The Four Red Posts Of Dorset.

The Four Red Posts of Dorset

In October 2017 I decided I would try to do another year of RRtY having previously completed a year back in 2014. For the uninitiated this is an Audax challenge: Randonnée-Round-the-Year (RRtY).

It is regarded as one of the tougher challenges on offer from Audax. RRtY requires a ride of a minimum of a 200 km ride in successive calendar months at Randonneur pace. You can start in any month, but miss a month and you have to start all over again.

In a year of milestone family occasions which seemed to coincide with local Audax Calendar events, I have found myself devising a DIY 200 km most months. I have always been intrigued by the red fingerposts in Dorset so I created a 200 km ride to take in the Four Red Posts Of Dorset.

There are four red fingerposts in the county which are a source of much debate, without any consensus becoming apparent. Are they the locations of gibbets? Or are they the position of a hanging? Or maybe they are the place of an overnight stop for convicts on their way to the port before transportation to Australia? Whatever the case, these four are widely dispersed through the county, the best known one being on the main A31 at Anderson which allegedly signified to prison guards to turn here for Botany Bay Farm, where they could rest the prisoners overnight. The others are situated in quiet, less frequented lanes at Hewood, Poyntington and Benville. They all have white lettering on the red fingers.

While researching how to devise a sensible route taking in the four red posts it became apparent that the posts were not situated randomly. The prominent sign near the Botany Bay pub on the A31 is just under 14 miles from the site of the County Gaol in Dorchester. The red post at Benville is also about 14 miles from Dorchester. Hewood is due west of Benville and is just under fourteen miles away from Benville. The post at Poyntington is also 14 miles from Benville to the North East. This supports the theory that the posts were to guide transportation of prisoners.

To me these 14 miles distances did not seem random. 14 miles would be a reasonable distance for a group of shackled prisoners to march – Google reckons it’s a four and a half hour walk. Coming from the west (from who knows where) they would arrive at Hewood, then 14 miles to Benville , 14 miles to Poyntington . The jump to Anderson is 28 miles so I am going to say that there is a red post missing there – maybe somewhere around Sturminster Newton. From Anderson on the A31 it is 56 miles to Portsmouth where the prisoners would board a ship to Australia. 56miles – 4×14 – 4 days march.

It is quite likely that there were other posts that are no longer there. In the 1950’s there were 1285 fingerposts in Dorset with only 717 surviving today.

To me this does not look likely to be a random coincidence. Could it be that these red posts were on set routes for those moving on foot? Did they all mark resting places? If so for whom? Were they solely there to mark the route taken moving prisoners, or did others use them too?

Back to the bike ride: I started from my home in West Dorset at sea level and headed west to Hewood.

The red post at Hewood

In order to make the route into a 200km I then went North to Chard Junction before heading East to the Red Post at Benville.

Unfortunately this sign has suffered some damage probably through vandalism.

The vandalised sign at Benville.

I have a picture from August 2017 when the post wasn’t damaged.

The same sign before it was damaged.

Dorset AONB Partnership have a Fingerpost Project which repairs and safeguards these fingerpost. The County Council no longer have a remit to repair them so hopefully this initiative will restore this sign.

I had never visited the next red post at Poyntington which is North of Sherborne. On my route it was about 25km north and east from Benville. We were pleased to find this post intact and looking lovely.

Poyntington

Our onward journey was to Anderson to the most famous red post near the Botany Bay pub on the A31. I took a meandering 65km route South East to get there and managed to avoid riding on the very busy A31. The red finger post looked as if it had been newly restored and was in pristine condition.

The pristine red post at Anderson.

Now with 134 km completed we just had to head for home in a westerly direction. The route we were riding was mandatory having been submitted in advance to AUDAX DIY SW area organiser. On completion I would submit the GPX file from the ride for verification.

It was a grand day out and If you fancy it the GPX file is here for you to use.

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Believe you can and you’re halfway there. Happy New Year.

Happy New Year. I hope you had a fabulous 2017 and wish you all the very best for 2018.
I had a fantastic 2017. All my nearest and dearest are happy and healthy – the rest is a bonus!
In the last 50 years 2017 was the first year when I did not participate in competitive sport. In retrospect the change came when I qualified for the 2016 Ironman 70.3 World Championships and I realised that I didn’t want to do it. Then I eschewed my good for age place at the London Marathon in 2017.  These two events required an active decision whereas subsequently I’ve just not bothered to enter anything. This situation may not last. I think there is a very good chance that I may do a triathlon in 2018.

During the  Ironman UK 70.3 run in June 2016

I have continued to ride in Audax events,  but Audax is non – competitive. I find the Audax challenge a useful motivator. AAARTY is on the 54th month and I will keep that going for as long as possible. I seem to have fallen into another RRTY attempt but have only completed 3 months so far. A 200km in January is an early challenge for 2018.

Steve and I on an Audax 200km – serious stuff.

Running, which was my first love, is increasingly challenging and sometimes when I don’t run for a week or more I think that I may have given up. But then I manage to get out of the door and I find that I still do love running. My performance continues to deteriorate, and I am now really slow compared to just 5 years ago. I will keep running into 2018. I am fortunate in that I do not have any chronic injuries despite having run for over 50 years.

I spend more of my active time cycling than on other stuff. This year I have ridden just short of 11,000km with 156,000 metres of elevation. This is quite a lot of time spent on a bicycle. I am fortunate to live in a lovely part of the world where I can cycle in challenging, scenic, rural countryside all the year round. An increasing amount of my cycling is with my husband, Ian. We enjoy mountain biking together.

Mountain biking in the Forest of Dean

‘De-strawing’ MTB. Joys of dry, mud free riding in the summer.

In June we had a great tour of the West Coast of Scotland and the Outer Hebrides.

Touring in Scotland

Loch Corran

I didn’t really get into open water swimming so much this year as I have in the past. This is something which I will rectify in 2018. I am not keen on cold water but I will just have to man up.

Swimming on the Dorset Coast near Seatown

When we are at home we do 2 Iyengar yoga lessons a week and usually some other strength and conditioning work.

Iyengar yoga

We had some lovely holidays, most notably 3 weeks travelling around California, Arizona and Utah.

Death Valley in California.

Some of the time was with our daughter Jenna and her fiancé Jay. We are back in California in the spring for their wedding.

Alamere Falls at Point Reyes Seashore, California.

So…2018: My Audax targets are to continue with AAARTY and complete the year of RRTY. I have a few Calendar Events in the diary but none further than 200km. I have only completed one 300km Audax event and I didn’t enjoy it very much. Another 300km ride is simmering on the back burner for 2018.

Ian and I have a couple of MTB tours in mind and also perhaps a road tour in France.

The running challenge is simple – just keep running.

The Sport of Ageing

I suppose that being over 60 I can still be classified as being middle-aged, towards the end of middle age and heading towards old age. There is of course chronological age and biological age. That nice machine they have at the gym that tells me I’m only 45! A dexa scan tells me my bone density and % of body fat are average for a 20 year old.

As the body ages, muscle size and strength reduces, flexibility reduces, aerobic capacity reduces, bone structure and density changes – it’s all happening and it’s all a natural process. Ordinary people become more sedentary as they age. Older athletes reduce the rigour of their training. Metabolic function changes, my thyroid doesn’t produce any thyroxin for example and the synthetic substitute is a poor replacement. I am basically very healthy and fit. We live in a nice place and have an active outdoorsy lifestyle.

Kayaking near our home.

For better and for worse, your body never ceases to change through ageing. My approach to training and sport choices and level of activity will reflect that by evolving from year to year in appropriate ways.

The changes in my body have meant a dramatic reduction in running speed. To keep this in perspective I am still ‘good for age’ but it’s still very annoying! Also my body finds running very strenuous and complains more loudly and often than it used to when I was younger. This means I can run less as I don’t want to exacerbate injuries.

I spend more time these days on strength and conditioning than I used to. In practice this means weight training with dumbells and kinesis. It means regular Iyengar yoga classes.

Chair headstand at our yoga class.

At a simple accessible level it is a 2 minute daily plank! Some days even that is too hard!

I no longer feel the need to push myself to do things I don’t really enjoy. I no longer swim in the sea year round for example! I still swim regularly, but only in the pool when the sea temperature is in single figures.

Sea swimming

I did not take up my ‘Good for Age’ place at the London Marathon in 2017. I loved the 2016 event and ran well ensuring an automatic entry to all the big city marathons in the world in 2017 and 2018. But, for reasons I can’t really explain I just didn’t want to do it. Maybe it’s a case of been there done that and got a drawer full of T shirts.

Finishing London Marathon 2016

I have not entered any triathlons this season- yet. I am still training. I still swim, bike, run and I enjoy it. At present – that seems to be enough. Racing is not on the agenda at present.

My Ironman trophy

I still ride Audax events.

I keep up my AAARTY.

There are many inspirational people out there riding huge distances who are much older than I am – mainly men. I continually ask myself, ‘Am I having a nice time – is this fun?’ The effects of ageing on my body have made stuff that used to be fun, much less fun because it hurts and the results are poor. So evolve – focus on what is fun. Focus on what I can do now rather than what I used to do.

My attention has been diverted from training by normal family events earlier this year. My father was very ill for a while. He is 91 and lives close by so we were able to give him the care and support he needed to get well and regain his independence. We also had the great joy of the marriage of Kathryn our daughter.

Kathryn’s wedding

This focused our attention for a number of weeks.

A big change in my life that has affected the training I do is personal. My husband Ian who has never really been interested in doing much exercise himself whist being very supportive of everything I do. Last summer a change occurred and he decided we should get mountain bikes. Now Ian is normally one of those reactive people so when he becomes proactive I tend to sit up and take notice!

Since we got those bikes last June Mountain biking has gradually become a more important part of our lives. We now ride as much as 3 or 4 times a week TOGETHER and have a lot of fun.

Mountain biking

He has become (rather annoyingly) very good and much fitter. I now ride my mountain bike more than my road bike. As a further development he gradually succumbed to riding my old Dawes Galaxy with straight bars that I did LeJOG on and doing some gentle road riding.

Dawes Galaxy ready for the Grand Tour of the Highland and Islands

We have a tour of the West coast of Scotland and the Outer Hebrides planned for a tour in June. A distance of about 600 miles with enough hills to make the elevation the same as the height of Mount Everest!

I can feel my strength and speed just disappearing as time passes and I am determined not to let it mar my enjoyment. I can still do loads of stuff. There is still lots of stuff to do and lots of adventures to be had!

Focus on what you can do rather than what you can’t.

AAARTY 36 Months

There are many challenges to be tempted by when riding Audax. However, a lot of them involve riding for a very long way and for a very long time. At present I do not find it fun to be out for more than about 12 hours, so I am limited to 200km rides or less.

I have found that one challenge I can maintain and use to keep up my cycling motivation is AAARTY. (Audax Altitude Award Round The Year). This involves riding a minimum of 50km with at least 750m of elevation every month. I have ridden a hilly ride every month since June 2013 so this was my 36th consecutive month!

Occasionally I will ride a hilly Calendar Event like the Dorset Coast 200km in April 2016 which attracted 2.75 AAA points with a total climb of 2850 metres. But usually I ride a 100km DIY with over 1500m of elevation. Living in the West of West Dorset it is not difficult to plan hilly enough rides from my back yard.

For Audax DIY planning purposes Burton Bradstock to Shillingstone is a very convenient 51km with 1015m of elevation. The return trip makes for a very neat 102km with only the one intermediary control necessary. Perfect.

The second week in May the weather warmed up nicely and I set off to meet my cycling buddy Jo ready for a hilly 100km.

Setting out from home – nice jersey!

The Dartmoor Devil

The Dartmoor Devil is a 111km bicycle ride which reaches parts of Dartmoor other events do not reach. It is organised by CTC Devon. The event is an Audax ‘gold grimpeur’ Calendar Event. This means that the ride is worth 2 AAA points.

Finishers badge

The Dartmoor Devil 2015 is ‘the 23rd Thrash’ and took place on Sunday 25th October. Unexpectedly for the time of year, the weather was dry, warm(ish), sunny with light winds. Most undevil like.

Recovery

The moment of finishing the ironman is the culmination of a years training. That was my main goal for the year and our lives had been geared up to achieve that goal.

So what’s next? The perceived wisdom seems to be that six weeks rest are in order before a return to gentle training. Well that was never going to happen!

In order to avoid post ironman depression syndrome (PIDS – yes really!) I had a few things lined up in advance so the coming months in the diary were not empty!

The first week after the ironman I rested – apart from some gentle pool swimming. I was very hungry and despite being tired I had to get up at about 03.30 to make porridge and toast as my rumbling tummy was keeping me awake.

The second week was spent in the Lake District on a planned holiday. Time to reconnect with my family and my inner – non-triathlete. Hill walking wasn’t a problem and we enjoyed some long walks in the hills around Keswick.

Walking in the Lakes

These last three weeks

I entered the Challenge Weymouth last September but I didn’t tell very many people. There is a lot of stuff that can go wrong when you start to train an ageing body to do stuff it used to do.
I started running again. I went out with Egdon Heath Harriers on Club nights and did a few low key races.

Running the Weymouth 10 back in October 2014

I had to face the reality that I was now running at a much slower speed than I was a few years ago. I still find this difficult to accept and will keep working at it – even to hold the status quo.

The Big One

The event that I have been training for all year is almost here. On Sunday 13th September I will take part in Challenge Weymouth Long Course Triathlon.

This is an ironman distance triathlon comprising a 3.8 kilometre sea swim in Weymouth Bay followed by a 180km bike ride (with 1880m of elevation – hills that is!) and then a full 42.2 km marathon run. The clock doesn’t stop during all of this, so quick changing between each element is necessary. Food and drink is taken on the move.

The whole event must be completed inside 16 hours with the swim taking less than 2:15 hours and the swim and bike 10:30 hours. I am the oldest woman on the start list. In Triathlon your age is taken as of 31st December so as I am 60 in November I am in the 60 – 64 category. There are no other women in the category and there is just one woman in the 55-59 category.
Throughout the year I have taken part in several running races and one standard triathlon.

Competing in the Bristol Harbourside Triathlon

I have kept up my Audax AAARTY with a hilly ride each month.

Focus

I haven’t posted for a long time. This is not because I have been idle and inactive. Far from it.

My focus for this year is the Challenge Weymouth long distance triathlon – Ironman distance – which is in September. The distances involved are 3.8 kilometres swimming in the sea followed without a break to180 kilometres cycling and then direct to 42.2 kilometres running. This is a big challenge for me and I’m not sure if I will manage to complete it. However I have been training with this event in mind since October 2014.

Long winter run on the Dorset Coast Path. the picture is on Thorncombe Beacon

Audax ride on my winter bike

Glastonbury 100 Miler Audax Event

This event is long standing in the Audax Calendar and is organised by Ian Hennessey. Ian varies the route from year to year. This year he also varied the date, moving it about 6 weeks later in the year to try to avoid floods on the levels and frost on the roads. Last year’s February date encountered both.

The control at Honiton

This ride is purely for fun. There are no points to be had for distance or elevation and the ride does not count towards qualification for any other event (PBP). The field seemed to be predominately made up of folk on road bikes – sans mudguards and luggage – and almost everyone was wearing a helmet. There were even 5 women riding!

Mainly carbon bikes for this event

April 5th 2015 – Easter Sunday – promised to be dry, frost free with light winds and even some sunshine. It had been a drier than average winter and there had been very little flooding on the levels, so Ian had no restrictions on the route and no last minute modifications to make.