Tan Hill 200 Audax

 Audaxing. A quintessentially English undertaking? Not exactly, as the origins are very much European- Audax UK have a very interesting page on the history of audax. However, there seems to be something very British about turning up to a community centre in a random town with 25 other enthusiastic individuals from all walks of life, all with at least one thing in common. A bike. 

You pay a bloke 6 quid or so, get a brevet card and have a cup of coffee, or a small breakfast- muesli, bread/toast etc. are laid on. At about 8:30, someone says "go" to the people gathered at the door of the community centre, and the people in the carpark realise the event is on as those who were in the apparent right place sail past shouting "we're off"! 

You then spend the better part of the day cycling 200km via a small number of places/ coffee shops etc. that can provide either a stamp or a till receipt to prove you've been there at a certain time- and get back to the community centre in dribs and drabs, get a cuppa, and maybe some soup or baked beans as a reward for your effort before heading back home. 

No fanfare. No numbers. No inflatable arches to ride through. Just a small, quiet group of people dedicated to long days out and absurd distances covered on two-wheels. 

It's brilliant. 

This is my first Audax and it wasn't an easy one. At 200k it is one of the shorter ones (apparently there was a serious discussion at one point as to whether 100 and 200k audaxes should have a different name- as they weren't *really* long enough to be considered hard enough to be a proper audax). However, with 4000m of ascent, this promised to be an interesting day out. Starting in Burnley, it wove North over a series of lumps to Tan Hill pub, and then back down through Kettlewell etc. back to Burnley. The climb was very front loaded, with the final BIG climb being out of Hawes on the way home. There was, though a serious SW wind blowing, which although potentially helpful to begin with, might cause some fun as a headwind on the way back. 

Dan suggested the idea of doing this one, and so I stuck my toe in the Audax pond. We headed up early doors on Sunday, registered and stood around watching the others ready their bikes as well. As mentioned, people seemed to come from all walks of life, and had differing levels of seriousness about how much food/water/luggage they might be needing over the next few hours. I went for a LOT of food, figuring that it would be better to be overladen with fuel than not. 

Dan and I- ready for the off.

At 8:30... well, 8:29- we were standing in the carpark with about 7/8 of the field as the other 1/8 sailed past shouting "well, come on then!"- and it was a scramble onto the bikes, make sure you have your sunglasses, and head out onto the roads. 

I recognised a fair few of the roads as we rode out through Sabden and over Nick o Pendle and out into the Trough of Bowland- having done a fair bit of hill climbing on the 100 climbs Sportive a couple of years ago. The first 30k flew past as I was trying to get used to riding in a group. Generally I'm on my own and getting used to seeing hand signals for things- and repeating them in good time for the benefit of those behind me- doesn't come naturally. 

The first brevet stop at Slaidburne was a fairly slow affair, as a few bikers who had overtaken us a short time prior had set about ordering a fairly long and convoluted breakfast. As we were amongst the first people there, the brevet stamp hadn't been located, and we spent a lot longer than was strictly necessary waiting for a stamp in our cards. (one person just couldn't be arsed and just set off without the stamp. It being my first audax, I wanted to do it kind of right). 

Dan and I set off onward north, and over the next few hills. Luckily the South Westerly wind was generally a kind assistance up the hills. Down into Bentham, and then back up and over into Ingleton- about 50k in with the potential for a coffee stop. I felt pretty decent at that point, knowing that the next place to stop would be Hawes which has a plethora of places to stop for refreshment, and so we pressed on. Not only does Hawes have a decent amount of shops, but it also had the benefit of being just before the last 2 big hills before Tan Hill- the mid point of the ride, so a short stop there would probably be useful. 

You've gotta stop at Ribblehead viaduct for a piccie- right?

 

As it was, on the way up to Ribblehead viaduct on the B6255, my drive chain started squeaking like there was a canary in it. The rainshower that we had endured on the climb prior to Bentham had evidently washed off all the Dry Lube that had be put on it recently. It only got worse as I approached Hawes and I had visions of knocking on doors of likely looking houses, or campervans with bike on them to ask if I might borrow some chain oil. After coasting down into Hawes, I hurridly googled "Bike shop Near Me", and lo and behold, the rather fantastic Stage 1 cycles was not only there, but was OPEN on a sunday morning. I'm unsure if he would have just given me a squirt of random chain oil, but figured as it was so useful that he was there and open, I'd spend some cash, and got a new tube of All weather chain lube. Oh- the happiness of a drive chain that doesn't sound like it's going to fall apart on you! Wonderful!

Hallelujah! Chain lube!

By the time I'd sorted out the bike, Dan had got into Hawes and had a brew, so we set off towards Tan hill together- up over Buttertubs, which isn't all that bad from the South, and then the insane 25% switchbacks on the road up to Tan Hill pub. I was within sight of the pub as the first couple of riders were on their way back down, and as I got there, there was obviously something of a lunch rush. A huge queue of people for the bar- nearly out of the door... ah well, nothing to do but to wait. So I patiently waited in line, bought a coke, and by the time I'd finished, Dan was arriving, along with a cloud burst. I grabbed my coat, and my sandwiches and we stood in the porch of the pub recovering, watching the rain thrash across the countryside and refuelling.

I woz there- yes I woz.

 

I can't say that the weather got any better as we stood there. At times it got worse and I was having concerns that I didn't have enough kit- especially gloves. It's August, I'm wearing 3 layers and wishing I had more! Eventually after a much longer time than I should have waited, we head off down the hill into the wind and rain. Waterproof on, hood up, buff on- 2 more significant climbs to go before the long, undulations of the ride home- all into a headwind. 

It wasn't raining before Dan turned up.

We passed the majority of the rest of the field as we came down into Keld, and then faced the rather steeper side of Buttertubs. In all honesty, it wasn't as bad as expected, though the headwind was still there. Down into Hawes, and considering the next ascent was going to take sometime, I kept the waterproof on. We were going back up high, and the chance of a shower was considerable. By this time I'd lost Dan, so I just started up Fleetwith Moss and chugged my way up it. Into a headwind. 

It's horrible. I mean, the last time I did it, I was bikepacking and it was at the beginning of my final day and it was horrible then. At 120k in, it's really really horrible. Unforgiving and brutal. There were times when I was sure I might have to get off- but it never came to that. Nonetheless, the climb was very very slow, and the main thought was "this is the last big one". 

Finally over the top, I thought I took sight of a Short Eared Owl across the fields just before the descent started- the long descent into (eventually) Kettlewell. Somewhat ironically I was held up by an Audi for the vast majority of the descent, but at least I didn't try shouting/beeping/close passing at any point. As it was downhill all the way into Wharfedale, the speed was fairly decent (Audis not withstanding), and the average speed stayed pretty high. At Kettlewell I made a short stop to fill up waterbottles at a pub and bought a coke, took off my waterproof, and started out just as another audaxer came past. 

We shared the load of headwind for a while, until she fell behind on one of the longer climbs. It was not all that far to Gargrave now, and I wended my way on for a while, until from behind came a pair of audaxers who I assumed were way, way ahead of me- having left Tan Hill about 20 mins before me. It turns out they had stopped elsewhere as well, and so we made good time as a triple over toward Gargrave, arriving in the village about 2 mins after the teashop closed- so we would have to get a receipt from Co-op as proof we had been there instead. 

From Gargrave, only 35k remained and I was feeling pretty good. Well- not half dead. We continued on as a three over a variety of undulations and along b-roads. My legs kind of gave out on the hill out of Barnoldswick, but they were gents and waited for me. 

On the run back into Burnley we picked up a fellow audaxer who had been on their own for 50k or so, and we belted along the A-road as a 4, and dropped into Burnley soon afterward, finishing up and around a variety of corners to finish in about 9 and a half hours. 

The rig at the end.

There were tins of beans and spaghetti hoops and soup ready for those who wanted them- I just sat down with the small remainder of the food that I'd taken with me, and a very well earned cup of tea. Dan came in about 30 mins later and we spent time sitting there looking shellshocked before getting up, getting changed and heading off home. 

What a day. Thanks so much to Andy for organising such a great day. (apparently he is a serial organiser of this kind of thing)- and I trust that the other 25 or so riders got home in a decent enough time to allow him to get home for a realistic time. 

First Audax- yes. But probably not the last.