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!