The weather forecast was for very strong winds and fifty mile an hour gusts but myself, Malc C, Malc D, Patrick, Jamie,Andy T and Shirley would not be put off riding it.
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| Malc tries out the Defy for size! |
Due to a broken wheel Malc C would have to ride my Giant Defy while I was glad to be back on my beloved Cannondale Caad 8 fresh from the bike shop after being treated to a new gear cable and comfy bar tape.
Stepping out of our warm vehicles we were immediately buffeted by the strong winds and their significant wind chill. Shirley is gradually building up cycle gear but having just purchased a 750 lumens light for the chain-gang her budget could not stretch to cycling tights so she was still wearing shorts (brr!)
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| A quick giggle before the serious stuff begins! |
The initial part of the route had some undulating terrain and it was on one of these hills that we stopped to tighten up Malc D's gear shifter. This gave Shirley the chance to catch up with us, I told her not to stop , we would soon catch her up, or so I thought.
After sorting out the shifter we moved onto a long descent. Malc C got a bit carried away and despite not having a map or GPS he led the charge, completely oblivious to the right hand turn we were supposed to make. I tried to catch him up to tell him to take the next one instead but he was too far ahead and missed that one as well. Eventually he heard our frantic cries and we cycled back up to the second turn. Unfortunately this is where I suffered our one and only puncture. Now it was Jamie's turn to catch us up and just like Shirley we urged him to keep riding and we would attempt to catch him up.
Heading generally west/south west meant we were heading into a very strong head winds for mile after mile. This didn't bother me at all but our average speed was taking a severe knock. After what seemed like hours we had only ridden thirty miles and were less than half the way round. Heading through Uckfield we had yet another delay when I stupidly changed down the gears while in the big ring causing a complete chain jam. Loosing the rear wheel in the frame was the only way to free it (thanks Malc)
The gps route had made navigation a breeze until we turned right down what felt like someone's private drive. We had to keep close to the left as a number of very expensive cars came past us in the opposite direction . When the road finished with a cluster of nice
looking houses we knew something was wrong . While wandering what to do next a small group of friendly lady cyclists plus Jamie turned up equally confused. Using our collective garmins we tried another lane but a local dog walker grumpily informed us this was also a dead end. There was nothing for it but to go back to the main road and 'shock horror' use our common sense to navigate to Wivelsfield . We though our new friends would ride with us for a while but they must have gone off and tried yet another lane as they failed to reappear back onto the main road. Malc D is famous for his inbuilt sense of direction but he must have been feeling really tired as he asked me to try to work it out with my garmin. Zooming out I could see that if we headed south west we would eventually be back on route and sure enough after a quick blast on the main road we were back on route.
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| Malc's frame could be a right off? |
We knew that the organisers had prepared a tea and cake stop for us somewhere near Clayton. Looking ahead I could see Clayton windmill looming far above us and hoped that we would not have to ride up to the windmill itself. Fortunately the stop was at the 'natural cemetery' just outside Ditchling. It was disappointing not to see the familiar figure of the B.Bomber but I soon forgot about Tom after munching some marzipan stollen cake and drinking several cups of fresh tea.
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| the two Malcs prepare to leave the 'natural' cemetery! |
leaving the cemetery we were now heading east and so would enjoy the strong westerly wind at our backs for the rest of the ride. The remaining 25 miles were fantastic fun as we first traversed some lovely little lanes around Clayton before heading out on B roads towards Lewes and beyond where we were bowled along at 20+ miles with very little effort except for Malc D who had to keep his little legs spinning frantically in his inner chainring.
We arrived at HQ about ten minutes after Shirley who had ridden brilliantly with an average speed only 1 mph less than ours. Patrick and Andy T were long gone. they had come in before any other riders and used the tail wind to blow themselves all the way back to Hastings.
Many thanks to Tom and the other organisers for a great event. The next available audax is the much harder 'Hills and Mills' http://www.aukweb.net/events/detail/16-77/
Steve C
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