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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Hell of the Ashdown 2009
The Hell of the Ashdown sportive is the reincarnation of Catford Cycling Club’s annual reliability ride. According the the literature in the starter packs, it has been run every January since 1951 and was only cancelled once due to deep snow. The forecast for this, the 58th edition was not encouraging with a high of 1ºC expected and snow due later in the day.
Last time I was riding in this sort of weather my water bottles froze so on Friday I bought a two litre hydration bladder and treated myself to a pair of merino wool glove liners. The bladder proved an overkill as it wasn’t cold enough for bottles to freeze but the liners were inspired as I had warm and toasty hands all ride.
My day started with a ride up to the cafe at Crystal Palace to meet Michael and we then rode out to the start at Biggin Hill. We quickly registered, attached our timing chips and rolled out over the timing mats. I was glad for the 20km warm up as within 2km of the start we were battling up the 25% Cudham Test Hill. Fortunately the steep section was quite short and soon we were down Hogtrough Hill and under the M25.
Toys Hill at 8km was the first real test on the route and the group I was with was putting in a little more effort than I was comfortable with so I began to fall back. I caught them again on the descent and throughout the ride I found my descending appeared to be above average. Every time I would put the pressure on as I crested the hill, get into the drops and pick a solid line down to the bottom. By the time the road levelled out I had invariably opened up a lead over the group and could then capitalise on it by keeping the power on along the flat sections. This wasn’t a race so I waited until we’d regrouped and then we’d pick our way on to the next hill.
The sun was out by the time we hit Kidds Hill at 50km which did make the 2km climb a little less arduous. I was amused when passing one rider battling her way up but refusing to drop into her triple. Why struggle when you don’t have to?
The first check point and feed stop was at the top of Kidds Hill and then we set off on the return leg. The second half of the ride was tougher than the first with roughly the same amount of accumulated climbing but far more small steep hills. The promised snow also started during the second half and together with a 30kph wind it made for some tough riding.
The weather had caused the organisers to modify the route to avoid a few minor lanes where there was a risk of sheet ice forming. Consequently the ride was around 7km less than advertised, mainly due to Bayley’s Hill being dropped in favour of Ide Hill. To tell the truth, by the time we got to Bough Beech Reservoir the snow was thick on the ground and I welcomed the easier climb up to the second timing check and feed stop at the top of Ide.
From there it was a quick dash back over the M25, up Star and on the finish at Biggin Hill. Michael and I handed back our timing chips, got our times and quickly set off for home. My official time was 4:34:44. It would have been nice to hang around and chat but we both began to cool down quickly and knew the ride back would become more uncomfortable the longer we waited.
Total distance for the day was 146km and it appears my climbing strength is where I need to work most.
This week’s weather forecast is for quite chilly days with lots of snow so luckily I am scheduled for an easy week. I’ll probably stick to recovery paced commutes and maybe take a day off the bike. A short interval session on the trainer on Thursday would be nice, depending on how energetic I feel by then.
Finish times can be found here.
Official photos here.
[Update Feb 2]
Great photo by pit_stop_crew.
Hippy posted his experience here together with another good photo of the snow.
Fixedwheelnut’s Flickr photos are here.
Workout:
- Type: Cycle
- Date: 02/01/2009
- Time: 10:00:00
- Total Time: 4:21:00.00
- Calories: 3414
- Distance: 101 km
- Average Speed: 23.22 kmph
- Ascent: 1,600 m
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Southern Sportive 2008
This year’s Southern Sportive was just as much fun as last year’s but also had the same problem. Signing on was a breeze and the course was fantastically signed. The route was fast and challenging with many short climbs sprinkled across a sweeping roller coaster ride around the lanes of the West Sussex and Hampshire border. Only the long queue at the finish to hand back the timing chips and get our t-shirts and results marred an otherwise perfect day out.
Not everything went exactly to plan across the day but Michael and I just got on with it and put in a stunning time (for us). Our official time was 6:01, taking nearly 15 minutes off last year’s time. It put us solidly amongst the Silver finishers, almost 20 minutes ahead of Bronze and around 20 minutes away from Gold. It will be interesting to see our overall finishing position once the results are posted tomorrow and see how our rankings changed at each feed stop.
[Update 16 September]
Photos now up on takeyourpics.co.uk.
Results from southernsportive.com for Full, Mid and Short Routes.
The results are bit screwed up at the moment with the fastest rider appearing to complete the 155 km (96 miles) Full Route at an average speed of 101 kph (63 mph). Looking at our results, we overtook around 170 riders with only 30 starting in the group after us but nearly 200 finishing after we did.
Workout:
- Type: Cycle
- Date: 09/14/2008
- Time: 08:50:00
- Total Time: 5:39:00.00
- Average Heart rate: 147
- Distance: 154 km
- Average Speed: 27.26 kmph
- Ascent: 1,836 m
- Average Cadence: 76
Filed under: Cycle, Event, Southern Sportive, Uncategorized
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Circuit of the Cotswolds
An event that ran perfectly according to plan from start to finish.
I kept a close watch on my computer throughout the ride and made sure I kept my heart rate around 75% of max on the flats and not too much above 85% on the hills.
My current position is the black dot, my planned pace (Garmin’s Virtual Partner) is the white dot and Lark Stoke, our first decent hill, is the line climbing up to the right.
By this point I was ahead of my planned pace and hadn’t been pushing myself at all.
My small lead was soon wiped out by a 24 km/h headwind and I could only begin to make it back up when the course turned east for the last 50 km section of rolling hills and the wind was then behind me.
Workout:
- Type: Cycle
- Date: 06/22/2008
- Time: 08:30:00
- Total Time: 6:47:02.00
- Average Heart rate: 145
- Max Heart rate: 184
- Calories: 7468
- Distance: 165.51 km
- Average Speed: 24.4 kmph
- Max Speed: 70.5 kmph
- Ascent: 2,453 m
- Average Cadence: 79
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2008 Gran Fondo Cymru
Only manged to complete the medium route in an official time of 6:24:41 (bronze).
We met Kiwis Hamish and Richard at dinner in Bala the night before. They were up from London together with the Reid and MacGregor families and were also making a weekend of it. We started together but they were last seen heading back towards Betwys-y-coed with a support motorbike when Hamish broke a spoke. We never exchanged numbers but they have also entered the Circuit of the Cotswolds so hopefully we’ll catch up again there.
My GPS says I rode 143 km with 2,200 m elevation.
The event’s site says the route was 146 km with 2,760 m while the route plotted on an Ordnance Survey map in TrackLogs says it was 142 km with 2,970 m.
By the time I hit the bail out point I thought I had only completed 2,100 m of the full route’s advertised 3,900 m of climbing and had the rest to cram into the remaining 70 km.
It wasn’t a hard choice to then cut my losses and head straight on to Bala.
If I had known that I had in fact only around 1,000 m left I might just have convinced myself to tough out the rain and gale force headwind and complete the full 200 km course.
There’s always next year.
The scenery in North Wales was stunning and the highlight of the ride was the fast 8 km descent from Nebo to Llanwrst. The toughest part was the gale force headwind during the 19 km climb up the Ranges from Maentwrog.
The scariest part was the wet and slippery 10 km decent from the Ranges into Llanuwchylln. The freezing rain that felt like pins being driven into my face did its best to distract me as I was trying to keep my bike under control on the narrow track.
The feed stations were well stocked but I stuck to water and bananas. There was lots of Red Bull plus one even had a barbecue. I was a little early for lunch but was almost tempted to stick around for a cup of tea or coffee.
My plan to not hang around in feed stations worked as faster groups would often overtake me twice, once before the feed station and then again after because they had hung around chatting.
Four weeks to now prepare for the Circuit of the Cotswolds.
Workout:
- Type: Cycle
- Date: 05/25/2008
- Time: 07:00:00
- Total Time: 6:09:57.00
- Average Heart rate: 148
- Calories: 6561
- Distance: 142.46 km
- Average Speed: 23.1 kmph
- Ascent: 2,197 m
- Average Cadence: 78
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White Horse Challenge 2008
Another fabulous edition of an event in only its second year.
The weather forecast had showers expected in the morning and a high of only 13ºC (55ºF) so I opted for a typical Spring kit:
- Windproof bib knickers
- Sleeveless base layer
- Short sleeve jersey and arm warmers
- Overshoes and thick socks
- Gilet and windproof gloves
- Cycling cap under helmet
- Lightweight clear rain jacket in a jersey pocket
I also had my cycling mitts in a jersey pocket just in case the weather improved and I’m glad I did.
We didn’t get a spot of rain and around four hours in the sun came out and it turned into a glorious day.
Throughout the ride I worked at keeping my heart rate around 80% of max on the flats and only letting it get up to around 85% on the hills.
This worked fabulously and at no time did I feel wrung out or over-extended.
The steepest hill hit 15% and I managed to stay seated, working comfortably and in control.
Not setting a cracking pace from the start meant Michael and I were overtaken by a handful of riders before the first feed stop but some had obviously gone out far too hard and were walking up the first hill.
By the last leg we were overtaking a lot of people and I did manage a wry grin on the last hill when I cruised past someone in full Assos kit with shaved legs on a Specialized S-Works Tarmac with Zipp wheels.
As someone who knew a thing or two about cycling once said, “It’s not about the bike.”
My official time was 5:50 which was good enough for a silver classification but was six minutes slower than last year.
To be honest, that wasn’t a great time and while I could have pushed it harder, I wanted to test my pacing strategy and it worked perfectly.
After a year of training I am certainly faster, fitter and lighter but this was more of a training event for next month’s Gran Fondo Cymru in Snowdonia which will be much tougher with much longer climbs.
Everything is now on track for a good day in the Welsh mountains, I just need to get the good weather booked.
Workout:
- Type: Cycle
- Date: 04/27/2008
- Time: 08:45:00
- Total Time: 5:25:29.00
- Average Heart rate: 142
- Calories: 6324
- Distance: 143.57 km
- Average Speed: 26.47 kmph
- Ascent: 1,470 m
- Average Cadence: 76
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Ride of the Falling Leaves
My official time for the 110km route was 4:41 (silver).
My logbook includes getting to and from Herne Hill Velodrome plus finding Michael after he got lost on the way over.
Start times were allotted when we signed in so we had to wait around for 40 minutes until it was our turn to do a circuit of the historic velodrome before heading out towards the North Downs.
The ride was tough but a lot of fun.
We finished at the Dulwich Paragon’s club house where we all received a very welcome free plate of pasta and drink plus our certificate for completing the ride.
Workout:
- Type: Cycle
- Date: 10/07/2007
- Time: 09:55:00
- Total Time: 5:10:13.00
- Distance: 126.26 km
- Average Speed: 24.42 kmph
- Max Speed: 61.8 kmph
- Ascent: 1,560 m
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Southern Sportive
A perfect day for my second last event of the year.
Michael and I caught the first train down from Clapham Junction to Petersfield and there were plenty of other cyclists doing the same.
A big hello to the “polite” Serpentine rider we “met” on the train — I sincerely home you had a miserable ride.
Anyway, it was a bit overcast when we started but already quite warm and muggy.
We set off at 8:50am and took a few minutes to get warmed up and into a rhythm.
The first few hills began to sort everybody out and we started to move ahead of the slower groups.
Our first real challenge was Hartling Hill at around 32km.
It was only around 3km long but the gradient hit 9% at times which slowed us all down.
Some people were really struggling, others seemed to be effortlessly spinning their way up while the rest of us found a comfortable gear and steadily ground it out.
There was a light breeze that picked up and began to clear the sky allowing some sun to get through.
We were held up a bit by a huge convoy of MGs out for some sort of Sunday club run.
They looked fantastic, specially the older classics, as they gleamed in the sun.
Our next big hill was Duncton at around 64km.
It was also quite short at only 2km but hit 10% at times.
Again, this proved to be quite a challenge for some and I saw my first walkers.
The rest of the ride was wonderful but we had realised by the second feed stop that we weren’t going to make the gold cutoff of 5:50 without upping our effort considerably.
I’m sure Michael could have made the time if he hadn’t stuck with me but I was riding at my limit and couldn’t put any more in.
By the time we had reached the top of Butser and Hyden Hills with around 25km to go my legs were jelly.
I tried to keep my speed above 30kph but the slightest incline sapped me and as much as I tried I couldn’t push any harder.
Overall, it was a fantastic, challenging route that took us past some wonderful scenery and through some gorgeous villages.
Official time including stops 6:14:39 (silver).
Workout:
- Type: Cycle
- Date: 09/09/2007
- Time: 08:50:00
- Total Time: 5:56:46.00
- Distance: 156.44 km
- Average Speed: 26.31 kmph
- Max Speed: 70.6 kmph
- Ascent: 2,280 m
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Archer GP Sportive
Our first decent weekend of sun coincided with the running of the first Archer Grand Prix Chiltern Classic Sportive.
The route was quite tough and took in many of the hills used over the past 52 years in the actual Archer Grand Prix race.
Bikely lists the total climbing over the route at 1,616 metres but my GPS and Tracklogs put it at around 2,400.
Either way, it was very tough plus our two ascents of the one in seven Whiteleaf Hill were timed so we could compare them to this year’s race winner Simon Gaywood.
He did it in 4:29 in the wet but I’ll be lucky to come in at under 9:00 when the times are put on the event’s site later this week.
A couple of the picturesque villages we went through were holding cricket matches on their green which seemed like a much more civilised way to spend a Sunday in the country.
I’ve put a few more equally low quality shots from my mobile on Flickr here.
UPDATE [Aug 9]
Official time including stops of 6:58:47 with 7:40 for my climb up Whiteleaf Hill.
Workout:
- Type: Cycle
- Date: 08/05/2007
- Time: 08:30:00
- Total Time: 6:31:10.00
- Distance: 157.85 km
- Average Speed: 24.21 kmph
- Max Speed: 66.2 kmph
- Ascent: 2,400 m
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Dunwich Dynamo XV
The fifteenth annual 200km (120 mile) overnight ride from London Fields in Hackney to Dunwich on the Suffolk coast was this Saturday night.
The Dunwich Dynamo occurs on the Saturday closest to the full moon in July, partly out of tradition and partly because maps are easier to read by moonlight.
Several hundred cyclists gathered in the evening sunshine near the Pub on the Park listening to music and catching up with mates.
We gave our donation in return for a route guide and began to trickle off from around 8.30pm.
The first 3km took us through what was described as bandit country.
We were warned to ride in big groups, use main roads and to look out for each other.
Shortly before Lea Bridge I found out why when we came across a group of kids trying to block our lane and throwing stones.
I got hit square in the throat but figured there was no point in retaliating although next year I might carry a water pistol with some foul smelling liquid just in case.
Just as I was entering Essex it began to rain and didn’t stop until well after sunrise.
This made the ride quite miserable for those who were unprepared but I quite liked it.
I had loaded the route onto my GPS so I didn’t have to struggle with a soggy paper guide and was dressed well so that I didn’t overheat while still keeping my torso dry.
As the sun went down the long line of blinking tail lights ahead of me looked almost magical but as the night wore on they became quite mesmerising.
I found myself pushing to get past anybody with a flashing light but quite content to sit behind those with their lights on constant or a pattern, as long as they were doing a decent pace of course.
After 102km (64 miles) we hit the feed stop at Waldingfield.
I arrived around 1.15am and the hall was already quite full with the queue for hot food stretching out towards the entrance.
I grabbed a spare chair and had my two ham and brie ciabattas while chatting to a couple of others about their ride so far.
By the time I left I had cooled down a lot!
It took a few minutes of fast pedalling for me to stop shivering and a few more before I was comfortable enough to put the pressure on again.
The constant rain, solid cloud cover and lack of street lights meant it was perfect for naked riding.
I couldn’t read my computer or GPS easily so I simply rode as hard as I could so that my legs were just beginning to ache and I was breathing hard but not panting.
This seemed to work a treat and I steadily began to move ahead of other riders.
Before long I was spending a lot of time on my own whipping through the dark country lanes.
By 4.15am the eastern horizon was beginning to glow and I could start to make out road signs and read my GPS without switching on the backlight.
At around 5am I arrived at our destination, the Flora Cafe at Dunwich and found it almost deserted.
I must have done much better than I realised as it took until 6am before the cafe was full.
By then I had eaten, changed into dry clothes, met a few interesting people and was looking forward to the short ride back to the train station and getting home in time for the final stage of the Tour.
July 19 is already marked in my diary for next year’s run.
I can’t wait.
Workout:
- Type: Cycle
- Date: 07/28/2007
- Time: 20:30:00
- Total Time: 9:00:55.00
- Distance: 226 km
- Average Speed: 25.07 kmph
- Max Speed: 67.7 kmph
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