Cambridge 300 on Saturday. I've been reading too many Jan Heine & Kent Peterson articles; I suspect I am going to try something stupid.
So I did do something stupid. Here are my extended impressions for those that don't read
the other place.
Having read too many Jan Heine and Kent Peterson accounts, I imagined I might be able to do the 300 in
Cyclo Montagnards R70 pace. My reasoning was that my fastest 200km is outside R60 pace, so I knew that wasn't an option, and my wife was expecting me to be 15hrs or thereabouts from last years Mildenhall 300, which was my first calendar event. I knew from that that long stops didn't do me any favours, and last month's 8h24m 200km taught me that trying to keep up with someone else made me feel ragged, even if I was sheltered from the wind more often than not. I concluded that if I could stick to a 25kph moving average, carried my own food and ate on the go, and didn't fanny about at the controls, 14hrs was possible. I decided that I would do what it took to keep the overall average on my Garmin above 22kph when I left controls. However, that was before I saw the forecast of an easterly and realised its implications for the section between Deeping and Chatteris. Still, I loaded up my water bottles with double strength SIS Go and filled my Nelson with 8 chocolate flapjacks (1 for each section) and some freebie Zipvit goo sachets.
A late initial departure, followed by recalling my wife's injunction not to forget the bins just as I was setting off meant a fast spin down to Hauxton. The start was busy. I think I recognised Gareth at the start from his picture (pannier on the LHS?), and Bendy Bianchi arrived just in time for the start having been delayed by the closure of the M11. I also recognised Nick, the CCC TT sec who I did a leg-frying DIY with (along with JJ) last year. Terry called the Cambridge CC riders to the road for a photo op, then quickly waved us off. Nick quickly tore off the front and myself and Bendy Bianchi (Chris) decided to "chase him down". It meant we got through the level crossing before it went red, but we only stayed with him until the rise before Newton. He rapidly disappeared. Chris and I spun along at 29kph or thereabouts for this first section to the manned control at Wallington, where we unexpectedly found Terry at the green beforehand getting ready, with no sign of Nick. Apparently Terry had passed a message around but we'd missed it, and so had Nick. Terry held us there for 6 minutes, and we left as a group with a big bunch of riders who also arrived before the sticker were available. I did a few minutes on the front, seeing Nick coming the other way, before taking a wrong turn at the first opportunity, despite having Terry's track displayed on my GPS. This was a bit of a lietmotif for me.
A large bunch of us stayed together as far as the second control at Thurleigh. Terry had warned that if we were quick, it would be closed. However, they appeared to have opened early as the doors were open before the specified time. Myself, Chris, Ivan and Graham from SimonP's triclub, and a chap called Travis from Portland set off after 14 minutes, 5 minutes or so after the allowed time. The section to Earls Barton was a steady spin at 27-28kph. By this time, all thoughts of my plan to stick it out on my own at 25kph had been forgotten, and I was happy chatting to the rest of the group, who were all much more experienced cyclists than me. My GPS track is a bit of a mess in Earls Barton, so I can't see how long we stopped for, but it looks about 5 minutes; I refilled my drinks bottles and faffed with my GPS. We left the village about 10 minutes after the time allowed. I think Chris set off before the rest, and Travis, Ivan, Chris and I left together, rapidly passed by Nick.
The section from Earls Barton to Market Harborough was a bit more lumpy, and our speed varied a bit more. I really can't remember anything about this section other than a few hills, chatting to Travis about his frame (handbuilt by a friend in Portland; very pretty), and a couple of small bridges. We arrived at Market Harborough at dead on the specified time, and stopped for 20 minutes, where Chris appeared from a side street. He and Travis watched the bikes whilst we took turns to visit cafes / cash points, etc. I apparently broke a cardinal rule of Cafe Nero by helping myself to a muffin from the open counter which had openings that appeared only to be accessible to the customer. Oh well.
Chris shot off before us, and as set off on the section to Wymondham, we were joined by another rider on a Kinesis RacelightT2 (John, IIRC). As it started to get more hilly we rejoined Chris, but Travis dropped off the back a few times, and soon asked us to keep going, which was the last we saw of him. This was the part of the ride where I felt strongest, and was really happy with with the short, sharp hills and interesting scenery. The bit near Tilton on the Hill was particularly fun, and at times felt like a rollercoaster.
We arrived at The Windmill at Wymondham at about 1.30pm, so pretty much dead on the specified 25kph moving average (3 minutes late). Nick and a chap on a fixed with monster chainring appeared to be in the middle of a feast when we arrived. By this point, whilst riding I'd already consumed 5 chocolate flapjacks, 1.5 litres of energy/electrolyte goop, 4 bottles of blue powerade, a ice mocha, 2 packets of ready salted crisps and a spiced apple muffin. Despite that, I ordered a slice of coffee and walnut cake and a chocolate ice cream when I got my bottles refilled, as I can usually just throw food down my throat on an audax, and the exercise physiologist in my research group at work had suggested that eating as much as I could tolerate was the best approach. Ivan, Graham and John ordered soup, as they figured it would be the quickest item on the menu. Chris shot off quite quickly, but I figured my cake and ice cream were imminent. However, nothing happened for 20 minutes, and when we went back in, 3 of the staff were just standing around. They seemed surprised when I asked about the whereabouts of my food and immediately handed it over. We eventually got away after a total stop of 35 minutes. I hear it's usually great in there.
Section 6 was over to Market Deeping. I recall it being a bit of a slog, but the GPS suggests we were ripping along at over 30kph for long sections. I really can't pull much out of my memory banks. I recall arriving at Market Deeping (GPS suggests around 3.50pm) and being greeted by the aroma of chips with lashings of salt and vinegar. I suggested stopping for some, despite having managed to get another flapjack down, but I think the other three thought I was joking. We all grabbed receipts from the cashpoint and Graham grabbed a round of bottled water, during which time Chris emerged from somewhere over my shoulder. We were away by 4pm.
Section 7 is where it started to go a bit awry for me. I think I'd slightly overdone it on the last section, trying to do my share on the front. However, this section was where I needed to do my bit, as it was very exposed and straight into the wind. I've never ridden with a club, or done any group riding outside the 3 audax I've done previously. The others had phrases that involved certain rotations, and peeling off in particular directions, and the like. I felt quite out of my depth, and started to find the pace and changes in speed really hard going. I soon found that I wasn't being left on the front for long. By this point, I'd started to feel quite sick, and breathing hard made me want to wretch. Eventually, we made the turn at Thorney, which put the wind behind us. Further respite emerged, as at this point we were offered a stop at one of the groups in-laws at Whittlesey. It turned out they were keen cyclists, and had but on a wonderful spread of tea and cakes. A 30 minute stop with several cups and 3 hot cross buns ensued. I spent some time laid out on the grass with my boots off, and eventually I felt somewhat restored. We continued on towards Chatteris, but when we hit the wind again, I began to struggle with nausea again, and soon wasn't able to stay on the back even, let alone do anything useful on the front. The rest of the group were very generous, and formed an echelon formation (new to me), and explained where I should sit. It was like being hoovered along. Despite that, somewhere along the B1093 towards Doddington, I lost the will to try to keep up, and fell back. Chris generously offered to ride with me, and the other three sped along. We quickly caught them again as they missed the turn to Dykemoor Drove. Fortunately, the bumpy road surface suited my 30mm tyres better than Chris' 23s, so I didn't feel like I was holding him up too much, and quickly felt better because of the reduced pace. At the petrol station at Chatteris we ran into Ivan and Graham again. We stopped for just 2 minutes at Chatteris to grab receipts, leaving at about 6.20pm.
The last section to Hauxton was at a decent pace due to the strong tailwind. Graham had a dinner party to get to, and the fast 3 sped on only to immediately take a wrong turn as they were out of earshot. It was several km later that they repassed us, so the detour must have been significant. The gps suggests we were doing a steady 30km on this stretch, and we soon hit Cambridge. By this point, I just wanted a cup of tea and a sit down, so we put the hammer down a bit, and I ignored the pretty bits at the backs. Despite sticking around 29kph through Cambridge, a young couple riding pretty fixies few by us. The wind got really strong as we passed hit the A10, and the last section down to Hauxton was at over 40kph in places. We arrived at the village hall with 7.57pm showing on the GPS, to find the faster riders tucking into soup. Chris and I were 5th and 6th home, as Graham had gone direct to his party.
Terry was dishing up more soup and bread as we arrived, along with the much longed for tea. I settled in. Recollections of the day followed and my wife, still on a high from the news that her 15 year wait for her beloved QPRs return to the top flight was over, told me not to hurry home. I sat around for 50 minutes, during which time Malcolm and another rider from Cambridge rolled in. Malcolm had experienced the same nausea as me, which we both found produced gagging when taking deep breaths. I had a gentle pootle back home, arriving with 335km on the clock for the day. It's only today, 2 days later, that it has really passed. I realised I'd overdone it when the bottle of Old Thumper waiting for me tasted much too strong for me. Still, the morning after I managed 3 breakfasts.
The positives I'll take away from it are
1. The 5000km I've done since January have put me in better shape than the 8200km I'd done before last year's Mildenhall 300 had put me in.
2. Compared to then, losing 1.3kg off my tyres, losing the steel expedition rack, and 3kg off my belly, along with a steady discipline of attacking the local hills in a gear equivalent to 68 has made me enjoy what limited hills
Rutland offered up, despite what I had in my bag.
3. On local terrain, I can chug along at 26-27kph fairly happily.
4. I am getting better at moving through controls efficiently.
5. No recurrence of the bike fit problems I was having; a hellbent post with 40mm of layback, combined with 135mm stem solve the short top tube problem. Also, not a bit of hand, saddle or knee pain. Legs felt pumped the next day, but no other aches or pains.
The negatives are
1. I can't do long stints at 30kph+, even when my fellow riders are happy for me to take less than my fair share at the front, and when I try this makes me feel ill and sad. I need to drop off the back earlier or resist the temptation to try to stick with faster riders (stories of massive Ironman experience from more than one group member, whilst very interesting, should be taken as a warning, as should the presence of bikes that weigh less than your saddlebag).
2. Eating as much as I can combined with going harder than I was equipped to didn't work for me, and I now realise there are limits to my "eat as much as possible" strategy that has worked up to now.
3. My bike is much, much heavier than the others I rode with, partly because it is what it is (a steel tourer with clearance for 42mm tyres and mudguards, with 36h touring wheels), but partly because of what I carried. I need to think more about what I can take out of my bag.* It's really not the tool for group riding where speeding up and slowing down is part of the game.
4. Even when using the jwo/frankie named waypoint/wiggly track/invisible route method, I can still misread a gps
5. I don't know anything about group riding techniques.
Overall, a brilliant ride for me. Despite feeling grotty for a bit, I hit my target and I did more in the group than I have when I've got caught up with fast groups previously. I'm going to read the stuff on audax indigestion and look into group riding info. Ideally, I'd go on some club rides, but work/family probably precludes that. My wheels will soon have done 20000km, and there's currently about 1.3mm on the rims, so I'll probably look at getting something a bit lighter. I need to thing about what I carry in my bag. Suggestions on what to drop for my 600 at Seething would be very welcome.
Data
*My Nelson Longflap contained
A spare Schwalbe Marathon Racer
2x spare inner tubes
Some homemade tyre boots
3x tyre levers
2 spoke keys
An emergency spoke (kevlar thingy)
A multitool
A proper chain tool
several power links and a few spare links
Spare gear, brake and straddle cables
5 reusable zipties
8 chocolate flapjacks
bonk rations (several gels and an energy bar)
A waterproof jacket
Rainlegs
Some antihistamines
An asthma inhaler
It weighed 3.5kg!
