Winchelsea 100km Audax – Sunday 12th October

The Start Of A Great day!

It was a quarter to eight start at the Bridge Café where Malcolm Carr & I met Steve Curtis, who kindly gave us a lift to Hailsham for the kick-off.  We got to the start point in plenty of time and met up with Derek, Nick and Tom.  Sign on was quick with organizer David Hudson efficiently handing out Brevet cards whilst simultaneously serving tea and coffee.  With everyone ready we set out just before nine, catching up with a large group of our fellow Audaxers as we hit the familiar roads on the way to Hankam.  There was a good selection of riders from all over Sussex sporting jerseys from Eastbourne Rovers, Lewes Wanderers, Brighton Excelsior & more.  I found myself riding next to a seasoned Audaxer who had travelled over from Chichester to ride.

Soon we were though Pevensey and on to the ‘home turf’ of Hebrand Walk, and then Bexhill and Hastings seafronts, before starting the long drag up Harold Road and Barley Lane.  A brief regroup at the top and we made our descent of Battery Hill, glad that we weren’t one of the many riders slogging their way up in the other direction, taking part in the Big Dipper Sportive organized by Velopace. Once out on Pett Level we were passed by a group of riders making quicker progress.  Not to miss an opportunity we jumped on their wheels and followed them to the first checkpoint at Winchelsea.  We were already nearly 30 miles in (sorry 50km, this is an Audax after all) and the fantastic spread of hot and cold drinks, along with box upon box of sandwiches, chocolates, cakes and fruit was a welcome sight.  The flapjacks were especially nice, I tried three or four just make sure.  I’m certain one of the reasons I cycle is to lose weight, or at least not put it on – mmm, time to move on!

Leaving Winchelsea, and heading further inland we joined the Udimore Road only to be greeted by some familiar faces and club jerseys sportive-ing in the other direction.

Superb Choice Of Grub Courtesy Of 'El Supremo'

After a flat start, the ride through Broad Oak and across the A21 brought us to the hillier second half of the ride.  This started to break up the larger bunch of riders into smaller groups, who we would pass, and then in turn be passed by for the remainder of the ride.  Our group of six stopped by the White Hart Inn at Netherfield to re-form, but wait, there was only five of us, where was Nick?  We waited for a few minutes, but decided he must have taken an alternative route.  We pressed on only to be rejoined by Nick at a junction about a mile down the road.

Progressing on toward Heathfield, Horam and then back into Hailsham the hills didn’t diminish, if anything getting a little steeper and more frequent.  At least the state of many of the roads was pretty good, not the oft found minefield of pot-holes.  Steve liking the route decided this circuit would be ideal for a future club ride, I agreed, so watch this space…

One final hill and we were back where we started, with many of the riders finishing within a few minutes of each other.  Grabbing a hot coffee and some more food, I handed in my Brevet card only to be quizzed by the official “What was the distance marked on the sign-post from Horam to Black Boys?”.  Blindly following everyone else I hadn’t paid enough attention to my route, and so had not looked out for the sign that acted as an unmanned check-point.  Whooops!  I got the answer from a fellow rider and returned.  He agreed to mark up my card for me.  I must remember to pay more attention to the instructions next time.

After a quick guided tour of Hailsham’s housing estates, courtesy of Steve’s Sat Nav, we arrived back in St. Leonards just as the rain arrived.  After the last week, we’d been very lucky the weather had held out just long enough to allow for a very pleasurable ride.

Paul Butler