness for achieving physical goals,
regardless of the perception anyone might have
of their abilities). To cut a long story short, I have
discovered, in the recruitment process of the
ElliptiGO Ultra-Endurance Team, that the ‘athlete
mindset’ is possibly more important than their
physical credentials.
I am now of the belief that the majority of
the healthy population possesses the physical
capability required to take on a massive
endurance cycling challenge like PBP — on any
good standard bicycle — and that a good (but
smaller) proportion of the ‘normal and healthy
adult population’ also have the capability of
doing so on an elliptical bike — if they can find
the motivation to do so.
On the elliptical bike physical ability is a must.
No amount of mental strength and fortitude
will allow you to meet the strict audax time
limits in these sorts of events if your body is
not physically capable of doing so (and there
are definitely many people who have the right
mindset, but lack the physicality required for
this).
It’s become the buzz-phrase in endurance
sports these days to say “it’s all mental”, or “it’s
90% mental and 10% physical”. It’s not really
true at this level of being tested. You have to
have a healthy dose of both. I look at it like you
cannot live without your brain – and you also
cannot live without your heart. So how do you
say which organ is more important, when they
are both ‘vital organs’? And for the endurance
athlete (extending himself/herself at the level
required to complete a multi-day audax event
on an ElliptiGO), both mentality and physicality
are ‘vital qualities’. You will not succeed without
the correct balance of both qualities.
After starting out with an initial group of
about 20 athletes, our ElliptiGO Ultra-Endurance
Team had eventually ‘self-selected’ down to just
My daughter drew me a celebration picture
8 individuals (as we had progressed through the
official qualification process for PBP 2015). So the
Team ElliptiGO athletes who eventually lined up
at the start of PBP 2015 were Alan McDonogh,
Andrew Nuttall, Billy Grace, Bill Pinnell, Carl
Nanton, Jim Cremer, Idai Makaya and Stuart
Blofeld.
14 Aug 2015
I travelled by car to Saint Quentin with my
whole family. I was like a caged greyhound and
I found interacting with other people quite
difficult on the trip, preferring to muse over
what I was planning to do during the ride and
rehearsing my ride over and over in my mind.
In the starting pen
I had needed my family close by, but at the
same time I did not want them to interfere with
my ‘meditation’. Long drives are good because
everyone tends to withdraw — eventually —
and I was pretty much left to daydream as we
drove along. Bad delays at the ports along the
way, and very sad scenes with refugees at Calais,
had blighted the trip for me, but we made it
across the English Channel and into France…
15 Aug 2015
We had spent the morning getting registered
at the Saint Quentin National Velodrome
and getting the mandatory identification
information for the event. We then hung around
the hotel car park, fixing up the bikes with our
team mechanic (Grant Strong) and then we went
to a nearby restaurant for a relaxed meal with
the ElliptiGO Team, and a few other friends who
were also doing the ride on conventional bikes.
Then we tried to get to bed early for the big ride
on the following day.
16 Aug 2015
It was a long wait for our 17:15 start time and
I was bogged down in the logistics of changing
hotel rooms for the family and making sure
everyone would be okay while I was away riding.
This was a distraction — and it definitely raised
tensions — but it also helped keep me occupied
throughout a whole day of ‘waiting’ for the
event to finally start (so that I didn’t dwell overly
on the task which lay ahead).
The ride had started promptly at 17:15 and
we rode through throngs of local supporters
as we had left Saint Quentin and headed into
the Parisian countryside. There was a feeling of
complete elation once we had got moving, after
nearly a year of planning and about 8 months of
formal training. I had kept on telling everyone
how happy I was to be there, and I had really
meant it! I can’t remember many a time when I
have felt so upbeat, and my reasons for feeling
that way are not completely clear to me, even
now…
My team mate Billy Grace was chasing a very
fast time (under 80 hours) and had drifted out of
sight of the rest of the eight-man group, within
just a few minutes of us starting.
After just an hour of cruising our first real
‘incident’ took place. Carl’s gear shifter cable
had slipped out (after he had swapped out
his rear wheel the day before). I was a little
disappointed that Carl had done this job
himself when we actually had a professional
mechanic (Grant Strong) supporting the team
for the entire event and doing all the necessary
servicing needed on our team’s bikes. But I knew
it was ‘one of those things’ which cannot be
foreseen (and he probably had felt worse about
it than I had).
I was reluctant to ‘abandon’ Carl at that point,
but he had the necessary equipment to replace
the gear cable on his own and he had suggested
that we all leave him to it. Also, the team had
(rightly) suggested that we continue to move
on in order to avoid holding up the ‘collective’
every time someone had experienced a setback.
With our lack of pace on elliptical bikes, every
stop would reduce the average pace — and that
lack of pace could not be made up for by simply
riding faster, later on.
I was surprised at a building discomfort in
my feet, from pretty much the start of the ride
— a suggestion that I was riding too fast. I am
normally very good at remaining comfortable
on my bike and sore feet are always the result of
the cadence and power output being too high.
Leaving St Quentin
Jim and Stu had seemed to be spot-on with their
pacing at this early stage, so I had consciously
decided to try and mirror what they were doing,
which did help me get more comfortable. But
once foot discomfort starts on a long ride it is
unlikely to go away.
We had covered the first 76 km in about
3½ hours. Carl still hadn’t caught up by then and
we had switched to our high visibility vests for
the coming night ride. Our pace had remained
even — and possibly still a little too fast — and
we’d reached the first checkpoint (at 140 km) in
exactly seven hours. At this point we’d realised
just how disorganised we were as a large
group and the control checkpoint was jampacked,
meaning access to food and drinks was
difficult. We had lined up for food and Carl had
eventually caught up with the group during this
time — and then he promptly passed on ahead
of us…
The night ride on that first night had been
pleasant, but we’d noticed that the event had
www.aukweb.netArrivée Autumn 2015 No. 130 43

PARIS–BREST–PARIS 2015
become very undulating from about 140 km
onwards. At the time I had thought this ‘hilly
patch’ would be a small segment (and then
the ride would flatten out again). However, it
never did flatten out – and it will go down as the
hilliest event I’ve completed to date.
17 Aug 2015
We had reached 265km in 15 hours of riding,
and it was morning once again. It was very
misty that morning and we’d had to keep our
lights on, using up extra battery power in my
case because I do not use hub dynamo energy
generation (which some in our team do use).
The initial euphoria had now left me and it was
just ‘serious graft’ from that point onwards.
I was not particularly ‘endeared’ to the ride
at this point, finding the terrain quite slow
GOing, but I did marvel at the perfection of the
French road surfaces and the commitment of
the fantastic local communities along the way
to supporting this ride and raising the spirits of
all the riders. I had vowed to acknowledge every
spectator who had applauded or waved as we
passed by, and that’s what I did for the full ride
— although it had soon cost me my voice (which
I lost on the second day of riding, meaning that
I had to wave to people from then onwards,
unable to speak properly).
We had covered the first 310 km in exactly
18 hours, with no sign of Billy and Carl – who
had advanced pretty far ahead by that point.
It was not lost on me that 18 hours is a decent
time for me to cover a 300 km audax ride on
the ElliptiGO, and that doing so on such a hilly
course (in such a long event) may have been
somewhat ‘careless’. The soles of my feet were
getting painful as it got hillier and hotter during
the day.
I was now ahead of what I had perceived
to be 80-hour finishing pace (using Billy’s
Updating my wife and the support vehicle at a control
positioning as my ‘guestimate’) and the time
had come to make it clear to my teammates that
I was exceeding my planned pacing objective
and would not be sticking with them if the
pace didn’t slow down. So I had let some of
the faster guys pull ahead of me and was really
only catching up with them at the control
checkpoints from then onwards.
363 km had been covered in 21 hours and
20 minutes — and Jim was having bad gastric
issues, unable to eat solid food and depleting
his energy reserves as a result. This was slowly
sapping his energy, but he’d somehow been
able to continue at more or less the same pace
as us, until that point. But after the 363 km
control point he’d started to fall behind the
group pace and was even GOing too slowly for
me.
Again we had reached a crisis decision point,
photograph: Nicole Poisson
as we’d done with Carl the day before. Bill had
opted to stay back with Jim, feeling that the
group pace was inappropriate, but I’d remained
with Alan, Andy and Stuart – who had seemed
to be getting faster and faster (perhaps I was
just getting slower and slower, but that’s the
way it had looked at the time). We had reached
450km in about 26 hours and I’d severed contact
completely with Alan, Andy and Stu, opting to
re-join Bill and Jim temporarily. But they had
wanted to stop a bit too often for my objectives
at that stage, so I’d split from them too (after
another long food break) and soon I was riding
solo.
It wasn’t a bad thing being on my own and
away from the team. I quite enjoy riding on
my own – and the streets were packed with
cyclists and spectators, so being outside of
Team ElliptiGO was really just a ‘pacing relief’ for
me. I wasn’t lonely, or isolated, in any way. I was
probably quite happy, under the circumstances.
What did bother me a lot was the increasing
heat…
We had caught up to Carl at around 450 km
because he was becoming drowsy, as were
Bill and Jim (who were still quite close behind
me). So around this section I’d passed them all
at the control checkpoint and had continued
to press on into the night. This was where my
enhanced resilience (from the fasted training)
was becoming more evident, because all of
the riders in the team were battling sleep
deprivation at this stage, and I was still relatively
fresh (in comparison).
After a series of hill climbs in some very dark
countryside we’d hit a main road where we were
able to make decent progress for quite some
time. It was around that time that someone had
shouted out my name from the roadside and I’d
spotted Carl retiring into a bus shelter with his
bike, for a second nap (not long after leaving
photograph: Black Group Photo
44
Arrivée Autumn 2015 No. 130
www.aukweb.net

PARIS–BREST–PARIS 2015
the control checkpoint where he’d also had a
nap, so bad was the drowsiness). I’d looped back
to meet him, despite busy traffic (hundreds of
cyclists were on the same road at this point) and
we’d shaken hands and exchanged greetings
and reassurances.
Then I had left and found what was called
a ‘secret control’ checkpoint, just 5 minutes
further on. This was set up to ensure riders
were following the official course, and also had
served as a resting point. So I was saddened that
I couldn’t tell Carl about it, as he was just a few
minutes away, toughing things out in a roadside
bus shelter.
496 km had taken me 30 hours and 15 minutes
to complete and at that control point I had
found Alan, Andy and Stu’s bikes parked outside
— they were taking their first sleep break inside.
We’d all been awake for about 40 hours by
this point (since getting up on the morning of
Sunday, 16 August). I’d become very aware of
the sleep deprivation I was experiencing and
was liaising with Grant at the support vehicle
to plan my sleeping strategy. Grant was able to
update me on how far ahead Billy was and I had
noticed the gap closing, which had spurred me
to ride on, knowing that Billy was on an 80-hour
finishing schedule.
18 August 2015
Fatigue had finally caught up to me around
the very hilly section approaching halfway and
I had taken my first attempt at a nap. The plan
was to use Grant’s car every time I had needed
to sleep, so that the naps could be exactly timed
(and very short, without any disturbances). So
I’d got into the passenger front seat, while Grant
had tinkered with the bike and checked it over.
But it hadn’t worked this first time – and after
15 minutes of sleep I’d choked on my own saliva
and woken up in a panic, probably due to having
such a dry and inflamed throat (and also due to
using the wrong sleeping posture on the seat).
I could not get back to sleep after that, so I had
asked Grant to time me for 5 minutes, stating
that if I had failed to fall asleep within that time I
would be more productive riding on the road.
I had failed to fall asleep within the allocated 5
minutes and had then set off on the bike again,
with just 15 minutes of sleep in the ‘sleep bank’
since Sunday morning. The ride had continued
along a series of gradual climbs, known
affectionately as “The Roc”. I had noticed that
singing out loud was doing a brilliant job of
keeping me alert and awake, and because
there were fewer riders moving after midnight
I had not felt too self-conscious about doing it,
despite my awful singing voice!
I find that singing heartfelt songs during
long rides works well for me when I’m battling
to remain awake, so for me that’s always love
songs (which I actually will be imagining that I’m
singing to my wife). How sweet…
Exactly which songs I choose is always
completely random at the time — and generally
beyond my control — because I can only ever
think of 3 or 4 songs when faced with this type
of challenge (and I am often forced to rotate
through those 3 or 4 songs, almost indefinitely).
On this ride I was particularly hung up on
Patrick Swayze’s theme song for the movie
Billy leaves a control
‘Dirty Dancing’ — a track called “She’s Like
The Wind” — Aretha Franklin’s classic “Ever-
Changing Times”, and Vanessa Williams’ and
Brian McKnight’s less well-known R & B hit, “Love
Breaks Your Heart”
So I had sung each of those songs, in turn,
over and over, for hours and hours. It had just
felt more intense each time I sung each song,
and it had more meaning each time. But my
voice was gone and it really hurt my throat. I
had felt that was a sacrifice I had to make at the
time. I had to sing the songs out loud for it to
work, and it did work, because I had reached
Brest (half-way at 619km, as measured on my
GPS device) in 39 hours and 15 minutes, feeling
reasonably alert.
That was a real high point for me because
everything was going according to plan, which
is very rare for me in long rides. I had planned
to take no more than 40 hours to reach Brest
and that goal had been accomplished, giving
me a sense of control over the event – a sense
of dominating the ‘Beast’ which I was trying to
‘tame’. So I became very emotional having hit
that metric, which is unusual for me on a long
ride. I normally only view the finish line as my
goal when I ride in events like this, but reaching
the halfway point in PBP 2015 had been a
notable landmark for me.
I had also found Brest really pleasant, in terms
of the design, size and architecture of the town
— nothing as dreadful as previous riders of
PBP had led me to believe it was. It had looked
like a nice town to me, the sort of place I could
actually see myself visiting with my family – and
not the “rundown historical port” I had been
told to expect.
I had a quick breakfast in Brest, chatting with
friends from Essex, and then headed back up
the other side of the big long climb which had
delayed my arrival in Brest on the way in. There
was a huge amount of climbing to get out of
Brest and into the countryside and the morning
had heated up quite dangerously, I’d thought.
I was quite uplifted by seeing a good number
of my cycling friends (who’d started later than
us), all heading into Brest as I had headed away.
I especially recall my friend Patrick flagging me
down on one of the long hill climbs to hand
over a pair of his club pins, a gesture which had
meant a lot to me.
I had met with Grant at 2 pm outside the next
control checkpoint (at Carhaix) after a whole
morning of climbing and descending the long
slopes leading up to it (and exactly 12 hours after
I’d taken my first 15-minute nap in the support
vehicle, before heading towards Brest). Grant
had oiled my bike chain and running gear and
had also given me two energy gels, which I’d
squirted into my mouth in quick succession. In
hindsight, that was probably an error (using the
two gels, not the bike oil!) and it had caused an
insulin spike in my bloodstream, which tends
to lead to a sudden dip in energy levels soon
afterwards (which is pretty much what had
happened next)…
Carhaix was 704 km into the ride and it had
taken me 45 hours and 20 minutes to get there.
The sun was shining at its menacing brightest
by this point and the heat was slowing me down
— probably coupled with the fatigue of having
been awake for so long, with so little sleep.
I had continued on to the checkpoint at
Loudeac, which was 780 km into the ride. That
photograph: Black Group Photo
www.aukweb.netArrivée Autumn 2015 No. 130 45

PARIS–BREST–PARIS 2015
had taken me about 50 hours of riding and
we were reaching the end of the afternoon;
hopefully ushering in slightly cooler conditions
for night time riding. I had looked forward to the
night sections of the ride, simply to avoid all the
heat. But I did fear the drowsiness which would
inevitably ‘attack’ during the night periods.
After 55 hours I had covered 839 km and was
becoming very drowsy again. I had found that
slight rhythm changes had really helped me stay
alert — such as toilet breaks, or food stops —
anything to get me out of the hypnotic rhythm
of simply riding and riding. This was especially
important when the roads were crowded
(because my bad singing had made me feel
quite self-conscious in crowded places)…
19 August 2015
I was somehow able to push through another
night without falling asleep but I did start to
cross into the ‘danger zone’ as I call it. I was
now so far ahead of our team that I could not
properly liaise with Grant and the support
vehicle, and couldn't find a place to sleep. I had
tried roadside naps, but was terrified of animals
foraging in the bushes, or I got badly pricked
by sharp nettles and weird grasses. So I had
eventually decided that meeting Grant again
was my only hope of getting proper sleep.
But I was very drowsy. An Irish rider had
shared some caffeine tablets with me, which
had kept me moving, but I had slowed to a crawl
and was losing mental awareness. Billy overtook
me at this point, although I wasn’t aware of it at
the time (and neither was he, so we now believe
he probably passed me just as I was lying down
by the roadside, when I had thought I heard an
ElliptiGO pass by me, but I was too drowsy to
make it out properly in the dark).
The next phase of riding is something I must
acknowledge – although it is also something
which I am not proud of – and I think it is only
the disoriented state I was in that had allowed
me to do something this irresponsible in the first
place. I had become completely unaware of who
I was, or what I was doing. I often didn’t even
know I was riding a bike. I was just dreaming –
whilst still on my feet – and I often thought that
I was watching somebody else (and not being
myself, so to speak). I had lost all ‘contact’ with
my body and could no longer feel, or sense, my
own physical presence. It was pretty much an
‘out of body’ experience.
I often couldn’t remember I was actually
doing PBP 2015, the event I had thought about
daily for 8 months while training and preparing.
At times I didn’t even know I was riding at all,
I had thought I was just flying – or even just
walking. It is the most surreal experience I’ve
had so far on a bike – and during this period I
would only be ‘jolted’ back to consciousness
when I had completely fallen asleep (and had
let the bike roll off the tarmac road and into the
bumpy roadside grass). Miraculously, I never
actually fell off the bike — or hit anything —
during those ‘dissociated’ phases.
It appears that some other people could
see what was going on, because a guy from
the Philippines called Redg had decided to
stick around and ‘chaperone’ me to the next
checkpoint. He was pretty tired himself, but I do
still think it was quite difficult for him to move so
slowly on a road bike. He’d obviously realised he
was dealing with a guy of diminished reasoning
and he could probably see the danger I was in –
so he had tactfully struck up conversations and
tried to keep me awake for the next few hours.
I’ll never forget what Redg did for me…
Whenever I did regain some minor (fleeting)
consciousness, it was only to get sufficient
clarity to remember that I had still wanted
to ride PBP 2015 in under 84 hours. I was
completely committed to that time goal (and
was actually adjusting my expectations — and
looking towards attempting 80 hours, like Billy
had been doing). So my goal then became to
catch up with Billy again, which I had done at
one of the non-mandatory checkpoints (the
Tinténiac rest stop).
I had seen Billy’s bike parked there, but I could
not find the man himself and had left without
exchanging pleasantries. At that point I had
thought we could actually help each other to
stay awake, so I was quite keen to find Billy, but
not at the expense of losing more time. So I had
ridden away (half asleep), back into the night.
Thankfully, I’d found Grant at the next control
checkpoint. I was now unable to continue
riding. My feet were terribly painful, and I had
virtually lost all meaningful consciousness. We’d
agreed to a 30-minute turnaround for the sleep
stop that morning (I had wanted less time, but
Grant had looked very concerned and we had
reached a compromise, based on his reasoning
that I needed a 10-minute ‘settling down’ period
before each sleep could be timed).
After he woke me up — and plied me with
jelly babies — I had bid Grant farewell and had
set off into the sunny morning, after 20 minutes
of sleep. I had felt completely revived and was
alert, reasonable, and able to focus on my plans
again. I was confident I could break 80 hours
for the full ride and was fully committed to this
new and revised goal time. I’d had lots of British
friends with me in this segment of the ride,
which had made for a very pleasant morning,
under the circumstances.
My riding ‘methods’ had changed about
Bill Pinnell & Andrew Nuttall with Drew Buck
450 km into in the first half of the event, in order
to stay on course for a fast time. Initially, when
I was still riding with the ElliptiGO Team, I was
using the control checkpoint facilities to get
all my food (mainly French-style baguettes).
But the service levels at the checkpoints were
inadequate for my needs, with long queues and
generally slow service. The food was also very
‘bland’, with most of the bread being so hard
that it had lacerated my mouth badly – making
all my eating quite painful for the rest of the ride.
So I’d decided to forego trying to eat more
varied meals and had instead bought a bag
full of the sponsored snack bars which were on
sale at every checkpoint. My strategy was then
focused on remaining in constant motion — at
a comfortable and sustainable speed — whilst
doing all my eating on the bike (on the move). So
my snack bars were loaded into my handlebar
bag, where I could easily access them as I rode.
The checkpoints then became simply about
ride validation for me — getting my brevet card
stamped — or stopping for cat-naps in Grant’s
car.
Using this strategy, I was able to get through
many of the checkpoints in well under ten
minutes. Even the checkpoints where I’d done
my sleep stops in the car were taking me less
than 45 minutes to turn around — and that had
pretty much sustained my average pace, as I had
progressed through the long ride.
Later on, as I had approached 1,000 km of
riding, the day had seriously heated up again
and the climbs were seemingly unending (in
both number and duration). Inevitably, sleep
deprivation had caught up with me again and
I was very drowsy from around lunchtime. This
time around, I was definitely more alert than
in my previous bout of sleep deprivation but
physically I was much more affected, and I was
riding ridiculously slowly at that point. But I
knew that as long as I was moving (and could
remain awake and alert — in other words: “safe”)
I was still getting closer to the end of the event
(and getting closer to meeting my objective).
Another ‘guardian angel’ was sent my way
at this point, this time in the large and looming
photograph: 24h-en-photo.com
46
Arrivée Autumn 2015 No. 130
www.aukweb.net

PARIS–BREST–PARIS 2015
shape of a former CTC Milton Keynes riding club
mate of mine called Richard (“Ritchie”). Richard
is as experienced and hard-core a long-distance
cyclist as you will ever meet, and he was aiming for
a sub-80 hour time in this event. Having started
in a much later wave of riders than myself he was
well ahead of his plan when we had met. He had
realised just how dangerous I was becoming and
had taken it upon himself to ‘shepherd’ me to the
next checkpoint (and he made it clear I would have
to take a mandatory nap there).
The course was brutal by this stage, with many
long hills, and I had spent the rest of the day riding
with Richard (who must have been incredibly
patient to hang around like that, when I was
moving so slowly). In fact, the whirring sound
his bike made every time he stopped pedalling
would jolt me back to my senses each time my
consciousness had drifted from me – and he was
barely pedalling at all during this time (just trying
to stick behind me and monitor me, so that I would
remain riding in a straight line).
1,010 km had unfolded after 68½ hours of riding
and we’d ridden together for many hours until we
had finally reached the next control checkpoint
at Mortagne (1,090 km – covered in 74 hours
and 7min). At the checkpoint I had insisted that
Richard press on without me, because Grant was
there (with the car ready for me to sleep in). I’d
had a quick meal (a very large hot dog) and I did
20 minutes of sleeping in the support car’s front
passenger seat.
Billy was at the checkpoint when I got up 20
minutes later. I was feeling physically exhausted —
but mentally rejuvenated — and I only knew Billy
was there because Grant had told me so (and then
I had seen Billy’s bike parked near mine, as I had
headed out). Again, there was no sign of the actual
man, so I had bid Richard farewell and set off once
again without seeing Billy.
After about 10 minutes of pedalling I was feeling
perfect once again! The next phase had longer and
more rolling hills, and the descents were incredibly
fast. I was virtually back to normal, with no foot
discomfort and no tiredness, feeling fully alert and
able to ride fast, once again.
I was moving really well from this point, despite
the big hills in unending succession. Between
some of the controls a number of cyclists, myself
included, were setting up incredible surges of
pace (which would sometimes see us travelling at
impressive speeds, over very long periods of time).
The settings (and the faster pace) were allowing me
to feel really upbeat, and to remain alert.
20 August 2015
Reaching the penultimate control (45 minutes
after midnight on 20 August) was like being in a
bike race, with riders scrambling through the busy
urban streets and trying to overtake every set of
bike lights that had appeared on the horizon ahead
of us. The excitement of approaching the finish had
started to build up, even though we actually had
over 100km still left to ride.
I’d met a succession of British riders, with whom
I’d spent quite a bit of time chatting — despite my
painful throat and hoarse voice — because those
conversations had kept me alert as I was riding. The
French riders were also very supportive and would
often just ride beside me for long spells, even
though we were unable to converse (because we
didn’t speak each other’s language, and I had lost
my voice anyway).
The decency and humanity I’d encountered
during this almost inhuman challenge will remain
with me for the rest of my life. The true inner
decency of people is clear to see in an undertaking
of such brutal honesty.
I had thought a lot about my ElliptiGO team
mates during the ride, especially in that last
section. I was proud of them: for being in the
process of achieving what I could see they were
achieving; and also for helping me to achieve my
own potential. At that point I had no doubt that
those of us still on the road would succeed.
Jim eventually had to pull out at the 700 km
mark – due to his mounting gastric issues (which
had meant he could not eat any solid food). Andy
also had to stop and withdraw (after covering
1,008km), due to an acute back injury flaring up
(an injury which he’d first incurred just a few days
before while lifting his bike and putting it into the
car for the trip to this event). But the rest of us were
steadily pushing on at this stage, and our success
had seemed to be inevitable.
I had also thought about my wife and children,
and my brothers and sisters, and my parents. I
had realised just how much I love my family. I
was grateful to God for allowing me the privilege
of challenging myself in this way — and for also
surrounding me with the right people in my life. I
had incredible respect for everyone who was doing
the PBP 2015 challenge alongside our ElliptiGO
Team – and for everyone supporting us. I was in
a ‘good place’ at that point and had rolled into
the Parisian suburbs feeling completely alert, and
feeling upbeat.
I had prayed many times during the ride because
that also helps me keep alert, and it makes the
experience more spiritual for me (which is why I like
to be alone for reasonable periods during very long
rides). In my mind I’m never alone, because God is
always with me, as are all the people I love (who
remain in my heart, wherever I GO).
The final two to three hours of PBP were
uneventful and quite boring, really. The terrain was
very ‘urban’. It was very dark there, as well as very
hilly. So I had just counted down the kilometres
(painstakingly) until I had finally entered the
National Velodrome in Saint Quentin, at 4:55 am
on 20 August 2015 (83 hours and 38 minutes after
I had left it with my team, hundreds of my cycling
friends, and about 6,000 riders in total).
I had only slept for a total of 55 minutes, across
the entire PBP 2015 ride (comprised of 15 minutes
on Day 2, then 20 minutes on Day 3, and another 20
minutes on Day 4). This almost constant movement
had allowed me to sustain a very good overall pace.
I strongly believe that my unusual resilience in the
face of sleep deprivation, and my lack of physical
fade, had both related directly to my enhanced and
sustained intermittent fasting campaign, over the
months building up to the event (and my practice
of doing all my training rides while fasting).
To summarise this adventure from a team point
of view, a team of 8 of us had started PBP 2015 on
ElliptiGO bikes and 6 of us had finished the event
within the 90 hours allocated. In my opinion, all 8
riders have a lot to be proud of - and I am honoured
to be associated with these individuals. ◆
www.aukweb.netArrivée Autumn 2015 No. 130 47

RANDONNEE
PDP : Penicuik-Durness-Penicuik
I
was undecided at the end of 2014 whether
to do another PBP in 2015. On the one hand,
it was a great experience in 2011 and I was
sure I would enjoy it again. On the other
hand there was a big time commitment for
the build up, getting the qualifying rides, some
likely to involve travelling quite a way to the
start, and then there was travelling to Paris and
all the stress of what could go wrong against
several deadlines. Eventually I decided I would
do my own big ride – a route of my choice,
when I wanted to do it, and starting from my
own front door.
That was the theory. In practice, the choice
of route was fairly straightforward: basically
a 600 I did two years ago but starting from
Penicuik rather than Gairloch. This is the
route (my control points were: Penicuik, Fallin,
Helensburgh, Lochgilphead, Oban, Fort William,
Drumnadrochit, Ullapool, Durness, Tongue,
Forsinard, Altnaharra, Tain, Muir of Ord, Dallas,
Echt, Kirriemuir, Perth, Penicuik). It forms a rough
figure of 8 from the Central Belt to the north of
Scotland.
Timing was more of an issue than the route
itself: other things going on, injury at the start
of the year meaning a shorter build up, and bad
weather in June when I more or less had to do it.
The aim was for a 4-day ride, camping overnight,
and taking a slightly more relaxed approach
than my 2011 PBP when I took only about 6 hours
sleep.
The Old A82
I decided to go clockwise in order to get to
the A82 early in the morning of the second
day. Having decided to set off on the 23rd June
which was forecast to be a good day, I was up
until rather late the night before finalising my
luggage. In the end I abandoned my lightweight
dry-bag for my regular recumbent seat bag
and a small Ortleib panier with the tent and
thermarest strapped under the seat.
Day 1 : Penicuik to Appin
I set out at the back of 6am and was soon
surprised to find quite heavy commuter traffic
including quite a few bikes on the back roads to
Linlithgow, Falkirk and Stirling. It was pretty flat
most of the way to Drymen and I made good
time against a nearly absent head wind; the
temperature gradually rose with the sun until I
was in short sleeves and legs by the time I got
An Antidote to Paris Brest Paris
Alf Chamings
to Loch Lomond. The cycle path from Balloch
actually takes the old A82 which I had ridden up
in 1972 when it was the main road. Then there
was a more modern cycle path all the way to
Helensburgh which unfortunately has give-way
signs at every farm track (the Dutch would shake
their heads in disbelief) but I soon abandoned
this having nearly taken out a pedestrian on a
50kph downhill: the chap stepped to one side
in plenty of time and his partner stepped right
into my path with about 10 metres to go. I don’t
know who was the most shocked of the three
of us.
Helensburgh was buzzing with tourists at
about 1pm and I stopped to eat a sandwich
from Greggs and then, having forgotten to get
a receipt, find a cash-machine for a back-up
to the GPS tracklog as proof of passage. I was
interested to see the long-standing peace camp
at Faslane – quiet but clearly still occupied with
a variety of old caravans and other shelters
all done out with anti-nuclear slogans. The
road up the Gareloch
and Loch Long got
progressively quieter
and very pleasant until
I met the main road
at Arrochar. Then the
ride up Rest and be
Thankful was a bit busy;
good to see the old
road though: it looks as
if you could still go up
it on a bike although
there is a gate to open
or climb near the top.
The A83 continued to
be tolerable for traffic
and good riding all the
way through Inveraray
map data ©Google 2015
(also teeming with visitors) to Lochgilphead
where I stopped for a magnificent fish supper
at the Argyll Cafe. By now the wind had swung
round to the north west just in time for my road
turning north to Oban. It wasn’t strong by any
means but enough to slow me down by a few
kph, and the uphills got steeper as I got tireder.
North of Oban, however, the going was easier
and the wind died down as the evening wore on.
The plan was to camp somewhere near
Ballachulish and get an early start on the A82
but that all changed in a phone call from Kirsty
who was on her way south from a solstice ride
on the north coast. So she met me near Duror
in Appin in our VW van which in the event was
definitely more comfortable than the one-man
tent.
Day 2 : Appin to Loch Eribol.
Getting up was not easy but I managed to
get back under way by about 4.10 to a beautiful
sunrise across the Ballachulish bridge complete
with rainbow reflected in Loch Linnhe. The road
was almost deserted until Fort William when
a few early commuters began to appear along
with commercial traffic off to an early start. I
Rest and be Thankful
hadn’t been along the Great Glen for quite a
few years and I was expecting it to be flat. It
wasn’t all that hilly but definitely not flat with
the occasional sharp rise especially once I got
to Loch Ness. At Invermoriston I found I was no
longer on my GPS track; the reason being that
The Kelpies, near Falkirk
48
Arrivée Autumn 2015 No. 130
www.aukweb.net

RANDONNEE
Castle Stalker from Appin
Google maps had found a footpath cutting
off the in-cut leading to the village. The extra
kilometre on the road was well worth it for the
view of the old bridge which I thought would
be good to look at more closely, but not today.
By 9am the traffic was getting much busier and
I was glad to get to the cafe at Drumnadrochit
where my route left the A82 to head for Beauly.
When I emerged from the cafe having chatted
for a while with some cyclists heading south it
was raining and it didn’t
“with a tenth of a
second to spare I
rode off the road”
stop until the mid evening
beyond Scourie. The first
thing that hits hard on
leaving Drumnadrochit
is the the hill leading out
of the Great Glen: steep – perhaps 15% for a
while – and 200m of ascent. I had remembered
the hill but not the steepness! Beauly and Muir
of Ord (the pinch point of my figure of 8) were
familiar ground as was the A835 up past the dam
at Aultguish: perhaps the easiest 200m climb in
the country, taking 30 kilometres from Garve to
the summit. There are always more short hills
than you remember before Ullapool after the
fast descent from Braemore junction but it’s a
nice road and good view points including some
impressive redwoods at the road side.
After a meal in a cafe in Ullapool (where they
tried to tell me it had only been raining for an
hour!) I set off up the first of the long hills on
the road up to Ledmore Junction. Ardmair is
usually a beautiful sight but less so today in the
rain. Just north of Ardmair there was a good
fast downhill leading to the inevitable steep
up beyond and just as I was slowing down on
the start of the ascent I noticed a car speeding
towards me overtaking a van. There was no
chance of it getting past the van before it hit me
and there was no more than a metre between
it and the side of the road. With a tenth of a
second to spare I rode off the road (still doing at
least 25kph) and hurled abuse at my would-be
murderer.
Unfortunately the views of the Coigach hills
were almost non-existent in the mist and I
just got glimpses of the lower slopes of Stac
Pollaidh, Suilven and Canisp. The hilly road
and the headwind were taking their toll of my
energy and morale but I was still making steady
progress towards my target of a meal in Durness
and an overnight somewhere on the road to
Tongue. I had a breather before tackling the
hill over the shoulder of Quinag. The descent
is good but spoiled somewhat by the hairpins.
I had thought I might get something to eat at
Kylesku but time was getting on so I pressed on
to Scourie: a great road in good weather but I
had to use my imagination. I stopped in Scourie
for a snack at the shop and chatted to a 10-year
old about his bike and mine. We set off together
but he changed his mind about coming to
Durness after about 50 yards. At least by now
the rain had stopped!
I know the road north quite
well and recognised the clump
of trees signalling the top of
the long rise out of Rhiconich
then there was a marvellous
long descent all the way to the Kyle of Durness. I
had previously been turned away from Mackays
restaurant when looking for a meal, in an only
slightly bedraggled state, on a ride two years
ago, so I swept past with my nose in the air and
made straight for the Smoo Cave Hotel which
was just has friendly as two years previously
and served a great pizza. Thinking I was hungry
I ordered a 12-inch with chicken and olives but
when I couldn’t finish it they wrapped it up and
it fed me most of the next day too.
I had a good rest in the hotel and
chatted to some other cyclists up
from Lochinver before dragging
myself out on to the bike. It was
now about 10.30pm and full daylight
but disappointingly dim because of
the low cloud. Still there was a good sunset out
to the north (where the sky was clear) and there
were campervans parked for the night at all
the view points. I put my lights on at this point
although it was only for the benefit of the few
cars – still plenty of light to see the road. By 11.15
it was threatening to get dark so I found a flatish
bit of grass almost at the head of Loch Eribol and
put the tent up. I thought I needed a bit more
sleep so I set the alarm for 4.45.
Day 3 : Eribol to Inverness.
I woke up needing a wee at 3.30 and took a
couple of pictures while I was out of the tent.
Unfortunately it was the dismal weather that
won and I got going at 5.30 spurred on by the
midges. It wasn’t exactly raining but it was more
than just mist, and it was certainly wet. I was
also feeling tired beyond what a couple of days
on the bike should have felt like, with the result
“…he ‘would
have to
consult the
women’…”
The Vital Spark at Inverary
that it was slow going. The hills of the north
coast are hard at the best of times and today
was not quite the best of times. Nevertheless
it’s hard not to enjoy the scenery here and
stopping for a coffee and a biscuit was a real
treat by the time I got to Bettyhill. Bettyhill is a
milestone heading east because it means you
have resisted all the attempts to make you take
Old Bridge at Invermoriston
a shortcut to the south. The chap in the hotel
reception wasn’t sure if he could offer me coffee
as it was still breakfast time and he ‘would have
to consult the women’, He needn’t have worried:
I was ushered into a very pleasant sitting room
where I watched the telly and
drank my coffee. I was joined by a
motorcyclist who was doing moreor-less
the same tour as I was (the
northern part of it anyway) and
was also doing about 200 miles a
day, but not starting until 9 or 10
and getting to his next hotel by about 4pm. He
didn’t suggest a swap.
After the north coast the great thing about
the road from Melvich up Strath Halladale is that
there are no relentless steep ups and downs; just
a long gentle climb past Forsinard (my control)
to Kinbrace. For some reason an RSPB centre at
Sunrise at Loch Eribol
www.aukweb.netArrivée Autumn 2015 No. 130 49

RANDONNEE
Get thee behind me Satan!
Forsinard seems to have aggravated some of
the locals and there are slogans here and there
to say they are not welcome. I didn’t see a local
to ask the reason. Wonder of wonders, when
I got to Kinbrace for the long westerly leg to
Altnaharra, the wind did not change direction
and I got a great fast ride with views across
the western edges of the flow country. I had
thought about stopping at the Crask Inn but in
the event I sailed by noticing that it was for sale.
I suppose the owners have decided to retire:
they will be a hard act to follow!
The by now southerly wind was doing its best
to sap my energy but I managed a reasonable
speed on the long descent to Lairg. I had
decided to stop at the cafe/cycle shop in Ardgay
because I needed both something to eat and
some more chain lube – my small bottle having
unaccountably run dry. I made it by 5.20pm but
it turned out that neither were about to close.
The rain was letting up by the time I set off for
Tain and from there there was a very pleasant
run through Alness and
Evanton to Dingwall. At
some point around here
I had spoken to Kirsty on
the phone who had spent
time with her sister at Newtonmore and ‘did I
want to sleep in the van that night?’ After half a
second’s reflection I reluctantly agreed to forgo
the camping and we duly met a few miles out
along the A96 east of Inverness. It had begun to
rain again in Muir of Ord which spoiled to some
extent a normally very nice run along the north
side of the Beauly Firth. It was about 11pm and
the lights were needed again especially in the
drizzle. I had thought the A96 would be dead
quiet at this time but it wasn’t and it would also
have been difficult finding a camp spot since
there were not many side roads. I think if I had
not been meeting the van I would have stuck to
my original plan of following the B9006 to the
south of the A96.
Day 4 : Inverness to Penicuik
I was certainly needing a good rest by this
time and decided not to start until 6.30am. In
the event it was 6.45 before I set off – not really
quite early enough to be aiming to complete
340km that day. When I got going (in the dry!)
the traffic was already busy on the A96 and
before long I took a right turn off to the B9006
which turned out to be a very nice and quite fast
(for a bike) road. It led me back to the main road
a few miles before Forres but by now the traffic
seemed to have eased up. By contrast the road
south from Forres to Dallas, my next control,
was beautifully quiet and the scenery without
the rain was great despite the freshening
southerly wind. After Upper Knockando, I
was on unknown roads to Craigellachie and
unfortunately my GPS track took a footpath
which I was not inclined to follow. I took a
couple of uncertain turnings and was stopped
by a couple of chaps in a pick-up asking if I was
lost. I asked them the way to Craigellachie and
he said ‘Oh yes’ and proceeded to ask some very
intelligent questions about the recumbent. 10
minutes later we got back to the subject of the
route and I was off again on a slightly circuitous
road to Craigellachie. Then there were more
unknown roads but fortunately quite easily
navigated to Dufftown, then over the Cabrach
(that second ascent still catches me out) and
then through Alford. The GPS route to Echt (my
next control) was the shortest but, as it turned
out, not the easiest route: after Ordhead I think
Blackwater Bridge
“some folk looking
even more the worse
for wear than me”
I should have stayed on the main road as far
as Dunecht but instead I turned off on some
lanes which led over many short steep hills, so
I was glad but somewhat
fatigued by the time I
hit the familiar territory
(from the Snow Roads) of
Echt and Banchory. I took
a breather in Morrisons in Banchory before
heading towards Cairn o’ Mount which I had
only previously ridden the other direction. From
the south, it’s one continuous steady climb
with a steep bit at the bottom and the top.
From the north it’s much more uneven with
several shortish steep sections and even some
downhills.
As I climbed the mist
got thicker and turned to
rain, both of which were
decidedly thick by the
summit. I phoned Kirsty
at the top (she was now
finally at home) who
relayed an invitation
from Alex in Kirriemuir
to stop in for tea. After a
white-knuckle descent
(literally, since the brakes
were decidedly dodgy
in the wet and I couldn’t
get below about 30kph
on the steepest section
at the bottom) it took me
a very tired hour and a
half at least to Kirriemuir where I was thoroughly
cheered up by matchless beans on toast and a
chat with the Man.
Alex gave me an excellent tip for the road out
of Kirrie towards Coupar Angus and Perth. It was
now getting quite late, however and it looked as
if it would be the wee small hours before I got
home. By Perth even that was looking optimistic
as my tiredness returned with a vengence and
every incline was slowing me to a crawl. I got
a packet of chips in Perth which revived me to
some extent and set off for Glen Farg. In the dark
this was a long spooky climb through dense
trees.
It was gradual enough not to slow me down
too badly and by the time I hit the badlands of
west Fife it was long past the bed times of the
youths who have been known to throw cheeky
remarks and the occasional bottle at passing
cyclists. By the time I got to the Bridge, it was
getting light again and there were some folk
looking even more the worse for wear than me
who were staggering home through the west
of Edinburgh as I ground up Drumbrae and
then Craiglockart at a snail’s pace. There was a
final picture of the sunrise at Hillend before the
return home at 4.45am.
Final Thoughts
The plan and the route were good in principle
but the preparation was inadequate. The last
1000km+ audax I did was PBP in 2011; by August
that year I had done a double SR and 8 or 10
200s; this year I had done only two 300s and a
400 along with a few 200s. I had felt fit enough
on short rides but it wasn’t enough to keep
going strongly for a few days. The old truism
is still true: you have to have miles in the legs.
I could have taken an extra day and still been
within my time limit but I had thought that
330km a day wouldn’t be a problem and would
be a more relaxed schedule than my 2011 PBP.
It probably would have worked out that way
if I had been fitter and the weather had been
kinder.
Doing a DIY should allow you to choose your
weather to some extent but this year June in
Scotland was cool and damp and I chose to take
a chance on the forecast being pessimistic rather
than lose my opportunity to ride close to the
solstice. In the event I had a lot of headwind and
too much rain to make it a thoroughly enjoyable
ride so perhaps I should
Sunrise at Hillend, Edinburgh
50
Arrivée Autumn 2015 No. 130
www.aukweb.net

PARIS–BREST–PARIS 2015
have left it until later in the year.
Cycle-camping audaxing is a viable alternative
to booked B&Bs and gives more flexibility.
My extra load of tent, sleeping bag and mat
was only 2 kg plus another 1 kg for the Ortleib
pannier and rack. My other luggage was a little
more than on PBP but that was because the
prospect of a problem in the middle of the night
Filming
PBP
I’m currently in the middle of editing a lot of
video files from the Paris Brest Paris ride. It’s like
hacking your way though a forest, as there’s a lot
of it. Breaking the trail is a lot easier if you know
the shortest route to your destination, so the first
job is to define that destination.
Paris Brest Paris is a very collective enterprise,
it can’t really be about individuals when it has
6,000 participants and 1,500 volunteer helpers.
But paradoxically it is avowedly about ‘self
sufficiency’. It’s an interesting circle to try to
square. The qualifying rides are the place to
start with that task, which can much lonelier
place than PBP itself. Even then, the goal of Paris
can be a strong motivating influence, dragging
better performances out of aspirant riders.
Back in 2003 one of my earliest video
interviews on the bike was with Julian Dyson,
and he felt tied into PBP on his 200 qualifier,
simply by telling his work colleagues, friends
and family about the event. They’d assumed
he’d be doing it simply because he’d mentioned
it. The explosion of social media since then has
amplified that effect a thousandfold, and again
it’s an example of the way that we aren’t entirely
self sufficient. Sharing what we are doing has
become part of the emotional structure of our
lives.
I think Audax exists to extend capacity, by
providing a framework that enables folk to
ride a bicycle further in a day than most would
consider driving in a car. The obvious part of
that framework is the physical help they receive,
the food, shelter and warmth at controls. The
fact that like-minded people are giving up their
time to make that possible adds an emotional
element. Riders feel cared for, and they don’t
want to let their helpers down by not finishing.
That engagement with the structure of the event
is strongest when there’s a real possibility of
failure. So if you like that sense of engagement,
you need to seek more difficult rides if you want
to sustain the buzz.
But it’s a non-competitive activity, so in the
absence of published times, the ‘best’ ride might
be done over the hilliest course, without a GPS,
on fixed gear, unsupported, and possibly with
a Carradice saddlebag. Not wearing a helmet
will also get you style points. That’s all in a
in Sutherland was more serious than in rural
France with manned controls every 80km, a
constant passage of other riders, not to mention
the guardian angels on motorbikes. In the event
I only had one night in the tent but it worked
very well and in most of Scotland you can almost
guarantee finding a spot by the side of a minor
road to put up a tent for a few hours.
possible future for most first time PBP riders.
When I finished in 1999 I felt I’d done something
extraordinary, and I wanted to spread the word
about this amazing event where people stood
by the side of the road at all time of the day and
night and cheered you on. My partner Heather
had packed at Tinténiac on the way out, and
vowed she’d finish in 2003. I’d been helped by
her and the organisation when my fork steerer
had broken at about 950km, so I was keen to pay
them both back.
That payback consisted of being there for
Heather if she needed me, and filming the event
instead of going for an improved time. That
plan went awry when I was knocked off by a
motor scooter with 300 km left to ride. Heather
completed the ride on her own, within the time. I
was indebted to the organisation, who informed
Heather what had happened, as she was ahead
at the time, sourced new wheels for me, and
allowed me extra time for the accident and legal
stuff, which took three hours.
In 2007 we decided to improve our filming,
and got an early HD camera, Heather would
follow the ride, filming at controls, and
supporting me, and I carried three cameras. I’d
sent a DVD of the 2003 film to a few people, and
Ivo Miesen had mentioned it to Jean-Gualbert
Faburel, who gave us press passes. That meant
that Heather could go anywhere on the course,
which helped with the filming, as the car was
badged up as official. While I slept 90 minutes in
the back of the car, Heather filmed the chaos of
the controls at their busiest. I was removed from
that chaos, but got to see it while editing. I’m
interested in project management, and that was
fascinating footage of the organisation.
2011 saw me back on the bike, four years older
and broader around the waist. Our friend Dave
had helped film London Edinburgh London 2005
and 2009, and we’d persuaded him to come to
PBP on his motorbike. He had a mixed time in
the weather, especially riding home, but he got
some great footage, as did Heather. I got quite
a bit, although the sound quality left a lot to
be desired. We also used some footage from
the Vedettes start from a camera mounted on
the bike of Lee Millon from Davis Bike Club in
California. That added an extra dimension, and
provided a contrast with my own start footage.
We moved up a gear in filming both LEL 2013
and the gloriously scenic Mile Failte ride in South
West Ireland. We had better cameras, and I was
piloting a motorbike, rather than riding, which
Dave had always wanted me to do. I’d had a
detached retina in 2012, and an operation on the
eye obviously. That meant that I was getting a
cataract, which was getting progressively worse.
I still wanted to ride PBP, and did the qualifiers,
filming those and other qualifying rides,
including some spectacular ones in Northern
Will I do another? Maybe. Daily 200s would be
another way to combine touring and audaxing
which wouldn’t require the same fitness as a
1300 where the minimum is nearly 300km a day.
I’ll think about it. ◆
England. I got round the qualifiers closer to
the limit than I’d like, but fast enough to justify
entering PBP. I then got a date for the cataract
operation. It was emphasised that there was a
long waiting list, so I reckoned I ought to get
it done, and see who it would affect my PBP. I
thought I could limit my efforts, and tested that
resolve on a ride out of Haringey in London.
I had a new camera that record speeds. That
showed me chasing a group down at 25 mph, so
I was kidding no-one, least of all myself.
We arrived at the velodrome in Saint Quentin
to find a short film of extracts from our films
of recent years playing on the big screens
inside and outside the stadium. We’d thought
that Audax Club Parisien might like some
some scenery to show, and we’d done a six
minute edit. I’d had plenty of time to think on
the motorbike journey from Lancashire, and
it occurred to me that we could film the first
Vedettes start, then get back in time for me to
start on my bicycle, and filming up to Mortagne
from the bike. I got permission to do that, which
was nice.
Dave, Heather and myself helped out on the
LEL stall at the check-in, showing the LEL 2103
film, and selling copies of it. That was a great way
to renew old friendships and put faces to names
on social media. In 1999 I’d gone to PBP knowing
only Heather and a few riders who’d done the
same qualifiers. At PBP 2015 I was able to find
someone who I knew or who knew me at every
stop, which makes it very difficult to boil the
story of PBP down to a single thread.
One of the main intentions for the film is to
show the range of participants, and how they
approach their task. We’ve got a tremendous
range of material, from riders expressing their
amazement at the hospitality of the Bretons, to
a discussion between a controller from London
Edinburgh London, and the LEL accountant on
the influence of the restaurant checkout systems
on queue length. We spent a lot of effort getting
better sound this year, and it’s given us no end
of work to do. I’ve got a very complex film going
around in my head, as we can approach it from
so many different angles, hence the search for a
single angle to limit things.
We’ve already made a start with some short
films on Vimeo on Demand, which gives us some
sense of direction. We like the event, and filming
it is an enjoyable undertaking. We’ve made a
film of PBP since 2003 and LEL since 2001, and
every time we dig a bit deeper. It would be nice
to explore all the facets of PBP that we have on
video, but there’s a more immediate demand
for a mainly English-speaking PBP film aimed at
participants and their relatives. And that’s what
we’ll have ready by mid-November.
Damon Peacock
www.aukweb.netArrivée Autumn 2015 No. 130 51

BREVET POPULAIRE
Utterly
Butterleigh 100
New event in the calendar for 2015 —
Utterly Butterleigh 100k audax starting
out from Budleigh Salterton in East
Devon. Just a 20-mile drive from home and only
1300 meters of climbing throughout the event
wouldn’t be too hard. Or would it?
Drove up with fellow CTC Torbay member,
Rob Legg, for the start at nine with about 60
others riding this event which will take us over
Woodbury Common to the north of Exeter, past
Tiverton and Cullompton to go up over the
Blackdown hills to Honiton to return to Budleigh
Salterton.
An accident in the first mile with a couple of
riders going down while crossing a ford; didn’t
look too bad and hopefully they were able to
continue the ride. First climb came in soon after
that to get up to the common. I'm never keen
on a climb so soon after the start — I need a few
miles to warm up — but after sorting out the
gears I joined up with a few others to get down
into Woodbury for the first info control.
A lot of changes have been made recently
to the roads around Exeter and a new town
called Cranbrook has been built. I thought I
knew most of the Devon roads but this lot got
me confused and I ended up going the wrong
way at a roundabout and had to retrace my
route to get back on course. Easy few miles
down through Broadclyst and onto Silverton
Old Post Office Clock at Fairmile
where things really got hard. Usually when I ride
through Silverton heading for Tiverton I use
the main road, but the organisers had found
this little lane that goes out from the village
through Butterleigh to arrive at the control in
Tiverton. Talk about hard, the hill seemed to
go on for ever, just when you thought you had
reached the top it carried on climbing. I thought
I had ridden most of the lanes in Devon, but this
was a new one on me. It’s said that Devon has
more roads than Belgium and I haven’t cycled
all those yet, but I don’t think they have any as
steep as this one.
Rob Legg
Steeply down into Tiverton to the control at
the Great Western Canal centre and a chance
to recover from all the climbing Rob and I had
done. Next section was completely different,
gone were all the hills to be replaced by a set
of rural lanes passing through the picturesque
hamlets of Ash Thomas and Brithem Bottom to
arrive on the old A38 near Cullompton. Using the
bypass to circle the town to head out along the
A373 towards Honiton but, before that, turning
off to visit Broadhembury.
Broadhembury — it’s one those villages
where time seems to have stood still for the last
100 years. If it wasn’t for the cars parked outside
the thatched cottages you would think you
were back in the 1920s. Broadhembury is also
known for something else; the hill you have to
climb to get up to the airfield at Dunkeswell. It
winds up at a gradient of about 1 in 5 and I quite
surprised myself being able to ride the whole
way up. Rob complained that it destroyed his
legs! Past Dunkeswell airfield — it’s up there
that the Americans were stationed during the
war and in the small church there are the names
of those who didn’t come back from the raids
over Germany. Amongst them is a Joe Kennedy,
brother of JFK. If he hadn’t been killed he may
have become the President of the United States,
instead of his younger brother.
Long way down with several turns to come
into Honiton and the control at the ‘Boston Tea
Party’ cafe in the main street. Really didn’t have
time to stay for the party, running near to the
closing time of the control so just get the card
signed and on our way. Gittisham is another of
those picturesque village that are scattered all
The author at Gittisham
Broadhembury
over the county as we pass through on our way
to join the old A30 for Fairmile then turn for the
coast for the finish. Familiar lanes going through
the East Devon villages of Tipton St John and
Otterton to arrive back at the finish control and
the promised cream tea.
Thanks Steve for a very enjoyable ride. You
got the weather right, hardly a cloud in the sky
all day. Hope you put the ride on again next year.
Ribble Blue
Gittisham
Event
Utterly Butterleigh
Date 6 September 2015
Distance
Organiser
Start
Website
100 km (106 km)
Steven Medlock
Budleigh Salterton
Devon
on.fb.me/1G4vw83
52
Arrivée Autumn 2015 No. 130
www.aukweb.net

Paris-Brest-Paris…
or
Pasta, Bloody Pasta…?
Paris-Brest-Paris — a 1200km cycle
ride from Paris to Brest, and back
again, to be completed in under
90 hours. Now organised by Audax
Club Parisien this is the oldest and
most prestigious audax randonneuring event
in the world. First started in 1891 the event
was held every 10 years until the 1930s as a
professional + amateurs’ event, and then,
after World War II, every four years as a purely
amateur event. The 2015 event was the 18th
edition in its current format. To qualify and
enter, the Mad Badgers, Richard and myself,
had ridden a 1000km event in 2014 (to qualify
for pre-registration), and 200km, 300km,
400km, and 600km events in spring 2015.
Sunday August 16th, the start date, was soon
upon us. We stood outside the French National
Velodrome in Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines in
the southern suburbs of Paris in the company
of over 6000 other cyclists. I’ve never seen as
much colourful lycra in one place before. A
blur of brand logos competed for space on
tops and shorts with the national flag colours
of 54 different nationalities. The variety of
bikes nearly matched the ethnic diversity.
Tandems, tridems, three-wheelers, threewheeled
tandems, Bromptons, recumbents,
fold-ups, bullet bikes, steel, aluminium,
titanium, carbon… Cheered on by thousands
of spectators we were set off in waves over
the space of 5 hours from 4pm; giant peletons
of 300 riders at a time; an intermingling, five
abreast snake of riders behind a lead car for
10km before stretching apart into more discreet
groups of adrenaline-fuelled randonneurs.
We’d loaded the route onto our GPSs
for navigation purposes. We needn’t have
bothered. Every junction had arrows pointing
us in the right direction… and we just followed
the cyclists in front… the long, long line of
cyclists, some in groups, others solo. As it got
dark it was like being part of an infinite string of
red fairy lights. Looking back we were dazzled
by the array of super bright LEDs chasing us
down. Our planned “steady away” start was
blown away as usual by over zealousness, fast
roads and some exhilarating peleton riding.
We were sucked along at 28kph with 200km
passing in just over 8 hours despite brief stops
for food. On through the first night feeling
great until the pre-dawn. A strong coffee kept
us going and we pedalled on as the sun rose.
We bagged a couple of hours kip at Tinténiac
at the 365km mark before pedalling into our
second night of riding where the pace slowed
and minds wandered. In the small hours
both of us, while still riding, fell asleep briefly
and experienced “waking up” in the saddle,
fortunately not while on a bend. Whether
asleep for a few seconds or microseconds
we’ll never know but this is definitely the most
dangerous aspect of long-distance audaxes.
Another hour-and-a-half’s fitful sleep curled
up on the floor of a school hall, 88km before
the half way point, did little to shake us out
of our mental lethargy. On, on… at 5am on
pitch-black forest roads we persevered. While
more coffee, Pro Plus tablets and chocolate
coated coffee beans gave us a short lived buzz,
it was the second sunrise which finally induced
wakefulness, if not increased pace.
Richard Leonard
The biggest hill of the ride was a long
gradual up-and-over with a snaking descent to
the River L’Elorn estuary and the pedestrianised
Albert Louppe Bridge over to Brest. Through
mid-morning traffic we weaved our way to the
half way checkpoint, cheered in by big crowds.
We were hungry but were faced again by a lack
of choice of food. Pasta, pasta or pasta seemed
to be the main menu of every checkpoint.
We felt lucky to get rice at one stop. Unlike
UK events you had to pay for all the food and
drink. Not at extortionate prices, but over three
and a half days riding the cost soon mounts up.
While counterbalanced by the relatively cheap
entry fee, with any profits from food no doubt
going back into the communities hosting the
checkpoint, I still prefer free food events… and
will no doubt be unable to face another morsel
of pasta for the foreseeable future!
The support from the French public
throughout the ride was amazing. Outside
every one of the 18 checkpoints the crowds
PARIS–BREST–PARIS 2015
The Mad
Badgers
r i d e P B P
2015
were there to shout
encouragement.
People stood at
junctions and old
boys by the side
of the road in the
countryside. Women
leaned out of first
floor windows and
families with children
gathered outside
their gardens as we
rode past. Every one
of them cheering
and whooping, “Allez
allez, bon courage”. The kids all put out their
hands for high-fives as we rode past. Some had
set up little stalls by the side of the road with
water, juice, coffee, cake and biscuits… for free.
Amazing.
Although the big hill we’d ridden down now
had to be re-climbed it felt easier, no doubt
due to the psychological effect of reaching
halfway and now riding for home. The day
wore on and with it the sleepiness returned.
“You fancy half an hour’s kip?” I asked. “You
bet”, Richard replied. We spotted a grassy
roundabout with a tree to shade us and were
soon snoring. Waking to our half hour alarm
we found ourselves in the company of about 10
French folk, cheering on the never ending line
of riders. They asked us where we were from,
how we were feeling, and why did we do it? We
replied in our best pidgin French. Then, looking
quizzically at me, they asked, “And how old are
YOU?”
Our third night in the saddle brought
culinary redemption when we spotted a
pizzeria. They appeared to take the arrival of
a locust swarm of cyclists ordering les grande
pizzas in their stride. A few hours down the
road disaster struck. Just after midnight my
rear cassette gear cable snapped and the chain
dropped onto the small sprocket. Pedalling
now became exceptionally strenuous,
particularly up any sort of incline. Standing
in the pedals I managed to ride the 5km or so
to the next checkpoint only to find that there
was no mechanic. Despite fuddled brains we
managed to get the chain fixed onto one of the
larger sprockets by lashing the broken cable
to my back rack. I managed to “single speed”
the 26km to the next checkpoint where, to my
relief, a mechanic replaced the offending cable
in 20 minutes. Another very welcome threehours
sleep at Tinténiac at the 865km mark
revitalised us.
Another day wheeled past. The
distances between checkpoints
www.aukweb.net Arrivée Autumn 2015 No. 130 53

OFFICIAL NEWS
Phil & Richard at the finish
visited on the way out had somehow grown.
“Are we there yet?” became an unuttered
mantra. The focus on pain from ass bones
was occasionally dispelled when we roused
ourselves to jump on the back of peletons,
and be pulled along by the train. A couple
of close calls on roundabouts highlighted
the need for complete focus on the riders’
wheels in front and to the sides. Any aberrant
deviation in line could result in a major pile
up. Such concentration and the sudden high
accelerations needed to hold the line kept
us awake better than the cocktail of caffeine
we’d been taking. However, at 4am, having
reached the penultimate checkpoint with 65km
to go, and with eight hours in which to do it,
we grabbed an hour and a half’s sleep on a
gymnasium floor. Despite the deep sleep of
the well-knackered I still woke up 10 seconds
before my watch alarm went off. Weird how the
mind is not going to let you miss the looming
deadline of the big event of your year.
Six hours to ride 64km. P*ss-easy… or so
it should have been. We’d aimed to finish by
9am when there’d be a decent crowd to cheer
us in. However, with 30km to go, just as it
started to rain heavily for the first time on the
ride, Richard’s quad finally gave up in protest
at the ludicrous distance we’d ridden. Unable
to put any power through it he laboured up
the often steep hills pedalling with one leg!
The last 20km seemed to be stuck in a time
warp with the 5km markers taking an age to
materialise. At last, we saw the velodrome, and
88 hours and 15 minutes after our grand depart
we rolled over the finish line to the cheers of
hundreds of bedraggled onlookers. PBP was in
the bag…our third mega-ride in three years.
“Never again”, we agreed as we shook hands
and patted each other on the back. Knackered
but euphoric, we were welcomed into the
velodrome for the post event meal. You
guessed it… bloody pasta!
Phil Hodgson & Richard
Leonard – The Mad Badgers
Annual Report and Agenda for AGM 2015
This is the second year of postal voting and the second year that we
have produced a combined ‘Annual Report and AGM Agenda’ document
circulated along with the Annual Accounts with the voting ballots by email
and by post to members who have asked for a printed ballot.
The annual review section of the report is reproduced below along with
the Agenda for AGM2015. The full Annual Report with individual directors
reports and details of the Accounts, and AGM resolutions and nominations
for election as director can be downloaded from the ‘Official’ page of the
AUK website.
Paul Stewart
Secretary, Audax UK
Annual Report 2014-2015
Audax UK is the long distance cycling association for the UK, and is the
regulating body for Audax rides held under the rules developed by Audax
Club Parisien and developed further by Audax UK itself. It is at the same
time a membership club for cyclists enthused by the concept of long
distance riding.
Audax UK is a company limited by guarantee under UK company law,
governed by a Board of Directors elected by and from the membership at
the Annual General Meeting. The Board reports back to the membership
at the AGM, and this is their report for 2014-15.
Summary
A year in which the quadrennial Paris-Brest-Paris 1200 km Randonnee
takes place and against a background of continuing high interest in the UK
in sport cycling has resulted in a high level of activity:
• 533 events organised Audax UK calendar events, of which 102 were
qualifying rides for PBP;
• a record number of 594 riders achieving a Super Randonneur series
of rides;
• 494 UK riders taking part in PBP, 388 provisionally recording a
successful ride;
• a continued growth of interest in self-organised ‘DIY’ rides, with a
distinct move towards the use of GPS devices for verification;
• an increase in membership to around 6,500.
• an excellent, well-supported National 400 event in Scotland
organised by CTC Highland.
During the year the Board has
• developed and introduced a policy on the participation of young
people and vulnerable adults in events;
• developed and populated a new and more attractive front end to
the website providing news and information to members and nonmembers
alike;
• developed new regulations designed to facilitate DIY rides by GPS
for the approval of the AGM;
• begun a review of AUK’s overall strategy;
• developed and introduced new financial reports for the Board to
better understand AUK’s finances, and to lay the foundations for a
budgetary process in the future;
• continued the essential, on-going background work of guiding
organisers and members on the regulations, and acting as
adjudicator on disputes;
• made a significant donation to support AUK member Steve
Abraham’s attempt to break the long standing annual cycling
mileage record, and raised more money through a direct appeal to
members and an ongoing donations scheme linked to online event
entries;
• Reviewed the way that honoraria are paid to directors and
delegates so that there is greater understanding of and
transparency around the costs involved;
• acted to develop a good working relationship with the organisers
of London-Edinburgh-London 2017;
• appointed a Finance Director, Paul Salmons, who has overseen a
radical overhaul of how our accounts are presented. Some details
of his work will be apparent elsewhere in this document. Paul is
standing formally for election to the post.
• Considered the CV’s of several very suitable candidates to become
non-executive directors and were disappointed to note that we
could only take on a maximum of three of them. Chris Boulton,
Lucy McTaggart, and John Sabine were appointed, and of these
Chris and John are standing for election;
• Agreed to appoint the Chair to the vacant ACP correspondent /
LRM representative post, thus removing a director position.
The loss of the services of the Communications director early in the
year due to pressures in his ‘day job’ and the need to prepare for the
2017 London-Edinburgh-London event significantly affected the Board’s
54
Arrivée Autumn 2015 No. 130
www.aukweb.net

OFFICIAL NEWS
capabilities, and some projects progressed more slowly than had been
planned as a result. The implementation of an upgraded back office
system was particularly affected by this, while the introduction of a more
graphical and content-rich public facing front-end to the website has been
delayed.
Any major revision of the Articles of Association to conform with
modern standards may need to wait until any strategy development is
completed, although minor changes such as the introduction of full proxy
voting as required by law, and/or the removal of AGM standing orders to
stand-alone regulations would be fairly simple and likely to be feasible.
IN MORE DETAIL
Events
The high level of interest in prestige events shown in the demand for
LEL in 2013 continued this year with unprecedented numbers tackling
PBP and the associated qualifying rides. Entries and validations were up
8.7%, and a record 594 riders achieved a Super Randonneur series. A new
process of homologation for BRM events eliminated delays in getting
brevet numbers back from Paris and on to the website. Subject to final
validation, out of 494 entrants, 388 riders completed PBP successfully.
The total number of events on the calendar remained at about the
same level as 2014., but many more of these were, inevitably in a PBP year,
internationally recognised BRM events. There was a good geographical
spread of these events across the UK. The number of BRM events planned
for 2016 is the highest for any non-PBP year, perhaps boosted by the
reduction in the validation fee.
While the number of permanent events and DIY’s ridden in 2014-15
remains remarkably similar, at around 6650, there has been a shift away
from 100km rides towards BR’s. The overall levelling off continues a trend
from the previous year, after ten years’ continuous growth. There was also
an increase in 50km hilly events, alongside some significantly longer hilly
rides, with distances up to 1,300km and with up 18 AAA points!
Subject to AGM approval, a new type of event, a ‘Trace Nationale’ or
Easter Trail, a team event with a more relaxed format that an Arrow, will be
introduced for Easter 2016.
Membership
Membership continues to show growth, with 1369 members enrolled
during the year, bringing the total to 6581 at the beginning of October. Of
the current membership, males outnumber females by a ratio of 6.5:1, and
we are also rather an old organisation with an average age of around 52.
More recent joiners, though, show a lower average age of around 41.
Regulations
As Audax riders turn increasingly to technology, the Board has been
working to try and refine the way in which events are measured, both in
terms of validating distances and validating completed rides.
Changes in Google maps, which had been the basis of ride planning
for some time, caused problems, and we currently have no entirely
satisfactory distance measuring tool which can be recommended to riders
and organisers. This is not a simple problem and options are continuing to
be explored as this report is being written.
This has particularly impacted DIY Permanents which now represent
the majority of routes planned under AUK auspices. To this end a proposal
is before the AGM to allow for the (re)introduction of ‘mandatory’ routing
within AUK, as adopted by other audax organisations. This will allow for
a simpler approach for route planning and validation, and for the greater
use of GPS devices in particular for DIY/Permanents.
To be fully satisfactory we still need to identify a suitable tool to verify
a submitted track against a defined Audax route. We are a long way from
solving this at the moment, but the proposal before the AGM provides
the regulatory basis to support these developments. The proposal to
introduce an ‘Easter Trace’ event next year also requires regulations, which
are also before the AGM.
Communications
A ‘front end’ to the website, building on the work done by Danial Webb,
has been populated with content designed to attract new riders and
members as well as to provide a gateway into the usual website services.
Having a Communications director next year will bring an increased
focus on how we communicate with members, and ideas have already
been briefly debated. We recognise the need to do much better in this
area, which will bring the Board a better understanding of our members
and in turn allow us to keep members in touch with what the Board is
doing.
AUK Trophies
After several years in the post, Pam Pilbeam, AUK Vice President, retired
as Trophy Custodian in 2013 and since then the post has remained empty
despite being advertised to members. Managing the trophies which
collectively have a formidable physical presence involves a significant
effort and cost for those involved. Consequentially the traditional ‘cabinet’
of Trophies has been retired and replaced with smaller awards that can
be ordered pre-engraved for presentation at the Annual Reunion dinner.
This approach has other benefits though, in that it allows for greater
flexibility in the range of awards that can be made and provides a greater
balance between the so called ‘competitive’ trophies, i.e., those for riding
the furthest on a solo, tandem, trike, etc. and other awards for merit
and annual achievement that might be made. Some members would go
further, and do away with the competitive awards completely, feeling that
it is incongruous that Audax UK offers such awards at all. Other members
would argue that there is a good case to recognise the highest seasonal
achievement of members and meritorious achievement in various areas of
our activities. That debate continues. Overall though, the Board feels the
move to the new award format is a very positive development. The cabinet
of Cups and Shields of long standing are not lost though, as the National
Cycling Museum at Llandrindod Wells has graciously offered to provide a
permanent home and display for them. Members and the general public
will be able to see them when visiting the museum rather than them being
hidden for 361 days of each year in the darkness of a storage depot under a
railway arch in Halifax.
Governance and People
Oliver Iles has taken over from Tony Greenwood on brevet card
production. Tony has worked extremely hard to provide an efficient
brevet card service and has also undertaken work in the development of
our financial reporting. He has also stood down as Events Delegate, and
Geoff Cleaver takes over those duties. Mike Wigley’s membership team of
Findlay Watt, Peter Gawthorne and Allan Taylor has two new delegates,
Peter Davis and Richard Jennings, who are handling the task of sending
out welcome packs to new members. We welcome those members taking
on new responsibilities, are grateful to all those continuing in post, and
offer our thanks to those who have stepped down.
On the Board, Danial Webb stepped down from his key role as
Communications Director, and we were left with a vacancy which it did
not prove possible to fill during the year. Danial’s enthusiasm and hard
work in giving AUK a more coherent and professional look will stand us in
good stead for the future.
Following changes at last year’s AGM, and subsequent vacancies, the
Board appointed Paul Salmons as Finance Director, and Lucy McTaggart,
John Sabine and Chris Boulton as non-executive Directors. A new
departure for AUK, the presence on the Board of Directors without specific
responsibility have brought a wider perspective to debates. The nonexecutives
have also been able to pick up some tasks following Danial’s
departure, and to support some wider and longer-term issues such as the
development of AUK’s strategy for the coming years.
We were sorry that Lucy Mctaggart had to withdraw from her nonexecutive
director duties for her own reasons. Lucy is a person of some
experience in long distance cycling with a background that made her
eminently suitable for this role. We thank her for the contribution she
made and wish her well for the future.
Your Vote
This year’s AGM is the second at which members not attending the AGM
are able to cast votes on business determined there. If you’re not coming
to the Reunion weekend of which the AGM forms a part or not coming
to just the AGM itself, then please take some time to study the agenda
items, consider the issues carefully, and exercise your influence by casting
your votes as you think fit, in the interests of AUK. For members to get
more information about Board discussions and the papers that inform our
www.aukweb.netArrivée Autumn 2015 No. 130 55

OFFICIAL NEWS
decisions, minutes and papers are available on the “Official” section of the
AUK website for all to see. There is also much related discussion on the
AUK online forum at forum.audax.uk
Development of the AGM and Reunion
AGM2014 saw the introduction of postal voting. This had a major
impact on the decision making process at AUK, as about 80% of the votes
were cast this way, The role of the AGM has also changed in that it is no
longer the sole or even most significant channel for debate. To this end a
proposal has been presented to the AGM which facilitates separation of
the Annual Reunion and the AGM. This will provide space at the Annual
Reunion for a less formal meeting which can be used to present and
discuss policy which can then be developed and voted on at an AGM held
later in the year. This will also relieve the pressure on AUK officers to deliver
the Annual Report and AGM in the weeks following the end of season.
We hope to kick this process off this year, time and energy allowing,
with an informal meeting after the AGM, and to that end a short discussion
paper can be found time in Appendix 2 of annual report. Some members
ask, “what is AUK for?”, “Why does AUK do things differently to other
audaxing organisations?”, and so on. Doubtless these questions will
continue to be asked but this is a start towards understanding alternate
viewpoints on matters which underpin AUKs development.
This year has seen wider use of the AUK forum in developing and
refining proposals to be presented to the AGM but it is still early days for
this, and we continue to look for way to engage the membership. The
closed nature of the AUK forum is recognised - it is accessible only to
‘logged in’ AUK members – and whilst this was very much intended when
the forum was launched we should perhaps now look to make the forum
more accessible, possibly opening it to non-members and/or integrating it
with the public facing website which will naturally provide a more flexible
and effective method publishing information about AUK operations and
activities to all.
Financial
During the year the accounting function within Audax UK has
undergone a review and changes to some systems and functions.
• The accounts are now produced using professional accountancy
software (Sage On-Line)
• The accounts are produced by a paid book-keeper who is an Audax
UK member;
• The Financial Director role is now more involved in strategic
financial development of the organisation with an overseeing and
reviewing role for the accounting function.
The Finance Director will present the accounts, which are separate to
this report, to the AGM. In brief, trading for the twelve months from 1st
September 2014 to 31st August 2015 shows a surplus before tax and interest
of £7,945 (£31,496 in 2014), with a total revenue of £119,413 (£113,985 in 2014),
direct expenditure of £83,952 (£70,284 in 2014) and overheads of £27,245
(£12,205 in 2014). At the end of August 2015 AUK had £250,339 in the bank.
The coming year
The Board is acutely conscious of the lack of progress on the back-end
functions of the website, which will need to be given greater attention in
the coming year. This is a major project, and although we have sufficient
capital available, will require manpower and skills resources beyond
those available within the organisation, and the proper creation and
management of the project will be crucial.
The Board will at the same time look at how AUK should manage the IT
systems so crucial to our operations in the future. We have been extremely
lucky to have had dedicated people to take AUK this far, but we are at the
point where new solutions are needed.
As mentioned above, with a new Communications Director in place, we
also expect to be spending time on improving our understanding of our
membership and riders, and improving our communications with them.
...and of course, the normal operations of AUK, in support of the many
events run under our regulations, has to continue.
Acknowledgements
Many people contribute to the work and success of Audax UK; the
delegates who manage membership, validation and all the other back
office functions; the Arrivée editors and contributors; organisers and all
the support teams who make the events possible and enjoyable.
All our volunteers are vital to AUK’s operations, and it would be easy to
take their efforts behind the scenes for granted. We are fortunate to have
them, and their continuing dedication and hard work deserve our thanks.
Chris Crossland
Chair, on behalf of the AUK Board
Agenda for the Audax UK
Long Distance Cyclists’ Association
AGM 2015
To be held at the Holiday Inn, Peterborough West
on 14 th November 2015 commencing at 2:00pm
1. To record the names of those present at this meeting.
2. To record apologies for absence.
3. To approve the minutes of the last AGMt as a true record of that
meeting. (The minutes were published in Arrivée, Winter 2015 and
are on the AUK website and are reproduced in Appendix 1 of the
Annual Report)
4. Matters arising from the last meeting (AGM 2014).
5. To approve the Annual Report.
6. To approve the Annual Accounts and the Finance Director’s
recommendations.
7. To consider special resolutions
i. Amendment to AUK Regulation Appendix 7.1 regarding riding
other organised events
ii. Amendment to AUK Regulation Appendix 7.3.1 for the ‘Easter
Trail’ event
iii. Amendment to AUK Regulation Appendix 9.8.2 to allow for
events with ‘Mandatory’ routes.
iv. Amendment to AUK Regulation 12.1 regarding the validation
of Brevets for EAPC riders on Brevet Populaire events.
v. Amendment to AUK Company Articles to facilitate scheduling
the AUK AGM separately from the Annual Reunion Weekend.
8. Election of Directors
i. Finance Director, Candidates: Paul Salmons
ii. Communications Director, Candidates: Ged Lennox
iii. Non-Executive Director (2 positions), Candidates: Chris
Boulton, Dave Minter, John Sabine
9. Date and venue of next meeting
10. Close of meeting
56
Arrivée Autumn 2015 No. 130
www.aukweb.net

AUK CALENDAR
Calendar key
A(1)
B
BD
DIY
R
free/cheap accommodation, 1 night
very basic – no halls/beds, etc
baggage drop
own route and controls, cards by post
free or cheap refreshments at start
and/or finish
showers
sleeping facilities on route
S
Z
175 entries close at 175 riders
YH
youth hostel at/near start
C
camping at or near the start
F
some free food and/or drink on ride
L
left luggage facilities at start
P
free or cheap motor parking at start
T
toilets at start
M
mudguards required
X
some very basic controls (eg service
stations)
(14/4) entries close 14th April
100 17 Oct Chailey, East Sussex Mid Sussex Hilly
08:30 Sat BP 108km 1600m AAA1.5 £5.50 F L P R T 40 (10/10) 12.5-25kph
Grimpeurs du Sud
malinseastg@tiscali.co.uk
100 17 Oct Chailey, East Sussex Mid Sussex Hillier
08:30 Sat BP 108km 2012m AAA2 £5.50 F L P R T 40 (12/10) 12.5-25kph
San Fairy Ann CC
malinseastg@tiscali.co.uk
Martin Malins, 4 North Common Weybridge Surrey KT13 9DN
200 17 Oct Corwen, N. Wales The Clwydian
08:00 Sat BR 212km 3200m AAA3.25 [3488m] £5.00 P R T 50 15-30kph
Chester & N Wales CTC
vickypayne8@hotmail.com
130 17 Oct Corwen, N. Wales The Clwyd Gate
08:30 Sat BP 138km 2250m AAA2.25 £5.00 P R T 50 12.5-25kph
Chester & N Wales CTC
vickypayne8@hotmail.com
60 17 Oct Corwen, N. Wales 'The Bala Mini- Bash'
09:00 Sat BP £5.00 P R T 50 12.5-25kph
Chester & N Wales CTC 01745 560892 vickypayne8@hotmail.com
Vicky Payne, Bryn Celyn Penyffordd Holywell Flintshire CH8 9HH
200 17 Oct Tewkesbury Mr. Pickwick's Autumnal Outing
07:30 Sat BR 206km 2350m £5.00 c l p r t nm 100 15-25kph
BlackSheep CC 01684 292 390 blacksheepaudax@gmail.com
ROA 25000
Mark Rigby, 16 Battle Road Tewkesbury Park Tewkesbury GL20 5TZ
150 17 Oct Trowell, West of Nottingham An Autumn day out.
08:15 Sat BP 153km 1135m £7.00 L P R T(80) 15-30kph
Updated Nottinghamshire CTC terrydpscott@hotmail.com
Terry Scott, 21 Winterbourne Drive Stapleford Nottingham Notts NG9 8NH
100 18 Oct Bynea, Llanelli Wesley May Memorial Super Grimpeur
09:00 Sun BP 102km 2400m AAA2.5 [2931m] £4.50 G F L P R T 30 (17/10) 10-25kph
Swansea DA
jb@reynoldston.com
John Bastiani, The Brambles Reynoldston Swansea West Glamorgan SA3 1AA
100 18 Oct Bynea, Llanelli Around The Gwendraeth
9.:00 Sun BP 990m £6.00 G F L P R T 30 (17/10) 15-30kph
Swansea DA
01792391492 jb@reynoldston.com
John Bastiani, The Brambles Reynoldston Swansea SA3 1AA
200 18 Oct Carlton Colville,Lowestoft, Suffolk The Silly Suffolk
08:00 Sun BR £5.00 FRTP 15-30kph
VC Baracchi
johntommo6@btinternet.com
160 18 Oct Carlton Colville,Lowestoft, Suffolk The Silly Suffolk
09:00 Sun BP £5.00 FRTP 15-30kph
VC Baracchi
johntommo6@btinternet.com
John Thompson, 136 Dell Road Oulton Broad Lowestoft Suffolk NR33 9NT
100 25 Oct Bovey Tracey The Dartmoor Devil @ 9
09:00 Sun BP 106km 2500m AAA2.5 £8.00 F P R T 125 (20/10) 12.5-25kph
CTC Devon 01626 833 749 kevin.hindstreet@btinternet.com
100 25 Oct Bovey Tracey The Dartmoor Devil @ 8
08:00 Sun BP 106km 2500m AAA2.5 £8.00 F P R T 125 (20/10) 12.5-25kph
CTC Devon 01626 833 749 kevin.hindstreet@btinternet.com
ROA 4000
Kevin Presland, Hind Street House Hind Street Bovey Tracey Devon TQ13 9HT
110 25 Oct Earlswood, nr Solihull We happy few
09:00 Sun BP 113km 850m £6.00 15-30kph
Midland C & AC
Jim Lee, 107 Shustoke Road Solihull West Midlands B91 2QR
100 25 Oct Stevenage (Fairlands), SG2 0BL Emitremmus Desrever 21
10:00 Sun BP 1019m £7.00 L P R T (19/10; 360) 12.5-28kph
Stevenage & N Herts CTC 0793 968 7509 jim@stevenagectc.org.uk
67 25 Oct Stevenage (Fairlands), SG2 0BL Emitremmus Lite
10:30 Sun BP 643m £7.00 L P R T (19/10; 100) 10-20kph
Stevenage & N Herts CTC 0793 968 7509 jim@stevenagectc.org.uk
ROA 5000
Jim Brown, Emitremmus c/o 5 Malvern Close STEVENAGE Hertfordshire SG2 8UH
110 31 Oct Bolsover Colourful Clumber
09:00 Sat BP 111km £5.00 L P R T (100) 12.5-30kph
Bolsover & District CC 01246 825 351 matt.connley@talktalk.net
ROA 5000
Matt Connley, 7 Eskdale Close Bolsover Chesterfield S44 6RL
200 31 Oct Coryton, NW Cardiff Transporter 200
07:00 Sat BR 202km £8.00 YH L P R T 50 15-30kph
Cardiff Byways CC 02920 341768 evansrichardd@googlemail.com
ROA 5000
Richard Evans, 73 Conway Road Cardiff CF11 9NW
200 31 Oct Galashiels The Long Dark Teatime of The Soul
08:00 Sat BR 2000m £8.00 P,R,T 15-30kph
Updated Audax Ecosse 01896 758 181 pedaller1@sky.com
ROA 10000
Lucy McTaggart, 30 Victoria St. Galashiels Scottish Borders TD1 1HL
100 01 Nov Connor Downs W.I. Hall, NE of Hayle The Celtic Coastal
09:30 Sun BP 104km 1350m £5.00 C L P R T 12.5-30kph
Audax Kernow
60 01 Nov Connor Downs W.I. Hall, NE of Hayle Celtic Canter
10:00 Sun BP 750m £5.00 C L P R T 8-30kph
Audax Kernow
Chris Rayne, 1 Reawla Lane Camborne Cornwall TR27 5HQ
100 01 Nov Ruislip Lido Cafe, Ruislip Lido, London Steam Ride: Chinnor Scenic
08:30 Sun BP £6.00 T YH R NM L 12.5-30kph
Updated Audax Club Hackney timsollesse@gmail.com
200 01 Nov Woody Bay, Ruislip Lido, London Steam Ride : The Chilterns Pub Crawl
08:15 Sun BR 3000m AAA3 £8.00 R L P T YH 14.3-30kph
Updated Audax Club Hackney timsollesse@gmail.com
Tim Sollesse Tim Sollesse, 59 Lynwood Road Ealing W5 1JG
200 07 Nov Cholsey, E of Didcot Upper Thames
07:30 Sat BR 212km 1900m [1943m] £6.00 L P R T M 15-30kph
Thames Valley Audax 01491 651 284 philipmdyson@btinternet.com
Phil Dyson, 25 Papist Way Cholsey Wallingford Oxon OX10 9LL
200 07 Nov Tewkesbury Mr. Pickwick's Cymraeg Cyrch
07:30 Sat BR 209km 2200m £5.00 c p r t nm 100 15-25kph
Updated BlackSheep CC 01684 292 390 blacksheepaudax@gmail.com
ROA 25000
Mark Rigby, 16 Battle Road Tewkesbury Park Tewkesbury GL20 5TZ
100 08 Nov Carlton Colville, nr Lowestoft, Suffolk The Waveney Wander
09:00 Sun BP £5.00 LPRT 15-30kph
VC Baracchi
johntommo6@btinternet.com
John Thompson, 136 Dell Road Oulton Broad Lowestoft Suffolk NR33 9NT
200 08 Nov Cheadle, Stockport Eureka!
08:00 Sun BR 210km 800m £6.00 P R T M 60 15-30kph
Peak Audax
hamhort84@talktalk.net
160 08 Nov Cheadle, Stockport Cheshire Safari
08:30 Sun BP 570m £6.00 P R T M 60 15-25kph
Peak Audax
hamhort84@talktalk.net
Peter Hammond, 3 Dorac Avenue Heald Green Cheadle Stockport Cheshire SK8 3NZ
100 08 Nov Petworth, W Sussex The Petworth 100 (formerly The Spordax 100)
08:30 Sun BP 103km 1350m £8.00 F P T 15-30kph
Updated Anton Brown anton.brown@btconnect.com
Anton Brown, 19 Northlands Avenue Haywards Heath West Sussex RH16 3RT
200 13 Nov Anywhere, to AUK Annual Dinner Dinner Dart
::::: Fri BR £5 DIY 14.3-30kph
Audax UK 0161 449 9309
ROA 25000
Sheila Simpson, 33 Hawk Green Road Hawk Green Marple SK6 7HR
110 14 Nov Alfreton Prison Run
09:00 Sat BP 113km 1000m £5.00 P L R 12-30kph
Alfreton CTC
bandj.smith@sky.com
Brian Smith, 10 The Crescent Clay Cross Chesterfield S45 9EH
200 14 Nov AUK Annual Dinner, Peterborough After Dinner Dart
::::: Sat BR £5 DIY 14.3-30kph
Audax UK 0161 449 9309
ROA 25000
Sheila Simpson, 33 Hawk Green Road Hawk Green Marple SK6 7HR
100 14 Nov Catherington, near Portsmouth Le Bois Ocaud d'Automne 100
09:00 Sat BP 106km 1600m AAA1.5 £5.00 F L P R T 14.3-30kph
Hantspol CC
jondse@ntlworld.com
Jonathan Ellis, 42 Wessex Road Waterlooville Hampshire PO8 0HS
160 14 Nov Swaffham, Community Centre Swaffham CLX
08:00 Sat BP 163km £6.00 F G L M P R T 15-30kph
CC Breckland
01760722800 iceniaudax@gmail.com
www.aukweb.netArrivée Autumn 2015 No. 130 57

AUK CALENDAR
100 14 Nov Swaffham Community Centre Swaffham QE2
09:00 Sat BP 106km £6.00 G P R T 15-30kph
Jonathan Reed
iceniaudax@gmail.com
Jonathan Reed, Swaffham Community Centre The Campingland Swaffham PE377RD
100 28 Nov Cranbrook, Exeter Breakfast in Bampton
09:00 Sat BP £5.00 T NM 10-30kph
Updated Exeter Whs shbritton@outlook.com
Sarah Britton, 17 Copse Close Lane Cranbrook Devon EX5 7AP
100 29 Nov Hailsham leisure centre, E Sussex Bob McHardys Memorial Meander
09:00 Sun BP 992m £8.00 P R (29/11) 500 15-30kph
Mark Fairweather
Mark Fairweather, 310 Coast Road Pevensey Bay East Sussex BN24 6NU
200 05 Dec Beaconsfield, Buckinghamshire, HP9 2SE The South of Bucks Winter
Warmer
08:00 Sat BR 207km 1100m [1290m] £5.00 YH A1 G L P T S X (100) 15-30kph
Terry Lister
lister4cycling@btinternet.com
Terry Lister, 4 Abbey Walk Great Missenden Bucks HP16 0AY
200 05 Dec Coryton, NW Cardiff Monmouthshire Meander
07:30 Sat BR 204km £8.00 YH L P R T 50 15-25kph
Cardiff Byways
tonypember@gmail.com
Tony Pember, 9 Donald Street Nelson Treharris CF46 6EB
200 05 Dec Tamworth, Pretty Pigs PH Tinsel and Lanes
08:00 Sat BR 211km 2060m £7.00 P R T 60 15-30kph
Geoff Cleaver
audaxgeoff@gmail.com
ROA 10000
Geoffrey Cleaver, 43 Goodere Drive Polesworth Tamworth Staffordshire B78 1BY
100 05 Dec Tamworth, Pretty Pigs PH Flowers to Furnace
09:00 Sat BP 104km 940m £7 P R T 50 12-30kph
Geoff Cleaver
audaxgeoff@gmail.com
ROA 10000
Geoff Cleaver, 43 Goodere Drive Polesworth Tamworth B78 1BY
200 05 Dec Tewkesbury Kings, Castles, Priests & Churches.
07:30 Sat BR 202km 2550m AAA1.75 [1800m] £6.00 f l p r t nm 100 15-25kph
Updated BlackSheep CC 01684 292 390 blacksheepaudax@gmail.com
ROA 25000
Mark Rigby, 16 Battle Road Tewkesbury Park Tewkesbury GL20 5TZ
50 06 Dec Carharrack, Cornwall Ed's Mince Pie & Mulled Wine 50
10:00 Sun BP £3.50 F L P R T (85) 10-25kph
Audax Kernow
01326 373421 angells@talktalk.net
Eddie Angell, 14 Belhay Penryn Cornwall TR10 8DF
200 12 Dec Prees Heath, nr Whitchurch A Brevet upon St Lucy's Eve
08:00 Sat BR 208km £3.00 X P R T 14.3-25kph
Peak Audax CTC
perrin_john@sky.com
John Perrin, 20 Princes Way Macclesfield Cheshire SK11 8UB
200 20 Dec Bredbury, Stockport Winter Solstice
08:30 Sun BR 202km 700m £5.00 P R T 60 15-30kph
Peak Audax CTC 01457 870 421 mike@PeakAudax.co.uk
ROA 10000
Mike Wigley, Higher Grange Fm Millcroft Lane Delph Saddleworth OL3 5UX
200 20 Dec Great Bromley, nr Colchester Santa Special
08:00 Sun BR 204km 1142m £6.50 L P R T 15-30kph
CTC Suffolk 07922772001
Andy Terry, The Nook Colchester Road Great Bromley Essex CO7 7TN
200 02 Jan Oxford The Poor Student
08:00 Sat BRM 206km 1800m £6.00 YH P X 15-30kph
Pat Hurt
07887 87 61 62 iddu.audax@gmail.com
Pat Hurt, 10 Newbury Road Lambourn RG17 7LL
200 02 Jan Tewkesbury Mr. Pickwick's January Sale
07:00 Sat BR 201km 2100m AAA1.5 [1500m] £1.0 c p r t nm 100 15-25kph
BlackSheep CC
blacksheepaudax@gmail.com
ROA 25000
Mark Rigby, 16 Battle Road Tewkesbury Park Tewkesbury GL20 5TZ
100 03 Jan Thorne, Nr Doncaster Goodbye Christmas Yorkshire Pudding
09:00 Sun BP 103km 102m [71m] £4.00 P R T (100) 15-30kph
VC 167
les.bauchop@gmail.com
Les Bauchop, 2a Westbourne Grove Pickering North Yorkshire YO18 8AW
100 09 Jan Bradwell, nr Hope, Peak District Hopey New Year
09:00 Sat BP 104km 1750m AAA1.75 £6.00 YH C P R T 100 10-30kph
David Darricott
01433 621 531 ddarricott@aol.com
David Darricott, 9 Gore Lane Bradwell Hope Valley Derbyshire S33 9HT
100 10 Jan Kings Worthy, Winchester Watership Down
09:30 Sun BP 108km 1235m £6.00 L F P R T M 140 14-28kph
Winchester CTC
coles.sue@gmail.com
ROA 5000
Sue Coles, 7 Ruffield Close Winchester SO22 5JL
200 16 Jan Chalfont St Peter The Willy Warmer
08:00 Sat BR 209km £7.00 L P R T M 75 G 15-30kph
Updated Willesden CC paudax@gmail.com
Paul Stewart, 25 Devonshire Gardens Chiswick London W4 3TN
100 23 Jan Aztec West, Bristol Jack and Grace Cotton Memorial 100km
09:00 Sat BP 104km £5.00 P R T 15-30kph
Audax Club Bristol
info@audaxclubbristol.co.uk
Paul Rainbow, 49 Quarrington Road Horfield Bristol Avon BS7 9PJ
200 23 Jan Cardiff Gate Dr. Foster's Winter Warmer
07:00 Sat BR 201km £6.00 YH L P R T 15-30kph
Cardiff Byways CC
tonypember@gmail.com
Tony Pember, 9 Donald Street Nelson Treharris CF46 6EB
200 24 Jan Cheadle, Stockport A Mere Two Hundred
08:00 Sun BR 201km 800m £7.00 P R T 80 15-30kph
Peak Audax
150 24 Jan Cheadle, Stockport A Mere Century
08:30 Sun BP 155km 600m £6.00 P R T 60 15-25kph
Peak Audax
David Colley, 5 Huncoat Avenue Heaton Chapel Stockport SK4 5HN
100 30 Jan Hailsham Hills and Mills
09:00 Sat BP 105km 1950m AAA2 £6.00 R F P 85 14-25kph
Andy Seviour
Andy Seviour, 13 Blacksmiths Copse Hailsham East Sussex BN27 3XB
150 31 Jan Ashton Keynes, Cirencester Windrush Winter Warm Down 150
08:00 Sun BP 155km [650m] £5.00 L F P R T 15-30kph
Corinium CC
01285 659 515 peter@quernsgate.co.uk
100 31 Jan Ashton Keynes, Cirencester Windrush Winter Warm-up 100
09:00 Sun BP 108km 650m £5.00 L F P R T 14-25kph
Corinium CC
01285 659 515 peter@quernsgate.co.uk
ROA 5000
Peter Holden, 39 Querns Lane Cirencester GL7 1RL
200 06 Feb Alfreton Straight on at Rosie's
08:00 Sat BR 1190m £6.00 L P R T 15-30kph
Alfreton CTC
tomandsuefox@yahoo.co.uk
ROA 10000
Tom Fox, 180 Nottingham Road Alfreton Derbyshire DE55 7FP
200 06 Feb Tewkesbury Sam Weller's day trip to Wochma
07:30 Sat BRM 203km 2300m [2700m] £5.00 c p r nm t 100 15-25kph
BlackSheep CC 01684 292 390 blacksheepaudax@gmail.com
ROA 25000
Mark Rigby, 16 Battle Road Tewkesbury Park Tewkesbury GL20 5TZ
100 13 Feb Dial Post, West Sussex Worthing Winter Warmer
09:00 Sat BP 104km £5.00 FPRT 15-30kph
Worthing Excelsior CC 01903 240 280
Mick Irons, 36 Phrosso Road Worthing West Sussex BN11 5SL
100 14 Feb Chippenham Flapjack
09:00 Sun BP 102km £7.00 F P R T M 150 15-24kph
Chip. & Dist. Whs. 01225 708449
Eric Fletcher, 174 Littleworth Lane Whitley Melksham Wiltshire SN12 8RE
100 14 Feb Leicester Rutland and Beyond
08:30 Sun BP 102km 1290m £4.00 F L P R S T 100 12-30kph
Leic. Forest CC
kimbo44@hotmail.com
ROA 1000
Kim Suffolk, 73 Colby Road Thurmaston Leicester LE4 8LG
200 20 Feb Aylesbury,Buckinghamshire, HP20 1UR Chiltern Grit 200
09:00 Sat BR 1744m £7.00 A G P X R T (100) 15-30kph
Aylesbury CC
07941 404613 htjoshua55@gmail.com
100 20 Feb Aylesbury,Buckinghamshire, HP20 1UR Chiltern Grit 100
09:30 Sat BP 754m £7.00 A G P X R T (100) 15-30kph
Aylesbury CC
htjoshua55@gmail.com
Jocelyn Chappell, 112 Walton Way Aylesbury Buckinghamshire HP21 7JR
200 20 Feb Cardiff Gate Malmesbury Mash
07:00 Sat BR 1000m £3.00 YH L P R T 15-30kph
Newport Velo
ritchie.t.tout@uk.pwc.com
Ritchie Tout, Sunnyside Cottage Mynyddbach Monmouthshire NP16 6RT
200 20 Feb Rochdale North-West Passage
08:00 Sat BR 2100m £6.00 R T P 15-30kph
West Pennine RC 01706 372 447
120 20 Feb Rochdale mini-North-West Passage
09:00 Sat BP 1450m £6.00 R T P 10-20kph
West Pennine RC 01706 372 447
ROA 5000
Noel Healey, 95 Shore Mount Littleborough Lancs OL15 8EW
58
Arrivée Autumn 2015 No. 130
www.aukweb.net

AUK CALENDAR
120 20 Feb Whitlenge, Hartlebury, S of Kidderminster Sunrise Express
08:30 Sat BP 121km £6.75 P R T F 130 15-30kph
Beacon Roads Cycling Clu 01562 731606 montgomery@beaconrcc.org.uk
120 20 Feb Whitlenge, Hartlebury, S of Kidderminster Snowdrop Express
09:00 Sat BP 921m £6.75 P R T F 130 15-30kph
Beacon Roads Cycling Clu 01562 731606 montgomery@beaconrcc.org.uk
Dr Philip Whiteman, 2 Drayton Terrace Drayton Belbroughton Stourbridge DY9 0BW
100 21 Feb Henham, S of Saffron Walden Victoria C. C. - Brazier's Run
09:00 Sun BP 106km £10.00 A(1) L P R S T 15-30kph
Victoria CC
kieronyates@mac.com
50 21 Feb Henham, S of Saffron Walden Victoria C. C. - Brazier's Run
09:00 Sun BP £9.00 A(1) L P R S T 10-25kph
Victoria CC
kieronyates@mac.com
ROA 2000
Kieron Yates, 6 Aberdeen Terrace London SE3 0QX
100 21 Feb Old Town Hall, Musselburgh Musselburgh RCC 25th Tour of East Lothian
10:00 Sun BP 106km £10.00 L P R T NM (10/02) 12.5-30kph
Musselburgh RCC 07852105204
Alistair Mackintosh, 5 Durham Road South Edinburgh EH15 3PD
120 27 Feb Hailsham Mad Jack's- John Seviour Memorial
09:00 Sat BP 125km 2450m AAA2.5 £6.00 R F P 100 14-25kph
Andy Seviour
Andy Seviour, 13 Blacksmiths Copse Hailsham East Sussex BN27 3XB
200 28 Feb Cheadle, Stockport Newport
08:00 Sun BR 201km 750m £6.00 P R T 80 15-30kph
Peak Audax CTC
tim@mothy.org.uk
150 28 Feb Cheadle, Stockport Radway
08:30 Sun BP 153km 450m £6.00 P R T 50 15-25kph
Peak Audax CTC
tim@mothy.org.uk
Tim Hughes, 5 Peterhouse Road Sutton Macclesfield SK11 0EN
100 28 Feb Corscombe, near Beaminster The Primrose Path
09:00 Sun BP 102km 1955m AAA2 £7.00 P L R T 55 12.5-25kph
Arthur Vince 01935 863 429 arthur.vince@btinternet.com
Arthur Vince, 3 Back Lane East Coker Yeovil BA22 9JN
200 05 Mar Cardiff Gate, NW Cardiff Making Hay
07:00 Sat BR 203km 2450m £5.50 YH L P R T 15-30kph
Cardiff Byways CC 02920 341768 evansrichardd@googlemail.com
ROA 5000
Richard Evans, 73 Conway Road Cardiff CF11 9NW
200 05 Mar Grazeley, S of Reading The Kennet Valley Run
07:30 Sat BR 207km 1763m £7.50 L P R T 15-30kph
Reading CTC
mes84uk@gmail.com
100 05 Mar Grazeley, S of Reading The Kennet Valley 100
09:00 Sat BP 895m £6.00 L P R T 12-30kph
Reading CTC
mes84uk@gmail.com
Mick Simmons, 84 Kidmore Road Caversham Reading RG4 7NA
200 05 Mar Tewkesbury Mr. Pickwick's March Madness
07:30 Sat BRM 209km 2600m AAA1.75 [1700m] £6.00 c f p r nm t 100 15-25kph
BlackSheep CC 01684 292 390 blacksheepaudax@gmail.com
ROA 25000
Mark Rigby, 16 Battle Road Tewkesbury Park Tewkesbury GL20 5TZ
200 06 Mar Dalmeny Forth and Tay
08:00 Sun BR 208km 2500m £10.00 G L P R T 15-30kph
Audax Ecosse
martinfoley@btinternet.com
Martin Foley, 78 Denholm Road Musselburgh East Lothian EH21 6TU
100 12 Mar Alfreton Three Fields
09:00 Sat BP 104km 1270m £5.00 L P R T 100 12-30kph
Alfreton CTC
tomandsuefox@yahoo.co.uk
ROA 10000
Tom Fox, 180 Nottingham Road Alfreton Derbyshire DE55 7FP
150 12 Mar Chepstow Gospel Pass
8.:00 Sat BP 2280m AAA2.25 £3.00 X P R (150) 15-30kph
Audax Club Bristol
ROA 5000
Nik Peregrine, 46 Bridge Street Chepstow NP16 5EY
200 12 Mar Churchend,Dunmow, Essex The Horsepower 200
07:30 Sat BRM £8.00 A [1] C L P T R M 28/02 15-30kph
Flitchbikes CC
tom.deakins@btinternet.com
Thomas Deakins, 31 The Causeway Great Dunmow Essex CM6 2AA
100 12 Mar Forfar, DD81BT Scone 100
10:00 Sat BP 696m £3.00 GPTS 15-30kph
Angus CC
01307 466123 dchusband@icloud.com
ROA 4000
David Husband , 78 Old Halkerton Road Forfar DD8 1JP
200 13 Mar London, Ruislip Lido, Woody Bay (beach) Station Steam
Ride:London-Oxford-London (LOL) The Ghan
08:00 Sun BR 2128m £7.00 L P R T YH 14.3-30kph
Audax Club Hackney
timsollesse@gmail.com
110 13 Mar London, Ruislip Lido, Woody Bay 'beach' Station Steam Ride:Quainton
Express
08:30 Sun BP 117km £6.00 L P R T YH 14.3-30kph
AC Hackney
timsollesse@gmail.com
Tim Sollesse, 59 Lynwood Rd 59 Lynwood Road Ealing London W5 1JG
100 13 Mar Otford, Sevenoaks Kent Invicta Grimpeur 100
09:30 Sun BP 1890m AAA2 £8.00 F L P R T 12-25kph
West Kent CTC
pmcmaster@blueyonder.co.uk
50 13 Mar Otford, Sevenoaks Kent Invicta Hilly 50
10:00 Sun BP 945m AAA1 £7.00 F L P R T NM 12-25kph
West Kent CTC
pmcmaster@blueyonder.co.uk
Patrick McMaster, 207 Colyer Road Northfleet Kent DA11 8AT
100 13 Mar Seaham Seaham Sircular
09:00 Sun BP 1700m AAA1.75 £5.00 F L P R T 15-30kph
Dave Sharpe
david-sharpe@lineone.net
Dave Sharpe, 3 Elizabeth Street Seaham County Durham SR7 7TP
100 19 Mar Copdock, Nr. Ipswich The Copdock Circuit - Spring in South Suffolk
09:00 Sat BP £6.50 L P R T M 12-30kph
Suffolk CTC
the.kells@talk21.com
Dennis Kell, 9 Pheasant Rise Copdock Ipswich Suffolk IP8 3LF
100 19 Mar Market Bosworth, Sports Club 1485 Tri Club Audax
09:am Sat BP £8.00 t.s.r.nm.l.c.g.175 15-30kph
Change of Date 1485 Tri Club
Steven Robinson, 7 Tudor Close Market Bosworth Leicestershire CV13 0NA
300 19 Mar Oxford The Dean 06:00 Start Time
06:00 Sat BR 307km 4000m AAA4 £10.00 YH X F G B P R L NM 15-30kph
Change of Date Audax Club Hackney 07932 672 561 justinjones1969@gmail.com
Justin Jones, ACH HQ incorporating The Stag's Head 39 Harringay Road London N15
3JB
200 19 Mar Selkirk Scottish Borders Randonnee
08:00 Sat BR 204km 2168m £10.00 F G P R T 15-30kph
Audax Ecosse 01750 20838
Russell Carson, 21 Ladylands Terrace Selkirk TD7 4BB
100 20 Mar Alford, Lincs The Wold and Fen
09:00 Sun BP £6.50 L P F T 12-25kph
Alford Whs 01507 443 000 alan.hockham@hotmail.com
ROA 4000
Alan Hockham, 11 Trustthorpe Road Sutton on Sea Lincs LN12 2LX
200 20 Mar Exeter Mad March Coasts and Quantocks
08:00 Sun BRM 201km 2725m AAA2 [1500m] £7.00 YH F P R T X 15-30kph
Change of Date Exeter Whs 01404 841553 robinwheeler571@btinternet.com
100 20 Mar Exeter Mad March Exeter Excursion
09:00 Sun BP £7.00 YH F P R T 12-25kph
Change of Date Exeter Whs 01404 841553 robinwheeler571@btinternet.com
Pippa Wheeler, Rull Barn Payhembury Honiton Devon EX14 3JQ
200 20 Mar Poynton, S of Stockport Chirk
08:00 Sun BRM £6.00 F P 15-30kph
Peak Audax CTC
daz@delph45.fsnet.co.uk
Darryl Nolan, 5 Grasmere Road Royton Oldham OL2 6SR
400 25 Mar Anywhere, to York Easter Fleches to York
::::: Fri BRM £12.00 Fee per Team. 26th also 15-30kph
Audax UK
pedaller1@sky.com
ROA 10000
Lucy Mctaggart, 30 Victoria Street Galashiels Scottish Borders TD1 1HL
200 26 Mar Aldbrough St John, nr Darlington Yorkshire Gallop
08:00 Sat BR 1480m £5.00 X P R T 14.3-30kph
VC 167
01325 374 112 nigel.hall@finklecroft.me.uk
100 26 Mar Aldbrough St John, nr Darlington Ripon Canter
10:00 Sat BP 572m £5.00 X L P R T 12-25kph
VC 167
01325 374 112 nigel.hall@finklecroft.me.uk
Nigel Hall, Finkle Croft Aldbrough St John Nr. Richmond DL11 7TD
200 26 Mar Huntingdon Double Dutch
08:00 Sat BR £3.00 X 15-30kph
CTC West Surrey
malinseastg@tiscali.co.uk
Martin Malins, 4 North Common Weybridge Surrey KT13 9DN
100 30 Mar Marple, near Stockport An Icecream Wensdae
10:00 Wed BP 109km 800m £5.00 P R T 30 15-30kph
Peak Audax
chris.keelingroberts@ntlworld.com
www.aukweb.netArrivée Autumn 2015 No. 130 59

AUK CALENDAR
100 30 Mar Marple, near Stockport Goyt Peak Super Grimpeur
10:00 Wed BP 109km 2750m AAA2.75 £5.00 G P R T 12.5-30kph
Peak Audax CTC
chris.keelingroberts@ntlworld.com
Chris Keeling-Roberts, 17 Lower Strines Road Marple Cheshire SK6 7DL
300 02 Apr Bushley, Nr Tewkesbury Helfa Cymraeg Benjamin Allen ar.
05:30 Sat BRM 308km 3500m AAA1.75 [1800m] £7.00 100, C,F,L,P,R,T,S,NM. 15-25kph
BlackSheep CC 01684 292 390 blacksheepaudax@gmail.com
ROA 25000
Mark Rigby, 16 Battle Road Tewkesbury Park Tewkesbury GL20 5TZ
200 02 Apr Galashiels Moffat Toffee
08:00 Sat BRM 204km 2500m [2300m] £5.00 P,R,T,G 15-30kph
Audax Ecosse
pedaller1@sky.com
ROA 10000
Lucy Mctaggart, 30 Victoria Street Galashiels Scottish Borders TD1 1HL
200 02 Apr Honiton Valley of the Rocks 200
08:00 Sat BRM 205km 3900m AAA4 £7.00 L P R T 40 15-30kph
Exeter Whs
ian@ukcyclist.co.uk
ROA 10000
Ian Hennessey, 10 High Street Honiton EX14 1PU
200 02 Apr Leominster The Cambrian
07:00 Sat BR 210km 3750m AAA3.75 £5.00 L P R T 14.3-30kph
Hereford Wheelers
cambrianaudax@gmail.com
140 02 Apr Leominster The Cambrian - Minor
08:00 Sat BP 148km 2250m AAA2.25 £5.00 L P R T 12.5-30kph
Hereford & Dist. Whs
cambrianaudax@gmail.com
84 02 Apr Leominster The Cambrian - Welsh Marches
09:00 Sat BP 920m £5.00 L P R T 10-22.5kph
Hereford & Dist. Whs
cambrianaudax@gmail.com
Daryl Stickings, Weir View Breinton Common Breinton Hereford Herefordshire HR4
7PR
300 02 Apr Poole hard boiled 300
02:00 Sat BRM 4400m AAA4.5 £10.00 L P M (50) 15-30kph
Wessex CTC
Shawn Shaw, 22 Shaftesbury Road Longfleet Poole Dorset BH15 2LT
200 03 Apr Clitheroe, Lancashire Delightful Dales 200
07:30 Sun BRM 205km 3300m AAA3.25 [3600m] £5.00 L P R T 15-30kph
Updated Burnley Cycling Club burnleysportiv@yahoo.com
Andy Corless, 31 Castlerigg Drive Ightenhill Burnley Lancashire BB12 8AT
100 03 Apr Galashiels Broughton and Back
10:00 Sun BP 1380m £5.00 P,R,T,G 12-30kph
Audax Ecosse
01896 758 181 pedaller1@sky.com
ROA 10000
Lucy McTaggart, 30 Victoria St. Galashiels Scottish Borders TD1 1HL
200 03 Apr Stevenage Stevenage Start of Summertime Specials
08:15 Sun BRM 210km 1240m £6.00 P R T 200 15-30kph
CTC Hertfordshire 07949 333453 luke.peters@live.com
110 03 Apr Stevenage Stevenage Start of Summertime Specials
10:30 Sun BP 890m £5.00 P R T 200 12.5-25kph
Stevenage & North Herts 07949 333453 luke.peters@live.com
60 03 Apr Stevenage Stevenage Start of Summertime Specials
11:00 Sun BP 520m £4.00 P R T 200 12.5-25kph
Stevenage & North Herts 07949 333453 luke.peters@live.com
Luke Peters, 86 Skipton Close Stevenage Hertfordshire SG2 8TW
200 03 Apr Wareham Dorset Coast
07:45 Sun BRM 207km 2850m AAA2.75 £12.00 C L F R P T M 1/4 15-30kph
Wessex CTC
01305 263 272 pete_loakes@yahoo.com
ROA 5000
Peter Loakes, 1 Church Cottage West Stafford Dorchester DT2 8AB
200 09 Apr Tamworth, Pretty Pigs PH Two Battles
08:00 Sat BR 209km 2300m £7.00 P R T 50 15-30kph
Geoff Cleaver
audaxgeoff@gmail.com
150 09 Apr Tamworth, Pretty Pigs PH Towering Trees
09:00 Sat BP 157km 1630m £7.00 P R T 50 14-30kph
Geoff Cleaver
audaxgeoff@gmail.com
110 09 Apr Tamworth, Pretty Pigs PH The Essex Bridge
09:30 Sat BP £7.00 P R T 50 15-30kph
Geoff Cleaver
audaxgeoff@gmail.com
50 09 Apr Tamworth, Pretty Pigs PH Just a Chuffing 50
10:00 Sat BP £6.00 P R T 50 10-20kph
Geoff Cleaver
audaxgeoff@gmail.com
ROA 10000
Geoffrey Cleaver, 43 Goodere Drive Polesworth Tamworth Staffordshire B78 1BY
100 09 Apr Trowell, Nottingham Charnwood in the Spring
08:30 Sat BP 103km 950m £6.00 L P R T 150 11.5-30kph
Nottinghamshire CTC
terrydpscott@hotmail.com
Terry Scott, 22 Kinglake Place Nottingham NG2 1NT
300 09 Apr Upton Magna, E of Shrewsbury Yr Elenydd @ 30
06:00 Sat BRM 307km 4950m AAA5 £10.00 C F G L P R T (100) 15-25kph
CTC Shropshire
undulates@hotmail.co.uk
ROA 10000
John Hamilton, 22 Oaks Crescent Wellington Telford TF1 2HF
110 10 Apr Mytholmroyd Spring into the Dales
09:00 Sun BP 115km 2350m AAA2.25 £4.50 L P R T YH 12-24kph
West Yorkshire CTC
chris.crossland@halifaxctc.org.uk
ROA 25000
Chris Crossland, 14 Stanley Street West Sowerby Bridge West Yorkshire HX6 1EF
57 10 Apr Mytholmroyd Leap into the Aire
10:00 Sun BP 1325m AAA1.25 £4.00 L P R T YH 8-20kph
West Yorkshire CTC 01422 832 853 chris.crossland@halifaxctc.org.uk
ROA 25000
Chris Crossland, 14 Stanley St. West Sowerby Bridge W. Yorks HX6 1EF
200 16 Apr Alfreton Roses to Wrags
08:00 Sat BR 212km 1391m £6.00 F P R T 150 15-30kph
Updated Alfreton CTC oggy.dude@gmail.com
Stephen Ogden, The Firs 170 Nuncargate Road Kirkby In Ashfield NG17 9EA
300 16 Apr Cirencester Heart of England 300
06:00 Sat BR 307km 2800m £6.00 A(2) L P R T 100 15-30kph
Corinium CC
01285 659 515 peter@quernsgate.co.uk
ROA 5000
Peter Holden, 39 Querns Lane Cirencester Glos GL7 1RL
300 16 Apr Musselburgh Merse and Moors
06:00 Sat BRM 4200m AAA4.25 £10.00 X P L R (50) 15-30kph
Audax Ecosse
martinfoley@btinternet.com
Martin Foley, 78 Denholm Road Musselburgh East Lothian EH21 6TU
300 16 Apr Poynton, S of Stockport Plains
23:00 Sat BR 310km 1600m £5.00 P X 15-30kph
Peak Audax CTC
hamhort84@talktalk.net
Peter Hammond, 3 Dorac Avenue Heald Green Cheadle Stockport Cheshire SK8 3NZ
300 16 Apr The Water's Edge, RuislipLido, London HA4 7TY Steam Ride: University
Challenge
06:00 Sat BR £8.00 YH R T L F 13.3-30kph
Audax Club Hackney
timsollesse@gmail.com
Tim Sollesse Tim Sollesse, 59 Lynwood Road Ealing W5 1JG
300 23 Apr Alfreton Everybody Rides to Skeggy!
06:00 Sat BR 302km 1141m £7.00 L R P T X 100 15-30kph
Alfreton CTC
tomandsuefox@yahoo.co.uk
ROA 10000
Tom Fox, 180 Nottingham Road Alfreton Derbyshire DE55 7FP
400 23 Apr Coryton, NW Cardiff Buckingham Blinder
05:00 Sat BR £10.00 X 15-30kph
Cardiff Byways CC
Robyn Thomas, 44 Cosmeston Street Cardiff CF24 4LR
200 23 Apr Eureka Cafe, Wirral Eureka Excursion
08:00 Sat BR 215km £6.00 R L P T 70 15-30kph
Chester & N Wales CTC
dmanu@outlook.com
130 23 Apr Eureka Cafe, Wirral Tea in Prospect
08:30 Sat BP 135km 500m £6.00 L P R T 70 12.5-25kph
Chester & N Wales CTC
dmanu@outlook.com
68 23 Apr Eureka Cafe, Wirral Two Mills Twirl
09:00 Sat BP £6.00 R L P T 50 10-25kph
Chester & N Wales CTC
dmanu@outlook.com
ROA 5000
David Matthews, Hill View Cottage Cross Lanes Oscroft Tarvin Cheshire CH3 8NG
100 23 Apr Forfar Lethnot and Lunan
10:00 Sat BP 1000m £3.00 G P T S 15-30kph
Angus CC
01307 466123 dchusband@icloud.com
ROA 4000
David Husband , 78 Old Halkerton Road Forfar DD8 1JP
200 23 Apr Kirkley Cycles, ,Ponteland Chevy Chase
08:00 Sat BR 201km 2465m AAA3 [3000m] £10.00 F L P R T 15-30kph
Tyneside Vagabonds
northern.audax@gmail.com
Aidan Hedley, 16 The Close Lanchester Durham DH7 0PX
110 23 Apr Reepham, nr Lincoln Lincoln Imp
09:30 Sat BP 112km 200m £5.00 P R F L T 10-30kph
CTC Lincolnshire
Andrew Townhill, 80 Rudgard Avenue Cherrry Willingham Lincoln LN3 4JG
160 24 Apr High Ham, SW of Street The Nutty Nuns 165km
08:00 Sun BP 165km £7.00 F L P R T 15-30kph
Mark Lilly
01823 690 038 lillymark@btinternet.com
100 24 Apr High Ham, SW of Street The Merry Monk
09:30 Sun BP 105km £7.00 F L P R T (200) 12.5-25kph
Mark Lilly
01823 690 038 lillymark@btinternet.com
Mark Lilly, Applehayes Main Road Middlezoy Bridgwater TA7 0PB
60
Arrivée Autumn 2015 No. 130
www.aukweb.net

AUK CALENDAR
100 24 Apr Kirkley Cycles, Ponteland Burma Road
09:00 Sun BP 1600m AAA1.5 £10.00 FPRT 12-25kph
Tyneside Vagabonds
northern.audax@gmail.com
Aidan Hedley, 16 The Close Lanchester Durham DH7 0PX
400 30 Apr Chalfont St Peter, Bucks Severn Across
06:00 Sat BRM 407km 3500m £7.50 YH L P R T 70 15-30kph
Willesden CC 07881 841 355
Liam FitzPatrick, 13 Heron Close Rickmansworth Herts WD3 1NF
400 30 Apr Chepstow Brevet Cymru
06:00 Sat BRM 401km 5000m AAA3.5 [3450m] £9.00 c f l p r t nm z 100 15-30kph
BlackSheep CC 01684 292 390 blacksheepaudax@gmail.com
ROA 25000
Mark Rigby, 16 Battle Road Tewkesbury Park Tewkesbury GL20 5TZ
300 30 Apr Manningtree, Colchester Green & Yellow Fields
00:01 Sat BRM 305km 1500m £4.00 XCTM 15-25kph
Flitchbikes CC
tom.deakins@btinternet.com
Thomas Deakins, 31 The Causeway Great Dunmow Essex CM6 2AA
400 01 May Poole Porkers 400
14:00 Sun BRM 5900m AAA6 £10.00 L P R T M (50) (17/4) 15-30kph
Wessex CTC
Shawn Shaw, 22 Shaftesbury Road Longfleet Poole Dorset BH15 2LT
100 02 May Kilburn, N.of Derby National Arboretum
09:00 Mon BP 103km £5.00 P R T 12-30kph
Alfreton CTC 01773 833 593 tomandsuefox@yahoo.co.uk
ROA 10000
Tom Fox, 180 Nottingham Road Alfreton Derbyshire DE55 7FP
300 07 May Honiton Old Roads 300
06:00 Sat BRM 3400m £8.00 LPRT 15-30kph
Exeter Whs
01404 46993 ian@ukcyclist.co.uk
ROA 10000
Ian Hennessey, 10 High Street Honiton EX14 1PU
400 07 May Preston, Lancashire Heartbeat 400
06:00 Sat BRM 409km 5160m AAA5 [4000m] £7.00 L P R T 15-30kph
Burnley Cycling Club
burnleysportiv@yahoo.com
Andy Corless, 31 Castlerigg Drive Ightenhill Burnley Lancashire BB12 8AT
200 08 May Meopham, nr Gravesend Hop Garden 200km
08:00 Sun BR [1800m] £8.00 F L P R T NM 15-30kph
Gravesend CTC
pmcmaster@blueyonder.co.uk
160 08 May Meopham, nr Gravesend Hop Garden Century Ride
08:30 Sun BP [1550m] £8.00 F L P R T NM 15-30kph
Gravesend CTC
pmcmaster@blueyonder.co.uk
100 08 May Meopham, nr Gravesend Hop Garden 100km
09:00 Sun BP 975m £8.00 F L P R T NM 10-30kph
Gravesend CTC
pmcmaster@blueyonder.co.uk
Patrick McMaster, 207 Colyer Road Northfleet Kent DA11 8AT
100 08 May Uffington, near Wantage Blowingstone-White Horse
09:30 Sun BP 107km 1162m [1346m] £6.00 P T R 15-30kph
Oxfordshire CTC
Nick Dunton, 44a High Street Sutton Courtenay Abingdon Oxon OX14 4AP
600 14 May Chepstow Bryan Chapman Memorial (Classic)
06:00 Sat BRM 7500m AAA7.5 £32.00 BD C F L P R S T Z (4/5) 15-30kph
CTC Cymru
ritchie.t.tout@uk.pwc.com
Ritchie Tout, Sunnyside Cottage Mynyddbach NP16 6RT
150 14 May Forfar Pitlochry 150
09:15 Sat BP 1465m £3.00 G P T S 15-30kph
Angus CC
01307 466123 dchusband@icloud.com
ROA 4000
David Husband , 78 Old Halkerton Road Forfar DD8 1JP
200 14 May Lodge Moor, Sheffield The Sheffrec Full Monty
08:00 Sat BR 206km 4000m AAA4 £5.00 L P R T 14.3-30kph
Sheffrec CC
henry@henryfoxhall.co.uk
100 14 May Lodge Moor, Sheffield The Sheffrec Mini Monty
09:00 Sat BP 109km 2100m AAA2 £5.00 L P R T 10-25kph
Sheffrec CC
henry@henryfoxhall.co.uk
Henry Foxhall, West View Grindlow Great Hucklow Buxton Derbyshire SK17 8RJ
300 14 May Troutbeck Bridge, Cumbria The Westmorland Spartans
07:00 Sat BR 4000m AAA4 £6.00 A(2) P YH L R T S (60) 15-30kph
Lakes Velo
paul@revells.com
Paul Revell, Kirklands, Brow Edge, Backbarrow Ulverston Cumbria LA12 8QL
200 14 May Troutbeck Bridge, Cumbria The Cumbrian 200
08:00 Sat BR 203km 3320m AAA4 [3900m] £6.00 YH L P R T S A(2) (60) 15-30kph
Lakes Velo
paul@revells.com
Paul Revell, Kirklands Brow Edge Backbarrow Cumbria LA12 8QL
300 21 May Kirkley Cycles, Ponteland The Mosstrooper
06:00 Sat BRM 3900m AAA3.5 [3600m] £10.00 F P T A(1) 15-30kph
Tyneside Vagabonds
northern.audax@gmail.com
Aidan Hedley, 16 The Close Lanchester Durham DH7 0PX
160 21 May Meriden, Warwickshire Cotswold Challenge
08:00 Sat BP 1200m £8.00 C L P R T NM 100 15-30kph
CTC Heart of England audax2016@heartofenglandcyclingclub.org.uk
100 21 May Meriden, Warwickshire Warwickshire Wanderer
09:00 Sat BP 105km 700m £8.00 C L P R T NM 100 12-25kph
Jon Porteous audax2016@heartofenglandcyclingclub.org.uk
Jon Porteous, Tumnus Corner Springhill Gardens Webheath Redditch Worcs B97 5SY
400 21 May Ruislip Lido Cafe, London HA4 7TY Steam Ride : London Circuit
08:00 Sat BR £8.00 T YH R NM L G 14.3-30kph
Change of Date Audax Club Hackney timsollesse@gmail.com
Tim Sollesse Tim Sollesse, 59 Lynwood Road Ealing W5 1JG
200 21 May Willington Hall, E of Chester Tour of the Berwyns
08:00 Sat BR 205km 2190m AAA3 [3100m] £6.00 L P R T 75 (17/05) 15-30kph
Chester & North WalesCTC
dmanu@outlook.com
130 21 May Willington Hall, nr Chester Panorama Prospect
08:30 Sat BP 131km 1150m [500m] £6.00 L P R T 75 (17/05) 12.5-25kph
Chester & North Wales CT
dmanu@outlook.com
ROA 5000
David Matthews, Hill View Cottage Cross Lanes Oscroft Tarvin Cheshire CH3 8NG
100 22 May Falmer Sports Centre, Brighton Brighton Rock 2016
Pinkie Brown Returns
9::15 Sun BP 109km £7.50 F L P R T S NM(100) 15-30kph
Brighton & Hove CTC brightonandhovectc@gmail.com
Brighton and Hove CTC , 85 Hangleton Road Hove East Sussex BN3 7GH
600 28 May Broken Cross, nr Macclesfield Three Steps to Severn
06:00 Sat BR 612km 6400m £10.00 F L P T 14.3-25kph
Peak Audax CTC
perrin_john@sky.com
John Perrin, 20 Princes Way Macclesfield Cheshire SK11 8UB
400 28 May Bushley, Nr,Tewkesbury. Dros Fynyddoedd ac Anialwch Niwlog.
05:30 Sat BRM 401km 6000m AAA6 £9.00 c f l p r t nm z 100 15-25kph
BlackSheep CC 01684 292 390 blacksheepaudax@gmail.com
ROA 25000
Mark Rigby, 16 Battle Road Tewkesbury Park Tewkesbury GL20 5TZ
600 28 May Exeter Kernow and Southwest 600
06:00 Sat BRM 8200m AAA8.25 £17.00 YH L F R Z 60 15-25kph
Exeter Whs
01404 46993 ian@ukcyclist.co.uk
ROA 10000
Ian Hennessey, 10 High Street Honiton EX14 1PU
600 28 May Poole Brimstone 600
06:00 Sat BRM 7600m AAA7.5 £10.00 L P M (50) (24/5) 15-30kph
Wessex CTC
Shawn Shaw, 22 Shaftesbury Road Longfleet Poole Dorset BH15 2LT
600 04 Jun Alfreton 9 Counties 600k
06:00 Sat BR £10.00 X,F,L,T,P 15-30kph
Alfreton CTC 01773 833 593 tomandsuefox@yahoo.co.uk
ROA 10000
Tom Fox, 180 Nottingham Road Alfreton Derbyshire DE55 7FP
400 04 Jun Manningtree, Colchester Asparagus & Strawberries
09:00 Sat BRM 414km 2600m £4.00 XCTM 15-25kph
Flitchbikes CC
tom.deakins@btinternet.com
Thomas Deakins, 31 The Causeway Great Dunmow Essex CM6 2AA
300 04 Jun Padiham, Lancashire Knock Ventoux 300
06:00 Sat BRM 4000m AAA4 [4600m] £6.50 L P R T 15-30kph
Updated Burnley Cycling Club burnleysportiv@yahoo.com
Andy Corless, 31 Castlerigg Drive Ightenhill Burnley Lancashire BB12 8AT
100 04 Jun Tewkesbury Over the hills & far away
09:15 Sat BP 102km 800m £5.00 C G NM P R T 150 10-25kph
BlackSheep CC 01684 292 390 blacksheepaudax@gmail.com
ROA 25000
Mark Rigby, 16 Battle Road Tewkesbury Park Tewkesbury GL20 5TZ
200 05 Jun Clitheroe, Lancashire Dales Delight 200
08:00 Sun BRM 203km 3600m AAA3.5 [4100m] £5.00 L P R T 15-30kph
Updated Burnley Cycling Club burnleysportiv@yahoo.com
Andy Corless, 31 Castlerigg Drive Ightenhill Burnley Lancashire BB12 8AT
200 05 Jun Wimbledon Common The London Ditchling Devil
08:00 Sun BR 205km 2400m [2700m] £15.00 F P R T 15-30kph
Willesden CC
paudax@gmail.com
Paul Stewart, 25 Devonshire Gardens Chiswick London W4 3TN
www.aukweb.netArrivée Autumn 2015 No. 130 61

AUK CALENDAR
600 11 Jun Bushley, Nr,Tewkesbury. Mae Mr Pickwick yn mynd i chwilio-
am ddreigiau a chwedlau. (clasurol).
05:00 Sat BRM 601km 9500m AAA9.5 £17.50 C F L P R T S Z NM 100 15-25kph
BlackSheep CC 01684 292 390 blacksheepaudax@gmail.com
ROA 25000
Mark Rigby, 16 Battle Road Tewkesbury Park Tewkesbury GL20 5TZ
150 11 Jun Forfar Amulree 150
09:15 Sat BP 1552m £5.00 C P T S 15-30kph
Angus CC
01307 466123 dchusband@icloud.com
ROA 4000
David Husband , 78 Old Halkerton Road Forfar DD8 1JP
600 11 Jun Padiham, Lancashire Tan Hill 600
06:00 Sat BRM 603km 7800m AAA7.75 £10.00 BD F L P R S T Z 15-30kph
Burnley Cycling Club
burnleysportiv@yahoo.com
Andy Corless, 31 Castlerigg Drive Ightenhill Burnley Lancashire BB12 8AT
200 12 Jun Forfar Deeside Loop
08:00 Sun BR 2450m AAA2 [2025m] £10.00 L C P R T 15-30kph
Angus CC
dchusband@icloud.com
ROA 5000
David Husband, 78 Old Halkerton Road Forfar Angus DD8 1JP
200 12 Jun Padiham, Lancashire Tan Hill 200
08:30 Sun BRM 206km 4500m AAA4.5 £5.00 L P R S T 15-30kph
Burnley Cycling Club
burnleysportiv@yahoo.com
Andy Corless, 31 Castlerigg Drive Ightenhill Burnley Lancashire BB12 8AT
400 17 Jun Anywhere, to York Summer Arrow to York
06:00 Fri BR £12.00 DIY Also on 20/06 15-30kph
Audax UK
pedaller1@sky.com
350 17 Jun Anywhere, to York Summer Dart to York
::::: Fri BR 360km £5.00 DIY Also on 20/06 14.3-30kph
Audax UK
pedaller1@sky.com
ROA 10000
Lucy Mctaggart, 30 Victoria Street Galashiels Scottish Borders TD1 1HL
400 17 Jun Clayhidon, near Taunton Avalon Sunrise 400
22:30 Fri BRM 407km 3300m £15.00 flprtc 15-30kph
Exeter Whs
Jamie Andrews, Cemetery Lodge Ashill Road Uffculme Devon EX15 3DP
200 19 Jun Claughton, N of Preston Fleet Moss 212
07:30 Sun BR 212km 3290m AAA3.25 £6.50 P R T 15-30kph
Southport CC
allan.taylor@southportcc.co.uk
150 19 Jun Claughton, N of Preston Lunesdale Populaire
08:30 Sun BP 158km 2280m AAA2.25 £6.50 P R T 100 13-30kph
Southport CC
allan.taylor@southportcc.co.uk
110 19 Jun Claughton, N of Preston Pilgrim's Way
09:00 Sun BP 112km 1540m £6.50 P R T 10-25kph
Southport CC
allan.taylor@southportcc.co.uk
Allan Taylor, 23 Osborne Road Ainsdale Southport PR8 2RJ
150 19 Jun Galashiels Dick McTs 150 Classic
09:00 Sun BP 1576m [1600m] £10.00 PRTG 15-30kph
Audax Ecosse
01896 758 181 pedaller1@sky.com
ROA 10000
Lucy McTaggart, 30 Victoria St. Galashiels Scottish Borders TD1 1HL
400 25 Jun Aldbrough St John, Nr Darlington The Lincoln
06:00 Sat BR 411km 1457m £5.00 X L P R T 15-30kph
VC 167
01325 374 112 nigel.hall@finklecroft.me.uk
Nigel Hall, Finkle Croft Aldbrough St John Nr. Richmond DL11 7TD
600 25 Jun Upton Magna, E of Shrewsbury Offa\'s Dyke
06:00 Sat BRM 610km 8300m AAA8.25 £15.00 C F G L P R T Z (50) 15-25kph
CTC Shropshire
undulates@hotmail.co.uk
300 25 Jun Upton Magna, E of Shrewsbury Offa's Double Century
06:00 Sat BR 330km 5100m AAA5 £8.00 C F G L P R T (50) 15-25kph
CTC Shropshire
undulates@hotmail.co.uk
ROA 10000
John Hamilton, 22 Oaks Crescent Wellington Telford TF1 2HF
100 26 Jun Caton, NE of Lancaster Bowland Forest Populaire
09:00 Sun BP 1800m AAA1.75 £5.00 P R T 75 12.5-20kph
CTC Lancaster & South La 01524 36061 mikehutchinson@fastmail.fm
ROA 5000
Mike Hutchinson, Heatherdene 9 Whinfell Drive Lancaster LA1 4NY
200 26 Jun Upton Magna, E of Shrewsbury Clwydian Horseshoe
07:30 Sun BR 218km 3350m AAA3.25 £6.00 C G L P R T (50) 15-25kph
CTC Shropshire
undulates@hotmail.co.uk
ROA 10000
John Hamilton, 22 Oaks Crescent Wellington Telford TF1 2HF
1000 01 Jul Bispham, Lancashire Mille Pennines
10:00 Fri BRM 1002km 11750m AAA10 [10000m] £55.00 BD C F L P R S T Z (100) 13.3-30kph
Burnley Cycling Club
burnleysportiv@yahoo.com
Andy Corless, 31 Castlerigg Drive Ightenhill Burnley Lancashire BB12 8AT
200 02 Jul Awbridge, Nr. Romsey, Hampshire Hungerford Hurrah
08:00 Sat BR 2200m £7.00 L P R T 50 15-30kph
Winchester CTC
alanandemma@talktalk.net
140 02 Jul Awbridge, Nr. Romsey, Hampshire Hungerford Hooray
09:00 Sat BP 1450m £7.00 L P R T 50 15-30kph
Winchester CTC
alanandemma@talktalk.net
Alan Davies, 7 Queens Close Romsey Hampshire SO51 5EG
600 02 Jul Galashiels Borderlands Roc Trevezal
07:00 Sat BRM 4900m £5.00 PRTXBG 15-25kph
Audax Ecosse
01896 758 181 pedaller1@sky.com
ROA 10000
Lucy McTaggart, 30 Victoria St. Galashiels Scottish Borders TD1 1HL
200 03 Jul Smallworth, Garboldisham, Diss Garboldisham Groveller
08:00 Sun BR £6.50 L P R T 15-30kph
Diss CTC
elkinste@outlook.com
100 03 Jul Smallworth, Garboldisham, nr Diss Garboldisham Grafter
09:00 Sun BP £6.50 P R T F L 15-30kph
Diss CTC
elkinste@outlook.com
Tom Elkins, 6 Marston Lane Norwich NR4 6LZ
300 09 Jul Bushley, Nr,Tewkesbury. A Rough Diamond
06:00 Sat BRM 301km 2500m [3450m] £7.00 c f l p r t nm 100 15-25kph
BlackSheep CC 01684 292 390 blacksheepaudax@gmail.com
100 09 Jul Bushley, Nr,Tewkesbury. The Teddy Bears' Picnic.
09:00 Sat BP 103km 975m [900m] £5.00 C,G,L,NM,P,R,T (100) 10-25kph
BlackSheep CC 01684 292 390 blacksheepaudax@gmail.com
ROA 25000
Mark Rigby, 16 Battle Road Tewkesbury Park Tewkesbury GL20 5TZ
600 09 Jul Exeter The Exe-Buzzard
06:00 Sat BRM 5600m £5 X 15-30kph
Exeter Whs
01404 46993 ian@ukcyclist.co.uk
600 09 Jul Leighton Buzzard The Buzzard
07:00 Sat BRM 5600m £5 X 15-30kph
Exeter Whs
01404 46993 ian@ukcyclist.co.uk
ROA 10000
Ian Hennessey, 10 High Street Honiton EX14 1PU
300 09 Jul Stornoway, Isle of Lewis Golden Road and Standing Stones
06:00 Sat BR 3102m [3200m] £11.00 50 L R T F C A(2) 15-25kph
Hebridean CC
ian_d_gilbert@yahoo.co.uk
110 09 Jul Stornoway, Isle of Lewis Hebridean Hundred
10:00 Sat BP 113km 1015m [1068m] £5.00 50 L R T F C A(2) 12.5-30kph
Hebridean CC
ian_d_gilbert@yahoo.co.uk
Ian Gilbert, 19 Churchill Drive Stornoway Isle of Lewis HS1 2NP
200 09 Jul Tamworth, Pretty Pigs PH Brix\'n Water
08:00 Sat BR 216km 2300m £7.00 P R T 50 15-30kph
Geoff Cleaver
audaxgeoff@gmail.com
160 09 Jul Tamworth, Pretty Pigs PH Brix\'n Bouquet
09:00 Sat BP 1400m [2300m] £7.00 P R T 50 14.4-30kph
Geoff Cleaver
audaxgeoff@gmail.com
110 09 Jul Tamworth, Pretty Pigs PH Double Bouquet
09:30 Sat BP 912m [2300m] £7.00 P R T 50 14.4-30kph
Geoff Cleaver
audaxgeoff@gmail.com
ROA 10000
Geoff Cleaver, 43 Goodere Drive Polesworth Tamworth B78 1BY
100 10 Jul Combe Down, Bath Mendip Transmitter
08:30 Sun BP 1650m AAA1.75 £7.00 N.P.R.T 15-30kph
Bath CC
Robert Mcmillan, 228 Bloomfield Road Bath BA2 2AX
100 10 Jul East Finchley, N2 9ED Suburban Breakout
09:30 Sun BP 103km 1085m [755m] £5.00 PRT 15-30kph
Central London CTC
nick@centrallondonctc.org.uk
Nick Bloom, 32 Fortis Green Avenue Fortis Green London N2 9NA
300 15 Jul Churchend,Dunmow, Essex Hereward the Wake
21:00 Fri BRM 301km £9.00 X C R L P T M (08/07) 15-30kph
Flitchbikes CC
tom.deakins@btinternet.com
Thomas Deakins, 31 The Causeway Great Dunmow Essex CM6 2AA
300 16 Jul Rowlands Castle, nr Portsmouth Wonderfull Wessex
05:30 Sat BRM £8.00 f l p r 15-30kph
Hampshire RC
mrpaulwhitehead@yahoo.co.uk
Paul Whitehead, 73 Spencer Road Emsworth Hampshire PO10 7XR
200 23 Jul Bath Raglan castle
08:00 Sat BR 203km 2500m £7.00 Xtrpc 15-30kph
Bath CC
Robert Mcmillan, 228 Bloomfield Road Bath BA2 2AX
62
Arrivée Autumn 2015 No. 130
www.aukweb.net

AUK CALENDAR
200 23 Jul Belbroughton, N Worcestershire The Kidderminster Killer
08:00 Sat BR 214km 3750m AAA3.75 £7.85 F L P R S T (90) (8/8) 14.3-30kph
Beacon RCC 01562731606 montgomery@beaconrcc.org.uk
Philip Whiteman, 2 Drayton Terrace, Drayton, Belbroughton, Stourbridge
Worcestershire DY9 0BW
120 23 Jul Belbroughton, N Worcestershire From Clee to Heaven
09:00 Sat BP 123km 1950m AAA2 £7.85 F L P R S T (70) 13-25kph
Beacon RCC 01562 731606 montgomery@beaconrcc.org.uk
Dr Philip Whiteman, 2 Drayton Terrace Drayton Belbroughton Stourbridge DY9 0BW
200 23 Jul Harringay, London Straight Outta Hackney
08:00 Sat BR £13.00 CFLPRT 15-30kph
Change of Date Audax Club Hackney 07932672561 justinjones1969@gmail.com
Justin Jones, ACH HQ incorporating The Stag's Head 39 Harringay Road London N15
3JB
600 23 Jul Mytholmroyd, W. of Halifax The 3 Coasts 600
06:00 Sat BRM 607km 5611m AAA1.75 [1631m] £10.00 A(3) L P R S T Z YH 15-30kph
West Yorkshire CTC 01422 832 853 chris.crossland@halifaxctc.org.uk
600 23 Jul Mytholmroyd, W. of Halifax The East & West Coasts 600
06:00 Sat BRM 605km 4380m [5380m] £10.00 A(3) L P R S T Z YH 15-30kph
West Yorkshire CTC 01422 832 853 chris.crossland@halifaxctc.org.uk
200 24 Jul Mytholmroyd, W. of Halifax The Good Companions
08:30 Sun BRM 2697m AAA1.75 [1631m] £5.00 A(2) L P R S T YH 15-30kph
West Yorkshire CTC 01422 832 853 chris.crossland@halifaxctc.org.uk
ROA 25000
Chris Crossland, 14 Stanley St. West Sowerby Bridge W. Yorks HX6 1EF
1200 25 Jul Craignure The Highlands, West Coast & Glens
08:10 Mon BRM 1205km 15885m AAA16 [2200m] £25.00 A C F G S T NM P YH X 2Z 13-30kph
BlackSheep CC 01684 292 390 blacksheepaudax@gmail.com
1200 26 Jul Craignure The Highlands, Glens & West Coast.
08:40 Tue BRM 1205km 15885m AAA16 [2200m] £25.00 A C F G S T NM P YH X 2Z 13-30kph
BlackSheep CC 01684 292 390 blacksheepaudax@gmail.com
ROA 25000
Mark Rigby, 16 Battle Road Tewkesbury Park Tewkesbury GL20 5TZ
400 30 Jul Biggin, nr Hartington National 400km
07:00 Sat BRM 405km 3900m £39.00 YH A(1) C F G L P R Z 15-25kph
Peak Audax CTC
perrin_john@sky.com
John Perrin, 20 Princes Way Macclesfield Cheshire SK11 8UB
400 13 Aug Galashiels Nae Bother to Us
06:30 Sat BRM 3400m £5.00 PRT 15-30kph
Audax Ecosse
01896 758 181 pedaller1@sky.com
ROA 10000
Lucy McTaggart, 30 Victoria St. Galashiels Scottish Borders TD1 1HL
400 13 Aug Upton Magna, E of Shrewsbury Pengwern Pedal
07:00 Sat BRM 405km 6380m AAA6.25 £10.00 C F G L P R T (50) 15-25kph
CTC Shropshire
undulates@hotmail.co.uk
300 13 Aug Upton Magna, E of Shrewsbury Pengwern Pedal
07:00 Sat BRM 306km 5550m AAA5.5 £8.00 C F G L P R T (50) 15-25kph
CTC Shropshire
undulates@hotmail.co.uk
ROA 10000
John Hamilton, 22 Oaks Crescent Wellington Telford TF1 2HF
400 27 Aug Mytholmroyd, West Yorkshire The Old 240
05:30 Sat BRM 407km 6400m AAA6.5 £8.00 A L P R T S YH 15-30kph
West Yorkshire CTC 01422 832 853 chris.crossland@halifaxctc.org.uk
400 27 Aug Mytholmroyd, West Yorkshire Not Quite The Spurn Head 400
05:30 Sat BRM 403km 2450m £8.00 A(2) L P R T S YH 15-30kph
West Yorkshire CTC 01422 832 853 chris.crossland@halifaxctc.org.uk
ROA 25000
Chris Crossland, 14 Stanley St. West Sowerby Bridge W. Yorks HX6 1EF
200 03 Sep Old Ma's Tattenhall, Cheshire Pistyll Packing Momma
08:00 Sat BR 209km 3400m AAA3.5 £6.00 P R 50 T L 15-30kph
Chester & North Wales CT
dmanu@outlook.com
130 03 Sep Old Ma's Tattenhall, Cheshire Momma's Mountain Views
08:30 Sat BP 137km 2000m AAA2 £6.00 P R 50 T L 12.5-25kph
Chester & N Wales CTC
dmanu@outlook.com
50 03 Sep Old Ma's Tattenhall, Cheshire Momma's Leafy Lanes
09:00 Sat BP £6.00 P R 50 T L 10-20kph
Chester & N Wales CTC
dmanu@outlook.com
ROA 5000
David Matthews, Hill View Cottage Cross Lanes Oscroft Tarvin Cheshire CH3 8NG
600 10 Sep Churchend,Dunmow, Essex The Flatlands
06:00 Sat BRM 606km £6.00 X A(1)C L P R T M (03/09) 15-30kph
Flitchbikes CC
tom.deakins@btinternet.com
Thomas Deakins, 31 The Causeway Great Dunmow Essex CM6 2AA
300 10 Sep Galashiels Alston and Back
06:30 Sat BRM 2700m £5.00 PRT 15-30kph
Audax Ecosse
01896 758 181 pedaller1@sky.com
ROA 10000
Lucy McTaggart, 30 Victoria St. Galashiels Scottish Borders TD1 1HL
200 17 Sep Upton Magna, E of Shrewsbury Beyond Shropshire (Jack Mytton)
08:15 Sat BR 205km 3110m AAA3 [2970m] £8.00 C F G L P R T 15-25kph
CTC Shropshire
undulates@hotmail.co.uk
ROA 10000
John Hamilton, 22 Oaks Crescent Wellington Telford TF1 2HF
200 24 Sep Chepstow Castle Border Castles Randonnee
07:30 Sat BR 3000m AAA3 £3.00 YHXPRT(14/9) 15-30kph
Audax Club Bristol
ROA 5000
Nik Peregrine, 46 Bridge Street Chepstow NP16 5EY
200 25 Sep Clitheroe, Lancashire Last Chance Dales Dance 200
07:30 Sun BRM 202km 3300m AAA3.25 [3000m] £5.00 L P R T 15-30kph
Updated Burnley Cycling Club burnleysportiv@yahoo.com
Andy Corless, 31 Castlerigg Drive Ightenhill Burnley Lancashire BB12 8AT
200 25 Sep Denmead, Nr Portsmouth WYLYE AND EBBLE VALLEY
07:30 Sun BR £6.00 L P R T M 15-30kph
Hampshire RC
mrpaulwhitehead@yahoo.co.uk
Paul Whitehead, 73 Spencer Road Emsworth Hampshire PO10 7XR
New Season 2017
200 01 Oct Churchend,Dunmow, Essex Flitchbikes 200
08:30 Sat BRM 201km £8.00 C L P R T M (24/09) 15-30kph
Flitchbikes CC
tom.deakins@btinternet.com
Thomas Deakins, 31 The Causeway Great Dunmow Essex CM6 2AA
100 09 Oct Mytholmroyd Season of Mists
09:00 Sun BP 105km 2555m AAA2.5 £4.50 L P R T YH 12-24kph
West Yorkshire CTC 01422 832 853 chris.crossland@halifaxctc.org.uk
55 09 Oct Mytholmroyd Mellow Fruitfulness
10:00 Sun BP 1200m AAA1.25 £4.00 L P R T YH 8-20kph
West Yorkshire CTC 01422 832 853 chris.crossland@halifaxctc.org.uk
ROA 25000
Chris Crossland, 14 Stanley St. West Sowerby Bridge W. Yorks HX6 1EF
200 15 Oct Galashiels Etal-u-Can
08:00 Sat BR 204km 2379m £10.00 PRTG 15-30kph
Change of Date Audax Ecosse 01896 758 181 pedaller1@sky.com
100 16 Oct Galashiels Ride of the Valkyries
10:00 Sun BP 106km 1200m [1517m] £10.00 PRTG 12-30kph
Change of Date Audax Ecosse 01896 758 181 pedaller1@sky.com
200 05 Nov Galashiels The Long Dark Teatime of The Soul
08:00 Sat BR 2000m £8.00 G, P,R,T 15-30kph
Change of Date Audax Ecosse 01896 758 181 pedaller1@sky.com
ROA 10000
Lucy McTaggart, 30 Victoria St. Galashiels Scottish Borders TD1 1HL
Back Cover
PBP 2015 - Paul Whitehead (Hampshire RC)
and Sam Crossley (Dulwich Paragon).
Photo: Alan Parkinson
www.aukweb.netArrivée Autumn 2015 No. 130 63