A few comments…
Thanks for the event yesterday.enjoyed the soup at the finish, I didn’t hang around as I was working last night. But thanks to all those who helped out.
Sub 4 hour ride! I was dragged around for the later section even got a telling off for not working on the front by the foreign guy in the yellow jacket who had lost his Brevtt card. Andy
Thanks for all your (and your helpers) efforts today. Weather couldn’t have been better although it was rather chilly start at the start (Glad I opted for the woolly hat as suggested). Pat
What a great day out for a not too hilly grimpeur. Slightly chilly but that was more than offset by the effort of riding through great rolling countryside. Just three perambulations for me today. Cob lane (of course), that climb soon after Cob lane and the rise just before the first control where I got caught out by the gradient after hacking my way through a traffic jam just as Mr Phixie sailed past (though he was Mr Phixie in name only today, looking good on gears). Probably a wise decision; FY certainly agreed. Paul
Great conditions for being out and about today. Nice end of season ride – would also make a good season opener. Remarkably quiet roads.Cob Lane isn’t so bad on its own but quick succession of the climb up from Ardingley Resvr and then a bit of a drag up to Balcombe (from memory) is what gets to the legs. But the last 20km is great, rolling through the foothills of the south downs.Thanks for impecible organisation Martin. It was a bit weird seeing you in civvies Billy
Catch all the action on Mike Anton’s photography website here 
pics from event
Yup, yet again I am thwarted in my attempt to claim AAA points; oh well, 3rd time lucky perhaps As Martin said, my freehub died after only 6,400 aprox. km (12 km into this ride) (see query in the knowledge) so rather than I nice bike ride I had a nice (10km) walk in the lovely warm sunshine, admiring the view etc. (I should be back next year) with the odd bit of freewheeling down the slopes until Martin came by. Off we went for a quick coffee at Martin’s
mum’s and then on the the Staplefield control, where I got to see the other side of life at an Audax event. After a few attempts I arranged a lift back to Hayward’s Heath (thanks to Carl and Steve) from the finish*. So I probably spent rather more time than usual seeing lots of folk.
*’cos I is using left luggage facility innit Arabella
From my first Audax, I have learned: (1) find a way to mount the route sheet to the handlebars; (2) find the instructions for my computer so I can reset the trip counter at the start; (3) even with padded track mitts, untaped bars start to hurt after three hours. I might start thinking about a gear less than 40″ too. A bit of auspicious circumstance at the start – meeting Mark at the start and asking if I could tag along with him – dispensed with the need for (1) and (2) on this occasion, but yeah. Awesomely great weather. Once it had warmed up enough that my fingers weren’t going blue on descents, at least. Great intro to Audax, anyway Thanks to Martin and helpers for organisation, and to Mark (does he read ACF?) for letting me follow him around. Dan
Top day Martin. As I dragged myself up the steps to platform 5 at Three Bridges, there was a bloke scoffing a bacon sandwich who fitted the description of Frere Yacker. We rode to the start from Haywards Heath. I nearly didn’t make it – approach Chailey Village hall, check over shoulder, car a way back, I indicate right, pull out to the centre, about to turn and there’s an engine noise. Look again and Mr. Numpty has decided to overtake me anyway. Coarse language fills the air.I met up with my friend Keith and did the whole ride with him. Also a combination of terminal shyness and forgetting the details of the roll call further up this thread meant I didn’t say hello to any other acf-ers. Sorry. I nearly had a natter with Arabella at Staplefield. Sorry again. I did exchange a quick word with what turned out to be dan_b as he went the wrong way down Novington Lane. Being on home ground I knew the last info control anyway. It was planted to celebrate Queen Victoria’s Diamond Jubilee trivia fans. Tim
A marvellous day. Bit cold early on, but the frost on the fields and the pools of mist early on were beautiful, and isn’t it wonderfull to ride in bright sunshine under a blue sky? I don’t think I’ve done enough of that this year.It must have been my day for seeing deer. I saw two separately on the road down from Nutley to the start, and four on the way back. One on the same road on the way back up, and three in the trees coming down off Ashdown Forest.We preserved our record for arriving back last too Dave
