Reviews

Wow … just wow! What an amazing and challenging ride to end 2019!. Yes there were some A-road sections that felt a bit long and some navigational moments requiring a good level of concentration, but this is massively offset by the ride through countless stunning lanes and picturesque villages, all decked with “bells and holly” – its a Christmas extravaganza! Accommodation at 340KM in a proper Audax hotel … a 100yr old bus shelter, only served to add to the adventure. A very warm welcome from Will at the ariveé, accompanied with hot food and drink was the icing on the “Christmas” cake…chapeau!

A good all nighter for first timers. I’ve ridden this one twice.. It’s got some lovely bits.. super straight fast bit after Salisbury, after breakfast hills though Dorset. Bournemouth seafront just before dawn is my favourite bit.

Really well looked after at the breakfast control at Poole (thanks!). Strawberry line can be a bit messy if wet, watch out for walkers.. but it’s a hoot at speed 🙂

For the second edition Will adjusted the route for the better on the return into Bristol to avoid the busy a370 and the city centre.

I’ll keep coming back for Will’s rides..

This is a journey.  For me, my first 500km ride, it made quite an impression.  

You’ll likely be riding through 2 nights.  You’ll ride nearly every steep hill in south wales.   Expect the weather to be nuts.   Believe the elevation profile.

I was lucky to meet a couple of riders at different moments where it wasn’t going so well in my head.  Their kindness and wisdom in the face of the absurdity, genuinely helped me get round.  Hat tip to Dad as well, for the hour and a half in a cafe in Fishguard chatting while I tried to get dry after that rain.

Headwinds though Llandeussant, midnight ponies in the road above Merthyr, boy racers in the valleys, the kids doing night shift in Macdonalds, singing into the night, the sea!. We’ll be back for more.

Organisation perfectly minimal.  10/10 would ride again.  Thanks Will!

On a cold windswept day in January I chose this as my first audax of the year. It was great fun riding this one, some roads I was familiar with and others not. The ride out from Warmley station on the Bristol to Bath cycleway was nice and then onto the two tunnels trail emerging from the second tunnel into daybreak.

Once over the Mendip hills it was gentle rolling countryside through into Wiltshire with a stop at the Ginger Piggery for coffee on the way to Wilton. Heading west there was a few more cheeky hills as we crossed into Dorset including a climb up onto Bullbarrow down that tested the legs. Onwards west we rode into somerset with another of Will’s hills just after Bruton and then finally after a dash across the levels we ascended Cheddar Gorge. I was one of those that climbed it in the dark which added an interesting twist. But don’t thinks it’s all downhill back to Warmley as there was a couple more Will’s hills thrown in at the end.

On the whole it was a great ride, would I do it again? Most definitely yes!

My new to audax friend was dead keen to do a 300 . So he wanted to do this one to bag an early 300. I said no but we rode it together. Having ridden the fff500 the previous year I did expect Will to be organising a great ride. As we crossed Salisbury plain in the dark in the rain I shouted ‘it’d better be worth it tomorrow!’ It was .

After a good breakfast at the sea scouts hut , the sun came up and we had a glorious days ride back to Bristol. I discovered some new roads and thoroughly enjoyed myself. The arrivée was stocked with reviving snacks and after a bit of catch up with a few familiars I was able to drive back home.

I completed this event as my first over night Audax. The route is very well planned to keep you on good but not busy roads through the night. Controls are well situated to allow you to feed up at nice intervals.

The breakfast stop is great and for me was at just the right timing to have a break to see me into the morning daylight.

The return uses smaller quieter roads and the old railway path that keep you away from the traffic for an enjoyable return.

I thoroughly enjoyed this fabulous ride.

Point to note: ALL the GWR rides I’ve taken part in have been brilliant.

Beautiful route, with huge variety in scenery and type of road …..and an entertaining amount of sharp climbs.

Was lucky enough to ride this as a route check/change with the organiser. The route heads anti-clockwise from Bristol into Wiltshire and the stunning Lacock Abbey before climbing Northwards over the Cotswolds, with a new diversion at Stroud giving a lovely view behind you as you crest the not insubstantial climb.

After crossing the Severn at Gloucester, you pass over the Northern tip of the Forest of Dean before hitting the Wye Valley, with a stunning view of Goodrich Castle to your right.

Hitting the infamous George’s Delight climb at dusk around 170km into a relatively hilly ride is definitely interesting. It’s narrow, so you can’t weave, and the steepest parts are tree-covered, meaning it stays damp and debris-strewn at that time of year. Add in a nicely rutted surface and you have a pretty serious test. In the end the fact it was dark might help slightly as you don’t know when it’s going to end!

The next section back to Chepstow is an old favourite and with the tunnel vision of night riding and barely another car on the road it felt fast and amazing – almost like flying.

Crossing the Severn Bridge in the dark is always fun, less so the final punchy climb back up to Bristol. A great and varied/interesting winter loop!

Great weather conditions contributed to making this another classic GWR route, spinning out mostly solo over the Cotswolds before jumping on the ACB train up through the first control at Brockworth. I stopped for a decent lunch in Tenbury Wells, knowing that the ascent of Clee Hill was coming up. In fact it looked a lot worse from a distance than in reality, with nothing crazy steep, and the view from the top more than makes it worthwhile. At Leominster I caught back up with the ACB group from the morning, and shared some great miles through some lovely lanes to the final checkpoint, before the brutal Symonds Yat climb. Tough at the best of times, but especially so after a punchy 250km. All in all a great ride, and really good for a first 300 IMO.

This was my first 300km Audax and my first overnight ride. I planned to go easy but got carried away through Devizes with a fast group and ended up doing my fastest 200 as a result! Really great stretch of fast road that can be a bit too busy for my liking in daylight hours, so it was amazing to blast through there with only the occasional owl for company. The beach hut at Poole was a great chance to avoid a squally shower, feed up, change layers and push on to sunrise, which happened in a lovely section of country lanes. Daal at the arrivée was the icing on a rather lovely cake. Missed the second edition but I will be back!