The clue was in the title

"Mad Jack Fullers", 120km out of Hailsham.

The pre-ride notes said that this was a 120km ride with 2,500m of climb. On paper that didn't sound too severe but in reality this was a really toughie, not helped that I've not really had my serious cycling shoes on since finishing the Etape last July. 2,500m of climb up a mountain is pretty straightforward, you find a gear and grind away for an hour or two. Mad Jack though had other ideas, bouncing the route in a saw-tooth fashion up and over the Sussex downs a few dozen times. This is the type of ride I always struggle with, up for 5 minutes, down the other side in 30 seconds, brake sharply at the bottom as you cross the river and round the corner and then up and over again - repeat all day long, always changing through the gears, never settling into a rhythm... I was pretty demolished after 80km and was glad to see the rest of the ride was a little less bumpy. On a brighter note the sun was out, what a lovely lovely day after all the horrible winter weather we've had.

Bumped into an Audax veteran on the ride and chatted to him for a few minutes {before he cruised on ahead going up a hill...}. Got chatting about the Paris-Brest-Paris ride, oft consider as the ultimate Audax - a 1,200km ride from Paris to Brest (the very western tip of Brittany) and back again - non stop with a max time of 90 hours (the quickest do it in circa 45 hours, just astonishing - get on a bike, go pretty much flat out for 45 hours?????). So here was I suffering after 80km and this guy was 64 years old and he tells me that when he does the Paris-Brest-Paris he cycles there, and then once he's finished he cycles back home again "to make a good trip of it". Yours truly humbled....