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Good to meet you too. Nice to put a face to a name.

Just booked on this one http://www.aukweb.net/events/detail/15-32/
Windrush Winter Warm up. Starts from Ashton Keynes near Cirencester. 100km. Will probably do it fixed again.

I did my first DIY by GPS last summer and Paul was really helpful taking me through all the steps required. I did the Ditchling Devil as I had missed the calendar one. (Which I hope to do this year.) Using GPS means you don't have to bother with stopping at controls and go by feel. I would drop him an email as he answered all my questions carefully. But basically you can enter last minute and keep one eye on the weather forecast. Then ride the route and submit your track log by email. He gave me some tips about trimming the transit rides and how make sure that that time stamp info doesn't get stripped. But yeah, wouldn't be a BRM if you're wanting to qualify for PBP.

Cheers guys. I'm looking at this one for Feb.
http://www.aukweb.net/events/detail/15-954/
It's a Wednesday though.

After some last minute nail biting in the end I did the ride on my fixed commuter. Very heavily laden with a ton of gear in a pannier. Geared at 67" which is my usual commuting round town ratio. I have to say, it was cold. My fingers and toes were pretty much numb the whole day.

Cycled up to Marylebone and saw about a dozen riders waiting for the 0630. The hall was totally packed with people when we arrived. Some had stayed overnight. Ate toast and biscuits and scanned for other fixers. There were at least a dozen.

Just before 0800 when we were waiting for an official start there was no-one coming out to blow the whistle so one by one we just went. The first two hours were probably the hardest. Icy roads, fingertips and toes going numb with a fine sleet shower coming straight at us. The ice tended to be toward the side of the road so I rode as centrally as I could and felt fairly confident with my new dynamo lights.

At the first control I could hardly hold the pen but realised that I had a 2nd pair of thin gloves so I doubled up. Wow, felt like coming indoors. Toes were still frozen but with hands warm I could focus on the scenery again. Sugar coated fields and mellow winter sunshine.

By 1100 pretty much all the frost and ice was gone and I was actually starting to overheat. Little Henries in Pangbourne was so packed with riders that I got my sticker and got out of there. The queue was too long and I'm too stingy for cafes. Got snacks at the co-op across the road and headed off. But that was when the climbs began and I had an extra 2-3 kg in my pannier. But I wanted a nice quiet spot to have a break so I pushed on. Most of the climbs were pretty gentle and none that required getting off and walking.

I paced myself and took it fairly easy. Stopped for a break whenever I needed. Started to get dark around 1530 ish and my dynamo light came into their own. This was the first audax that I had done at night on unlit roads. Quite thrilling. The cars were all very courteous and some even giving too much and you had to wave them past.

In the final 30k one guy latched onto me as his lights weren't up to showing him the way and he was a bit lost too. I think he must have been a bit fed up with my slow speed because he hopped on to another faster group when they came past. We rode for an hour or so in silence which was kind of ghostly but felt like a long drive with a passenger. We tried conversation but it just slowed everything down.

Got in with a time of 11h 45min. Looked like most people had come in much earlier. It wasn't easy but having paced myself I felt comfortable and it was faster than I had expected. So glad I did it in the end and it reminded me why I do this.

Woo hoo. Bring on the next one!

I noticed a flint or something in my rear tyre and prised it out immediately followed by air. Good thing I noticed. So took it off and thought I'd better put a heavier duty tyre on. Got a half used armadillo doesn't seem to sit properly and has one bit sticking out. Annoying. But then I noticed that the BB is a bit sticky. This bike also has no mudguards.

Now I feel I can't trust this bike till it's had a proper once over. The other option is to move the dynamo over to my fixed commuter. Been mulling it over while I've been looking after my daughter the past few hours. I'm going to do that now and then make my final decision during the ride from my house to Marylebone at stupid o'clock.

Just looked at the weather forecast - snow and sleet. I can feel a DNS coming on. I suspect many other potential riders may be thinking the same.

Thanks Greenbank. Had a little look last night and even at commuter hour it was fairly quiet. Felt more like a country station than a London one. There was an announcement for trains to Gerrards Cross the moment I walked in. Didn't buy tickets to give myself the option of a DNS.

More than 200 booked apparently with the ride now split in two - the 2nd going in reverse.

Blimey, almost forgot to enter the Willy Warmer. No entries on the line he says. Never been to Marylebone station so will have a rekky tonight. Tested out my dynamo lights for the first time yesterday cycling back from Hertfordshire. Cold, dark, rainy and windy. Tired after a full day of building wheels but still excited about riding. Tough with the wind and ended up spinning a low gear when I got home. But 120km in tough conditions has hardened me up enough for Saturday I reckon.

Increased muscle mass perhaps?

Snowflake. Measure up for a regular 3-cross then decide how many twists you want for your snowflake. Add 1mm for a single twist and 3mm for a double twist. When twisting do it gently rather than 'creasing' the spoke because as you bring up the tension the exact location of the twist will change.

Build time. If you've got everything to hand then 45 mins working at speed with single layered rim or sealed double layer. Normal pace is just over an hour and around 90 mins for deep section rims when you have to feed each nipple with a guide. The P & K Lie stand makes truing a bit faster with no loss of precision. Funky patterns such as crow's foot or snowflake take a bit longer. Most I can do in a day is six i.e. three sets. But I don't like to rush as if you make mistakes then you have to backtrack which takes even more time.

I decided to do something about my weight last summer when I met up with an old uni friend who looked like she had halved her weight. She said that she'd been doing this 5:2 thing so bought me the book. It's so freaking easy. All you do is not eat twice a week. I've gone from 73kg -> 61kg in about 6 months.

I like to eat and I love junk food and in that time my intake of junk food has doubled but that made no odds. But other than the weight loss there have been so many other benefits such as having extra time, steady energy, having control over hunger and not counting calories. Got quite a few friends and clients into it and they all can't believe how easy it is.

Cycling? Hills are obviously easier. Better riding position as the thigh doesn't come up to touch belly. Body is better attuned to burning fat so don't need to eat as much on long rides. Recover faster. I'm not a racer so speed isn't an issue but you'd probably need more carbs.

I wasn't massively overweight but the belly was bothering me and it was doing a body composition test that raised my concerns. I used a machine called BodyTrax where you hold these handles that shoot electric currents through you. It showed interstitial fat was a bit high. It was time to shift. So I did.

Great write up. I got lost loads of times too on my first audax. It was also a particularly hilly one (Kidds Toys) and I did it fixed. No wonder people were saying "you're brave" at the start.

My daughter has just turned seven but then I'm divorced so I have one weekend with her and the following one going on rides. Not that I'm suggesting divorce.

Did this one a couple of years ago. http://aukweb.net/events/detail/15-32/ Fairly easy and flat 100k. Missed it last year due to crash and wrist injury. Planning to ride it fixed to get my FWC points. Luckily have friends who have a house on one of the lakes about 4 miles away from the start. There were about a 130 entrants so imagine there will be even more this year.

I was just looking at the LOL ride (steam ride) on the audax site and then thought I'd check in here as I haven't been on for a while and you guys are talking about it. Cool. I've put in on 'my calendar' in the members section. Thinking about RRtY this year so think this would be a nice one to do.

I'll probably get the train as well from either Paddington or Marylebone and cycle up from Sydenham. Never tried Marylebone before but planning to use it to get to the Gerrards Cross next week for the Willy Warmer.

Builds bike wheels. Fixes bike wheels. Teaches how to build / fix bike wheels. Streams on Twitch.

https://wheelbuildingwitharup.co.uk/
https://twitter.com/WheelBuilding
https://www.twitch.tv/roastporkbelly

Riverside to Riverside ride yesterday, one of the ones starting from Jenner's Cafe in Maidenhead. Gorgeous weather for it and a decent turnout for a midweek ride. About 40 at a guess. A couple of long tough ish climbs and some very nice descents too. There was a threat of showers but they were only drizzly and lasted no more than 2-3 minutes. I was behind the main field at the halfway point - Benson Marina so it was very busy. Decided to forego lunch and grab a sandwich at a village shop. Village shops were few and far between but did find one eventually and refuelled. Rode more than half of the route with fellow forumenger MustardBeak.

That's it for the year for these rides but would be keen to ride them all again next year - Boulter's Bash, 10 Thames Bridges and Riverside to Riverside.

Looking to do a perm this weekend, possibly the Boat Ride. Anyone done that one?

Did the Ditchling Devil as a perm yesterday. Great weather, beautiful scenery. Even though I've ridden to Brighton using various routes it was great to do it yet another way. A lot hillier than expected and some long descents. Don't think I would have managed this on fixed. Just emailed my GPS track log. Tried to edit out the transit rides but there are time stamps from before I set off so I left it intact.

Looking forward to my next DIY now. When I have time and there isn't anything I fancy on the calendar.

Nice one. Well done on the FWC. I'm just over half way with mine. Feel like it's going to take a while though.

Thanks Greenbank. I've just emailed Paul so I'll see what he says (if he's not away). I also read up on DIY by GPS and on the entry form it says you can just put in the date and then submit your track log. Would be nice not to have to worry about the controls and stop when I feel like it.

I did a very short 10k ride just now to test out the track log. I cleared it before leaving and viewing the 'current.gpx' file it did show exactly the route I had taken. I can also enter just before riding in case the weather isn't great or I'm just not feeling up to it.

Looks I'll be busy Saturday so I may do the Ditchling Devil as a DIY on Sunday as I missed the calendar one. Never done a DIY before and probably too late to get a brevet card so it'll just be following the route and riding the distance.

Nice to meet and chat to Arup at the half-way point and then back along the route, with ice cream at the arrivee.

Next - well, there's a couple near Reading on Saturday

Hey, good to meet you too. I may well be up for one of the Reading ones probably the 100 as the transit rides will add a good amount - first to Paddington and then Reading to the hall. Ponder . . .

Arup, which bike were you on? Is that you in your avatar? I don't immediately recognise your face...

That is me in the avatar but circa 2008. Look a bit older now and have long hair down past my shoulders. I was on an orange bike.