Post by davidp on May 21, 2018 15:35:52 GMT
For those who haven’t done an audax they are like a relaxed cyclo-sportive, there is usually a choice of distances typically 100k, 200k, 300k plus some long distance ones such as the 600k our friend Paul crook would be doing over this same wk/end. Audax events cost a typical £6 to £8 to enter and this will sometimes include food and drink at the finish, plus other control stops where you can purchase refreshments. Non audax UK members can enter, paying just an extra £2. You get a detailed route card which is now available to download for those who want to use their Garmin. The riders are usually experienced club and tourist types, some will have mudguards, lights and saddlebag, after all it’s about enjoying the route, often in like minded company, and no heroics. For more info and the calendar go to the Audax UK websirte.
So……. 9.00am Saturday 19th May at Meriden, it’s a fresh sunny morning and Mary & myself are off with 115 other cyclists who are riding the Heart of England CC Audax, ‘The Warwickshire Wanderer’. The 105 km course travels south and then east to the edge of the northern tip of the Cotswolds before heading back in a loop towards Meriden. As usual the riders quickly settle into smaller groups and by the first ‘information control’ at Norton Lindsay (22km) the two of us are just off the lead group and enjoying a pretty brisk ride with 6 others as the temperature starts to climb. This lovely audax has a choice of distances, ours has a gently rolling parcours except for the climb around 55 km into the country park at Burton Dassett. Unlike the roads where we live (Worcs/Shropshire border) we enjoy generally well surfaced ones on this event. Getting into quieter countryside we soon pass through the villages of Hampton Lucy and Charlecote and at 34 km we reach the first ‘Control’ stop in Wellesbourne. Our cards are stamped and we take this opportunity to have a short break with a drink and share a slice of cake and also stuff gilet and arm warmers into the back pockets. We’ve done this stage at an average of 27 kph which is pretty quick for an audax ride but the route has been fairly flat so far and we are soon on our way again, albeit a tad further down the field after our refreshment break.
On to stage 2 which takes us south east down to Kineton via some lanes through Moreton Paddox and over the Fosse Way and the Cotswold ridge is looming in the near distance. We don’t have to take the road up over Edge Hill but turn left just before it thank goodness; I don’t have particularly good memories of this area as the South Warwickshire 2 day I rode in 1969 was a difficult event for me, 240 km, and an early puncture on day one meant a 105 km solo chase which included the 15% climb of Sun Rising hill which lies just 8 km from todays route. Anyway, the sun is warm, the breeze is light, and the main challenge is coming up soon, courtesy of Burton Dassett, a 2 km haul up the hill into the country park with stretches around 18%, it certainly made the legs hurt getting up this one. We make a note of the ‘info’ control, enjoy the stunning views from the hill top, then plunge down to Fenny Compton and onto some lovely roads, past Bishops Itchington and on into Harbury for the second control stop (66km). We decide to take on a bit more food here and have a couple of drinks too, with 40 km still to ride before we finish and the weather is now quite warm, around 22 deg C.
The last leg, and it will be a bit more hilly, heading generally north, through Bascote Heath, Offchurch, Cubbington and Hill Wooton, then Honiley, Berkswell and finally Meriden. We have been gradually catching small groups of others who stay with us for a while, then they drop off as we keep our preferred pace, counting down the k’s, legs slowly tiring. There is now a mix of roads and lanes with short bits of main road, tiring little drags and short descents, and plenty of turns to follow on the route sheet I’m carrying. The last 10 km or so can always seem a bit endless on unknown roads, Mary is starting to flag on the climbs a bit but still going well elsewhere as we continue to catch and pass others, until finally we reach the end back at Meriden. We’ve averaged nearly 25kph and are in the first 10 to return so there is only a short wait to get our complimentary beans on toast, slice of cake, and mug of tea. We leave our cards with the organiser who stamped our return time and in due course we should get certified as having done the whole course, and hopefully got the information questions correct. It’s been a great day and we are suitably tired so Sunday will be a rest day, off the bike.
So……. 9.00am Saturday 19th May at Meriden, it’s a fresh sunny morning and Mary & myself are off with 115 other cyclists who are riding the Heart of England CC Audax, ‘The Warwickshire Wanderer’. The 105 km course travels south and then east to the edge of the northern tip of the Cotswolds before heading back in a loop towards Meriden. As usual the riders quickly settle into smaller groups and by the first ‘information control’ at Norton Lindsay (22km) the two of us are just off the lead group and enjoying a pretty brisk ride with 6 others as the temperature starts to climb. This lovely audax has a choice of distances, ours has a gently rolling parcours except for the climb around 55 km into the country park at Burton Dassett. Unlike the roads where we live (Worcs/Shropshire border) we enjoy generally well surfaced ones on this event. Getting into quieter countryside we soon pass through the villages of Hampton Lucy and Charlecote and at 34 km we reach the first ‘Control’ stop in Wellesbourne. Our cards are stamped and we take this opportunity to have a short break with a drink and share a slice of cake and also stuff gilet and arm warmers into the back pockets. We’ve done this stage at an average of 27 kph which is pretty quick for an audax ride but the route has been fairly flat so far and we are soon on our way again, albeit a tad further down the field after our refreshment break.
On to stage 2 which takes us south east down to Kineton via some lanes through Moreton Paddox and over the Fosse Way and the Cotswold ridge is looming in the near distance. We don’t have to take the road up over Edge Hill but turn left just before it thank goodness; I don’t have particularly good memories of this area as the South Warwickshire 2 day I rode in 1969 was a difficult event for me, 240 km, and an early puncture on day one meant a 105 km solo chase which included the 15% climb of Sun Rising hill which lies just 8 km from todays route. Anyway, the sun is warm, the breeze is light, and the main challenge is coming up soon, courtesy of Burton Dassett, a 2 km haul up the hill into the country park with stretches around 18%, it certainly made the legs hurt getting up this one. We make a note of the ‘info’ control, enjoy the stunning views from the hill top, then plunge down to Fenny Compton and onto some lovely roads, past Bishops Itchington and on into Harbury for the second control stop (66km). We decide to take on a bit more food here and have a couple of drinks too, with 40 km still to ride before we finish and the weather is now quite warm, around 22 deg C.
The last leg, and it will be a bit more hilly, heading generally north, through Bascote Heath, Offchurch, Cubbington and Hill Wooton, then Honiley, Berkswell and finally Meriden. We have been gradually catching small groups of others who stay with us for a while, then they drop off as we keep our preferred pace, counting down the k’s, legs slowly tiring. There is now a mix of roads and lanes with short bits of main road, tiring little drags and short descents, and plenty of turns to follow on the route sheet I’m carrying. The last 10 km or so can always seem a bit endless on unknown roads, Mary is starting to flag on the climbs a bit but still going well elsewhere as we continue to catch and pass others, until finally we reach the end back at Meriden. We’ve averaged nearly 25kph and are in the first 10 to return so there is only a short wait to get our complimentary beans on toast, slice of cake, and mug of tea. We leave our cards with the organiser who stamped our return time and in due course we should get certified as having done the whole course, and hopefully got the information questions correct. It’s been a great day and we are suitably tired so Sunday will be a rest day, off the bike.