Bali Audax

Leicester Forest CC member Antony Lazarus had never ridden an Audax before. What better way to find out what they’re about than to ride 400km in 30 degrees heat… on a Mountain Bike? Here is his account of the gruelling two day ride. 

Day One

We set off at 6am from Jimbaran Bay in the south, 204 riders in total, all wearing Bali Audax Jerseys. The route took us west along the coast, with a few short climbs. Apart from one other mountain bike, and a folding Brompton-esque bike (!), everyone was riding high-end road bikes, tubeless tyres, aero wheels etc... I found that I would pass most people uphill and then watch them all fly past me on the flat or downhill - it was just impossible to keep pace on my hardtail. Apart from the start, where everyone rode as a big group, I spent a lot of time riding on my own. After 3 hours we arrived at the first stop. I was worried about keeping to the minimum average speed so made a brisk toilet stop, and downed some food and water. It soon became apparent that I needn’t have bothered - we were told to wait for everyone to arrive before leaving. As it turned out, none of the riders completed the first day quicker than the alleged maximum time limit!

Sea View

Lunch was at Negara, another 2 hours or so later. The heat had really begun to kick in and I felt pretty dreadful. I found I didn't have much appetite or thirst, but knew I should be consuming a lot of food and drink. I took off my shoes and sat down away from the crowds. Suddenly, more people arrived and started walking around me. Worrying that someone would step on my toes with cycling cleats, I tried to pull my feet out the way, bringing on an attack of cramp. Not ideal! At that point I felt daunted by the remaining distance.Fortunately, there was a big rainstorm, which really cleared out my headache, and gave me a second wind to push on to the next checkpoint at Gilimanuk. This was the furthest west that the route would take us. All the other checkpoints were in large car parks, with shops etc. This one was just at the side of the road. Feeling a lot fresher, I had my card stamped and carried straight on.

The heat soon became a problem again and I had to take shelter in the shade a couple of times. The second time was pretty rough, and the thought of drinking was making me feel sick, so I got off my bike and lay down.

Soon after, the support ambulance arrived, lights flashing away, which was rather embarrassing.

Several large groups of cyclists had passed and assumed I had crashed and got injured! The paramedic informed me that it was 20km to the next checkpoint at Pulaki temple, I believed that it was a lot closer - it turned out about 15km closer! Having taken in a lovely sea view at Pulaki and a not so lovely strawberry Fanta, I was on to the last stretch. Perhaps somewhat foolishly with respect to the next day, I got excited at the thought of getting off my bike, and found myself powering through the last section to Lovina, arriving 12 hours after I had begun in Jimbaran, 138 miles away.

Day Two

The next day began slightly later at 7am, and although rather sleepy, I felt ok and my legs were still intact. The route took us through Bali's second largest city, Singaraja. I don't know if it was impromptu or organised, but the school kids (yes school is on Saturday too) had lined the streets to cheer us on, waving flags and looking for high fives. The first two sections were relatively easy and I kept in a low gear to save energy - the third section was to be a 400m steep climb past Mount Abang. The second checkpoint, before the climb, was at a dive school, which had outdoor showers. Seizing any chance to cool off, I had a shower in my full bike kit!

Taking its Toll

By now, the ride was taking its toll on the participants, with the start of the climb leaving riders sat on the roadside. After a short rest, I began to tackle the ascent up Abang, ironically named, as my knee almost made that sound. Despite keeping a high cadence, I felt a really sharp acute pain in my right knee. Instantly thinking that was my ride over, I shifted down into the granny ring. A wise decision - I didn't experience any more pain for the remaining 60 miles or so! Climb over, we were greeted by a sweeping view of rice paddies, palm trees and the sea in the distance, coasting for the 10km to lunch.

The next section was mostly downhill, although I began to fear I had taken a different route, as there were long periods where I saw no other riders. Feeling similar to how I felt on the section before Pulaki on the first day, the heat left me sat under some trees, eating an extremely melted Snickers bar. Eventually I found some energy to pedal on to the penultimate checkpoint, where we were told to wait as the organisers wanted us to negotiate the heavy traffic as a large group.

The Finish

Finishing just in time for sunset, we arrived on the beach for dinner and medals. Surprisingly, there were only about 30 people there - I thought I was near the back of the 204, but it turned out I was in the first group to arrive! I think the heat and tiredness had confused me a bit. Some riders did not arrive for another 2 hours, by which time it was dark. To experience my first audax in Bali was incredible, but after 250 miles on a hardtail mountain bike in 30 degree heat, I'm looking forward to getting back out on my road bike in Britain.