Exciting and challenging series of AUDAX rides this weekend. There were 300km, 400km and 600km brevets to help get some final qualifiers for PBP over the line. The ride path was the standard Patrick Williams 300km for most with the balance to be made up in Singapore within the allowed time limits.
The biggest problem this weekend was the wind and the second biggest problem was the heat. The third problem was the pace which can always be a problem when you combine three different distances. The 300km riders hope to go fast to get home early, while the 400km and 600km people tend to prefer a slower pace to be able to last until the end. Add them up and things are sure to get problematic and exciting. We had people bonking after 140km, people chasing these people bonking and blowing up, people feeling the heat despite it not being that hot, etc, etc. Sounds like fun eh?
The 600km group was quite small given that most of the people had done it on April 18th and were giving this one a pass. (we also did not have Hotel Super Cowboy so maybe that was it). Riding along with many of the 300km and 400km riders we ended up with a tidy 300km at the border with the balance to be made up in Singapore. Many went home and many wished they went home.
Cross @ KM 280
John Cross signed up for the 300km ride on May 9th. At a recent outing at Boomarang he had a beer….and agreed to a 400km ride instead. John had another beer….and another. Boom- he was in for the 600km. That may not sound like a lot but that is three beers and an increase of 100km per beer. John had only previously done the 200km Singapore AUDAX ride so this was quite the leap. John suffered most of the last 200km complaining about the heat and the wind. It was windy but not as hot as it could have been. He persevered and ate a lot of ice cream and drank a lot of Coke but finally powered through the entire 600km distance. The JFT AUDAX Spirit Award goes to John Cross for asking today what he still needs to qualify for PBP! Congrats John.
The Silk Smile Award easily goes to Virginia Tang. She called on Thursday night to ask about the ride…. she was interested and wanted to understand what it would take to ride 600km in less than 40 hours. Apparently she needed the 600km brevet to complete the Super Randonneur series and she was keen to do it after having done brevets earlier in Thailand. On Sunday afternoon a WhatsApp message came in:
Next time I’m stupid enough to do a 600brm, please slap me!!!
Many of the following messages and many of the Facebook photos had Virginia with a giant smile. Although still wanting to be slapped if doing a 600km again, she was always smiling through what was a painful process. Virginia finished in 39h and 50 minutes. KUDOS
OK Heng lead a big group, many who wanted to test their equipment for PBP and for those who wanted to do the 400km at a leisurely pace. They were conquering the 400km but doing it the old fashioned way…. straight up the highway versus the Williams Way and including the Kulai hills as a teaser near the end. OK lead the group back safely to Singapore and it looks like they had a good time from all the Facebook pictures. OK Heng is the recipient of the Lundy Worker Award for guiding a big group home safely and working hard to get it so organized! Congrats OK.
All prize winners get some fancy Singapore AUDAX socks from Sportful! Next ride is June 13, 2015….it is currently a 200km but others can be added.