Hills and Mills 100km audax

An audax through East Sussex near to where I grew up is a good excuse travel down to the South East to visit my dad and his wife, Jane. Traveling down on the Friday evening I wait in London for an hour before I can take my bike on the train to Tunbridge Wells. After some discussion with my Dad and Jane we agree that I can keep my bike in the kitchen overnight provided it does not touch the floor or the walls at any point. A few tea towels and plenty of newspaper provide the necessary protection.
I send my dad a link to my strava beacon so he can track my ride, with strict instructions not to phone me but to contact Paul if necessary. 
The 100km calendar event 'Hills and Mills' starts in Hailsham and my plan is to ECE the event to bring the distance up to 200km. In addition to the rides to and from Hailsham I have included an out and back route to Lewis. Planning an ECE is more difficult than a DIY audax because of the need to arrive at the start early enough to pick up my brevet card but not so early that I am hanging around. My timing works out well as I arrive 15 minutes before the start and grap a coffee and snack in the car park with the other riders. The audax is designed to maximise elevation gain and includes 6 information controls. I have noted the locations with flags on my Osmond app which makes them easier to find. Much of the route particularly around Ashdown forest is through areas familiar to me. The pink cabbage cafe in Mayfield is fairly small but just about copes with the huge influx of cyclists. I order a cup cake and coffee before continuing on my way. It starts raining and pretty soon I'm riding alone again. A brief stand off with a nervous horse slows my progress. I catch up with another rider who's garmin has given up in the rain and we ride back to Mayfield together via a slightly confusing info control. Returning to the pink cabbage I warm up with a steaming bowl of butternut squash soup. The controller announces that closure of the control, I am now officially behind the clock. Back out in the rain I make my way to Hailsham. I'm looking for a particular farm to note down the colour of the gate for my final info control. I reach a junction and realise I've passed it. A group of cyclists gathers as we try and work out the correct location. I'm temped just to take a guess and write 'brown' but 'black' is the consensus answer so I go with that. With just 20 minutes to spare I arrive in Hailsham, a couple of loops of the car park before I find the entrance to the leisure centre. Wet and cold we hand in our brevet cards. The thought of riding home is not appealing but I force myself back out onto the bike. When I reach the road to Lewis I realise I have misjudged the route. The A22 is a major dual carraigeway with fast traffic, even getting across to the other side seems impossible. I stand and wait for 10 minutes questioning my decision, riding along this road would be stupid, I check my map but there is no obvious alternative to get to my control point in Lewis. With a sense of relief I abandon my ECE plans and ride back to Tunbridge Wells. I still manage 185km but I'm happy it was the right decision. Later I find that my dad has struggled with the strava tracker. Worrying every time I stopped, concerned about the responsibility of being my 'safety contact'. Overall despote the failed ECE it was a great ride although there were definitely more hills than mills!      

DIY 200km Audax to Thrift Farm

I decide to have a go at a DIY audax. This involves planning my own route and ensuring the minimum distance traveling through all controls is greater than 200km. To keep it simple I use an out and back route. My destination is a cafe at a farm park near Milton Keynes. I've ridden most of the route previously when I rode from Birmingham to London. I try to shorten the ride to Warwick as best I can without riding on main roads. The benefit of a DIY is that I can choose when I ride so I take a day of annual leave with the weather forecast to be unseasonably warm and dry. Arriving in Warwick I'm disappointed to find that the cafe I have selected is unexpectedly closed due to a power failure. I could find another coffee shop but just buy a chocolate bar from a newsagent and get going again. I'm making very good time but 10km from thrift farm I get a puncture. A local triathlete called Dave stops to help which I'm very grateful for. Back on the road again I'm joined briefly by another local cyclist. Despite the earlier puncture I'm still an hour within the time limit when I reach the cafe. As I sit relaxing with a pot of tea and slice of cake I'm concerned to discover that the time on my receipt is 2 hours ahead making me out of time. After some discussion with the staff they are unable to change the time of the till. I set off to look for the nearest alternative business to get a receipt as proof of passage. The only option is a cashmere clothing company a mile down the road. I'm clearly not their usual clientele but they very kindly allow me to put a £1 payment through their card machine providing me with a time stamped receipt. An hour into the return journey my glucose drops to below 3 and I stop to gorge on a bag of raisins. As darkness falls I wait for 5 minutes to cross the Fosse Way which in rush hour traffic is very busy. Finally arriving in Warwick I head to a pizza restaurant where the owners allow me to bring my bike inside. Satisfyingly refueled I begin the last leg back to Birmingham. A heavy fog has reduced visibility considerably and I'm reliant on cars approaching from behind to light the road ahead of me. 10 minutes away from my house I choose to add a 4km diversion to avoid riding across a local park with recent reports of muggings. It seems an odd thing to do given how far I have ridden on my own without any concerns for my safety. Stopping for a receipt at the garage at the end of my road I reward myself with a bag of crisps.

   

The Poor Student 200km Audax

Paul fancies a change from hanging around in Tewksbury so I sign up for the poor student audax from Oxford. He agrees to drive me down to Pear tree services and will spend the day exploring Oxford.
I'm back to using my usual flash glucose monitor. The SW3 was too heavy to wear on my arm all the time and the glucose collector app crashing 3 times a day just got annoying.
My glucose is high overnight and I over correct at breakfast causing a hypo in the car on the way. Back in range by the time we arrive at the park and ride but I'm nervous about going low again and eat a packet of jaffa cakes. I'm absolutely freezing, the weather forecast says feels like temperature is -7 for the morning. The first section is relatively flat but I'm so cold I don't want to stop to check my glucose. Arriving at Malmesbury the cafe is busy but service is swift. I order a vegetable frittata with salad and also a slice of cake. Sitting down at a table I scan my glucose sensor and it alarms with a reading of >20. The next section is the most difficult and I don't want to over correct so inject 5 units.
I still haven't warmed up but I need to keep going so I leave after 20 minutes. It is 'continuously rolling and I leapfrog several groups as they stop and restart and I continue at a slow pace. The cafe at Chipping Camden is warm and welcoming with a roaring fire. I order a pot of tea and scones and put all my lights on charge. The final third is difficult riding in the dark. Seeing the red light of another cyclist ahead of me on the road is comforting. As I roll into the Pear Tree Services I'm shivering with cold. A cup of coffee and a danish pastry help a little. I need some warmer gloves for my next ride.
Glucose control has been terrible. It's hard to have the motivation to stop, take gloves off, scan glucose sensor and inject insulin when I'm so cold and just want to keep going.