I found the start without the trouble that some of the others seem to have had and collected my brevet card and route sheet from the organiser, John Ridge, who confessed to not being completely at the match either. There was the usual banter revolving around the apparent lack of gears on my bike to which I, as usual, responded that I didn't see the point in dragging all that extra metal around with me.
Come 0800, about 27 of us rolled away from the cafe, slightly anxious about the weather because although some of the forecasts were good, others were not and the week had been pretty ropey but it looked quite promising nevertheless. I found myself riding somewhere between a single rider on what looked more of a road than audax bike, and the first group and was slowing a bit to rejoin this bunch (quite easy on the hills!) when I heard someone behind commenting that my weight-saving didn't appear to be doing much good; well that was it. I was off and didn't encounter them until the first (secret) control. I had caught the gentleman on the road bike but let him go again, having discovered that he was treating it almost as a time trial. Cards were stamped and biscuits handed out by John, and I left with the following bunch, having shed a layer or two as the day was now looking quite good.
I rode with various others to the the first 'declared' control (Preseli Cafe in Llanddewi Velfrey) but left alone since others looked like they were going to be there for a while. I somehow failed to get lost before being caught by a following group before the info control at Carew Bridge. Scrawling "6'" on my arm, I rode on.
By the time we arrived at the Manorbier control in the Chives Restaurant the pack must have contained about half the entrants. It was perhaps a bit rough on the staff but they coped in an admirable manner, supplying gallons of tea to wash down spaghetti on toast and the like.
We duly swept out again and on our way with David Lewis and Ian Hennessey doing the bulk of the work at the front and keeping the pace quite high. Guilt is a terrible thing and to be avoided at all costs; I felt obliged to take a turn at the front with Ian as we steamed across an army range. Although the crack was good the pace was taking it's toll on Alan's little legs and so I dropped back to resume my customary wheel sucking. The road took us through sand dunes, somewhere, and then up a fairly stiff climb from the beach. Someone stopped to fiddle at his chain rings halfway up and I turned to check if there was a problem; no, but my loss of momentum resulted in me getting dropped by the pack. I almost got myself lost, but not quite, and so reached the Angle control with just enough time to bolt a scone and a couple of welsh cakes (with the obligatory bucket of tea) before the pack left.
Back in the bunch the crack was good and the pace fairly rapid, averaging about 22 mph by my clock, and although this does get the miles in, it has its risks. We rounded a quick left in some wee town who's name escapes, me in line-astern. I assume that the leader did signal but hand signals are slow to propagate down the line. The rider in front of me flicked his bike hard to the right to miss a large stone on the road. I thought I was going to hit it but missed with less than an inch to spare; I had no chance to warn anyone behind. Hearing a crunch from behind I turned in the saddle: John (?) (not Ridge) had come off, and he and his bike blocked most of the road. Dave Lewis, having decided there was nowhere to go, had got his bike sideways and was in the process of laying it down at about 15 mph.
There then followed a classic example of the camaraderie that makes audax what it is: the whole group stopped, leaders who hadn't seen the action, turning back and a dozen or so bikes were leant against the wall while things were sorted out. The offending stone was removed from the road; it was established that neither John nor Dave wwas too badly damaged; John's knee was washed with water from Dave's bottle while a third party did a most magnificent job of truing John's badly bent back wheel with my spoke key.
All back on the road again. The group got broken up on the way through Tenby where we had the third 'off' of the day. A few riders got through a roundabout but I had to stop for a car. I've ridden fixed wheel with double toe straps around town for years and track stands are simply the easiest, and usually, safest way of dealing with junctions so that is what I did here. I think David (not Lewis) assumed that because my feet were off the ground I had to be still moving, which is not an unreasonable assumption, but it didn't occur to me and so I heard an "Oh-s**t!!" as David gently ran into the back of me and landed on the tarmac beside me.
We established he was undamaged, I apologised for my part in the incident, told him off for not even cracking my reflector (well if you're going to hit someone you might as well make a job of it!) and we rode off.
I found myself on my own for much of the rest of the ride, which is probably not a bad thing since the repeated climbs left me with a great deal of frantic zigzagging to do. I did of course meet folks at controls and was glad to find at the last one that I was not lanterne rouge and nor was I the only one who couldn't find the info control in Banc-y-Felin.
Although I was not last home there was a healthy array of bicycles outside. I opened the door and was greeted by a round of applause! They may well have been doing that for every rider coming in but I don't care! Audax is fun. You don't have to be especially gifted in any department to be accepted for what you are (now, what was it Ian called me?).
Thanks to all, organiser, cafes and randonneurs, for a great ride.
ps: It may amuse some to learn that Claris Works' spelling checker wanted to replace `audax' with `airheads'!
Alan Vance