Willy Warmer 200k

"Willy Warmer" 200km

I was a bit nervous about this event, having attempted one 200 before
and packed, and got quite sore and tired on 100s. 0800 starts in the
middle of nowhere are not really a good fit with my usual sleep cycle
- I got to bed at 0100 and to sleep at 0300, then up at 0510, eat
pasta, grab luggage, out at 0550 to catch the Tube from Aldgate out to
Chorleywood. I seem to be making a habit of Tubing to the start of
these affairs - a wise choice on this occasion, since the railways had
decided running trains was beneath their dignity.

5 mile run to the start - the usual collection of miscellaneous bikes,
one trike (misidentified as Legs Larrington's, but soon sorted the
confusion out), everyone's luggage was smaller than mine and in many
cases smaller than the pair of malt loaves I had stowed away. Collect
brevet card and amended routesheet, drink tea, eat marble cake, out of
excuses so off we went at 8am. We were heading West from Chalfont St
Peter towards Sonning Common - into a headwind, naturally.

I noodled around at the back trying to find a group to surreptitiously
tail-suck, and eventually fell in with Alex from ACF. He had cracked a
rib recently and was on a 74" fixed, too high for the terrain - making
a reasonable match speed-wise with me just being slow and cautious.
Alex also had a GPS - helpful, but probably not necessary - and a head
torch - vital. Every previous event with darkness I've done, I've done
with a stoker/ navigator on the back with a wee torch and the
routesheet - the problem of navigating in the dark simply had not
occurred to me. I'd have been in moderate trouble had he not rode
along with me.

We were pretty much dead last at the 55km control in Pangbourne, but
still had enough time in the bag to grab food and leave with 10-15
minutes to spare - also at this stop and all others I hogged some of
the malt loaf, which helped to keep me going.

Onwards West to an info at Pangbourne and the control at
Hungerford. Around the 70-80k mark Alex seemed to be struggling into
the headwind, which was very strong on some exposed portions - and I
was temporarily confused by a typo on the routesheet putting a turn at
89.9km not 99.8. "What's he talking about, we've got 10 kilometres to
go!" We got to the control before the cutoff, but left 10 minutes
after it - however, others had ordered food, and we weren't quite last
to leave.

As usual, the promised tailwind wasn't as strong as expected, but we
still were a lot feistier after a rest and some food and foul-tasting
energy drink. We got over to the info at Kingsclere (125km or so)
quite quickly, but stopped for five minutes there - during this phase
we kept overtaking a chap with a beard every time we got going, but he
was shunning stops and would pass us every time we stopped.
Unfortunately, we lost him at 175km and I think he DNF.

On again to stop at a level crossing at 145km - I was starting to feel
empty, and ate more substantially - and it was a very good idea to not
press on to the info at 153km in Mattingley before doing this. The
promised supermarket cafe at 174km in Winnersh was closed, leaving us
munching dubious food in a chilly foyer instead. At this point we
seemed to be catching up, with two other riders still there when we
arrived and three more drifting in before we departed. A German chap
(who we thought was French) left this control slightly before us, but
we passed him shortly afterwards - he hung onto us for a bit, then
dropped back again.

There was a recurrent idea there'd be some stiff climbing to come after
the final control, but it never manifested - some moderately busy
roads around Maidenhead and Slough, though. I had a moment of glee as
we passed 200km, and the bonus 11km in the ride passed quickly as we
took the alternative homerun on "flatter, busier roads" - in fact,
there weren't many motons around at all, so this was unequivocally
good.

We made it in with about 45 minutes to spare. Nothing to write home
about, but nice to have more than just time for a puncture in the
bag. The German chap arrived about 20 minutes after us - I collapsed,
drank tea, and ate a toasted cheese sandwich before eventually forcing
myself back out to go and catch the last Tube but one.

Knees, bottom, wrists etc quite sore, of course, but nothing
critically so. By the time I made it back to Sarah's flat I'd got
about 250km on the clock.
--
David Damerell flcl?
Today is Chedday, January.

David Damerell writtificated

I was a bit nervous about this event, having attempted one 200 before
and packed, and got quite sore and tired on 100s.

I've done a couple of 150's and I could tell that a 200 would be a lot more
difficult so I'm doubly impressed that you ended up with 250 on the clock!
Have you any plans for further audaxes (or whatever the plural is)?

Quoting
Mark T pleasegivegenerously@warmail*turn_up_the_heat_to_ reply*.com.invalid:
David Damerell writtificated
I was a bit nervous about this event, having attempted one 200 before
and packed, and got quite sore and tired on 100s.
I've done a couple of 150's and I could tell that a 200 would be a lot more
difficult so I'm doubly impressed that you ended up with 250 on the clock!

The extra 40-odd was with long breaks in the form of hour Tube journeys to
split it up, though.

Have you any plans for further audaxes (or whatever the plural is)?

Nothing specific beyond the Stevenage Start of Summertime 200, which is
the one I packed from last year, but you'll find many urc types do many
more than I do. I'm just doing long writeups because they are far from
routine...
--
David Damerell flcl?
Today is Chedday, January.

On 28 Jan, 18:37, David Damerell
wrote:
"Willy Warmer" 200km

'Twas a pleasure. Not my fastest but then it's not a race.

Too long a gear and the inability to grimp up hills (thanks to the
rib)
didn't help. Nor did that headwind but then we were only marginally
faster en retour (20.8kph going out, 22.9kph coming back).

The bearded man did finish after taking a rather strange route to the
arrivee. One other was OOT (by quite a while) but he wasn't phased
in the slightest, his computer says he did at least 20km extra.

As has been said before, a 15kph minimum average speed
seems laughably easy until you try it over a long distance.

Pick another 200 in Feb and give it a go. You know you can
do the distance now. You'll never stop refining your equipment list
but you might want to take a headtorch next time.

A 3-strap headtorch is best if you don't wear the Magic Hat
of Protection (+1 [-1]) as, IME, the two strap version either
slips down over time or just feels too tight around the head.

FWIW I was shattered when I got back home. After I'd had a
bath and some food I spent at least 30 seconds trying to get the
charger to charge one of my batteries. Upon closer inspection the
"battery" turned out to be my Lypsyl (chap stick).

-Alex

In ,
David Damerell tweaked the Babbage-Engine
to tell us:

5 mile run to the start - the usual collection of miscellaneous bikes,
one trike (misidentified as Legs Larrington's, but soon sorted the
confusion out)

I was a DNS, which has led to 3/4 of a Randonneur Round The Year going out
the window :-( Also the trike is /still/ borken after its misbehaviour on
the 3 Down 300 last July...

--
Dave Larrington
http://www.legslarry.beerdrinkers.co.uk
And then there was light and He thought it was good, so He threw
the receipt away.

Quoting Alex :
Pick another 200 in Feb and give it a go. You know you can
do the distance now. You'll never stop refining your equipment list
but you might want to take a headtorch next time.

Unequivocally. I'd have been lost without yours. Literally.

Not in Feb, though, already lost all my weekends. Start of Summertime on
the 30th, but if Clare wants to do the 62, I'll be good and do the 62 with
her. Something on the first/second w/e in March, I suspect.
--
David Damerell Kill the tomato!
Today is Stilday, January - a weekend.

On 28 Jan, 21:34, Alex wrote:
Too long a gear and the inability to grimp up hills (thanks to the
rib)
didn't help. Nor did that headwind but then we were only marginally
faster en retour (20.8kph going out, 22.9kph coming back).

Alex, Is there any reason you wouldn't aim to run a lower gear for an
event like this?
I would have thought that if you were expectingto average 21km/h (I
assume that's while riding, since David's timings appear to include
breaks) you would expect to gear for that- A 74" gear (44x16?) would
have you riding at nearer 30km/h, if your cadence is in the eighties.
Swapping in an 18t sprocket would give you a 66" gear that would give
you 25-28km/h for 80-90rpm, but still let you hit 30mph on a descent
without going much over 150...
Of course, this assumes you have appropriate alternatives around and
the means to fit them!

Cheers,
W.

On 30 Jan, 09:51, wrote:
On 28 Jan, 21:34, Alex wrote:

Too long a gear and the inability to grimp up hills (thanks to the
rib)
didn't help. Nor did that headwind but then we were only marginally
faster en retour (20.8kph going out, 22.9kph coming back).

Alex, Is there any reason you wouldn't aim to run a lower gear for an
event like this?

It was purely apathy.

I use the 74.5" gear (48x17 on 25mm tyres) for commuting as my
commute is almost pan flat (Putney - Southbank). I tend to
average close to 30kph, despite the traffic, as I push quite hard.

I couldn't be arsed to go to the shed and put the 46T chainring on,
which would have a more sensible 71.4" gear on which I've done
various equally "hilly" audaxes.

I would have thought that if you were expectingto average 21km/h (I
assume that's while riding, since David's timings appear to include
breaks)

Yup, 20.85kph average according to the cycle computer, but I
was expecting to average 23kph to 24kph on this ride (based on
previous rides).

you would expect to gear for that- A 74" gear (44x16?) would
have you riding at nearer 30km/h, if your cadence is in the eighties.
Swapping in an 18t sprocket would give you a 66" gear that would give
you 25-28km/h for 80-90rpm, but still let you hit 30mph on a descent
without going much over 150..

I can spin up to 160rpm but I'm still getting used to spinning faster
than I would on a geared bike. I suppose I should put the 46T back
on for my commute to force me to do this, rather than resorting
to a longer gear.

Of course, this assumes you have appropriate alternatives around and
the means to fit them!

I did have a Miche sprocket carrier, and 16T, 17T and 18T sprockets
on order but the company I ordered from let me down and refunded
the money. I may have to resort to paying 30% more than online by
buying from Condor's shop (the only place I know has them in stock).

TBH the 46T chainring gives the best 3 options with these sprockets:

(Based on 700c x 25mm tyres)

46T: 67.4", 71.4" and 75.8"
48T: 70.3", 74,5" and 79.1"

Still, it'll teach me to be lazy. If I did this ride again I'd either
go
for 46x17 (71.4") or even 46x18 (67.4").

-Alex