Tour de Ricky - what a day!
Wow, what a day! Finished it, got it validated, met some great people, completed my 25th ride of the Audax year and will soon join the other 15 Audax members who have ridden 5000 km in rides of 200 km or longer. Slightly frazzled start and a bizarre problem with my front derailleur just before the final hills kicked in.
Slightly frazzled start
My partner, blog post reviewer and loyal soigneuse offered me a lift to the start. Bike in the back of the car the evening before and various essentials - shoes, helmet, Garmin, just about but not quite everything - in the footwells, we started off with enough time to get to Woodoaks Farm for an 8 am start. No need to persuade the latest iteration of the car navigation system to connect because we knew the way, didn’t we? All straightforward until we turned off the A40 at the Denham turn, only to find a long queue on the sliproad leading to a field which had become a car park. I’ll never know whether Google maps or Apple’s equivalent would have shown the delay and suggested the M25.
With the car parked by the exit from Renault on the A412, we fitted the front wheel and loaded the bike with bottles and my usual kitchen sink approach to stuff in the Tailfin AeroPack. As I rode along the farm road to the start, a wave of riders was starting off. With no queue for the brevet card, I soon joined others for the start.
The wave of riders before my turn
Riding through Wiggington to the First Control
Within a few kilometres we were riding through the picturesque villages of Chenies and Latimer, along some beautiful lanes including Codmore Wood Road which is one of my favourites for the views.
It was somewhere along here that I opened my top tube bag and realised that the reason there was so much free space in it was that my wallet was “absent without leave” - I did write above that I had packed “just about but not quite everything”. I wasn’t expecting to need - absolutely need - money apart from at Benson where I had to collect a receipt. I’d find a way, possibly using Google’s Wallet on my Pixel. In the unlikely event of a serious mechanical I wouldn’t need money for a train fare because there was a train strike, so that was one problem sorted.
As my pace is not the fastest (understatement!), I was relieved to pass a number of riders who had stopped in Wigginton to record the name of the pub (“The Greyhound”). I rode on, confident that I could commit this to memory - or Google it later or even ask another rider in true Audax fashion.
Stag Inn at Mentmore
13 km further on, the road rises to a junction with the Stag at Mentmore on the right. I can recommend it for an evening meal. For me on this route, it serves as a reminder that the next section of road is very bumpy, it feels “corrugated”. It’s not just a case of dodging potholes: we are all accustomed to that. It is a case of staying on the bike as it is thrown around by the surface.
The first control where cards would be stamped was at 54 km, just past the village of Mursley. I was quite pleased to see a really ugly water tower as I left the village: why? Because water towers are at the highest point of the land. As I stopped to take a photo of the tower, I spotted a blue plaque: for me, this was more worthy of note than the tower.
In memory
The grassed area outside the Egg Farm Cafe at the Mursley Farm Shop was full of groups - mainly young - enjoying a break in the sun. I’d queued for water behind riders from the West London Cycling club (of which I am a member) but as they left I decided to ride on. Liam who organised the event used the tag “Cake not Kudos”; it wasn’t a race but much as I like cake, I don’t like queues.
Mursley to Silverstone
The route crossed the A421 and passed through Whaddon, Upper Weald and Lower Weald. Turning almost back on itself, the route continued along a fast rolling minor road to a turn to the small village of Passenham. Just before a left hand bend stands the Mill House.
The Domesday survey records a mill in the village; this mill belonged to the Royal Estate and appears to have been in use until 1415. It was superseded by a new mill, first mentioned in 1557.
The mill has a ghost story. The ghost story of Nancy Webb, on the night of the October Deanshanger feast a figure in white bearing a child in her arms is supposed to head to the Passenham Mill race into which she plunged, her white dress floating on the water. She had lost her husband in the Crimean War (1853 - 1856) and her new born son shortly after. Nancy's continued visits to the graveyard unhinged her so she threw herself in the Mill Race where she was mangled by the wheel.
Excerpt from http://www.mkheritage.org.uk/wdahs/pass/docs/mill/mill.html
The route continued over the A43 to the Towcester Road where I met a fellow Audaxer who asked me, somewhat anxiously, if I had seen a sign with the distance to Stowe, which was the next info control. I assured him that we had not reached the distance yet; he said that his distances were out because he had started from home. A left turn took us over the A43 again where I noted the distance to Stowe - 4 miles, btw - before we continued past the impressive Silverstone Technology Park and Circuit. The car parks were empty but we soon heard the distinctive roar of motorcycles from the Motorcross Circuit.
Silverstone to Brill
Gravity assisted, I rode quite fast down through Dadford where I paused for a fellow rider, a woman from the Maidenhead Cycling Club, who had stopped because she was not sure of the route. “My Garmin’s gone haywire”, she said. “This way”, I assured her and she sped off. I saw her again just before the left turn into Welsh Lane where she paused and looked back towards me; I gave her a “thumbs up” and she continued. It was a bit of “hare and tortoise” tale. She soon joined up with a male hare: I think they are called “jacks”. He was quite large, sporting a jersey emblazoned “GIANT”. I lost sight of them as they climbed past a spinney; here the route continues straight on, to turn left on the A422. Perhaps they turned left just past the spinney. I did not see them again; did they go off route or did they know a better route? They certainly weren’t on the A422. Did I mention that I had “recced” the route the previous weekend to make sure that I did not make any navigational errors that would cost me time on the day?
At just over 100 km we met the HS2 works with traffic lights for construction vehicles crossing the road. Shortly after came the EWR works for the proposed Oxford to Cambridge rail route.
The number of diggers lined up was very impressive. I was pleased to note that the operatives were not working at the weekend, which is good for them as well as for the massive budget.
Next up the villages of Edgcott and Grendon Underwood. About half way between these villages and just off a bend stands a site with two prisons: Springhill, a men’s open prison and Grendon Prison, a therapeutic community. There’s considerable local opposition to propsals for a new and larger category C prison on the site. No prisons in my back yard.
And on towards Brill. Garmin’s ClimbPro feature show a climb of 2.26 km at an average of 4%. Regular Garmin users will understand that an average often if not usually conceals much steeper sections: the final climb to the windmill is hard. I was really pleased to see two volunteers, one of whom checked that I had completed the info questions and stamped my card while his colleague filled my water bottles. Many thanks! I’ve volunteered for control duty myself and appreciate that it can be quite tough, combining long periods of waiting with a flurry of activity when several riders want to get their cards stamped without delay.
Liam had promised us “a real treat” in the descent from Brill. The views were exhilirating, with some care needed over corrugated sections of tarmac towards the bottom.
Brill to Benson
The route descended to Oakley at 121 km, then passed the turn for the Waterperry Garden Centre and cafe which features as a control on some Audax routes. It continued through Wheatley for a right turn into Sworford Lane passing through Little Milton and on to Chalgrove. Oxfordshire County Council had spread the thinnest possible layer of tar on this route and had then spread chippings, leaving it to motorists to do the work of road rollers while suffering damage to their paintwork and windscreens. This is not just a rant - yes, it is a rant -but it becomes important later in this account. Bear with me!
Two chipped kilometres from Little Milton and just before the turn for Rofford, I saw two women cyclists stopped on the other side of the road. “OK?” I asked. “Just taking a break.” “May I ask if you are on an event - I see you have numbers”. “We’re doing the Chilterns 75” was the reply. When they asked what I was doing and I said I was on a 200, their response was “in one day?”; I had to clarify that the distance was kilometres, so not very far distant from their 75 miles. When I told them that I had been doing this distance regularly since retirement, they said that they found this inspirational. Even cyclists don’t seem to realise that age does not have to mean shorter distances or easier rides.
The next part of the ride to Benson was very easy. I’d decided to skip the Riverside Cafe in Benson because the queues can be quite lengthy and I had brought my own rolls (which I had been eating in short stops). I opted instead for the Co op. Only problem, no wallet and I didn’t seem able to open the wallet app on my phone, probably because I seldom use it. I rested my bike against the Co op shop wall and asked another rider if he would look after my bike. He said that he would be on his way very shortly after he had fixed a bolt on his saddlebag. I explained that I was going to have to blag a receipt - someone else’s or a cancelled receipt - because I had become separated from my wallet. This rider, Steve, whom I had never met asked me what I needed and immediately offered me a £20 note. I accepted gratefully and said I would get the cheapest item and soon reappeared with a chocolate bar and his change; his friends joked that the coins would weigh him down. I offered him the chocolate bar which he said he would like but was lactose intolerant; he advised me to eat it before it melted. Steve with the Fairlight bike - you were my life saver, thank you so much for your generosity.
Benson to Marlow
I rode on, soon to be passed by Steve and his friends. The route took us through Ewelme, past the watercress beds, and across Cow Common to a right hand bend where the road becomes Church Lane. This starts gently and soon becomes steep, very steep with 155 km in the legs. I rode alongside a much younger man who managed to keep up with me (!) but lost him as we turned left at Cookley Green onto the B480 towards Watlington, then soon right towards Christmas Common. Church Lane completed, I knew that we had some gently rolling roads and a great descent into Fingest, then a short and easy climb before rolling down into Marlow.
I reflected on how I loved the way that my SRAM electronic groupset looks after the front chainring changes for me. So, of course, do the Shimano electronic groupsets. This was to prove hubris - my pride and confidence were to be tested shortly.
As I rode out of Fingest and through Moor End (passing the two Triumph Spitfires that appear to be rotting in the verge), I changed gear a few times and noticed that my Garmin was not showing the correct front chainring. No immediate worry, probably (I thought) a software glitch of some sort.
Marlow to Rickmansworth
Liam had advised “You won’t get any sympathy for moaning about the route which avoids the road of death from Marlow to Bourne End and saves you from being buffeted by drivers playing a high speed game of ‘I pay road tax’.”
The route out of Marlow takes in Quarry Wood Road with its hairpin bends. There’s a right hand bend at the bottom, then a climb that gets steeper to a hairpin bend with a double digit gradient. I’ve seen people stop on this bend, which is somewhere between difficult and almost fatal for anyone close behind. I need low gears, not the lowest but certainly a 1:1 ratio for this bend. As I went to change into the small chainring, the derailleur motor whirred but the chain stayed on the big ring. I circled round and dropped down to try again - same thing, whirring but not changing. Clearly my fault for my earlier hubris. It might have been sensible to dismount and walk but I am determined, no, I am obstinate. With the normally forbidden combination of big ring at the front and big ring at the back, I just managed the hairpin and laboured to the top.
I got some respite on the drop down to Cookham where I met a young man from Brixton with whom I had shared a farm gateway earlier when we both stopped to administer suncream and discuss tyres. He’d stopped at The White Oak pub and was suitably refreshed with coke (the legal sort) and crisps, plus a refill of his water bottles. He was confident that the answer to the info control - “animal on pub name?” was a swan from the Old Swan Uppers pub that we had just passed. I ventured to suggest that perhaps we had not reached the distance given for the control but he was adamant. As an oldie, I know that one should not argue with the young: they know everything, having discovered alcohol, sex and myriad other joys. I rode on: the answer is “Dragon” from the Bell and Dragon pub. OK, it’s a mythical animal but a swan is a bird. No doubt the controllers would have amended his card for him at the finish because that’s the way it works with Audax.
The cross-chaining - big on the front to big on the back - was to continue with the climb of Harvest Hill. How could my beloved groupset have failed after just under 10,000 km? Would I look a right plonker in the bike shop for having done something stupid? What would it cost? - it would not be cheap. As these thoughts went round in my head, the kilometres went by and I got back to Woodoaks Farm where my brevet card was validated.
We should not underestimate the work that Liam and his colleagues have to do to get all the data uploaded to the Audax site. I would like to record my gratitude to him and his team of volunteers.
Finish to Home
As I was leaving Woodoaks, one of the West London cyclists asked me if I would be on the following day’s ride. “Probably not!” He’s young, I need the recovery time.
I hadn’t gone far when a text message popped up on my Garmin. It was my “DS” asking “Where are you going?” When I phoned back to summarise my route, she said that she had expected me to go through Harefield. There’s a hill. “No”, I said, with no explanation. I could have borrowed a better response from Sully (“Miracle on the Hudson”) - “unable".
Next Day - Front Derailleur Issue
I spent part of the morning trying to find solutions to my FD issue on internet. Knowing that I would have to take it back to Cyclefit and that they would probably change the shifter batteries “to be on the safe side”, I changed them because I have a large box of CR2032 batteries and did not want to pay shop prices. I also verified the firmware. One post I saw referred to the limit screws becoming loose. This seemed a possible issue as the derailleur cage was definitely too far to the outside. However, fiddling with these is well beyond my pay grade; to the bike shop it would have to be. I contented myself with changing the pedal batteries: that’s about the limit of my competence.
I keep my bike very clean. When the weather cooled down for the day, I washed the bike carefully and took a cleaning stick from the kitchen to remove the last traces of dirt from the FD. It’s then that I noticed a tiny chipping from the road: remember my rant? I carefully flicked it out, the cage resumed its normal position and the front derailleur started to work correctly again. A short trip along the road confirmed that when I tried to shift into the lowest gear at the rear while on the big chainring, the system would move the chain to the small ring at the front and make a compensating change at the rear. What a relief!
I don’t believe in reincarnation. In case I am wrong and I am reborn as a clone of Lachlan Morton or Gael Wilcox, I will know what to do if I get a similar issue on Unbound Gravel 2123. I had not expected this on normal roads. On the bright side, there was no paintwork damage and the bike does not have a windscreen to chip.
