Returning to a failed ride
“We leave the drama to Walter Presents”
This phrase will be familiar to anyone who streams drama from Channel 4 and sums up most of my rides. Depending on how I feel, I choose rides that are just within, or just at the limits of, my perceived capabilities. Back in May 2022 I entered the Audax Dinton 100 starting from Dinton Pastures, just outside Reading. I decided to ride this as an ECE - extended calendar event - riding about 50 km from home to the start and 50 km back home afterwards. About 45 km from home I shipped the chain changing up from the small chain ring; it became completely stuck between the small chain ring and the frame and I had to abandon.
Lessons to Learn
I’d ridden up Church Hill to pass All Saints Church at Binfield and was freewheeling down Church Lane when I tried to change up without pedalling; with nothing to guide the chain up to the larger chainring, it just fell into the gap between the small chain ring and the frame, becoming totally stuck. Lesson #1 - pedal.
When I took my bike to Alex, the Ealing Bike Mechanic, he told me that the front derailleur was slightly out of line. Lesson #2 - get the bike serviced more regularly by someone who knows what they are doing. I clean and wax my chains and I change the brake pads but derailleur adjustment is something I have not learned.
If you’ve ever had to abandon a ride and get help, here’s lesson #3: subscribe to ETA Cycle Rescue for £24 a year. More on this later.
What’s an ECE?
An Audax ECE - extended calendar event - is a very flexible way of converting an Audax calendar event into a longer event with more Audax points. I’m concentrating on rides of 200 km that count towards the Audax RRtY (Randonneur Round the Year) awards but I don’t want to miss out on shorter rides that look interesting or where I want to support the organiser.
Two examples show how flexible the ECE can be. I received an email inviting me to enter the Audax 103km Blowingstone White Horse event from Uffington on Sunday 8 May 2022. I knew that riding there, doing the event and riding back home - 300 km - was outside my current limits but after a few phone calls I booked a room for Saturday evening at the King and Queen in Longcot - excellent food and secure bike storage. I entered the event, then clicked the Extend Calendar Event on the event page to add the 100 km start to event and event to home. My ECE consisted of 5 km from Longcot to the start, then about 95 km home afterwards - fuelled by the best Bakewell tart I have ever tasted, courtesy of the local helpers at the finish.
Second example: I’ve ridden Tippy’s Ten Bridges from Maidenhead several times and wanted to ride it again earlier this year to support the organiser, Anne Mograby, who is always so helpful. My ECE was 35 km from home to the event for a 9.00 am start, then 65 km home after the event.
Trying Again
I decided to try the Dinton 100 as the basis for an Audax DIY 200 km event on 17 August. As this was forecast to be a humid day, I planned three possible stops for additional water and food. The first was to be at Dinton Pastures (at 46 km) where the new cafe opens at 8.30 am. The second was to be at the Country Market (99 km) and the third (150 km) back at Dinton Pastures (where the cafe closes at 4 pm).
The ride was going well; at 63 km I turned off the B3349 onto Bar Lane despite the “Road closed” ahead signs. When riding with other cyclists I used to joke that it’s not an Audax unless there is a road closure. The driver of a works pickup van tried to warn me that the road really was closed but I rode on: partly this was because I can be bone-headed but mainly because the Audax rules for riding a DIY with a mandatory route require proof that a diversion really was needed.
Road closed - that means you too!
I’d passed a diversion sign about 500 m back, so returned and took it. Bad move, I really should have checked before taking this blindly. It led to the busy A33; deciding that I wasn’t ready to die yet, I did the sensible thing and opened my route app (plotaroute) on my phone and decided to try riding back to the B road, then taking the next turn to the right towards Bottle Lane and Turgis. No guarantee because I did not know where the roadworks ended but worth a shot. This worked and I was able to take a photo of the end of the roadworks, to prove that my diversion was necessary.
I rode on to cross the A30 just north of Up Nateley. By the side of the A30 I found an Audax hotel (also known as a bus shelter): not the quietest location but somewhere to sit and eat the sandwiches I had brought with me.
When I checked the distance I had ridden on my Garmin against the planned route on the app on my phone, I had ridden an additional 8 km, making the lunch stop at 107 km rather than 99. Not good news, but I had not had to abandon.
Rested and refreshed, I rode on. pausing in Odiham to take a photo. The High Street has a number of tempting cafes for a more leisurely ride.
Odiham HIgh Street
Just before the village of Well I stopped to take a photo with distant views of sheep.
View to the right of Blake’s Cottages, near Well
4 km further on, I crossed the A31 to find an horrendous traffic jam. The A31 was being resurfaced and traffic was being diverted along narrow country lanes. A cyclist coming towards me warned that it was hardly possible to get a bike through; I replied that I was turning off soon - not soon enough as it happened!
At best the lanes were just wide enough for cars to pass provided that those on one side tucked in really close to the verge and hedges. I followed a lorry which was so wide that it was taking down leaves from trees on both sides of the road. It was a very slow 2 km to the Islington Road.
And so to lunch at the Country Market, a garden centre, farm shop and shopping outlet. I usually lock my bike very carefully to something immobile but as almost all of the clientele were even older than I am, I relaxed my caution while I ordered a panini and cake and got a water bottle topped up. Two very old men asked me about my route. One asked me which club I belonged to; he volunteered that he used to ride with the Hounslow Wheelers. He asked, in jest obviously, if I was planning to take the M4 back. “Yes, of course, but I will get off at Reading.”
With the diversion and the slow journey from the A31 I was hoping for an uneventful ride back to Dinton and then home. I got what I wanted, with only two short climbs that Garmin identified.
I stopped to take a photo of a modernised former oast house at the junction of Hole Farm Lane and Crondall Road.
Oast House at the junction of Hole Farm Lane and Crondall Road
Back at Dinton Pastures the cafe promised gourmet coffee. I’m quite fussy about coffee (and many other things, I have to admit) and my Americano (served in a mug) was very good. There’s free water at the counter; I filled up for the journey home which was easy and uneventful.
A failed ride put to bed!
ETA Cycle Rescue Service
My link to ETA Cycle Rescue is not an affiliate link; I don’t get paid for the recommendation. It’s your money and if you prefer to chance a large taxi bill, that’s your choice.
ETA used to send a mechanic equipped to work on a car; they now arrange a taxi to home, a bike shop or a station. When I broke down near All Saints Church, I walked with the bike back to the church yard, sheltered in the lych gate and phoned the rescue line. I had to repeat the same information to more than one person and confirm that my bike was not foldable. Well within an hour, a taxi with a ramp arrived to take me to Twyford station. The driver initially suggested Maidenhead station which is nearer to London but accepted that at Twyford I could get to the platform without steps or using a lift. Sorted, disappointed, but sorted! Thank you, ETA.
And, did I mention, they will also rescue riders who can’t continue because of a puncture. This happened to me once, on my first ride after lockdown, when I fell victim to a piece of wood with a nail in it that came from repairs to the fencing at Cliveden. Less than a minute later, a new Mercedes suffered the same fate; the driver and the woman he was taking to lunch were less than amused. My tyre suffered a very long gash with sealant sprayed everywhere. Not even the largest tyre boot would have helped.
Where’s the Route Map?
As the route was devised by someone else, it’s not mine to post. However, a quick search for the event produces a link to the route on ridewithgps.
