Hailsham 400k

[juliet]

So this weekend I spent 26h20min cycling 400km in the Sussex area. Started from Hailsham at 13.30 on Saturday; finished also in Hailsham at 15.50 on Sunday. Within time (by 40 min) which is the important bit :-) Summary of ride: tough (for me); hillier than expected.

The first stage (to Dungeness) was v fast - tailwind. Although I got dropped by the bunch v early on, as ever :-) Last bit to Dungeness itself got steadily more windy & more into the wind, bah. But got to the cafe only 30min after the control opened! (Charlotte et al were there *before* it opened!). Snack & crack on... Second stage (to World of Water) rather pleasant - wind was cross mostly, & when it was headwindy didn't feel that bad. Also the weather was clearing, & the countryside was pretty. Beans & mushrooms on toast at WoW, hurrah. It's run by a family, & they're enormously helpful & friendly.

Next stage to Cross-in-Hand garage - also OK, although a bit draggy in places. At some point during the afternoon/evening I remember feeling really *pleased* & happy, because it was all going well & so on :-) Bit of a drag up towards Cross in Hand, but then 10k downhill to Uckfield which was FUN. Next stage out along A272 to Dave's layby control at Halfway Bridge. This just seemed to take a Very Very Long Time, especially the bit after the garage at Buckbarn (stopped here because I saw cyclists & was feeling a little tired & lonely & wanted reassurance that there were other nutters out there. Turned out that they were on their way back i.e. 60k ahead of me!). Was warned that the next 30k were tough, & they were correct - it was OK in places but a lot of it was quite draggy/uphill. Also I was just getting *tired* by this stage. Hauled myself into the control (after being accosted by Hummers about 2k beforehand, yelling "Arrrrrr!" at me, bless him. Apparently he'd been shouting it at all oncoming cyclists till he located me & Charlotte :-) ) & found I was 2h10 in hand. So used all but 40min of it in having a doze (ish - didn't really sleep per se but rested my eyes/head), & some food, & a sit down.

Notable point from the overnight bit: the Solidlights *kick arse*. Such a massive difference being able to see the road that well; makes the difference between belting it downhill confidently at daytime pace, & crawling down at 15mph with the brakes on & getting more & more stressed because you can't see what's about to happen. Don't think I'd have made it round in time with less good lights, tbh. (hurrah for uon who got them for me for my Xmas!)

Headed off again once dawn had fully broken, plugging in the iPod to get me going (route was A272 retrace. First song on Shuffle: "Hit Me Baby One More Time". Hmm. Also many many fluffy bunny rabbits in the hedges! Aww! Next 30k were OK - more downhill than up! (Which explains in part why it was tough on the way out...) Encountered Charlotte again at the garage & she recommended the baby change at the McDs for wash & brush up, so took her advice (& did feel better for it!). More coffee.

Next stage was 80k to the WoW, starting off with 35k back along the A272 (I am not that keen on retracing routes :-/ ). Rain started. Saw "Smaynes Hill" on the routesheet & thought "argggh" but it transpired that the tough side was the one I'd already done. Near-hysterical gratitude ensued.

Rain continued; bladder started playing up (too much caffeine, I think - had Coke in bottles as well = error). Fell into deep depression. Threw 2.5 hysterical tantrums (including one instance of Sitting Under Tree & Sulking (ate crisps & flapjack). Convinced that entire route was uphill & I was going massively slowly uphill & I was going to run out of time. Constructed List of Hate, featuring Everyone In The Entire World & moving on from there. (turned iPod off when the KLF came on & I added them to the List of Hate & then realised I was clearly going mad). Final & most impressive tantrum dealt with when I thought to check computer+watch & found that I had 45mi to go & 5h30 to do them in which was entirely doable even if I *was* imitating a snail uphill. Gloom continued, however, although was able to turn iPod back on after a bit. Attempted to cheer myself up by noting that I was getting lots of hill practice; this was however unsuccessful.

At least one Totally Gratuitous Hill (leave main road to climb ridiculously steep hill; rejoin main road. Swear mightily). Gloom lifted about 10k from the WoW on sighting Martin & Arabella on their way back from it, who waved at me & yelled cheering things. Dragged self into WoW with 25mi to go & 3h45 to do it in (3h15 by the time I'd scarfed down food). Encountered Charlotte who was about to leave but offered to wait if I wanted company on the last bit; accepted happily.

Final stage featured primarily Torrential Rain. Really, seriously, stair-rods. We were riding up & down rivers along the lanes (& both hit a whacking great pothole which serves us right for going through puddles - thankfully no spokes suffered), & both drenched to the skin. On the upside it meant I minded the (extensive) hills less due to being too busy DROWNING. Downhill was also a bit nerveracking due to rain meaning a) brakes less effective & b) couldn't bloody see a thing to avoid it anyway. Very grateful for company as otherwise I fear I would have had full-on nervous breakdown by side of road. C had a brief mechanical but it didn't delay us too long; rain stopped with about 10mi to go, & we finally got into the finish control with 40min in hand. Hurrah.

Charlotte & I spent 30min in the Ladies trying to dry out clothing (thankfully I had a dryish spare shirt & longs), set off for station with *plenty* of time, got briefly lost, & made train (only one an hour...) only by virtue of 18mph time-trial along 3 mi of Leisure Trail, oops. Didn't know I could sprint like that!

I am getting a bit faster uphill (still pretty slow though!). Quite a lot faster on the flat; and I've lost my fear of descending so am getting some pretty good speeds in there as well :) Psytrance is good music for getting the legs going; bouncy indie is better for cheering the head. 1 x flapjack every 50k is about right; and I really need to drink more water.

Three down (1 x 200, 1 x 300, 1 x 400). One to go (1 x 600, the Brian Chapman, next weekend. Notoriously very hilly. Far from sure that I will make it within time, but We Shall See.) Pleased with myself today, anyway :-)

Comments

[martling.livejournal.com]

you are CRAZY BIKE LADY!

[juliet]

Yes. Yes, I am.

[fingerbones.livejournal.com]

To me this is amazing and fascinating. Thanks for these write ups and looking forward to the next one.
And, of course, Well Done You!
As for "Far from sure that I will make it within time", making 600k at any time would be pretty damn special. I'll have a word with the weather goddess if she grants me audience ;0

[juliet]

Thank you!

I will be pleased to make it round at all, yes! But if I don't do it within time it won't count as a PBP qualifier & I'll need to ride another one before mid-June... The Brian Chapman is notably hilly (it's the length of Wales & back, basically) & I'm slow uphill, so I may not make it. Weather conditions are definitely going to play a big part, so we'll see!

[half-of-monty.livejournal.com]

it's the length of Wales & back, basically

!!!!
!!!!!
!!!!!!!!!!
Er, and how long do you get to do it in?

[juliet]

40 hrs. (that's total time, not time-on-bike; so includes any stops for food/sleep/etc). That's effectively a 15kph minimum speed.

[blue-russian.livejournal.com]

Wow! That sounds awesome and impressive, and the retracing of routes the only really bad bit. It's not clear from the writeup - how much sleep did you get?

[juliet]

No sleep as such. I dozed for maybe 45 min to an hr at the Halfway Bridge control (sat in a chair). Suboptimal; the 600 next weekend at least has a youth hostel available where you can have a proper lie-down (& a shower afterwards!) so if I have any time in hand I'll be able to get at least some rest. (it's a big if....)

[hatmandu.livejournal.com]

Am awed yet again. Well done!

[juliet]

Thank you!

[skibbley.livejournal.com]

*v impressed*

[juliet]

Thank you!

[half-of-monty.livejournal.com]

Woo! So much respect!

Finally got round to ordering my new bike, which shall be a light shiny nice-componented Trek.

[juliet]

Hurrah for nice shiny new Trek!

[catsgomiaow.livejournal.com]

Hurrah! Happy bike dance for you! :)

[juliet]

Thank you! Now, if you could see your way clear to doing the "no rain at all & a tailwind all the way" dance for this coming weekend, I would be v grateful ;-)

[katstevens.livejournal.com]

Blimey, well done!

In myBike news, I totally forgot to investigate the state of my bike at the weekend ftb 1) being overexcited about nu-haus 2) packing 3) it raining lots. I shall do it this evening!

[juliet]

Thank you!

OK, let me know as & when...

[atommickbrane.livejournal.com]

Juliet, you will be pleased to know that I am so tired from reading this that I have decided not to go to the gym today!

(ok real reason I am not going is that my kit is in the wash for the second time cos my stupid eco pods do not wash out SMELLS so my one sports bra PONGED and my two tops weren't too fragrant either - will be investing in MORE KIT sharpish. anyway tmi? yes i think so).

[juliet]

Hmm I have been considering eco-pods but perhaps in that case not such a good plan! Bah.

[atommickbrane.livejournal.com]

Well you are supposed to use the same pods three times, but I think you can only really use them ONCE, and even then with fabric conditioner. And if you can't reuse them, they're extremely expensive and a bit rub. OR perhaps I am just extra stinky. Fair enough with gym kit but frankly I am willing to sell out to the world destroyers NOT TO SMELL :(

[htfb.livejournal.com]

If you're ever going to use Real Detergent, the state of your underwear on multi-day sports events is the critical time to consume your allowance. You can set it off against all the boiling of and starching of twee napkins and tablecloths you're not soiling by travelling the length of Wales twice in a slower fashion involving Bs-and-B.

Have you checked your brake and gear cables, and replaced your brake blocks, and done all the other juicy annual Fetulae Majorae, needed in consideration of putting 1000k on your bike in a week-and-a-half?

[htfb.livejournal.com]

Also, in case it didn't come through, 'nuff respect for the 400k...

[juliet]

Brake blocks look fine (nowhere close to the line); thanks for the reminder about the cables (I need to do the second stage of paint-touch-up tonight after finding a CHIP on the chainstay last night when cleaning it, so will check the cables then). I do take spares of both with me as well :)

[lovelybug.livejournal.com]

Fuck me! Go girl!!

[mrs-leroy-brown.livejournal.com]

hooray for rockin' Juliet! You are the bicycle queen!

[factherd.livejournal.com]

You == loon. But in a good way, obviously.

Simon at work, who you know from Another Place, writes up his cycling adventures in his weekly status reports. Even the other cyclists think "Blimey, that's actually quite a long way". What they'd say if he did 1000km over two consecutive weekends, I can't imagine.

[braisedbywolves.livejournal.com]

I'm holding back on synonyms for 'impressive', or I'll run out before the 600. But ... wow.

[damerell.livejournal.com]

Nice one; glad to hear Sarah's report of "40 minutes in hand" includes at least some sleep. Good luck with the 600; I have a 115 next weekend, but that might be slightly easier. :-)

Dynamo or battery fed Solidlights, OOI? I see our friends at the ACP permit LED headlights now...

[juliet]

I think if there'd been somewhere to actually lie down (as there will be on the 600) I'd have managed Actual Sleep for 45min or an hr. I suspect I'll be working on similar timings for the 600 so it will be pretty tough... Oh well, see what happens :-)

Dynamo-driven (Schmidt hub). I like fit-&-forget; although I do run batteries on the rear as they last so much longer than front lights & don't require as much in the battery line anyway.

[damerell.livejournal.com]

Interesting. I was very tempted by Solidlights for the tandem when URC started squeeing about them - if I hadn't just splashed for a Lumotec Plus and E6 secondary for it and didn't know rationally I'm perfectly happy with those in the dark at 40mph, I'd have gone for it.

Mind you, although I have an LED rear, I did think it was worth running a mile of speaker cable to the back of the tandem (and likewise on my solos).

Legs Larrington does say the PBP is less tough terrain than any UK 600, overall.

[ceb.livejournal.com]

Go you! Only 2.5 tantrums sounds quite good really, I was chuffed to manage 50 miles tantrum-free.

[velvetpurrs.livejournal.com]

Hi there! A friend (from somewhere else online) pointed me at this entry (we were discussing my rather insane other half, and the PBP, and distances cyclists do, etc) and having just read it I realise that loads of those names are familiar to me, and you must be a fellow denizen of ACF!

Hope the BC went well for you, my other half's doing that one too - he's Maladict at ACF, and is also on livejournal ;)

I don't do these sorts of rides so I won't be there, but it's fun talking to 'normal'/non cyclists about them ;)

Good luck!

[juliet]

Yep, I think I have seen you on ACF now :)

Packed at 470k on the BC :-\ - I gather Maladict packed as well, bad luck!