Vale of Belvoir Audax
My first 200km audax. I persuaded Paul to enter the 100km BP audax starting an hour later. He had laminated his route sheets and added velcro patches to stick them to the handlebars. Feeling a bit nerdy I did the same. I still hadn't mastered the art of self navigation although I had progressed from google maps to an app called Osmond. An overnight hypo was not an ideal start to the day. I was a little over cautious in my breakfast novorapid injection. Glucose was 17 and rising at the start so did a small correction dose. Nervous about getting lost I hung on to a fast group for the first 50km. I had cramp in the top of my thighs which appeared to be related to persistently high glucose levels. The first cafe was excellent and I chose a raspberry frangipane tart, glucose still high so 3 units of novorapid plus 2 more units correction. After the multiple traffic lights of Melton Mowbray I found myself riding alone. I soon got used to the osmond app and navigating myself. Arriving at the A1 service station at 12:30 I was surprised to see only 1 other cyclist at the road chef. Food options were not very appealing so just bought a coffee to get a receipt and began the return leg. My speed dropped considerably and my glucose went into the hypoglycaemic range. I stopped multiple times and ate my way through my emergency energy bars but struggled to get glucose above 4. Thankfully a group of audax riders came past and I tagged on the end and followed them to the next cafe stop. I was eating my last energy bar as I sat in the cafe waiting for my cake to arrive. In the final 15km it started to rain. My phone battery was too low to leave the screen on and I couldn't charge it due to the rain. I retrieved my laminated route cards from my top tube bag and stuck them to the handle bars. After a section on a cycle path I took a wrong turn and somehow added an extra loop to the ride.
