Superseding against the odds

Hertfordshire-based Audaxer Richard Bragg was determined Covid-19 wouldn’t scupper his plans to complete another Super Randonneur series. But he had to deal with more than the pandemic, as his attempt was hindered by sand storms, floods, and a police hunt. This is how he eventually did it…

WORDS & PICTURES RICHARD BRAGG

AGAINST THE ODDS

AT THE START of the 19/20 season I expected to complete another SR series as part of my Audax cycling. But then came the disruption of Covid-19. Across the season there were just 106 SR series completed. I achieved mine in the end but it was a bit more of a challenge than usual.

October 2019 200km Cambridge Autumnal 100km event and ECE

The season started with a lovely autumn day out with Andy Broadbent. We chose a 100km Audax and added an ECE of 50km at each end. We had an early start from just south of St Neots. Andy had planned a lovely route – just enough hills to keep us warm without too much strain.

We arrived at Girton as the last of the 200s were leaving. So, we had plenty of time for breakfast before the 100 started. It was good to catch up with a few familiar faces, some of whom I’d not seen since PBP.

We left at 9am and were soon into the rolling countryside of Cambridgeshire and north Essex. We stopped in Parrishes in Thaxted. In the afternoon we had the long descent into Cambridge then the treat of the Arrivée cakes. With the 100 over, we carried on with a bit of the busway then south back to St Neots and the end of a relaxed day of cycling.

March 2020 300km The Dean

I hadn’t planned on riding the Dean, but had heard good things about the route. A few friends from our newly formed Tring Audaxers group were doing it so I signed up. How fortuitous! This would be my last chance of a ride like this for quite a while.

The route took us through familiar roads from Oxford, through the Cotwolds and down to Tewkesbury. The Forest of Dean was looking very scenic in its spring colours as we headed south for Chepstow. I’ve never found a great stop there, but we found a friendly enough bakery for lunch.

We crossed the Severn Bridge, then up that familiar steep climb to the Somerset Monument and down to tea in Malmesbury. I’m sure the bike wanted to point east back to the start at this point, but as darkness fell we headed south to Marlborough to search for a shop door info control then on to Hungerford services. I always like the confused looks on the faces of motorists when I cycle into a motorway services!

A Super Randoneur Series consists of Audax rides of 200, 300, 400 and 600 km, completed in one season. The Super Randonneur award was established in 1977 and is the gold standard award

Once over the downs the last stretch was straightforward. But I couldn’t persuade my colleagues to take the direct route from Eynsham. They insisted on going via the city centre to hit 200 miles. But it had been a great day out with the Tring Audaxers.

September 2020 600km East Anglia DIY

Then the long break. Audaxes suspended and hopes of an SR series seemed to disappear. But a late summer announcement gave a window of hope.

Dan Rough was in a similar position to me. We hatched a plan to try to get our series complete. Our 600 was a route round the edge of East Anglia with a bivvy on the beach. It sounded uncomplicated, and even when we left, ever the optimist, I didn’t think the 50mph wind forecast with lots of rain could be right.

We left Tring, witnessed a nice dawn and made it to our breakfast stop at the Moringa Tree in Haslingfield. With the rain just starting we put on jackets. Little did we know that we’d be wearing these for most of the next 30 hours.

After Cambridge the wind grew, our pace slowed and by the time we hit Hunstanton we faced a ferocious wind straight off the Wash. We seemed to be giving it everything just to move forward. We entered the first pub we saw and crashed. Neither of us talking about packing but we were spent, and we’d only reached a third of the distance. It would be dark soon and we had another 100 miles to do before our planned sleep stop

We set off and the combination of getting just a few miles inland away from the wind saved us, and we plodded into the night. Resupplied at Wells Co-op we ground on round the coast and eventually turned south with the wind behind us.

Our next challenge was sand. We hit a section where sand had been blown across the road, drifting in places, and an inch or two deep across the road. It made the national press the next day with talk of gardens being buried. We’d also seen trees down, debris and flooding but eventually made Great Yarmouth and a 24-hour garage. Surely our night would calm down now? Not quite.

We progressed south through a deserted Great Yarmouth and Lowestoft and reached Wrentham about 4am where we found a bus shelter big enough for us both to sleep in and started to unpack our sleeping gear.

We’d seen some debris on the road outside but thought nothing of it. It turned out an accident had occurred just before we got there – there was an abandoned car – the driver had done a runner. Curtains started twitching over the road, then two police cars arrived and started investigating. Not a good place to stop, we packed up and carried on. We reached Southwold where the sea was too wild and

noisy to sleep on the beach, so we found a church porch for a couple of hours sleep.

We left at 7am a little behind our plan and found breakfast just outside Aldeburgh. By now we were doing the sums. Neither of us were sure if we had 40 or 42 hours to complete, but the chance of getting round in 40 seemed too much. Especially with the strong winds and it was still raining.

I can’t say I enjoyed the next section as we struggled on through the second day. Our moods were not great, but we went at our own pace and joined up in Buntingford for our last refuelling stop. I don’t remember what we had, but we found some fresh energy.

We enjoyed a glorious sunset as we headed west and upped the pace. No more stops as we started to count the minutes down. Once we got to Wheathampstead the familiar roads helped us further. The finish was at the Valiant Trooper in Aldbury and we made it – in 12 minutes under 40 hours although we missed last orders. My slowest 600km Audax and one to remember.

October 2020 400km Aberystwyth DIY

We chose a scenic route to Aberystwyth for our final leg where my daughter is at University. Hoping for an easier ride this time, we were rewarded with a bit of a tail wind and of course the gorgeous Welsh scenery.

Dan Rough and I left Tring just before dark with a long night ahead of us. Familiar roads to start with then an enjoyable night ride through the Cotswolds. It rained lightly off and on through the night, but we had some glorious starry sections as well. There was a particularly memorable section along a trail through the woods around Symonds Yat and a quick break to stand on a rope bridge over the river in the depth of the night. Beautiful.

As we approached dawn it got tougher on the hills and then approaching Gospel Pass. I’d wanted to this for a while but not twigged it was the highest paved road in Wales! The dozies hit first and I had to have 10 mins kip. Actually, I fell asleep standing up, in a cow shed. Dan regrets not photographing that! Then we ground our way over the pass as dawn broke and enjoyed the view from the top.

We found a café in Hay, then enjoyed the quiet roads of the Wye Valley to Builth Wells, and on to Llandovery for lunch. The West End café served up a great feed and were as friendly as ever.

The afternoon became more interesting. Dan was not feeling great, and he had a train to catch home that evening. Wine gums and digging deep kept him going. We cycled up to and round Lynn Brianne. By now it was flat calm and stunningly beautiful. It looked simple on the map, but loads of climbing, then descents, sweeping corners, wonderful scenery and deserted roads. It was quite amazing though far more challenging than expected. I stopped for a few photos and Dan pushed on ahead to make his train (with four minutes to spare) while I took a slightly more civilised pace.

Nicely planned, it was now downhill to the finish, enjoying the Tregaron mountain road and then the cycle routes all the way to the coast. I reached the beach just in time to see the final rays of the sunset.

So that was my Audax SR series for 2020 complete. I didn’t expect that would happen, but so pleased to get it in and create such happy memories in such a difficult year.