LVIS Audax 2011

Reading rumors on the interweb isn't the best way of preparing for an Audax, especially when the rumor concerns the iPhones inability to set of an alarm when daylight saving ends and the Audax in question begins on the morning of said time change! So, plan B alarm (cheap Wilkinson's effort, alarm goes off around an hour either side of time set) goes off at 5.30 am (it was set for 6.00 am), plan C alarm (Garmin FR60) goes off at 6.30 am (as planned) and plan A alarm (iPhone) goes off as it always has, bang on time, at 6.45 am!

7.30 am see me full of cereal and toast, drinking a free coffee in Long Ashton village hall awaiting the start of Barry's Bristol Ball Buster, a 210 km jaunt around the outskirts of the fair city of Bristol. I completed the inaugural ride last year and really enjoyed it and so I was looking forward to another well organized, friendly ride in lovely countryside and once again, I wasn't disappointed.

8.00 am sharp and Marcus Mumford (resplendent in a stripy blazer) waves us off with a customary "Vegas baby"! We head out of Long Ashton, up through Ashton Court and over the famous suspension bridge towards the wilds of South Gloucestershire via Shirehampton, Henbury and parts of Bristol I never new existed. A relatively gentle 40 km see's us arriving at the first of many highlights, namely the village hall at Hill.


Now, this rather unassuming building may not look like it qualifies for the title of highlight but housed inside is the finest selection of cakes you will ever see.


Once again, the Hill W.I did themselves proud (my photography really doesn't do justice to that raspberry pavlova.

Fully sated and it's of across the bottom of the Cotswolds before they climb up to Wooten under edge, then a nice run down to the second stop at the Lock keeper in Keynsham.


A quick stretch whilst admiring the view (and some rather splendid Titanium bikes courtesy of Quroz Bikes) and it's off up the steady climb towards Queen Charlton and a gently undulating run to the foot of the mendips via Chew Valley lake. A West Harptree, the ride heads upwards with vengeance as it climbs the steepest climb of the ride, a straight up, 10% job to the top of the Mendip hills. From here, it's a lovely, undulating run across the mendips before dropping to Wookey Hole and a flat couple of miles to Glasonbury. Heaphy's cafe serves a well needed bacon sandwich and re-unites me with my brevet card (dropped on top of the mendips whilst struggling to fix a broken Garmin mount*) so once again, a big thank you to the cha who not only saw said card but kindly picked it up and gave it to the control.

4.00 pm sees me leaving Glastonbury and heading across the Somerset levels as a lovely spring evening unfolds. This section of the ride passes fairly quickly and a couple of hours and 40 km or so later, I am in the bar of the Drum and Monkey in Kenn sinking a pint of ice cold Coca-Cola and contemplating the last 20 km back to the final control. A couple of flat kilometers across Kenn moor bring me to the Gordano valley and an undulating run away from the sunset and towards Portbury. From Portbury, it's a 4 km climb up to Failand and a nice decent down Providence lane to the start/finish for the final highlight, free soup, rolls, tea, coffee and a friendly welcome back from Marcus and the rest of the LVIS crew.

So there we have it, another 200k completed and another enjoyable day out. The Las Vegas Institute of Sport may not be your usual cycling club but they sure know how to organize a fun ride, so a big thank you to Marcus and the crew and put my name down for next year.

*Garmin mount broken during a "clipless" moment but easily fixed with a couple of universal fixing brackets (cable ties). Otherwise, Garmin 705 performed flawlessly and navigated me the whole 210 km without incident.

Equipment used:

Thorn Brevet
Giordana arm/leg warmers
Giordana bib shorts
Jollywear vintage SS jersey
Nalini gilett
Altura night vision ergo fit waterproof
Garmin 705
Exulstar stevio 707 shoes
Planet x winter gloves/Altura retro string backed track mitts
Carradice barley
Various mule bars
Boots isotonic/hydration drink mix


A picture of the trusty Thorn Brevet (note the two bottles of what can only be described as industrial waste, why do I bother)

See the route here:





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Gospel Pass Audax

Just got back from Chepstow having completed my first 100 mile ride of the year, the brilliant Gospel Pass Audax. For anyone living in the South West of England/South Wales I strongly recommend giving this 150km Audax a go, it is tough but stunning both in terms of scenery and cafe stops.

So, a short review of the ride:

Having been suffering form a heavy cold all week, i wasn't relishing an 8.00 am start and the best part of 10 hours on the bike but hey ho! A 8.00 am precisely, about a hundred intrepid cyclists leave the car park at Chepstow castle and almost immediately begin then first climb of the day. This sets the tone for the ride really, gain a 1000ft, lose a 1000ft, gain a 1000ft etc. At around 9.30, we pull into the first control at Henry's Cafe in Monmouth, a lovely cafe in a lovely setting. One egg and bacon muffin and a latte and we're good to go!





Henry's cafe, Monmouth

The next leg takes us over undulating countryside and then down the golden valley to Hay-on-Wye and a stop at the Granary Cafe. This leg is around 50km and is very tiring, several MDF bars are needed (sorry but so called energy bars really do taste like industrial waste!) to get us to the control. Again an idyllic spot but no food this time, the climb of the Gospel Pass awaits. Last time I did this ride, there was snow on top, the time before, I ate a huge plate of beans on toast at Hay and regretted it dearly, no such mistake this time!





The Granary Cafe, Hay-on-Wye

The climb of the Gospel Pass from this side is truly epic and well worth the effort, its steep but not as long as the climb from Abergavenny. The long run down through Llanthony (past the priory) to Abergavenny is a blast (but you need to keep your wits about you, the road is rutted and single track) and the control point at the Chatterbox Cafe is a good choice.





The awesome Gosple Pass, respect!

Card stamped and Steak and Kidney pie surgery performed and we're off on the last leg, out of Abergavenny, along the valley to Usk (thankfully, a mainly flat run of around 10 miles) to the last climb of the day. A six mile slog out of Usk Brings us up the last climb of the day before a nice 5 mile descent back into Chepstow and a welcome pint (of orange juice and lemonade) and a chance to warm up. Temperatures rarely got above 5 degrees all day so the open fire in the Three Tuns was more than welcome. Another stunning ride, well organised by Nik Pergrine and a good tester for my forthcoming 200km Audax (the superb Barry's Bristol Ball Buster by LVIS). A day well spent, now all thats left to do is consume the contents of the fridge and find some CSI's to watch.

Route map and profile below courtesy of Garmin 705 and MapMyRide:




Equipment used:

Thorn Brevet (my trusty steel long distance bike)
Carradice Barley saddle bag (made by Christine, apparently. A British classic)
Crane sport (ALDI) thermal long sleeved base layer
North wave long sleeved top
Altura ergo fit waterproof
Exhustar Stelvio shoes (see previous posts)
Gamin edge 705
Planet X gloves (free with a top I bought last year)
Various energy bars

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