# Who's doing the Dartmoor Devil audax on Sunday?



## PeteT (26 Oct 2011)

I'm off with the 08.00 group. I'll be on a blue Scott with Carradice saddlebag & Crud Mk2s. Give us a wave if you see me.


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## Glover Fan (26 Oct 2011)

I'm off at 08:00 also. Have been debating for weeks as to what bike to do it on, a specialized hardrock MTB, which I bought new tyres for only a month ago, but have just semi-decided to do it on my Focus Cayo with crud Mk2s. Just ordered some Kool-Stop salmons as my standard brake blocks are pretty awful as it is.

Must say I have been looking forward to this ride all year. Weather is looking dry, but i'll believe it when I see it.


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## Baggy (26 Oct 2011)

I'm not riding (one year, maybe) but my lovely husband Chuffy will be doing his utmost to earn another pointy Audax badge. He's also riding in the 8.00 group, on a Dawes Century, with a Carradice, and a cap and a small beard...

I'll probably ride over to cheer everyone on somewhere (possibly with my motivational cowbell) and will doubtless end up at a pub.


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## tincaman (27 Oct 2011)

Yep, 9am start, wet will be on the Boardman CX with better brakes, dry will be on the Boardman Team, 2 mates local on Allezs are doing their 1st Audax's


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## Erudin (27 Oct 2011)

8am start for me, on green Thorn audax with downtube shifters. I recced the first 20 miles of the DD route last Sunday to test gearing and GPS working, the hills were hard even with low gearing. 

Rode from Launceston to the Foxtor Cafe at Princetown and back on Tuesday. It was wet and cold (44 [sup]o[/sup]F average according to my GPS), lots of water on the roads. Coffee, cake and warm fire at the Foxtor cafe was great. Got a bit chilled on the way home, have ordered a merino base layer to keep a bit warmer this Sunday. Just got to clean bike up now and replace worn brake blocks before Sunday and I'm good to go.


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## Jerry Atrik (27 Oct 2011)

8 o clock start for me . Have not been on the bike since May for one reason or another , so am full of dread . Also my first Audux , so not quite sure what to expect , but i know most of the course , and it is tough !


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## PeteT (27 Oct 2011)

See you there. Don't fancy Widecombe hill that much especially if the weather doesn't turn out to be decent - although my bete noir on the moor is Holne Chase - always has been for some reason; but thankfully we don't have to climb that from the Ashburton direction! Good luck all, and keep safe.


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## Glover Fan (27 Oct 2011)

Is Widecombe hill really that bad?! I've drove up it, but never cycled it. What makes it so tough? Or is it that it comes right at the end?


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## tincaman (27 Oct 2011)

Climbs 500ft in less than a mile, towards the end of the ride


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## Ian H (27 Oct 2011)

It's the easiest of the three routes this year. I'll be there for 8.00. Back still hurts, so it might be a bit of a grind.


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## PeteT (30 Oct 2011)

Well, my first (and probably last) audax. What an unmitigated disaster - nothing to do with the event or organisers, all down to me. It's a standing joke in my family that I've no sense of direction and zero navigation skills. That showed today. Despite having a clear route sheet, I managed to get totally and completely disorientated and lost between the start and the first control at Cross Furzes. Away at 08.00, I arrived there as it was closing - with a grand total of 46km on my bike computer instead of the 28km it should have been as per the route sheet. Needless to say, I packed - I couldn't risk getting lost all over again and it ending up a 200k - after all, I'd covered almost half the total distance before I got to the first control! Looking back at it in hindsight, my two main errors seemd to be a) I missed the fork right outside the Methodist Church at Ilsington and, when I eventually got back on track, b) I missed the right into Higher Mill Lane at Buckfast and carried on up the hill into Buckfastleigh and beyond. It's only when I'd been riding for some time that it hit me I hadn't seen a cyclist for a good while.... so with trial & error and asking a couple of locals, I was eventually able to retrace my steps and find the first control. 
I was looking forward to getting into audaxes after doing only sportives in the past, but I think I need to bite the bullet and realise that my non-existent navigation skills and audaxes don't go together. I think it's sportives only from now on - at least I can just follow the signs. The really embarrasing thing about all this is I only live just up the road (about 6 miles) from Bovey Tracey!
Hope you all enjoyed it and got round safely (that first hill up to Ilsington was a corker!).


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## Ian H (30 Oct 2011)

You daft bugger! Actually, I don't mean that. Reading routesheets is a skill to be learned, and some routesheets are more difficult than others. It really helps to plot the route on a map beforehand - gives you a sense of where you're supposed to be going. Having the routesheet on the bars in front of you is another big plus. 

And/or, as mentioned elsewhere, go gps.


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## Baggy (30 Oct 2011)

Sorry to hear that PeteT - if it makes you feel any better, apparently there was a car parked in front of the sign for Higher Mill Lane, Chuffy and his companions spotted it and called back a few people who had overshot.


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## Tynan (30 Oct 2011)

I'll second it takea couple of rides to master a route sheet, every letter is there for a reason and there's no excess so read them exactly and get the next two or three junctions in your head

stick to it


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## Glover Fan (30 Oct 2011)

What an epic day, best ride of the year.

It had everything, drizzle, sunshine, fog, hills (lots of them) snakey descents. I even managed to get a wasp stuck in my helmet and sting me on the head up to cross furzes!!!

Excellent route, especially liked the climb through Poundsgate. Wasn't too keen on the Chagford - Princetown section. The hill was too soon after a lovely soup and the headwind was a nightmare, coupled with an uninspiring B road that you could see for miles.

Didn't stop on any of the hills thankfully, my 27 on the back with a compact chainset was just about low enough, I had dig deep for Widecombe, but may I be controversial in saying that I thought Dartmeet was the harder climb?

Had an awesome pint actually called "Legend" at the end with ham, egg and chips.

I even managed to get my clothing right for the first time ever!!!

As for navigating, I think a GPS makes the day so much more enjoyable. I didn't need to look at my route sheet once today!


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