The “Old Roads and Drove Roads” Audax offers a rare chance to ride through the closed village of Imber. In November 1943, the Imber residents were summoned to a meeting and given 47 days notice to leave their homes, as the area would be used for live ammunition military exercises. Except for one or two open days a year, the village definitely remains off-limits to us non-military types!
“Old Roads and Drove Roads” is a gnarly 210km Audax ride along flinty roads, populated by flocks of P*nct*r* fairies with big appetites. It is also a “scenic ride”, which is audax code for hilly – it has over 2,100m of climbing To add to the suffering it was also raining on the day of the event. So step forward Marianne, who said “Phah! hold my beer” and jumped on her bike. This is her story……..
On 24th September Rob and I rode a 210k Audax called “Old Roads and Drove Roads”, which started in Sparsholt, a pretty little village near Wantage, Oxfordshire. The ride started at 07:30 and with our rain capes on, we all set off for the day in the pouring rain. On the positive side, it was warm.
Rob went from the gun, gliding up the hill and disappearing with other faster riders, while I rode at a more sedate speed to the first control. This was in a lovely village post Office, which oddly had several grave head stones outside! I nipped in and bought a Millionaires Shortbread, well, I had a lot of miles left to do, so no guilt in eating this delicious sweet treat. With the essential receipt to provide “Proof of passage” stowed in my purse, I set off with two other guys and headed to Control No. 2 at Pewsey.
Cafe stop adorned with grave stones
It was still raining at Pewsey and a further receipt was needed. So I dived into the café for a very welcome bacon roll and a cuppa. Several other riders were already there and the puddles under their tables were enormous! We apologised to the café owners, who were very good about the flooding on the floor and I set off with Richard and Steve, who became my Audax buddies for the rest of the day.
Drip drying in the cafe
From Pewsey we set off across Salisbury Plain. Its unpaved, rutted paths were very hard work on the body and the concentration. This was definitely terrain for a gravel/mountain bike, but despite the wet conditions I managed to get through unscathed on my road bike. As we entered the village of Imber, we had some respite from the rain. Unfortunately the MOD had taped off the exit from Imber that we needed to take, so we decided to use the return route to get to the next control in Warminster, which was to mark the halfway point.
Imber village “Visitor Centre”
On the way to Warminster we encountered more rough stuff, causing my bottle cage to crack and rattle. Rob came by in the opposite direction and it was good to know he was safe and still riding. We got their just within the time-limit and the Audax Controller was just about to leave. I’m glad he didn’t, as by this time my bottle cage had completely broken and the Controller kindly took my bottle back to the HQ with him.
On our return journey to Sparsholt, the weather had improved. Steve had his third puncture and we still had more rough stuff to battle on The King Alfred’s Way. This was full of mini lakes that we had to negotiate. The terrain was very much like Vimy Ridge from WW1.
Soggy, rough roads
Towards the end I was finding the last of the hills quite challenging but Richard and Steve kindly waited for me. We finally made it back to Sparsholt before it got dark. Where we greeted with a friendly smile, a cuppa and vegetable curry followed by flapjack and ice cream.
Marianne with her ride buddies, Richard and Steve
All in all this is a nice ride, I enjoyed the challenge, but was pleased when it was all over. If I were to ride this again, I would use a more suitable bike for the rough terrain
Marianne
Chapeau Marianne. What a great ride and report. Thanks for sharing your experiences with the rest of us.
Miles Back
