Along with 1,500 others from all over the world, Sarah Davies and I recently completed London Edinburgh London, the UK’s most prestigious Audax, aiming to cycle over 1,540km in a bit over 5 days.

 

We were in Group L starting at 8:15 on the Sunday morning.  Over 50% of the entrants were from outside the UK with our group containing a large group from India.  There were 20 stages to complete with control points mostly at local schools.  The first of these after 100km at St Ives was very familiar to us as we had both volunteered there during the previous event in 2017.  There were also familiar faces in Sarah’s husband John and daughter Liv who were already busy with their volunteering duties.

  It was difficult to leave them, but we had to head further north across the pan-flat fens - a new but enjoyable experience for us with just a small cross headwind.  We started to appreciate the wide variety of bikes being ridden on this event – EliptiGos, velomobiles, tandems, Bromptons and a fat bike.  Following our next control at Boston the hills returned in the form of the Lincolnshire Wolds and then it turned dark while we controlled at Louth.  This meant extra layers of clothing as we made our way to the Humber Bridge (specially opened to riders for this event) and we arrive at our pre-booked hotel just over the bridge at around midnight with 303km achieved.

 

The first stage on day 2 was relatively short to Malton where we arrived just as the canteen was changing over between breakfast and dinner, so with just cereal and coffee available we felt insufficiently fuelled for the two very tough stages that were to follow.  A puncture for me outside Castle Howard caused a small delay before we climbed up to the gorgeous heather covered North Yorkshire Moors where the organisers has put in a ‘secret control’ to make sure we were not deviating from the official route. 

We made a short stop at a pub for a drink and to refill our bottles before reaching the next control at Barnard Castle.  The next stage through the Pennines was going to be hard, even before a late road closure and diversion had considerably added to the difficulty.  We made our way steadily up the big climbs seeing a long stream of red lights up ahead of us in the dark (noting the even bigger descents that we would have to tackle on our way back) and declined the opportunity of a couple of pop-up cafes in order to push on to Brampton and bed.  As expected this control was crowded though Sarah managed to grab the last available bed while I had to make do with a corridor.

 

 

There were queues in the morning for showers, toilets and breakfast but we headed off as quickly as we could, soon crossing the border to Scotland and along a fast road to Moffat, our favourite control of the event with some great food to prepare us for a long climb up the Devils Beef Tub where we had to stop to admire the great views from the top.  We had a quick stop for supermarket refreshments at Biggar and headed towards the outskirts of Edinburgh before crossing the Forth Bridge to Dunfermline.  Although we were pleased with our achievement of making it this far, rather like when we had ridden Paris Brest Paris 3 years earlier it proved mentally very difficult for both of us to make the 180 degree turn and head south. 

 

Unfortunately, not long after crossing back over the Forth Bridge I hit trouble when one of the straps on my saddle bag broke.  I told Sarah to carry on while I found a very helpful Homebase employee near our route who sold me some zip ties.  Although crowded with Fringe participants and tourists and with plenty of cobbled sections, Edinburgh and particularly Arthur’s Seat looked spectacular in the sunset.  The remaining section was hilly as it darkened, but we were both making good progress before I was one of a number of riders who hit a big pothole on a descent, suffering a puncture.  Mending it in the pitch black was tricky, but with great help from a passing German rider I joined Sarah at Innerleithen.

 

There was gorgeous scenery on the next stage, but the early morning mist in the valley and low sun sometimes made it difficult to see.  Locals at the next control at a community centre in Eskdalemuir treated us to some great food.  However, not long after leaving I got another puncture (almost certainly a consequence of having had to fix the previous one in the dark), so I told Sarah to go on while I soon fixed it.  We both soon re-entered England and returned to Brampton to discuss our tactics over lunch.  The next two stages were the hilliest and Sarah was keen to get them both done today while I was more cautious.  So Sarah set off a bit before me on the most brutal stage of all through the Pennines up 17% gradients in blistering heat.  Yes, we had to get off our bikes at times and push as did most other riders.  Everyone was so grateful for a volunteer giving out water and flapjacks at the top of Weardale, the highest pass in England. 

At Barnard Castle Sarah took the brave decision to press on, whereas I decided to stay the evening before setting off early the following morning.  

We both found that we had taken the decision that was right for us.  Sarah found the latter part of the next section hard as it got hillier but battled on reaching Malton by 2am, whereas refreshed by some sleep in a cricket pavilion, I really enjoyed the early morning ride accompanied at first only by a full moon before then experiencing a glorious sunrise.  We kept fully in touch via WhatsApp and it was encouraging to see we were both making good progress.  We had been hoping to take advantage of our hotel by the Humber Bridge again after the next stage but being behind schedule meant we both had to settle for a welcome shower and change of clothes at the nearby control at Hessle.  It was another very hot day and while I had been battling in the heat to reach Hessle, Sarah was crossing the Humber Bridge to Louth.  Like so many other of the 800 volunteers, those at Louth went above and beyond, holding out cold drinks as Sarah arrived and by the time I approached they were also further down the road offering much needed refreshment at the top of a climb.  Sarah carried onto Boston and then back across the fens (thankfully with a tailwind) to St. Ives whereas I stopped at Boston, both reaching our destinations before midnight.

 

So we both woke up early on the final morning with 120km to go for Sarah which was well within her capabilities and 210km for me which still gave me a fighting chance of making the time limit if things went well.  It was another glorious sunrise for Sarah in Cambridge and for me along the Fens, but it was starting to heat up and we were both feeling the effects of our efforts over the last few days.  I was relieved to reach the familiar surroundings of St Ives while Sarah was pleased to see the familiar faces of Mike and Vicki Henley at the penultimate control at Great Easton.  I set off into the heatwave into Cambridge being pleasantly surprised as a tourist from Thailand was offering banana cake to all the riders as they crossed over Magdalene Bridge (just one example of the many kind offers from spectators along the way).  Sarah finished in a great time of 122.5 hours well inside the time limit while I battled on through Cambridgeshire in the heatwave encouraged by messages of support from MDCC members and others.  Along with the other remaining riders, we had to take it slowly making plenty of stops before I reached Mike and Vicki.  Although I could not make the official target time of 128hrs 20 mins, I really benefited from Mike’s great experience of rides likes these as he helped me with my tactics to reach my revised target of making the final control before the official close.  I switched my phone to ‘flight mode’ to avoid any distractions and pushed on to achieve a time of 134.5 hours.

 

Our final thoughts:

 

I did it! 122.5 hours. 1540km over mountains and through valleys, through cities and alongside rivers.  The toughest thing I have ever done (and I have given birth twice!).  It was brutal.  It was beautiful.  It showed the UK in terms of scenery and people off to its very best.  I will never forget it, but I will never do anything like that again!  And this time I mean it! - Sarah

 

Relentless heat and brutal climbs under cloudless skies, but I was so glad to have experienced this event which leaves me with memories that will last forever.  The weather and the tremendous support from both official volunteers and others along the route showed off the country at its best.  I will definitely return in 2025 (as a volunteer of course!).  – Dave