200km Upper Thames Audax 2026 – 131 miles Mostly Solo (7 November 2026)

On November 7th I arose at 0500 having had a fairly nervous night. I was due in Wallingford for an 0730 start. Aiming to leave at 0600 I had prepared well in the lead-up to the event.

The forecast was 6-12°C, cloudy, very low wind and not much sun. No rain. If it had been significant rain I wouldn’t have bothered. It was foggy all the way to Wallingford. I parked near the finish. I appeared to be the first one to arrive around 0645. So I found somewhere discreet to empty the tank. By the time I got back others had started to arrive. I was surprised at how noisy some of them were at stupid o’clock in the morning. I sat in the car until 0700. Not much point getting ready too soon and getting cold.

What to Wear?

I’d decided, winter tights, base layer, sleeved jersey, jacket with gilet in the pocket. Skull cap, overshoes and toe covers on top. We’d been instructed to fit mudguards and lights. By 0710 I was ready. It was daylight now, but still a bit foggy. About 30 yards down the road someone called out my name. It was Catherine, with Fran and Lee getting ready. I waited with them for a few minutes then headed off to find the start and my brevet.

In the Beginning

0730 we all set off from the marketplace in Wallingford, having met Aidan, who’d ridden in from Buckingham and had very cold hands. I have to say for the first bit I was also questioning my glove choice. I’d gone for medium weight spring gloves rather than full winter and the fingers were a bit chilly at first. It was still foggy and all that mist hanging in the air was exacerbating the feel of coldness.

We rode for a couple of miles loosely in a group – as is normal at the start of these things. Then as we approached the first climb my back wheel started to feel “sensitive” to every little bump. My suspicions were aroused. About halfway up the climb I pulled ahead of Fran and asked her “have I got a puncture”?
“Yes.”
“Fuck.”
I wasn’t going to stop on a steep bit, so got to the first flat section and started to investigate. Stuart and Lee stopped to help. They were very helpful and I’m grateful for that. My glasses were fogged up and I couldn’t see shit.

No Sealant

It turned out that my rear tyre was dry. I run tubeless and I’m sure I topped it up in September or early October. But it was dry. And once deflated you’ve no choice but to whack a tube in. I had a tube but the valve was too short. I also had an extender which got the job done, but committed suicide from the coldness of the CO2 I used to inflate the tube (but I didn’t notice until later).

That cost us 30 minutes but I actually warmed up during that process. Hidden bonus.
We set off again. My glasses were wrapped around my handlebars because it was still foggy. About a mile later they fell off and I had to go back for them. In so doing I lost Lee and Stuart. So then I was alone with no draft assistance about 5 miles into a long day. Perhaps I’ll catch up if I cut the breaks short? We’ll see. I was determined not to rush though. I’ve ridden 100 miles alone in the past. The main advantage of solo riding is that you can ride at whatever pace you want, whenever you want. And I needed to last all day, so I didn’t want to hammer too hard at the start.

Checkpoint 1 – Dunsden Green

I had programmed all the checkpoints into the route on Garmin Connect, which proved very helpful indeed because I could always see how far to the next one by going to the course points screen. (They were all on the RidewithGPS site, but disappeared when imported into GC, so I had to input them.) This proved particularly useful for the last one, when it got dark.

So I chugged onward towards the first info point at Dunsden Green (12.7 miles) and stopped briefly to write the answer on the brevet. Then the route changed direction and went North-East.

Next checkpoint was due to be at 24.7 miles at Northend, near the top of a long hill just before Christmas Common – the highest point of the ride. But, before that, we passed through Henley-on-Thames. I saw a bike shop and a guy in a yellow gilet was at the counter. He turned out to be the guy from Aylesbury who had parked behind me and was buying tubes. He ended up being the rider I saw the most times during the day.

Whilst the elevation profile made the climb from Henley to Northend look fierce, it really didn’t feel that way. Still 7 miles of mostly uphill, but it wasn’t horrifically steep most of the time. I remember passing a large estate just before it kicked up on a steep section. There was some sort of running event going on there.

Checkpoint 2 – Northend

So approaching the information point at Northend, I saw the two noisy guys on folding bikes having a break. I stopped and wrote down the answer on my brevet. It was another “How far to …”
Aylesbury guy had caught and passed me just before the checkpoint. We hadn’t stayed together very long but did chat for a couple of minutes. He told me he’d had 3 punctures and was buying tubes in Henley.

So then it was finish the climb up to Christmas Common and a nice descent into Watlington past the Spire and Spoke. Just after Watlington I realised I was going to be much later than planned at Waterperry. A friend Andy and some clubmates were going there to meet us at the checkpoint. I’d said between 10 and 1030 was likely arrival time. But I’d lost half an hour to the puncture. So I stopped at 1025 and sent him a message saying not to wait for me as I was still 9 miles out (which would be half an hour at least).

Checkpoint 3 – Waterperry

Back on somewhat familiar roads now I chugged onwards to Waterperry – a Control point to get the Brevet stamped. I got my brevet stamped, exchanged a few words with organiser Victoria, used the facilities and carried on. I ate some nuts and raisins and a couple of my biscuits while stopped. I met a couple of other riders – a woman with a German accent and her partner were telling me about the Audax events they organise in Swindon. They took off before me but I caught them at Ashendon. I left Aylesbury guy playing with his back wheel – looked like he was dealing with puncture fallout again.

Checkpoint 4 – Ashendon

All approaches to and from Waterperry are well travelled by BMCC but we were going to Bicester the long and quite hilly way, through Long Crendon, Chearsley and an information point at Ashendon. Aylesbury guy caught me going up Ashendon, where we both caught German woman and partner. They all took off before me and I don’t think I saw Aylesbury guy again after that. I caught the other two and passed them about a mile before the turn-off to Ludgershall.

Deliberate Deviation

Ludgershall? That’s not on the route? I hear you say. Well local knowledge is a thing. I diverted (well within the rules) for two reasons…

1) I wanted to go home for lunch and approaching Bicester from that side is easier
2) I didn’t fancy climbing Brill and descending Muswell hill – it’s a nasty steep twisty narrow road

I also figured it might help me potentially catch the rest of my guys, but I would need to have a short pit-stop at home to achieve that.

So then I set about making a mental checklist sorting out the most time-efficient order in which to do things at home.

Halfway-House Pit-Stop at Home

I wanted to change out the CO2 in my tube for air, grab spare tubes, have some lunch and coffee, charge some devices, so this was what I came up with…

• Start the compressor and leave it to fill
• Put phone and radar on charge
• Microwave some lunch – I was slightly torn between reheated chilli and rice and a toastie, but the chilli won out
• Go back out to the garage and sort out spare tubes and repack saddle bag

It was at this point I realised the valve extender was knackered, which put paid to my replacing the CO2 in the rear tube with air. If I had already deflated it before then my ride would have been over. I also had the horrible realisation that I had no tubes suitable without an extender so if I had another puncture it would be game over and taxi home with no roadside fix.

The only other options, which I didn’t even think of at the time, would have been to fit a new tyre, change wheels or change bike. But all of those would have taken a fair bit of time to sort out.

It turned out I was 45 minutes at home which is not too bad for the main break of the day, but probably a little more than I had hoped. I left home about 1330. Halfway there. 6 hours in.

Checkpoint 5 – Chipping Norton

The next leg – uphill to Chipping Norton – was also almost all on well-known roads. I was a little bit tired, but not unduly so, having paced it sustainably. Out through Bucknell, Somerton, North Aston, Duns Tew on roads I ride almost every week, just felt normal.

Approaching Chippie at just after 1500, I espied a petrol station with a Waitrose outlet. I did an extra circumnavigation of the roundabout to get to it. Turned out perfect. They had a toilet and I was able to buy some fuel (flapjack) and get my receipt with Chipping Norton on it as proof of passage for checkpoint 5. I was there 13 minutes at Chippie, having a mini-break, charging the Garmin a bit and eating the flapjack. I also messaged a couple of friends – jokingly saying “I want to go home”. Clearly I was already on the way home – just the long way. With the car in Wallingford there was really no easy “out” anyway. Just had to hold on and hope not to get another puncture.

Then onward – a bit of a descent into Chippie and turning “left” Southward for the next leg of the journey. Just one info point remaining at Charney Bassett by the phone box and then the final arrivée, but that was still quite a long way off.

Checkpoint 6 – Charney Bassett

Down through Charlbury, past Diddly Squat Farm – cringing as I went – under the A40 near Witney at about 1620, past RAF Brize Norton and it was starting to darken a bit. I stopped to put on my gilet before it got dark. Somewhere around Bampton I decided to switch on my main light so I could get that lined up nicely on the road ahead before it was fully dark. Also stopped to ’empty the tank’ just before Buckland. It was fully dark by now (1700). Cross the A420 and on to Charney Bassett, where I stopped at the bench (~1720) to write the answer to the information point question. A couple of riders stopped after me and left before me. If I was bothered about quickness I would take a photo of the answers and write them in at the end.
From Chippie to Charney was loosely “downhill with bumps” so it felt like good progress was being made on this leg.

Garmin Battery Saver

Somewhere shortly after Charney, my Garmin showed “20% power. Enable battery saver?” which seemed like a good idea, so I allowed it. Then, a few seconds later the screen switched off.
I thought I’d lost the ride. I swore. I stopped. I plugged in a battery pack and the screen came back on. I HADN’T lost the ride. YAY. But I wasn’t stopped in a very safe place so I carried on to East Hanney, having to cancel the battery saver every once in a while.

What I didn’t know was that battery saver works by switching off the screen at points where there are no turns or hazards. But in the dark, on unknown roads, you kind of need the map screen on so you can see the shape of the road ahead. So this was annoying. When I reached East Hanney I found a safe place in a pub driveway and figured out how to switch off battery saver in settings. I didn’t need it since I had a battery pack plugged in.

I still had an hour or so of riding ahead of me and hoped that the Varia rear light and radar would keep going for long enough. AND that I wouldn’t puncture. Apart from that I was fine. Looking forward to finishing, starting to believe it might happen.

Dippy Drivers

From East Hanney to Harwell was “busier than I like” in terms of traffic. It wasn’t horrific, but there were a lot more cars than I would normally choose to ride with in the dark (or at all). But no issues apart from one or two who didn’t think dipping their headlights was a worthwhile thing for “only a cyclist”.

Once I crossed the A34 it was much better – quieter roads although still a few “FULL headlight wankers”. I started looking at the distance to go and welling up. It was after 1800 – 12 hours after I left the house and 10.5 hours into the ride. It was dark, it was coldish but not too bad (~7°C), I felt alright and knew I could keep going. A new experience for me navigating new routes in the dark. But I didn’t hate it. In some ways it was quite fun.

Emotional Escape

As I got closer and closer to Wallingford I had several ’emotional episodes’. The realisation that I was going to make it and the associated relief had to come out somehow. Also the fact that I finished a month of radiotherapy exactly 5 weeks ago and I had decided to do this event to gauge if it had messed me up or not – and it clearly hadn’t.
You almost can’t fathom the relief associated with that. Chuck in the fact that this is gonna be my longest ever ride and I’ve done 125 miles on my own, unsupported. So I can allow myself this indulgence. (Better now than with an audience at the arrivée.)

And Done

Just a few miles of fairly easy going on decent roads back to Wallingford, through the town – busy, busy lots of people milling about for the fireworks display. Past the start – two frustrating sets of traffic lights then on the home straight. Lean bike against car, stop Garmin, cry, take a photo, switch off lights. Message friends. Shove the bike in the car and change shoes. Then off to the arrivée to deal with the brevet and have some soup in the warm. (Arriving first was not entirely stupid as I was able to park right next to the hall where we finished.)

Some refreshment, a bit of chatting to the organisers and a few Audaxers and some messaging, then about 20 minutes later I was homebound in a warm metal box having ridden 131.76 miles.

Did it go according to plan?

It most certainly did not. I had expected to ride with others for at least a good proportion of the day. Turned out that was only half an hour. The puncture was a surprise. The knackered valve extender was a surprise. The battery saver thing was a surprise.
But riding alone allowed me to go at my own pace without the need to consider others. I didn’t go into the red all day and at no time did I think I couldn’t do the distance.

Am I glad I did it?

Oh yes. I learned stuff about myself (and some of it was even good).

Will I do it again?

I rather think I will, but perhaps favouring warmer time of year and longer daylight. I still think the multi-day stuff is bonkers, but I’m thinking to do more 200km and perhaps try a 300km at some point. (So far I’ve done a 100 and two 200s).

How many people did it?

According to Victoria Lawson, the organiser’s, email…
“We had 52 entries, of whom 43 started and 39 finished.”

Did I get DFL (Don’t Finish Last)?

I think I did. At least one person came in after me and a few were still out there. I finished officially in 11:35 about 2 hours less than the maximum allowed time. But finishing at all was pretty pleasing and showed some grit that I wasn’t quite sure if I still had.

What were the takeaways?

• buy some new tubes with longer valves
• buy a new valve extender (preferably CO2 proof)
• take more charging batteries
• consider all-season tyres
• check sealant
• do not enable Garmin battery saver mode unless you really have to
• photograph check points instead of pissing about with a pen and brevet (more inclined to do this if I have enough batteries to ensure phone is charged)

How long did it take to recover?

3 days for HRV and RHR to return to “normal” levels.
I didn’t even want to look at a bike on Sunday, although I did patch my tyre and go for a short walk. Fran put it quite well – “hungover and jet-lagged” describes the next day feeling very well. Also quite stiff in neck, shoulders and arms. I was expecting to hate the stairs, but they weren’t too bad.

Monday I didn’t want to ride or do much of anything involving movement or effort, but the upper body aches were gone.

Tuesday I did 40 minutes of easy Zwifting.

Wednesday HRV and RHR back to normal. I put sealant in both tyres and rode for 10 miles outside. It was cold, but enough to work the sealant in. Rear tyre has three patches on because there were three nicks on it and I thought I might as well do them all while it was off the wheel.

I reckon I could probably do another one at the weekend, but I’m not going to 🤣.