So as usual we had a number of members out racing over the last few days. Pat even went out twice! Keep the results coming in. As Mark saying the BRCC SPOCO events are well worth having a go at, they even have a Clubhouse.

First report is Simon Richardson write up on London Wales London (LWL) which started at 6am on 29th Apr, I know Simon was initially disappointed with his result but he did over 200 miles (better than my 26 miles on Fri when I broke a spoke!).

Simon Richardson LWL Sat 29th Apr to Sun 30th Apr 407Km

I took myself down to leafy Chalfont St Peter's on Friday evening ahead of an early start on Saturday morning for the London Wales London audax https://londonwaleslondon.com/ ; brief ride report to follow (and I promise there will not be another mention of Chalfonts!).

The 407km route (although Garmin says 413km, https://connect.garmin.com/modern/course/157177885 ) after a brief dip back east inside the M25 to satisfy the 'London' element, took us westish around the top of Oxford, through the Cotswolds landscape of Stow-on-the-Wold to north of Cheltenham and onto Tewksbury. By this point it had changed from early morning cold and dank to considerably warmer and sunnier, which *spoiler alert* was to become a factor in my ride.

Then onto Ross on Wye, Yat Rock (which I would happily see bulldozed) and into Wales. A stop in Chepstow (after a few tours of the one way system) then saw us head back across 'the bridge' into England north of Bristol. Malmesbury came at 275km and this was probably the last time I was feeling well before the day's exertions started to get the better of me. The next 50-odd km to the final control at Lambourn (between Swindon and Newbury in the North Wessex Downs AONB) wasn't a pleasant time, but I still got to the control about five hours to the good. I hoped a bit of food and a rest would do me good, but unfortunately heat stroke had another view on the matter and I redecorated the inside of the hall with everything I'd eaten & drunk previously and spent the next few hours again wrapped in a foil blanket feeling very sorry for myself. 

I set off the next morning resigned to not making the time cut but at least knowing I'd ridden the whole course.......after a couple of hours of slowly truding eastwards (and with the 9am time cut having long passed) a train station came into view; choice was another 45km of the same slow trudging or jump on a train to Slough and then a 15km ride back from there. Reader, the train took the strain.....and I finally made it to the finish at just after noon.

372km of riding for me in total and while part of me wishes I'd done the whole thing, another part of me was very happy to get back home a couple of hours quicker than I would have done otherwise and to spend that extra time in the bath

Apart from the challenge of the ride itself, I need a suitably-accredited 400km audax as part of my next qualification process for Paris-Brest-Paris https://www.paris-brest-paris.org/en/home_/  later in the year, although I must admit the thought of doing that for day after day after day doesn't exactly fill me with joy at the moment....especially as I've heard France in August can sometimes be even hotter than Wales in April!

On the plus side, if getting heatstroke in Wales doesn't at least land me a role with their tourist board to help break down the "don't you dare remove your cagoule" stereotypes then someone has really dropped the ball.

So in addition to needing to get another 400 ridden within the relevant time window, next up on the PBP qualification merry-go-round is a 600km "ticket to Hull and back" https://www.tomsk.co.uk/fenland-friends-600/2023/ in a few weeks time, just nobody mention the Chalfonts.......

Pat Ellerbeck & Paul Haynes Sun Apr 30th BM Roadrace at Brentwood and Tues May 2nd Milton Keynes Bowl

Mixed fortunes this week, Sunday's BM road race  at Brentwood, I missed the break, managed to drag the bunch back to part of the break but ran out of steam in the final sprint. Better result at the Bowl Tuesday, I won my age-group, 2 younger age group riders broke off the front, then led the remainder for most of the race, but I managed to have enough left to sprint from a fair way out and hold off the challengers to win my age-group. Paul Haynes was also in the race and finished some 2 minutes after Pat.

Mark Greenhow Sun Apr 30th BRCC SPOCO 18.5mile TT

BRCC organise some sporting course TTs (SPOCOs) on Sunday mornings in spring and autumn on the roads to the south of their Cardington HQ. These are quite low key events but they are always on interesting and varied courses where one of the biggest challenges is not taking a wrong turn!  I did one on a road bike a few weeks ago but used the TT bike for this one, it's an 18.5 mile course they call the "king of hillfoot" as it goes twice up the hill (hillfoot) between Cardington and Old Warden. Riders start at Cardington, head south up the hill through the villages of Ireland, Southill, Ickwell and Cople, back through Cardington and the finish line is at the top of hillfoot. I managed a time of 50.20 and was fifth out of the small field of twelve entrants. These are good events on nice quiet but fairly challenging courses and hopefully there should be some more coming up later in the year.

Pat Ellerbeck Sun Apr 30th BM Roadrace at Brentwood and Tues May 2nd Milton Keynes Bowl - Paul Haynes

Mixed fortunes this week, Sunday's BM road race  at Brentwood, I missed the break, managed to drag the bunch back to part of the break but ran out of steam in the final sprint. Better result at the Bowl Tuesday, I won my age-group, 2 younger age group riders broke off the front, then led the remainder for most of the race, but I managed to have enough left to sprint from a fair way out and hold off the challengers to win my age-group. Paul Haynes was also in the race and finished some 2 minutes after Pat.