A. Maz. Ing.

Michiel Vaal could be crazy but chapeaux!

It was Saturday morning 23d May when at 0300 my alarm went off. I had packed and prepared my bike for a 600km audax called the Flatlands the days before so I was ready to go. This was going to be my first ever 600km audax. I’d done my first ever 400km in South Wales 4 weeks earlier and that hadn’t been easy so I knew I was again going in the unknown and going to be on uncharted territory. I drove over to Cold Ashby to pick up my friend Rob who was joining me on this audax. The start was going to be at Great Dunmow at 0600. We would ride north through Essex, Cambridgeshire and Lincolnshire reaching Goole at around 325km where we would stop for a couple of hours in a premier inn for a shower and some sleep. We would then in the early hours of Sunday head South and  finish again in Great Dunmow. When we got to Great Dunmow it had started to rain. I’d studied the weather for the weekend and knew that Saturday was going to be wet and windy. The forecast for Sunday was a bit better with no rain but there was still going to be a stiff south westerly – westerly breeze.

After collecting our brevet cards and a quick briefing from the organiser we set off with about 40 other randonneurs. With the wind slightly behind we made good progress and we reached our 1st control at Red Lodge near Newmarket just after 8am. The Café had just opened so we got ourselves a good breakfast and the necessary receipt as proof of passage. This was one of 7 controls on the audax and collecting receipts on each and one of these controls was mandatory to get our audax validated. With our tummies full we set off again and thankfully the rain had stopped by now. We were now in Cambridgeshire and headed for Whittlesey not far from Peterborough where we had planned to stop for lunch and refill our bottles. We had packed our bikes and bags with some snacks but on rides like this you burn about 8000-9000 calories so it’s important to ‘refuel’ constantly during the ride.

After lunch we entered Lincolnshire and passed through Crowland, Spalding and Boston where our next control was. We were cycling most of the time on our own but at times we encountered fellow Flatlanders and it was good to have a chat with them and see how they were doing. You are all in the same boat for the 2 days and there’s always a kind atmosphere and camaraderie among the audaxers. After a quick stop in Boston we headed north west for Woodhall Spa. We had planned our tea (a Chinese takeaway) there but we’d made such good progress that we decided to crack on a find another one a bit further down the route. Thankfully we found one in Welton not that far from Lincoln. We now had a big stint of 70km ahead of us to get to our next control in Kirton-on-Lindsey. Light had started to fade when got there and quite a few other audaxers had gathered outside the small coop supermarket eating and drinking their just bought snacks and energy drinks.

We didn’t stop for long as we hoping to get to our premier inn in Goole around 11pm. Unfortunately, I suffered a puncture on the road alongside the river Trent so it took us a bit longer to get to Goole. It had started to rain again in the last hour and it was now dark. It was a relief to see the lights of Goole and after crossing the M62 we were at our short stop for the night. Some others carried on in the rain and headed for Gainsborough for their stop. I’m glad we’d planned out in Goole as by the time we set off again at 4am it had stopped raining. The wind was now against us but morning light started to show itself and there was sunrise by the time we reached Gainsborough. It was time for breakfast so we stopped at a local McDonalds. Rob and I are not big fans of McDonalds but on a hard and long ride like this we allowed ourselves to sin on this occasion.

After Gainsborough we passed through Lincoln (coffee at Greggs), Sleaford and we were back again in Spalding, Crowland and Whittlesey where again we stopped at a local Wetherspoons for lunch (fish and chips this time). Despite the strong SW breeze we had made good progress and in good spirits we headed for Chatteris and Cambridge. We stopped quickly to refuel in Girton and then rode through Cambridge for the last 50km stint to Great Dunmow. The terrain was now rolling and we were getting tired. We met up with some other audaxers in the last 20km (amazing when you realise there’s not that many of you on this 600km) and we jointly rolled back into Great Dunmow around 7.30pm. We had made it! The cut off time was 10pm so we had finished well before the cut off.

We handed over our brevet cards and receipts to the organiser who was sitting in one of the local pubs and after a quick check all was good and we were given the thumbs up. What a ride and 2 days it had been. 2 days with highs and lows but with many unforgettable memories. Initially I’d told Rob never again but now 2 weeks later I have already forgotten the difficult moments and suffering and have started to plan the next one. Riding an audax whether it’s a 100, 200 or a 600km one is just that good to do it all again.