Tea for
Arrivée152Summer2021
THE SUMMER OF 2018 gave us unparalleled sunshine, soaring temperatures, a Welshman winning the Tour de France – and a brand-new AUK 1,000km calendar event. The Audax Club Mid-Essex (ACME) Grand offered an epic Essex-Wales-Essex route, unsurpassed mountain scenery and a unique tea party on top of the Black Mountain. The Dulwich Paragon team rose to the challenge, but could they see it through under such extreme conditions? It was 10.45am on 28 June when Tom Deakins, organiser and ACME route-master, stood on a seat in an Essex pub garden to wish everyone good luck – and invited the riders to attend a tea party on the Black Mountain, the most westerly pinnacle of the Brecon Beacons. The ACME Grand had caught my eye because it was 2018’s best value AUK calendar event – only £4 for 1,000km. It was also because the organiser was Tom, and the AAA route seemed out of character for someone better known for The Flatlands and Green & Yellow Fields. There were 10 points and 9.25 AAA points on offer and the ‘x-rated’ status of the ride appeared quite exciting – until I realised that this meant it was completely unsupported. All riders had to collect a minimum of 18 receipts from random shops and ATMs and there were no volunteers to look after you, and in my case, no company for two days of the ride. Tom’s route was accompanied by five pages of explanatory text in which he recalled his DIY of the same route in May in great detail, including the location of significant bus shelters, should you be in need of sleep.
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Preparation
The view from Brecon Beacons
There seem to be two types of Audax cyclist – those that plan ahead and those that act on impulse; I aspire to be in the first group but am usually in the latter. The ACME Grand start date of 28 June was set in 2017, however I didn’t sign-up until four weeks before the start.
