Snowdrop/Sunrise Audax Summary

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Moderators: Philip Whiteman, WorcsPhil, Beacon RCC, George, laurence_cooley, David Cole

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WorcsPhil
Posts: 1019
Joined: 14 Oct 2012 21:57
Real Name: Phil Richards

Snowdrop/Sunrise Audax Summary

Post by WorcsPhil » 02 Mar 2020 15:10

Well, that was an audax that will go down in the annals, as one of the floodiest rides ever.

Although there was a brief rain and hail shower, the day was largely sunny but blustery, but the overnight rain meant that roads were puddly and by late morning, the River Avon at Eckington began to rise remarkably fast, and with run-off from the fields flooded over 300m of our route (the road was officially closed by the Environment Agency about 12:30pm, but by then most had either ridden through the rising waters or been advised to route via Pershore...In any case, everybody made it.

A huge thanks to all the helpers, including Mark Rigby and Dave Cole at Upton and Evesham controls respectively, and Helen Jamieson, Ade Ravenscroft and Jess Rhodes-Jones at the HQ, not forgetting Lisa (my adorable wife) for front of house duties, welcoming riders back and dishing out the free food vouchers. Thanks also to Andy Wrightson and Simon Woodward for outside duties, all ensuring a smooth, hopefully well-run audax.

As you know, I love my stats, so here goes:

Sunrise:
- There were 142 paid entries, but only 71 started (50%). Of those 71, we had one mechanical DNF so 70 finished, all with tales to tell
- First rider back was at 12:43 (4 hours 13mins) and was our very own TdF rider, Ian Taylor.

Snowdrop:
- There were 152 paid entries but only 60 starters (39%), again with only one mechanical DNF so 59 finishers

So overall, we had 129 finishers from 294 entries (44%), with over 163 DNS's (55%), with 1% DNFs. Clearly this is a big DNS rate, but given the recent flooding, and forecast for high winds on the day, is perhaps understandable. However, it was not doomsday out there, weather wise, and would have been very pleasant were it not for the River Avon lunchtime floods.

But the seasoned audaxers were there, and all returned safely, with amazing stories to tell of the 2020 Snowdrop and Sunrise audax, where riding through 300m of water 30-40cms deep was the obstacle that we prepared for you this year. Next year, we have prepared hoops of fire and a rope obstacle course in Defford.

Thanks again to the riders and helpers...see you later this year for more Beacon audaxes, and this Snowdrop/Sunrise will be back on the last Saturday in February 2021.

Will.i.ams
Posts: 79
Joined: 09 Feb 2016 23:41
Real Name: John Williams
Location: Halesowen

Re: Snowdrop/Sunrise Audax Summary

Post by Will.i.ams » 06 Mar 2020 08:48

Thanks for your efforts Phil. Superbly organised again. I’ll make sure I’m wearing my fireproof Lycra next year...😉

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