Day Trip to Wochma Audax 2016

 

After a very tough day in January battling through darkness and incessant rain to finish the "January Sale", I didn't think a flatter ride in February could be tougher, but it was! The ride in question was the Day Trip to Wochma (Wormelow - Chepstow - Malmsbury then back to Tewkesbury) was a route of 220+ kilometres, with no AAA points, but on this occasion the main test came once again from the Weather. This winter has been crazily stormy, if milder than usual and the scientists are telling us this is the new normal - better get used to riding in high winds and constant rain then....

As the day of the ride approaches the forecast got worse and worse, with the likelihood of the Severn Bridge closing to traffic getting ever stronger. I probably wouldn't have gone if I'd been travelling alone but Vilas had no misgivings and as we'd both signed up, I went for it. Sure enough the rain started while we were unloading our bikes in Tewkesbury and looked set in for the day. The wind was swirling around us on the gloomy ride out towards Herefordshire but at this stage not too bad - that would come later.

The rain found its way into everything - goretex gloves and a waterproof jacket weren't enough to keep it out. Fortunately with temperatures up around 9 degrees it was quite bearable. The route was one I'd ridden before as far as Wormelow but there was little opportunity to enjoy the views as visibility was limited and the rain was diverting my attention - in fact the 55K stage took over two and a half hours and that was at a pace that was a little out of my comfort zone. At the first control I grabbed a couple of welshcakes but didn't have time to finish my drink before we headed off again, this time into the wind. The route to Monmouth was hard going, long drags to climb and a faceful of headwind on any flat or downhill section. As we got close to Monmouth the most beautiful scenery of the day unfolded, a lovely valley snaking down towards the confluence of the Monnow and Wye nestling between smooth, green hills. Heaven on Earth. Personally I was knackered and seriously regretting going along at such a stiff pace for the first third of the course - and failing to feed properly at the first control. Mistakes I've made before...

Down the Wye Valley I was part of a pack of half a dozen riders enjoying more stunning scenery, following the meanders of the swollen Wye down towards Tintern. After that came a sapping climb over Wyndcliffe and then a drift down into Chepstow where we stopped at the Budgens just to the west of town. As I took my gloves off a half pint of water spilled out and earned me glares from the staff - sorry guys, I had no idea that was going to happen and to be frank on one of the wettest days of the year you are going to get wet customers - learn to deal with it maybe? I've worked in retail, it's not the greatest challenge you're going to face. OK, got that off my chest, you can tell I was very tired at that point :)

Next was the part I'd been dreading - the Severn Bridge in high winds. As we approached we saw signs saying the bridge was closed and I could see that the England-bound side was completely shut, although westbound traffic was still flowing. Surely the bike path would be closed.....but no! The north side path was open to bikes so over we went. It was pretty unpleasant and although the windspeeds must have been 40-50 mph there was very little in the way of gusts, meaning we could just lean into the wind and go for it. Fortunately the path is set a metre or so below the road so if you keep your head down the worst of it goes over your head. In fact it was only the last 50 metres where gusts really caught me and gave me a bit of a scare - then I was grateful to be over and looking forward to a stop at the Services. A toasted sandwich, a change of baselayer (cunningly packed a spare - good move!) and a dry hat made me feel better starting off for the second half.

Next, things fell apart for me. I was struggling to keep up with the others - Vilas and another rider we'd latched on to but whose name I didn't catch. Passing Thornbury I began to feel intensely sick and my food was clearly not digesting, leaving me weak and right on the edge of "blowing up". The windproof hat felt painfully tight and intensified the nausea so I stopped and changed back into my wet beanie. The others were over the horizon but I was glad to be able to slack off and ride slowly until I felt restored. Vilas waited for me and I met up with him approaching Cromhall - I tried a caffeine gel hoping it would perrk me up but all the way to Inglestone I still felt awful and the remaining 90 odd kilometres were starting to magnify in my mind. There was never any question of packing though - I'd started and I was going to finish, no matter how long it took. The climb up to the Duke of Somerset Monument was familiar, a regular training route of mine - and despite feeling rubbish I made it up thanks to my lowest gear. Heading over to Didmarton and Sherston on exquisite Cotswold lanes I began to feel better - the gel had done its job - and by the time we make it to Malmsbury at around 4.30 I was properly restored.

Great cafe in Malmsbury - we met up with a few riders we'd seen earlier and some who had started slower and were now reaping the benefits while I was slowing down - but after more food and a pot and a half of tea, plus a session drying my gloves under the hand dryer, it was time to head off again, this time with the lights on. Into the Cotswold night we rode and it wasn't long before we had warmed up - only for Vilas to get a blowout after hitting a pothole. We lost a lot of body heat while we stood in the wind and rain, Vilas fitting a tube while I shone a light on proceedings. Then the replacement tube failed just as Vilas was pumping it up, the valve core flying off into the darkness. Tube number 2 came out of the seatpost bag and went in, this time no problems. Back off into the night...

The route was hard to follow in the darkness and we had to keep stopping to check the routesheet - finally we got to Birdlip Hill, not a particularly testing climb (more of a drag) but a nasty descent which I was determined to take slowly after hearing about accidents on last year's event. This was mentally tiring - and for Vilas physically tiring too as he was having to jam hard on the brakes to stay behind me and benefit from my more powerful lights as I eased my way down. At the bottom we hit the kind of lake in the road that Gloucester is famous for and there was plenty more of that to come. On the plus side it was flat but the route was punctuated by pools of standing water that made us very wet indeed as we splashed through. Past caring about being wet by this stage though...

We were lucky enough to catch up with another rider from Milton Keynes who had GPS and follow him from Churchdown to the arrivee - hitching a ride behind him and with the wind behind us, we breezed along. We'd both had our low moments on the ride but come through them and finished the route - over 13 hours, but in those conditions, I call that a victory!

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