Steamride LOL London-Oxford-London 200k Audax

Steamride LOL London-Oxford-London 200k Audax

Completed my first audax on Sunday 9th. Tim Sollesse’s 200k Steamride, which leaves from Ealing or Ruislip Lido and travels to the South East’s steam railways and museums via Quanton, Oxford, Didcot, Chinnor and back to the Ruislip Lido.

I’d been on the piss until 5am on Friday so on Saturday all I did was ride to Shepherds Bush and buy some carbon assembly paste to try and stop my seatpost slipping. I also bought a small ‘cafe lock’ because I thought I might have to leave my bike outside various shops whilst collecting receipts for audax checkpoints. In the end, all of the checkpoints were manned so I didn’t really need the lock but it might come in handy for future rides – encouraging me to stop and refill bottles more often.

Headed out early Sunday and managed to get lost trying to find the Lido (typical). On arrival I grabbed a brevet card which you fill up with stamps or info from various points along the course. I was going to be using a GPS track of the route rather than the 7 pages of turns that a lot of the proper audax types use. A bar bag wouldn’t fit on my bike and I didn’t want to stop to check directions – this was still basically a training ride for me.

I headed out after 8am and got a move on, after the guys manning the start said “oh, the 200, they’ve all gone”. The start of the route was very nice – quiet lanes and heaven’s above the sun was actually shining!

Focusing on the distance to the first checkpoint was the name of the game – I wanted to complete the course properly and that meant not missing any checkpoints. I don’t recall being lost using the GPS track for the first 46k and found a bunch of riders gathered ’round a memorial bench copying the names down for the first “info” control. “Watt” – I wonder if they had anything to do with steam engine pioneer James Watt? Thanks to the rider who loaned me a pen at this control.

Only a short distance later was the Quainton Memorial Hall, the first manned checkpoint. There were a few riders already here, making the most of the food and drink on offer. With my brevet card stamped and a ginger brownie on-board it was time to carry on. There was a nice little ride through a park here I think (or was that before Quainton? I can’t remember now) and along some more quiet lanes. Really nice and I have to come back this way to explore some more.

Although somewhat busier approaching Oxford, the route was nothing like the abysmal A40 that I’d manage to take on a number of occasions heading to Oxford. It was only by chance that I glanced at a sign and recognised the name of the pub (Head of the River) that was an on-again off-again checkpoint. Apparently it wasn’t going to be open in time but at Quainton there was a note saying it would be the checkpoint. That was a fluke sighting anyway, so I did a quick U-ey and had another stamp sorted at the 92k mark.

Some Willesden riders caught me after Oxford and we shared a few wrong turns trying to find a bike path along the river. Eventually the normal roads returned and of course I left them in my dust. What’s this about it not being a race? 😉

Didcot has some big cooling towers to look at before arriving at a Spar, which had another marshall out front stamping brevets. I did exactly the opposite of what he said and missed the turn for the bike path here, stupidly carrying on and trying to take the bridge that was out since the floods I guess. Once I’d retraced my steps and found the short Paris-Roubaix-esque gravel track I had the grump on so hammered trying to chase back down the blokes that had left Spar in front of me. I caught up with them before Chinnor. At Chinnor I stopped, locked up and was going to get a receipt from the Co-Op when a woman asked if I was doing the audax. Turned out they were recruited the night before and were marshalling from a nearby van. Another stamp sorted, I saw the small bunch I was leap-frogging go past again. I opted not to refill the bottle here and chase down that bunch again, which I did, after a tough climb over the Chilterns.

The ride through High Wycombe was ok – I usually avoid this area as it seems to be full of boy racers in hot hatches. It was a bit of fun trying to follow the route but I think I got most of it right. I was in a familiar area now but continued following the track. Back in Southall on Uxbridge Rd I made the call to get some water – I’d been on empty for the last hour or so and I still had 20k to go plus the ride home. With another litre of water on board it was a switch back via an info control – what was prohibited on a sign near Green Lane – Alcohol!

Here, just as I snapped my left Speedplay cleat, the bunch caught up with me again. Chatting to one of them it turns out they’d taken the shorter, faster A40 route though, not the full course I was doing – weak :P. It was then a mad dash from Southall to Ruislip, with a bunch of wrong turns made due to the haste. In the end I lost all of the others and made my own way to the end at the Lido for a final stamp.

Finished with 220k on the clock I think it was, so perhaps 10k worth of wrong turns and doubling back. Had a chat with some of the other finishers, a few forumites and organiser and then rode on home to finish the day with just over 250k on the clock. Beaut day out! Thanks to all the marshalls and organisers and the oddly nice British weather for making my first audax a pleasure to ride.