Exmoor Beast 2009
This was not what anybody would call a fun ride. The 2009 Exmoor Beast must rate as one of my worst bike rides ever and yet I’m already making plans to go back next year.
A storm hit the area at around 7am, delaying the start and forcing the cancellation of the 100 mile route. I’d expect most of those who were annoyed by this changed their minds very soon after starting. Almost immediately we were pedalling into a gale force headwind up the 8km climb of Duncary Beacon that averaged 7%. Ordinarily not especially tough but today the walkers outnumbered the riders after the cattle grid. Those still on their bikes at the crest were then nearly blown to a standstill as they came out of the relative shelter of the hill.
The next 25 km were mostly downhill but the wind made sure that any freewheeling cost you dearly. At this point I would have loved to be able to see the oncoming elevation profile but my Garmin lost charge on the drive down and was now just ballast. It also didn’t help that the rider number zip tied to my handlebars was nearly the size of an A4 card so all I could do was put my head down and grind.
Relief finally came at Lynmouth. After a sodden decent along the stunning north Devon coast we turned inland for the 7km climb up Scobhill. The wind was now behind us and it seemed to almost halve the 8% gradient. Perhaps the huge rider number was now a sail rather than air brake. Within minutes we were at Simonsbath and the first feed station.
I had enough bars and gels for 100 miles and figured two bottles were enough for this distance so I didn’t need to stop. Fortunately the timing mats were on the road so you could avoid getting caught up amongst the many shell shocked riders queuing for water and exchanging horror stories. Maybe I should have stopped. Shortly after that I had my first “off” in an event. Made the classic mistake of watching the wheel, not up the road and picked a terrible line through a corner. Forgot to use all the lane or cut the apex. No damage done but it did dampen my enthusiasm a little.
The second feed station and timing mat came quickly and then finally, the reward for all this effort – the 10 km descent down Lype Hill into Timberscombe and on through the valley to Dunster. The sodden leave litter in the centre track meant you had to moderate your speed a little more to follow the tyre tracks rather than use the entire lane. Two falls in one event would not have been good form. The end came with a rather unique triathlon style indoor finish back at Butlins Minehead.
Having the start and finish at Butlins was perfect. Somewhere that has the facilities to at least adequately accommodate such a big field in these conditions, plus a Pizza Hut on site so you can undo all the good work you did over the past few hours.
Over 1,700 signed up for the Exmoor Beast but there wasn’t nearly that many at the start. Around 1,100 finished, some with outstanding times. My time got me a Silver but at this distance I should be challenging for Gold. Shows what a decent headwind and lack of telemetry can do to your pace.
Lessons learned: concentrate on corners and bring a GPS charger.
It has been said that next year’s edition will be one week later in the year and the entries upped to 4,000. Luckily the weather is usually great on Exmoor in November so surely the organisers are very unlikely to pocket the unused entries from this level of drop out again.
2009 Exmoor Beast riders’ times
Official photos by Marathon Photos here
Other photos by Phil O’Connor here
Parks Guesthouse. Five stars for our accommodation (organised by the wonderful PMH).
Workout:
- Type: Cycle
- Date: 11/01/2009
- Time: 08:30:00
- Total Time: 4:53:53.00
- Calories: 3090
- Distance: 100 km
- Average Speed: 20.42 kmph
- Ascent: 2,200 m
Filed under: Cycle, Cycling, Event |
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