DIY by GPX Mandatory Route 400K (Solo)

One of my targets for the 2021 Audax year was to gain my 3rd Super Randonneur Award, I’d already completed a couple of 200s and a 300, and I had a 600 planned for September, so it seemed about the right kind of timing to fit a 400 in during our summer break in Norfolk.

I put a route together very similar to the Asparagus and Strawberries route which takes a meander through Norfolk, Suffolk and Essex. I didn’t want to do the Permananent version of the Sttawberries ride as when I did it in 2018, the perm organiser was a pain about small changes to start controls, hence why I chose to do this ride as a DIY. My local DIY organiser is great, so with my route set, I submitted it through the AUK website the day before the ride.

Taking the Start

On the day of the ride, I was up at 4am and aiming for a 5am start, this timing was worked out based on the opening time of the Reedham Ferry crossing, which was 06:30. I wanted to be on the first ferry across.

I got going just after 5am, and within a few minutes of riding I knew I’d be in for a tough ride. My legs felt hollow and I was unsettled on the bike, shifting about and finding it difficult to concentrate. I passed through light rain which was quite pleasant to ride through, just keeping the pace conservative.

Thoughts of turning around, or looping back to my in-laws place kept intruding into my mind, and I had to keep pushing them aside, telling myself that I’d get to Reedham Ferry and then decide what to do.

I got to the ferry and the first crossing of the day was almost ready to board, there was a motorbike ahead of me and after a few minutes we both rolled onto the chain link ferry, paying the fare to the boatman – £1 for a bicycle. Now on the ferry, an early target had been achieved, so I decided to keep riding south on my chosen route.

Suffolk Beaches

My next target was Dunwich, the figurehead of the London to Dunwhich Dynamo night ride undertaken each summer. I rolled through the Suffolk lanes and onto Dunwich, heading slightly off route to get myself into the beach. It was beautifully quiet on the beach and the waves looked a lovely green colour as I watched for a couple of minutes.

I was 73Km into the ride and had enjoyed seeing the beach at Dunwich, my enthusiasm crept upwards… but shortly after leaving Dunwich my route took me onto an off-road route. Damn!

Accidental Off Road

I had missed this small section of off road in my route checking and I didn’t have a good option to avoid it now I was on it, plus I was on a DIY mandatory route, meaning I had to follow the route I’d submitted to AUK. I had to keep going through deep and dark sandy mud. The track surface managed to get all over my bike, it was all up around the brakes and I could hear the sand beginning to work into the bloody chain. It got worse, I had to put my foot down to navigate a large berm and my speedplay cleat picked up a load of muck, which prevented clipping into the pedal.

I dismounted and cleaned up my cleats, managing to get them clear enough to clip in… just. I saw a dog walker and asked him how much more of this track was up ahead, and I was pleased to hear only a short distance remained.

Back onto proper roads, I stopped and used up some water to clean off the worst of the muck from the brakes and chain and I had another clean up of my cleats and pedals. Not needed, and avoidable if my route checking would have been a little more detailed for this short section!

A little annoyed that I’d put myself into the sand and muck, I continued south heading towards Ipswich. I made a very brief stop at Snape Maltings, just to remind me of the nice weekend me and my wife had spent in Suffolk earlier in the year, when we paid a visit to the Maltings. Whilst there I got chatting to a guest who had just rolled in from a bike ride and had a rather nice Condor cyclocross bike. He told me about where he’d been riding and what bike he wanted next and that he felt he wasn’t in very good shape etc.

Second Breakfast

Heading onto Ipswich, I felt that a quick sit down with food and a water top up was becoming necessary. I’d look for a garage or something as I got nearer. I found a garage on a sort of ring road in the east of Ipswich. It was a crap garage with not a great selection of foods, so I went for a chicken wrap, a cold coffee and water. The food was totally uninspiring, but I noticed just down the road a bakery, so I took the bike and ate outside the bakery and tested myself to a Danish pastry after eating the wrap.

Typically, after leaving the garage, 200 metres down the road was a fairly new Co-Op local… a far better option it would have been. Nevermind.

Physically, I was doing OK. My speed on the bike was not high really and by this point thoughts of chucking the ride had evaporated, progress had been made and I knew that I’d get round, just not as quickly as I perhaps would have done on willing legs.

Through Ipswich and onto Manningtree, easily covered and a thought or two came to me about the Strawberries ride I did in 2018? Manningtree was the official start location for that ride, and I controlled at the train station for that ride.

Into Essex

The next stretch was across the Suffolk Essex border, countryside that I knew quite well from previous rides, and liked riding through. That said, whenever the road went uphill my legs were not that impressed. Given that I wasn’t feeling all that strong, I wanted to keep putting food in to give me the energy to keep going, and I had a target next stop. A Co-Op in Sible-Hedingham where I knew I could get soup and a creamed rice – a favourite Audax food combo for me. It was really hot weather and at the stop I picked up some Coke to quench the thirst and give me a little sugar hit. Very nice.

I was looking forward to getting to Saffron Walden, as from that point I would be just over halfway and I would turn north to head up through Suffolk and back into Norfolk and onto the coast. I had a quick catch up on the phone with home and all was good there, so I pressed on enjoying the countryside through Essex. I didn’t stop in Saffron Walden, just went through and had my next stop planned further up the road.

Heading North

I was thinking about food opportunities for later in the ride and I knew there would be some limitation due to the intended lateness of the hour. So, I planned to stop at Barton Mills Services for some hot food and then I would try a garage further up in Norfolk ahead of hitting the coast. Through the horse racing town of Newmarket, over the A14 and then through Fordham before hitting the big services at Barton Mills roundabout.

I really enjoyed my first hot food of the day, a McDonalds is a certain type of food, but nonetheless it was good to get hot food in. I used the facilities too, and also a kind staff member gave me an iced water in a large beaker, a perfect fill up for my water bottles.

I left the services feeling full and refreshed, and I was looking forward to the next shift up to the coast. USAF Lakenheath came into view pretty soon after hitting the road, followed by Brandon, Mundford and Swaffham – all very quiet, but it was a Monday evening. I kept thinking it was a Saturday. The road north was a main road and was nice and wide, I was on my aero bars a lot. Good progress was being made and approaching 300Km, I finally felt as though I was starting to break the back of the ride.

Darkening Skies & Final Feed

Beyond Swaffham, the sky started to darken, and the darkness was coming and going as I passed through tree shaded sections of road. It had been a while since I’d ridden in the real darkness, and I was looking forward to riding in my narrowed illuminated road bubble.

The last food stop of the night was Fakenham, it was a garage which was due to close at midnight and I got there in plenty of time at around 10pm. I had a sandwich, and a yoghurt and also got some jaffa cakes to take on the road with me. I was slow to eat the sandwich and I was enjoying a bit of time off the bike, so just took my time sitting on the forecourt. I saw a 1980s Lotus Esprit pull up for fuel and it reminded me of my former work place – formative years indeed.

Next stop was Wells-next-the-sea, which was north out of the garage and into the darkness. I was enjoying the night riding and I was looking forward to Wells at night.

North Norfolk Coast by Night

Arriving in Wells, I got myself to the harbour and had a few minutes looking out to the dark sea. It was beautifully quiet, with only a dog Walker in sight. Leaving Wells, I was on very familiar territory along the coast road, even though I knew the road the darkness masked things and I was a little surprised to see signs for Cromer 20 miles away… 20 Miles! In my head the distance wasn’t that much, so I had to re-calibrate and get on with it.

Passing through Stiffkey there were a group of people in a pub garden, enjoying a very late drink, but other than the odd car there was very little sign of other people on the road.

The coast road seemed longer at night than it normally does when ridden in daylight, nonetheless I enjoyed riding it again and passing through these familiar places. The lights of Cromer were a welcome sight and as I had done at Wells, I took a few moments to look out over the sea at night. Waves coming in with regular rhythm, hypnotic… and for me there is something which just draws me in to watch for a while.

Getting it Finished

I had to get this ride done now, it wasn’t too far to North Walsham and then I knew I had some smaller local roads left to get back to my in-laws place. I had to drag myself up the hill out of Cromer first though… after which I rode well from Cromer to North Walsham, no traffic at all and good speed was maintained on the main roads.

I turned off the main road to follow my route and almost immediately regretted the routing choice. The road was narrow and the middle was full of stones, progress became slower as I was avoiding pot holes and road crap. I was thinking I should have stayed on the main roads to get myself back to base sharply. In any case, I could feel the finish and Oxnead Mill was the marker I was looking out for, as I knew I would be 5 minutes from finishing after Oxnead.

And then I was done. I rolled into the finish at my in-laws place, pleased to be finished and to have made the ride a success, and for overcoming my unwelcome thoughts of binning the ride earlier on during the day.

A few Stats

• Distance: 402Km
• Elapsed time: 20h 23mins
• Speed: 25.2Km/h