Ride Report: GB Escapades North & South Downs June 2023
1st - 4th June 2023 // Adam Cross
With the long distance bug still in full effect I entered this years edition of the GB Escapades as soon as it opened back in October 2022 and built the rest of my season and training around it. Whilst I still haven’t convinced Dave Green to get a gravel bike, Geoff Frost also entered after we both took on Further EAST last year so it was great to share the build up, tinkering, testing, packing and repacking, and then the start with a friendly face.
Heading off with the first group
Beginning at 1700 on Thursday 1st June, this years edition saw nearly 100 riders gather just outside Canterbury to take on 300miles of off road trails, tracks, winding lanes and rolling hills throughout the South East of England. Setting off in packs of 20 riders at 2 minute intervals, I was cap number #7 and off with the first group which included Harry who’d I’d finished with last year so it was great to catch up with him before he made a charge up a climb and disappeared down the road.
The route was largely unchanged from last year, and I reached the first petrol station at 50 miles just before dark and stopped quickly to top up bottles, grab a chicken samosa for some savoury refreshment in the night and necked a milkshake. Carrying Styrkr 90gram carb powder sachets has been a game changer recently so with 2 bidons full of carbs and a small bladder pack on my back with water meant I was able to maintain reliable fuelling and a safety net if my stomach went off food. Next stop Checkpoint 1 at 120miles.
The next 70 miles was great fun with some exhilarating but hairy descents in the darkness thanks to deep gullies carved into the rocky and chalky ground by rain earlier in the year. At around 2am I began to feel the effects of 9 hours on the bike and went through a rough patch, but a quick chat with a wise old racing partner (who was mad enough to be awake watching the dots!) reassured me that bad patches pass and I just needed to keep positive, keep the fluids and food going in and focus on the target ahead saw me right and I bounced back rolling into CP1 just after 4am - 120miles covered in 11hours.
The sun came up very soon after that and I knew in around 20miles there was another garage where I had stopped last year just before the South Downs. I was feeling much better and it was a quick stop here to refill the bottles with fresh water & powder, as I’d finished a Flat White before even reaching the counter to pay. With hindsight I perhaps should have rested a little here, as the next couple of hours were tough and I hit the 150 mile mark feeling very sleepy - fortunately this coincided with a small village shop & deli in Grantham and I pulled in to be greeted by a small cheer from some locals who were quite bemuzed by the fairly hagard cyclists visiting their quiet village. As I sat with coffee, pastries and a Lucozade another couple of riders joined and we chatted about what was to come: the South Downs.
The next 70 miles or so are the hardest on the route and this year they certainly didn’t relinquish that crown! Kicking off with 2 gruelling climbs which are only just about walkable let alone rideable, the South Downs begins - a beautiful but truly brutal part of the country thanks to its endless rolling grassy climbs, high exposed ridge lines and total lack of any sort of tree cover. I knew this section would be hard, but it really took it out of me, and without a pep talk from my brother at around 180miles I think I would still be out there now! Checkpoint 2 at 200miles in Alfriston was my goal and I told myself that if I can make it there I can find some hot food, sit for a few minutes and hit reset - putting the harshness of the Downs behind me and get back into a rhythm for the final 100miles. Two pasties, a slice of apple pie, another milkshake and a bottle of Coke later I was back to feeling human again and I rolled out of the town feeling ready for the final third.
Sunset with 50 miles to go
Leaving CP2 at around 1700 on Friday, I’d been on the bike for 24 hours with ‘just’ another 100miles to go. Joining the Cuckoo Trail - a former railway line - a couple of hours later is sweet relief for around 20 miles but progress was slower than I’d hoped so I found a bench in the sunshine to sit down for a couple of minutes and called Ellen for a virtual hug and then got back going with spirits lifted. From here I got 2nd wind and cracked on: 6 or so hours left to go seemed like a usual Sunday ride so lets go! The sun was setting and I was back enjoying it, hammering along as nightfall approached. As midnight approached and the temperature really dropped thanks to a cloudless sky, I could definitely feel tiredness creeping in and I began to see all sorts of things in the shadows and bushes. At one point I was sure there was a Victorian Witch Doctors mask nailed to a post, what a creepy scare crow I thought, it wasn’t until I got closer the mask turned out to be just some tall weeds… Autopilot engaged for the final hour as I looped back in towards the finish, through fields of long grass and one very particularly muddy puddle which I ploughed straight into.
34hours 26minutes later I rolled back into the HQ as the 8th finisher. A well earnt handshake from Kevin and an enamel finishers mug later I was crawling back to the car for a few hours sleep before heading back home on Saturday morning.
