Accepting with serenity the things that cannot be changed

Richard Betts was diagnosed with Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma in 2012. He wrote an article for Arrivée in 2015, describing how Audax cycling had saved his life. The stamina he’d built from Audax events was a contributing factor in his survival, and his achieving full remission. But the cancer left its legacy on 61 year old Richard’s body. Here he tells of his long battle with the debilitating effects of the illness, his determination to get back to long-distance riding, and the eventual outcome…

NOTHING EVER GOES TO PLAN in life. Life is defined by the setbacks you will face and how you deal with them. You must accept that things will not always go to plan – and that things will go wrong.

When I received a letter from the NHS in March 2020 informing me that I was classified as “Extremely Vulnerable” and I should self-quarantine for the next 12 weeks to avoid catching the coronavirus, I was quite depressed.

“I’m not ill,” I told my GP. “I go cycling and hillwalking, and I play sport. There is no way I should be considered extremely vulnerable,” I protested. My GP explained that as I had suffered from Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma in 2012, my card was marked.

We discussed the benefits of exercising, and agreed that I could leave my house for daily exercise which would be a bike ride or a walk. This time served to reinforce my love of cycling and the health benefits which it delivers. Cycling has made my shielding period bearable and sometimes enjoyable.

I recently received an email that informed me a fellow Audaxer had succumbed to a similar illness and was undergoing treatment. This made me think about my own story and the outcomes I experienced. My story was not complete. I needed to detail my recovery and return to Audax cycling. There are people, just like me in 2012, who may have a cancer diagnosis or something equally devastating, who want to know what the future holds for them and if they’ll get out cycling again. If this contribution helps just one person then I’ll be content.

I was in full remission in 2015. I’d started driving again and was back at work. Almost as important, I’d got back on my bike and cycling with friends at the weekend. I was slow and had no strength when it came to climbing hills. My friends were patient and spent a lot of time waiting at minor summits while I puffed and panted to catch up. Both my legs were weak after so much time out of the saddle. I thought that once I started putting the miles in, I’d build some strength back into them. There was a limited improvement in my left leg, but unfortunately not in my right.

I went to see a neurologist, also a cyclist, to see if he could help. He explained that the lymphoma had damaged my nerves and compromised function to my lower right leg and foot. He recommended physiotherapy but did not offer confidence of success. I met some excellent physiotherapists who persevered with me but had only limited success. One suggested I try yoga and Pilates, which turned out to be excellent advice.

A friend told me the story of his first PBP. He was near the end and the spectators suddenly burst into applause. He thought it was for him but when he was overtaken by a one-legged French cyclist, he understood. This demonstrated that my own troubles were minor and insignificant.

One thing that I couldn’t ignore was that I found it almost impossible to unclip from my SPD pedals on my bike with my weak right foot. I fitted flat pedals and continued cycling. I also found that I would tire more quickly and after some longer rides I was exhausted.

I decided that if I were to complete an Audax it would have to be a flat one. As luck would have it, my friend Jonathan Greenway was the organiser for the Morley Meander, a 113km ride with only 600m of climb, across Norfolk. I signed up for this ride on the 25 April, 2015.

My legs were now a bit stronger and I’d decided to refit my SPD pedals again. This proved to be a mistake. We started from Morley village hall with everybody racing off. I got caught up in the excitement and found myself going far too fast in the peloton. We approached a main road junction and I braked with the other cyclists. As I slowed down, I tried to release my right foot from the SPDs to steady myself when coming to a halt, but nothing happened. I fell, skidding along a fairly greasy road.

I picked myself up and carried on, and enjoyed the ride as a solitary rider, cycling at a more pedestrian pace. There was one more episode where I was unable to release myself from my SPDs, this time following a meeting with a pothole while talking to Nigel Shedd and not paying attention. Fortunately, this time I landed on a soft grassy bank.

I considered this ride as refresher training after my long lay-off. Jonathan Greenway congratulated me on finishing the ride and directed me towards one of the most sumptuous post-ride buffets I had ever experienced.

I didn’t feel too bad. I was back to enjoying Audax events again. I decided to do some more 100s during 2015, a bit closer to home and a bit more challenging

❝My friends were patient and spent a lot of time waiting at minor summits while I puffed and panted to catch up. Both my legs were weak after so much time out of the saddle ❞

NON-HODGKIN’S LYMPHOMA is a cancer which originates in the lymphatic system, part of the body’s immune system. White blood cells undergo a genetic change and start multiplying rapidly. Symptoms include persistent tiredness or fatigue, and an increased risk of infections. Medical advances have greatly improved survival rates in recent years.

than the flatlands of Norfolk. Maybe I was overly optimistic about my cycling future. I started to dream about getting back to 200km events and other challenges such as RRtY and LEJOG.

I arranged to do the “Every time a bell rings” event at Evesham on 10 May. This went well apart from a major steep hill that I really struggled to climb with my weak legs. I believed that if I made an investment in a new bike it would motivate me to put the miles in, with a corresponding improvement in my health.

In June I took possession of a new bike from Echelon Cycles at Pershore. Tim had built a Van Nicholas Yukon to my own specification catering for my shortfalls. A sympathetic combination of a 50/40/30 triple on the front matched to an 11-32 cassette. I hoped this would help me to climb hills.

My next Audax was a 101 km event organised by Mark Rigby, starting from Bushley Village Hall near Tewkesbury. A group of women tried to block the entrance of the hall with their cars. Apparently, they were a group of child carers who were protesting about the fact that 100 or so cyclists were preventing their children using the toilets.

This was an enjoyable event in decent weather, but I was amazed how slow I was, compared with the other cyclists. I experienced a few more challenging hills when the route took us into the Forest of Dean. So, one more completed, with the level of difficulty increased.

My last Audax in 2015 was a 111km event at Wickhamford, near Evesham on another fine day. I did feel I was holding them all back at times as my weak legs struggled to propel me up the many hills on this route. I was disappointed that I wasn’t getting the strength back into my legs after a summer of cycling. It was beginning to dawn on me that I would never attain the same level of cycling ability that I possessed before my lymphoma, even with my new shiny, titanium bike.

Despite this, my consultant said I’d exceeded all expectations with my recovery, but had to be careful that I didn’t push myself too hard. My blood test results showed my immune system was still low, so I had to proceed with care. But I kept cycling in all weathers and probably pushed my luck too far.

In terms of Audax achievement, 2016 was a disappointing year. My consultant was right about my compromised immune system and I was plagued with ill health towards the end of the year. However, I did manage one event on 7 May 2016 at Alveston, near Bristol. This was a lovely route through the southern Cotswolds. I suppose it said something about my cycling ability that I was cycling most of the route with a charming gentleman from Bristol, who was 26 years my senior.

I was determined to do more Audax events in 2017. I visited family in Norfolk and managed to fit in another of Jonathan Greenway’s excellent events, the Seething 100, another relatively flat and enjoyable Audax. A pattern was emerging. I found it easy enough to complete a flat 100 but when a few hills were thrown in my weak legs would struggle to apply sufficient power and this could lead to a fairly uncomfortable and less than enjoyable ride.

I returned to Alveston in 2017 as I’d enjoyed this event so much. I was feeling good and keen to see if my level of fitness had improved. This good feeling turned out to be ephemeral and only lasted until I met the first major hill. Although I met some lovely people on the ride, and enjoyed the day, I realised there was no significant improvement in my cycling ability.

It was continuing to be apparent that I was unlikely to improve a great deal at the activity at which I used to excel. Towards the end of 2017 I again developed a severe chest infection that rendered any more cycling impossible.

It took me well into 2018 to recover from this infection. Eventually I became fitter and started eyeing the Audax calendar again. I came up with a plan to enter and complete three 100km events that would progress in difficulty, indicated by the amount of climbing I would need to do.

The first was the very popular Warwickshire Wanderer, superbly organised by Jon Porteous in Meriden. I teamed up with an RAF doctor who was able to offer me lots of good advice and support during the ride. Heartened by a good ride with no problems, I entered the Rollright Rumble, which was a challenging, lumpy Cotswolds ride, starting and finishing at Honeybourne, Worcestershire.

The 1,150m climb seemed like a natural progression in difficulty. This event took place on 10 June and was probably the hottest day of the year. I didn’t feel 100 per cent, but thought I’d be fine once I started pedalling. I was wrong. I struggled in the saddle all day but did the mileage and completed the course, though I didn’t get all the information points, so effectively failed.

I’d also become significantly dehydrated, and that resulted in another infection, this time a nasty one in my urinary tract which took a long time to recover from. I’d planned to cycle the Gwent Gambol

in Usk but this was now out of the question. I went on holiday to Italy to recuperate and reflect on my unsuccessful Audax season. As I looked out at the sunrise over Lake Maggiore from my hotel balcony, I concluded that it wasn’t only my Audax season that had finished prematurely, it was my Audax career.

I’m now 61 and retired from work. I’m in reasonable health, although my immune system is still low and I have to be careful about infections, particularly in the winter. I’ve lost the use of some facial muscles and my non-verbal expression has therefore suffered, and I have a permanent limp in my right leg and double vision, which my optometrist has treated with prescription spectacles. Apart from that I’m OK.

So what have I learned? Understand one’s strengths and weaknesses. Be sensible and responsible with your own health. It’s the most valuable thing.

At the end of 2018, I decided there’d be no more Audaxes for me. Long-distance cycling was having an adverse effect on my health. I decided to concentrate more on golf to get my fix of the outdoors. Yes, I know – sad.

I still get out on the bike – distances of 20 to 40 km. There is nothing as good as cycling for getting good quality exercise and fresh air. On a sunny day, down country lanes, with buzzards flying overhead and the scent of spring blossoms it is so uplifting in these troubled times and it takes a lot of beating.

❝It was beginning to dawn on me that I would never attain the same level of cycling ability that I possessed before my lymphoma, even with my new shiny titanium bike ❞

Basingstoke rider Colin Bezant had more or less given up on ever completing the Brevet 5000… until he checked his records and realised he’d already done it – by accident. We’re not sure if 56 year old Colin also made an exact record of postride beers consumed, but these appear to loom large in his description of the achievement

Let the record show… it was a happy accident

At Robin Hood’s Bay on the Pendle, looking a lot happier than I did later that night

The AUK Brevet 5000 is a cycling challenge which requires a Randonnée of 1,200 km or more, a Super Radonneur, a 1,000 km event, a 24 hour team Arrow event, plus other events to a total of 5,000 km, all BR or BRM, and all ridden within a four year period.

Colin is a member of Cycle Club

Basingstoke, and an Audax rider since 2002. Many will have seen him in the club’s distinctive pink kit, based on the 1990s Lampre colours. He has completed 15 successive SR series, three PBPs, an LEL, Mille Miglia, and two Scottish 1000s. He’s the organiser of the Cambrian Series permanents and the UK’s first 10,000m ascent 600km Super Randonnée. He was also responsible for over 2,500 meals served at the St.Ives control on LEL in 2017. COMPLETING THE BREVET 5000 should have been straightforward, with my annual SR series, plus Paris-Brest-Paris, but somewhere along the way I lost track.

It was the team event element which mucked it up. An Easter Arrow run had been snowed off south of Lincoln, and I’d kind of lost enthusiasm. When I managed to complete an Arrow, I forgot about the Brevet 5000 as I had a couple of years where I packed on major events and struggled to complete my SR series.

It was only thanks to a chance post on a forum in August 2019 that I finally checked back on my records to find I’d completed the Brevet 5000 entirely by accident. Here’s how I actually did it:

JANUARY 2015

POOR STUDENT 200

I hadn’t ridden over Christmas and was obviously still in a fuddled state when I prepared for this. At the start I realised that I did need that broken space bar after all. My Lumicycle light shone brightly into the back of the bar bag instead of shining over the top. It was a dank January day, which was fortunate as it discouraged faffing and I made it round just before dark.

MARCH 2015

HARD BOILED 300

A magnificent ride through Dorset and Somerset, which gets its name because just like boiling an egg it gets harder the longer you go. After the umpteenth big climb on the second half I passed the Cerne Abbas giant, in need of a fresh cut of chalk, a fading figure that matched my spirits and the remains of my bike’s transmission, shredded by the muddy winter roads and constant climbs.

MAY 2015

SEVERN ACROSS 400

Work had been unrelenting and I started this in a tired state. After a good beginning, where I led the peloton across the Chilterns, I progressively faded and suffered monstrous attacks of the dozies on the way back. At least it was a 400 qualifier for Paris-Brest-Paris.

JUNE 2015

KERNOW & SOUTH-WEST 600

One of my favourite rides, starting from Exeter, passing to the north of Dartmoor and then circumnavigating Cornwall before a second day skirting Exmoor and exploring the Blackdown Hills. I rode most of this in company with John Barkman. My legs were good, we had five hours sleep, shrugged off the night and morning rain and raced each other over the savage hills back from Seaton, probably the only people who have ever made up time on this section. We had time for a beer before his train, and I had time for another one before mine. It had been a risk using a hard 600 as my only chance of PBP qualifying, but it had been a risk well worth taking.

AUGUST 2015

PARIS BREST PARIS

I set out with a plan to enjoy my third PBP and I did. I got a magic ride to Mortagne, which was a springboard to getting to Brest on the second evening. I had a long sleep there and another at Villaines on the way back, and soaked up the atmosphere, getting the best of the weather. I had a few beers at the finish with John, who had beaten me back by almost a day, riding the fastest ever PBP by a British rider.

MARCH 2016

CAMBRIAN 3B 300

I’d set myself loads of silly targets for 2016, starting off with what sounded like a brilliant idea for a time-poor Audax rider – get the evening train to Carmarthen on a Friday, ride through the night and get an evening train back on the Sunday. Riding through the night was brutal, not helped by striking something on the A40 and puncturing. I was lucky to find a café open in Lampeter. Then the heavens opened and I battled around the second half in the gloom, managing to get lost on my own permanent, and beat my record for my slowest 300 set on the Hard Boiled the previous year. It was a miracle I finished. The object on the A40 had broken one and almost broken another of one triple set of spokes on my Shamal Ultra rear wheel. How it had stayed intact over 250km of Welsh hills remains a mystery.

AUGUST 2016

EL’S 400

The long break wasn’t intentional. I’d packed on the Cambrian 4E as my head wasn’t in it and on the Tan Hill 600 with 150km to go because of a knee injury. I’d pretty much given up the idea of an SR

On the 1100 metre Vogelberg with a graident steeper than Honister pass

With one of my Dutch friends at Benthuzen Windmill

Start off on the perfect Audax day – Corran Ferry

series until I had a magical ride on my Airnimal through the Jura Mountains south of Basel, Switzerland while on a business trip. That gave me the confidence to plan to complete my three missing rides in six weeks in the late summer. EL’s 400 is a practical route that makes the most of back entrances to motorway services, but is a lot nicer than it sounds. Chichester can be used as a start/finish control which is only 13km from my static caravan in Selsey. It rained a lot in the second half, including a Sussex monsoon with the roads awash. I got lost in Chichester Sainsburys at midnight searching for something to heat up when I got back to my caravan. Not my finest post-ride supper.

AUGUST 2016

OLD ROADS AND DROVE ROADS 200

Salisbury plain on a windy day. Eight miles per hour in one direction and 30mph the other. My Roberts Audax bike with 28mm tyres coped well with the gravel sections. The ghost village of Imber was a nightmare as half of Wiltshire seemed to be visiting on a rare day when it isn’t closed as part of military training. But I got blown back and really enjoyed my tea at the finish. SEPTEMBER 2016

FLATLANDS 600

I booked accommodation in Sleaford at 434km thinking that I would ride this on my race bike with tribars to overcome the notorious fenland winds and then noticed the “M” for Mudguards in the instructions. I hastily attached the tribars to the Roberts Audax, which handled well, and found good company for most of the first day, including Steve Abraham for the last bit to Sleaford, on his way to a record for the most miles in a month. The finish was at a pub and I sat outside in the sunshine with a refreshing Caesar Salad as a late lunch. Somehow I had kept my SR series intact.

MARCH 2017

KENNETT VALLEY RUN

I rode the Upper Thames in November, adding to and from home for a bit of fun, and then decided I’d try to put together an Easter Arrow team with a route from Basingstoke to York roughly following my 2009 Dinner Dart epic. Then I came off on black ice over Christmas and badly bruised my hip, spending three weeks on crutches. I would have abandoned the Easter Arrow but Steve Ferry convinced me to continue. We assembled at the start and rode as a group, four strong riders towing quite a large group to a somewhat shocked café at Bratton, who weren’t expecting so many to turn up so early. The banter was good and the Easter Arrow was back on.

APRIL 2017

EASTER ARROW

We assembled at Basingstoke Station in good time on Good Friday and were blown all the way to March. It was a bit tougher getting to Grantham with rain, wind and some mechanicals but we were still far enough ahead of schedule that we could have a short sleep stop in the services. Through the night we passed some other teams, a couple of teddies and some empty prams as the challenge of riding 24 hours in company wore on, but we were sufficiently well matched and accommodating of each other’s foibles that we were able to have another long stop in Goole before enjoying the last two hours and some pints of mild with our cooked breakfast at Wetherspoons.

JUNE 2017

BRIMSTONE

I set off in a fast group, with the strongest of my Easter Arrow companions. Somewhere just after the New Forest I realised that following their pace was foolish (someone waltzed round the route in an unnatural 30 hours), and eased back, finding myself in the company of three others. They were good company, so I towed them into the wind all the way to Exmouth for the pleasure of compensation and others with whom to share the stunning scenery. It was a bit harder on the way back, but the weather was fine throughout and pretty much the perfect way to ride this amazing event.

AUGUST 2017

MILDENHALL 300

I had another go at one of Andy Corless’s 600s, the Pendle, rode with impressive discipline over the North York Moors and then got ground down by a relentless headwind over the Pennines before packing in pretty much the same spot as I had packed in the Tan Hill. I needed one ride for an SR series, and this gentle jaunt around East Anglia was perfect.

JANUARY 2018

BUNNIK 200

I spent a year working in The Hague, so my next Audax was in the Netherlands. My Airnimal lived in the staff bike park at my regular hotel. I took the train to Utrecht and spun around the flattest 200 of my life, including passing the Netherlands’ lowest point seven metres below sea level, with a

river towering over us. We stopped at the sweet shop museum in Benthuizen (next to the Windmill). The last 60km was Dutch mountain territory, fighting a merciless headwind. My Garmin was the only working GPS in a group of three so I had the pleasure of guiding the locals home.

APRIL 2018

HEART OF ENGLAND 300

I was a bit nervous about this one. Nearly all my recent riding had been in the Netherlands where the toughest hill was the 10-metre rise in the dunes north of Scheveningen. Now I had the Cotswolds. I towed a group around most of the way and then tired in the last 50km, but it was a fine ride that had been on my shortlist for years and somehow never ridden. I was quick enough to miss the thunder and lightning that gave a spectacular if dampening show for the later riders.

MAY 2018

PORKERS 400

I was even more nervous about exchanging the flatlands of Holland for the Wessex hills and all of Shawn Shaw’s delightful 20 per cent climbs in the middle of the night. It turned out that Dutch mountains were good preparation for real hills. Fifty kilometres back from Zandvoort into the teeth of a gale is about as hard as it gets. More likely it was working away from home and getting three hard rides a week that helped. Or I was just on a good day.

No-one held my wheel and I had a good sleep in Crowcombe followed by a relaxed ride around the last 150km the next day, a little bit of mist adding mystery to the hills. Ice creams at the finish on the hottest May Bank Holiday ever.

MAY/JUNE 2018

WEST HIGHLAND 1000

The last ride to qualify for the Brevet 5000, that second thousand. I started nervously. Unlike nearly everyone else who’d booked accommodation for two nights in Oban, I’d organised youth hostel accommodation in Glencoe and Crianlarich, with an idea of getting a Sunday night sleeper home. There wasn’t a Sunday night sleeper and I found myself contemplating 520km before my first sleep stop. I found a good group for the first midge-laden night, struggled a bit through a hot afternoon, but made Glencoe to plan.

The next day was perhaps the finest ever of my Audax career, the magical roads of Ardgour, protected from traffic by remoteness and the Corran Ferry, on a fine sunny morning. On the Sunday, refreshed by a good sleep and a pizza at the youth hostel, I spun past several riders who had ridden through the night.

I finished with one other rider I met on the run into Edinburgh, at Monty’s Bar with its brilliant selection of craft beers, surprised to find myself first back due to my ambitious sleep stops. I stayed for several beers before finding my hotel, unaware that I’d just completed my Brevet 5000.

There’d been some epics, some failures, and some dream rides along the way, but that last ride remains the favourite of all my UK rides and a perfect way to finish a Brevet 5000.

Organisers of Audax events are the people who work tirelessly in the shadows to provide real challenges for the nation’s long-distance riders. Keen Audaxer Lucy McTaggart fell into event-organising “by accident” – but loves it. In this edition, Arrivée contributor Grace Lambert Smith quizzes her about her passion for behind-the-scenes planning

Lucy’s passion for plotting your Audax adventures

IT WAS OFF THE BACK of mine and Liam Fitzpatrick’s Audax chats, which we hosted during lockdown, that it dawned on me that I’d seldom read about the wonderful event organisers of Audax UK. Of course, I’ve ridden many events and spoken to them pre-roll out and again when I returned with varying levels of feedback directly correlated to the elevation of their rides.

Throughout my few years of Audax so far, it’s always amused me how much assumed knowledge there is when I talk to other people. Of course, I can now relate to that knowledge but there was a time I’d return some bewildered looks as a fellow cyclist rattled off the names of organisers like I was their next of kin or something.

In the days of reflection after hearing everyone’s inspirational chat on Zoom, I pitched the idea of some organiser interviews to Arrivée’s managing editor, and busied myself contacting a couple of organisers to get the show on the road. My first port of call was Lucy McTaggart based near the Scottish Borders.

Lucy hails from Cambridge, where her cycling career took off. The lovely folk of Cambridge CC took her under their wing when she was just 17 years old. Her route into longer distances was perhaps similar to many others: a few time trials and road races alongside the usual Sunday club run. Sure enough, the pressure of racing tarnished her love of the sport, so her friend encouraged her to come along to what was then called the Stevenage Start of Summertime 200km.

“From there I was hooked,” she says. “It was just like being back to old club run days. I finished out 1999 with a few more populaires and then spent the winter plotting bigger adventures for the next year.”

The following year, she completed her first SR which at the turn of the millennium included an extra 500km. She’s since notched up over 400 completed Audax rides including three PBPs. She epitomises a well-oiled machine when it comes to her results and she’s carried this forward in her events.

“It seemed like a natural progression really,” she ponders, reflecting on how she accidentally fell into organising Audax events by taking on the Hauxten 200 from Mike Stapleton. “I always wanted to give back rather than taking all the time, and it’s always nice to share your favourite local

Lucy rides St Mary’s Loch in the Scottish borders

By day, Grace Lambert Smith is a freelance copywriter. When she’s not at her laptop’s keyboard, she can be found riding her bike around the Peak District. She’s completed a couple of SRs and a PBP and is looking forward to pedalling her bike across more countries in the not-too-distant future

routes with other people,” she adds. The feeling is reciprocal, she says, as she relishes riding the routes of other organisers. Who needs a route planner when you’ve got Audax organisers, eh?

Some of her most cherished roads meander around the Ettrick and Yarrow Valleys, and she’ll often find herself on a pilgrimage to the Tibetan Monastery in Eskdalemuir. “It’s a lovely long, gradual climb and when you turn around to come home, it’s usually a westerly wind bringing you back,” she laughs.

One of the aspects of Audax that sets it apart from a lot of other sports are the stories that come out of hours, maybe even days, spent a-wheel, chasing stamps and collecting receipts. As an organiser, the stress is often compensated for by the flurry of hilarious anecdotes, both during the event and the days after. “The funniest one I’ve had is the guy who uploaded his GPX track back-tofront, and unfortunately for him, he turned up 10 minutes after everyone else had left,” says Lucy. “This meant he set off in the opposite direction without realising until half way around when he suddenly met people coming the other way!” I begin to picture the unfolding debacle that would ensue if I’d have done a similar thing but still find myself bursting into laughter at such a mistake!

Despite the occasional and harmless misfortune, organising events boils down to a few simple pleasures for Lucy: “Seeing all the riders enjoying themselves, and it’s always quite heartening when they all come back safely without having got lost,” she says. “All the banter at the finish is great and makes it all worthwhile.” I guess that’s all we want at the end of a ride: a bit of chat, cake (of course!) and to feel content with a day on the bike.

While Lucy still plays host to a number of calendar and permanent events, she’s also channelled her energy into mentoring up and coming organisers over the last 15 years and has been instrumental in creating Scottish Borders Randonneurs alongside fellow local Audaxer Russell Carson.

The latter is designed to encourage newcomers to the sport and has a more obtainable award than the traditional Super Randonneur series. Riders set about completing a 100km, 150km, 200km and 300km event within the first 12 months of their Audax career (as opposed to the R1000 AUK award which runs in any given season). “It’s been a bit scuppered by lockdown but we will get it up and running as soon as we can restart, so it may be something to give incentive to all of us to get going again,” she says, hopeful of the August recommencement of events.

Lucy’s aim of lifting people out of lockdown with some of her rides appears to be somewhat paradoxical as she discloses she’s struggled with mojo for the longer riders more recently. “Anything over 300 and I find myself getting bored and tired and desperate for my own duvet, so I really want to shake that feeling,” she confesses. “The night time rides were my favourites. I’d love to ride all the way through and see the sun rise just as you finish.”

Lucy and her team of merry helpers have a great reputation for organising memorable Audax events. There’s been a full series of PBP qualifiers in recent years and they’re now building up to another SR series for 2021. If you’re thinking of preparing yourself for some of Lucy’s events, you’d be wise to take on her advice. “You can be 40 miles from getting any help and often with no phone signal, so it’s often about being very self-sufficient,” she warns, encouraging riders to consider carrying an extra snack or two into their saddlebags to avoid running dry.

For those with a penchant for an even longer few days in the saddle, look out for the Flamborough Head 1000. She won’t disclose whether it’s due to run in the near future but I for one will be keeping my eyes peeled for it!

❝I always wanted to give back rather than taking all the time, and it’s always nice to share your favourite local routes with other people ❞