Randonneur 500

For 2012, I plan on completing a few of the Audax Randonneur Series', the first of which is the Randonneur 500.

By riding Populaire events of 50, 100 and 150km then going on to a 200km at Randonneur speed (ie, 200km or 125 miles in a maximum time of around 13½ hours), all in one season, I will become a Randonneur 500.
I have already completed the 200k Guy Fawkes Buddhist Retreat in November, so in February, i decided to make a start on the other 3 distances.

Now with the 50, 100k and 200k in the bag, i've only got the 150k to do.
Hopefully i'll get this one done soon

First Audax Medal

Look what arrived in todays post

My first 200k Medal from the Saltire 200 I did in October

Guy Fawkes Buddhist Retreat 200k Audax

I’d been looking forward to riding the Guy Fawkes Buddhist Retreat since discovering Audax a few months ago. The attraction of fresh pastures, along with some of my favourite borders roads would make for a great day out.

Everybody set off from a frosty Focus Centre set off bang on 8. A large group in front headed towards the Kingsknowes and the A7, whereas I decided to head up Elm Row and round Gala Hill. I had already planned to keep to a steady pace. 200k is a long way for me, and I didn’t expect to be able to keep up with the regulars. That all changed when Ronny caught me up.
His pace was faster than mine. I was managing to keep up on the flat and the descents, but on the climbs he was leaving me for dead. We chatted all the way to the Village of Ettrick Bridge, but he was soon out of sight. By the time I reached Tushielaw, Ronny had slowed to allow me to catch up. Although there was next to no wind, he suggested that I tucked in behind him to save some energy. I was glad of this, and also that I had tights on, as it wasn’t much above freezing.
The freshly tarred road following the Tima was a joy to ride on. By the time I reached the seismological station, Ronny was just out of sight, but I managed to catch up on the descent, arriving at Sayme Ling together.

After a quick cup of coffee and some wonderful cake, we headed off again with 2 others, Davie and someone else whose name now escape me, sorry.
I had planned to follow the main road to Langholm, but foolishly decided to follow the 3 others who had opted for the hillier old road through Castle O’er. I kept in touch most of the way, but lost them on the climb on the outskirts of the town. Davie waited at the top for me, and we descended to the second control together.

Another not-so-quick cup of coffee in Pelosi's Corner café, and we were heading for Lockerbie. I have never been on this road before, so had no idea what lay ahead. The sun was now shining, and we were up to double figures temperature wise. My legs were beginning to feel a bit sore on the climbs, so only a slow puncture, and the effect of an out of date gel enabled be to keep up.

After a much needed bowl of soup and an Irn Bru at café 91 in Lockerbie, we headed back towards Eskdalemuir. After a few k’s, I was on my own again. This was a bit lumpier than I had envisaged. My left knee was getting really sore on some of the longer climbs, so I spun in the granny gear all the way to the welcoming sight of the Buddhist temple.

After another coffee and another receipt, I tackled the Fingland climb, up past the observatory in the granny gear once again. The slight downhill to Ettrick on the newly laid road was welcome, and I was beginning to feel a bit better.
I am familiar with the Col de Berrybush as someone called it, as it’s on one of my usual rides, so it was back into the granny for the slog to the top. There were a few riders who had stopped at the summit to switch on lights, so I decided to do the same. It was here that I discovered a loose connection on my front light. Davie came to the rescue with a cable tie, so all was well.
There was probably about 10 riders nose to tail all the way down to the Gordon arms, red LEDs ablaze, before another granny gear climb up Paddy Slacks and over to Innerleithen.

After a quick stop in the co-op for another receipt, I opted for the quicker A72 to Gala instead of the quieter back road. I was on my own, and glad of the repair to my front light, as there was a fair bit of traffic on this section. The rest of the group passed me on the climb over to Clovenfords, and I managed to stick with them all the way back to Gala and the Focus Centre once again.

Thanks to Lucy for putting on this good event, and Ronny, Davie and what’s his name for the company and advise.

Map of the route can be found here

Card now posted.

Saltire 200k Audax

Before yesterday, I had never ridden an Audax.  Before yesterday, I had not even ridden 100 miles, but when my wife suggested we (meaning I) decorate the bathroom, I needed to find something to do, and quickly.

A swift reply to my email from Martin confirmed I was able to ride his Saltire 200 permanent, so I popped the payment and envelopes in the post, and a couple of days later my card had arrived.
Coming from the Borders, I decided to start my ride from Innerleithen.  I checked the weather forecast before I left the house, and although it was to be dry, there were strong winds of up to 20mph expected  :o  I half thought of heading north to Musselburgh or North Berwick and starting from there so the hardest sections were early in the ride, but it goes against 'green' in me.

I got my receipt from the Co-op at the back of 8, and headed north up the Leithen water. It was dawn, and my lights were needed.  I was expecting to ride 'The Granites' but the route sheet took me right towards Heriot.

I reached the famous Ford at the border with East Lothian, but opted for the bridge rather than ride the rest of the way with wet feet.  :)  The road was really muddy here with all the farm traffic, almost unrideable, and the descent to the ford was fun :o

I was conscious that I needed to make good time on this section, so I was pressing on through the x-over point towards Haddington and Athlestaneford, reaching North Berwick in just over 2.5 hours.

Another Co-op and another receipt.  I was now on my way south-east, through the picturesque villages of Dirlton, Gullane (is this the windiest place in Scotland?), and Aberlady.  The wind was really strong here, and I passed several cyclists all heading in the opposite direction, all gave me a knowing nod. 
Next up were Cockenzie, Port Seaton and Prestonpans which were a bit more sheltered.  Finally, I passing the race course and arrived in the Honest Toon.
Greg’s this time for lunch and another receipt before heading south east towards Tranent.

Major road works in Tranent must have added 10 mins onto my journey.  :'(
I once more arrived at the x-over point between East and West Saultoun, where there was a vapour trail in the sky in the shape of the saltire.  Made me smile.

I then headed to Gifford and struggled with a wicked side wind, but this was nothing compared to the next 13 miles.

 I had never been on this road before, not even in a car.  I thought I’d ridden the toughest climbs in the South of Scotland, but not this one.  The 30mph head wind, and the 120km in my legs weren't helping either, and I was really struggling.  Just when you think the worst is over, another climb presents its self.  As I left East Lothian and crossed back into the Scottish Borders, I had a rest and re-fuelled.  This was the low point of the day, and with hindsight, It I probably should have left this for another day.

Anyway, I felt a whole lot better after the long descent into Longformacus, and was soon In Duns.
I have family who live in Duns.  I've been here 100's of times, so why couldn't I find the Co-op that I’ve used often?  After cycling round for 10 mines, I asked someone for directions and with another receipt in hand, was soon munching on some Tandoori Chicken Wings, washed down with some Irn Bru.

The next section back to Innerleithen was event free.  Shortly after Westruther, I had cycled my first ever 100 miles.  I celebrated with a cheer much to the annoyance of the sheep in a nearby field ;)  
I stopped in Lauder to put my lights on.  I am familiar with the next section as I cycle it often, but usually in the opposite direction.  I don't know if knowing what lies up ahead is good or not, but I was soon over the common and descending to Stow.

Again, the climb out of Stow to Stantlincraig reservoir is normally not a problem, but I had to stop half way up and have a rest. 

Once at the top, the descent to Thornilee in the dark was interesting - my hands were sore from holding the brakes for so long, but I was soon at the bottom and heading along the A7, through Walkerburn and into Innerleithen for a bag of crisps and another Co-op receipt.

Looking back this morning, I don't know what all my fuss was about, until I try to stand up  :'(

At just over 11 hours, I was expecting to be quicker; I’ll have to try it again on a less windy day.

A Map of the route can be found here

Thanks to Martin for a good circuit

Ae Trailquest

Gary and I made the trip to D&G for the last round of the SMBO 2011 series.

Although we were 2nd in the overall series, we were too far behind 1st to take this years title.

Much to the relief of Gary, it was a 3hr event.

The day weather was a bit overcast, and we'd driven through a few showers on the way down.

We were one of the first teams to set off.  I had decided to play it safe this time, to avoid the time penalties we encountered by being late at Wark last month.

The plan was to start of on the Seven Stanes Red route, move onto the Blue route, and pick up a few points on the forest roads before heading back to the start/finish.

All was going to plan, until i miss-read the map.  Not only had taken a wrong turn, by the time i'd realised, we had cycled past and missed 50 points.  As they were both uphill, we decided to press onwards. 

We recoveded well, made it back in time with a respectable score of 270, with no penalties.

This not only gave us 2nd in the event, but 2nd in the overall series.

Pedal for Scotland

What a great day!.

Keith, Paul and I arrived at Glasgow Green at 7am, and joined the queue that stretched in front of us, leading to the start of the 100 mile Pedal for Scotland Ride.

 

The ride was from Glasgow Green to Murrayfield Stadium in Edinburgh via Kilmarnock.

We had decided to ride as a group of 3 for the first 20-or-so miles, and see how we felt after that, then decide what we were going to do.

The rain that was promised hadn't appeared by the time we crossed the start line at 7.15am, and the sun was trying to break through.

 

The roads out of Glasgow left a lot to be desired, with a lot of pot holes.  Every set of traffic lights seemed to turn to red as we approached them.

After about 15Km I had pulled in front of the other two, with Paul further behind Keith.  Then the heavens opened.  This combined with the strong wind made for an unpleasant ride.

 

I tried to put on my jacket while riding, but the wind kept on catching it, so i decided it was safer to stop and put it on.

 

Keith caught and passed me while I was doing this.  I tried to bridge the gap he had made, but he was now sheltered in a large group, and i was being battered by the strong head wind on my own, so no chance of that happening.

 

I peddled on until another group caught me, and i joined them.  After doing my turn at the front, I made my way to the back where I was reunited with Paul once more. 

 

After a few miles, the rest of the group fragmented, and it was Paul and I on our own all the way to the first food stop at Louden.

 

I wasn't planning on stopping at Louden, but Paul had an upset stomach and needed to use the toilets.  We had been working well together so I decided to wait for him, and replenish the gels I had consumed so far. 

I lost about 5 mins here, but i reckoned I'd easily make that up working with Paul rather than being on my own.

The next section towards Muirkirk was tougher than the section from Glasgow had been.  It was now a side wind, and the rain horizontal.  The road surface left a lot to be desired too.  Paul had fallen behind again until i dropped all my gels on the road while trying to get one out of my pocket.  By the time i'd picked them up, he was on my tail again.

From Muirkirk, the road headed East and there was a bit of a tail wind.  The road twisted and turned over the moor, so with every corner, there was a different wind direction to contend with.  Again, for most of this section I was on my own battling the elements.

By the time i reached the next feed station and the 50 mile mark at Douglas, Paul was no where to be seen.  I decided not to stop as i was feeling comfortable, and I needed to make up some time if I was ever going to catch Keith.  The rain had now eased to a light drizzle, but with the wind, it felt heavy at times.

The next section I was familiar with, having grown up in the area.  There was a nice tail wind until the turning south for Carmichael.  This is the steepest climb i've ever ridden, but fortunately not too long.  The photographer, half way up,was all the motivation i needed to make it to the top without pushing.

 

The route then headed North East, finally reaching Carnwath and the last feed station at 75 miles.  A quick replenishment, and I was on my way again on the Lang Whang.

The Lang Whang is the road from Carnwath  to Edinburgh.  It's a bit lumpy, but with a tailwind for almost all the way, it was very fast.  I even ran out of gears descending a couple of times. (My GPS was reading 55kmph!)

 

I then reached Balerno and the city traffic, something i'm not use to living and cycling in the Borders.   Although it was fun, i'm not sure I could do it every day. I did see one rider lying on the road after being knocked off his bike by a car.  There were already 4 other riders looking after him, so i continued on my way through the traffic eventually arriving at Murrayfield,

 

What a grand finish arriving at the home of Scottish Rugby was. 

I really enjoyed my first long distance event, and will definitely do more in the future

I'm very happy with 153km or 94miles in around 6 hours.

Keith was about 30 mins faster, with Paul around 20 mins slower

A map of the route can be found here

freshnlo Pedal for Scotland 2011

Just Signed up for this.

It will be my first ever sportive, and at just under 100 miles, will be a good challenge.

I'm really looking forward to it

freshnlo Pedal for Scotland 2011