The Three Fields 108 Audax.

25^th March 2007

Mmmmh. What to say?

Jennifer and I tackled this one on the tandem as usual. Having done a few 100's on the tandem last year, it held no terrors and we were optimistic of a good ride.

However, we started with a few disadvantages compared with previous rides... It was Jennifer's first ride of the year, I had been nursing man 'flu all week and was still a bit chesty and washed out and we had both been to a work “do” the previous evening in Manchester. My commutes during the week had been a bit slower than usual as a result of the 'flu (just over 2h30 for the 54k) but they were not too uncomfortable so I thought there was no real reason to cancel the ride.

Saturday dawned cold and dank. The tandem was fettled and ready so I loaded up for the trip to Alfreton from Sheffield. We were a bit delayed – my son's lift for his band meet was late – but we managed to get to Alfreton about 15 minutes before the off – just enough time to hastily get the tandem re-assembled (wonderful things, these S&S couplings), acquire the brevet cards and get ready for the ride.

The weather at the start was heavily overcast, cold with a moderate to strong north-easterly breeze. The forecast had been for 9C but in the end it never ventured above 4 or 5C. We both had winter training jackets, helmets and ear warmers, Endura winter tights and goretex waterproof jackets on top. This was enough for me but not quite enough for Jennifer.

We set off with the second batch of riders. There was one other Thorn tandem on the ride with us. We passed each other a few times at controls but never conversed. After a short wait at the two sets of traffic lights in Alfreton, it was a short whiz down the A61 dodging a couple of large tankers before turning right at the bottom of the hill onto the lanes and into the wind. The group we were in fragmented quite early and we never had any coherent working party. We were spoken to once on the ride – a question on the Rohloff hub. I think the conditions were just a little too miserable for conviviality! For some reason, I have also find that solo riders seem less reluctant to engage with tandems than other solos – I wonder if anyone has had this experience? Perhaps it has to do with not being able to talk to both riders at once or maybe a fear of riding next to a much larger (and in our case, a VERY much larger) bicycle.

With the wind and our multifactorial suboptimal fitness, progress was a lot slower than on previous rides. Sustaining an average of 20kph was had work and I was soon running a bit of a sweat, despite the cold. Fortunately, it was dry.

On the whole, the roads were quiet, passing through small villages with occasional crossings of “A” roads and a few short sections on busier roads. The short section through Clumber Park was probably the best bit.

The first control (46km) was at Haughton Park Ice Cream Farm. The tea room was packed and the food queue long but Jennifer was quite chilled by this time and coffee and cake were mandatory so we endured the queue and slow service, slowly warming up. We left about 30 minutes before the control “close” time.

With the next section being mainly “downwind” I gave Jennifer my goretex jacket for an extra layer – she was still a little cold but felt a lot better for it.

The section down to Southwell, although “downwind” was decidedly lumpy with plenty of little ups and downs. Although now going “downwind” the clouds had thickened and it was getting a colder. We saw no other cyclists on this section. We also missed seeing the “Three Fields Visitors Centre” landmark in Laxton completely, by the way!

Southwell (75km) was a welcome sight; Jennifer's knee was starting to play up and we were getting hungry. The only one good thing about lumpy terrain is that it allows frequent freewheeling opportunities which Jennifer used to good advantage to ease rear end and knee aches...

Gossips cafe control was packed out so we had the cards stamped and went across the road to a lovely little bakery where they make superb (large) paninis. We sat on a bench in a little square close by to scoff them down.

From Southwell the route goes west. We therefore had a cross wind most of the way. It was also starting to spit occasionally which made things feel even cooler. The roads were also a little busier. Jennifer's comment about the latter 2/3 of the ride was that there seemed to be a lot more roadside rubbish compared with the areas we are more used to (The Peak District).

On the last leg we did pick up a couple of other riders to make a loose threesome but the mood did not seem to make for riding together and talking. I was also working quite hard to maintain momentum and try to save Jennifer's knee from seizing up...

Just before 4pm, we limped into Alfreton to join the resident traffic jam. Flopping down inside the control, we just did not feel like partaking in tea and biscuits but rather just sat and stared. After a few minutes we bade Stuart (organiser) farewell, packed up the tandem with frozen fingers and set off to do the weekly supermarket shop on the way home....

This was the hardest and slowest 100k I have done. Inherently it was not a difficult ride but the combination of adverse factors made it so. If ever we are faced by similar conditions of weather and suboptimal fitness again, I will make sure we dip into on the road rations sooner and more frequently and also be sure to take along some extra insulating layers. Never trust weather forecasts!

Bicycle: Thorn Raven Double Marathon with Rohloff hub

Distance: 108km

Time in the saddle:5h43 (19.1kph)

Total time taken: 6h:58 (15.5kph)

Total altitude gain: 1350m

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