The Red Lodge Bash

From Carlton Colville (near Lowestoft) to Red Lodge and back The route is predominantly on quiet and picturesque (several wooded) country lanes, passing through sleepy and pretty villages to the popular Audax control location of Red Lodge. The return route is a complete retrace of the outward route. That is because using a different return route would have made the total distance excessively over 200 km. As it stands, the total distance is around 211/212 km (the person who rode the full route for the GPS track found some of my staged distance measurements to be very slightly over). However, the route is advisory, not mandatory, so you are welcome to add to the distance if you wish, but you will need to adhere to the controls. The Mighty Mug cafe at Red Lodge is the official control. There are other options, but I highly recommend the Mighty Mug. The intermediate controls are the same in both directions. They are village stores from which to obtain receipts. However, if you find it getting a bit too much, I would be happy to accept selfies at the appropriate village signs. There is scope for a little variation. If the Costcutter at Gislingham is poorly stocked, the Premier at Walsham Le Willows is just 7 km further, and can be used on the return if preferred. Also, on the return, there is a village store at Metfield, although its opening hours are very limited. Again However, a selfie at the village sign is fine. Metfield is not quite so appropriate for the outward ride. Carlton Colville Community Centre (NR33 8BT) is just the start and finish point, meaning the facilities aren't available. You might like to know that the Bell Inn (NR33 8JR) (https://www.moss-co.com/locations/the-bell-inn-carlton-colville/) is just 1/4 mile away. The food is excellent, and there is a good choice of beers. It's popular, so booking is advisable. Also, food serving finishes at 8.00 pm, so you would need to carefully consider your start time, i.e. it might have to be very early.