Garmin Connect - Activity Details for Snowdrop Express:
This was my first Audax of the year, I drove down to the start at Hartlebury with Nigel & Ron drove over from Shropshire & met us there. There are two events run here, both the same distance & both the same route except that the 8.30am start runs clockwise whilst the other at 9.00am runs anticlockwise. We arrived in good time & signed on as soon as the 8.30 event had set off. I felt good today & as we got under way I felt comfortable despite a good pace. There was a good sized bunch, 20ish. At about 40k into the first leg to Upton as I stood up on a climb my chain broke!!! My two buddies were ahead a bit & didn't realise that I'd stopped. Damn! & Blast what a pain! After getting my head around what I was going to do I set about getting it fixed. When I looked in my kit I found that aside form some spare links I had a spare joining link, bonus! So after fitting the joining link I was a way again, feeling like I was now at the back of the field but with rushing adrenaline. I soon got to Upton where my buddies were starting to chill whilst waiting for me but the three of us were soon on our way again & warmed up quickly as the pace was still high. Eavesham bound we caught a couple of guys & then got caught buy a group of four so pushed on with this group to the next stop where we had a stop, cuppa & scone. The final section back to Hartlebury. After the stop it was hard to get going again as we rolled back out of Eavesham but we get into a rhytm sadly though I think my adrenaline had stopped running & I kept dropping off of the back on the climbs. Then lo & behold as we set off from a stop at crossroads about 5m from the finnish I punctured! D'oh! Another 10mins down the drain & we were away again to roll into the finnish with an on the bike time of 4hrs 33m, well pleased. A quick feed up in the cafe HQ then home.
