400km Audax

This weekend I rode the excellent 400km from Denmead (nr Portsmouth) to Weston-Super-Mere and back, via Amesbury and Cheddar Gorge. The ride westward was into a blustery headwind, and the route across Salisbury plains and Porton Downs offered no shelter: put simply, for 5 hours I felt like I was climbing a mountain rather than progressing across relatively flat countryside! The descent through Cheddar Gorge was a blast, but the climb at the other side (and later, heading homeward, up to Shaftsbury) was anything but! Eastward was mainly done in the dark (about 150km) but broken up by the infamous (at least in audax circles) mobile catering van organised by el Supremo. These longer events are a real challenge, being more about managing to overcome the stresses in your body than issues of fitness, but this makes them all the more rewarding! I’ve posted some 200km, 300km and 600km events that I have entered to the club forum racing pages, and would be delighted to have your company on the rides!