OK..who's in for the POLKADOT this weekend?
Anonymous
Posts: 79,667
First time for me cycling in the Peak District...can't wait!
Want to check out all these famous climbs from the Milk Race...especially Winnats Pass...who's up for it?
Who's done it? How Difficult is it? How well run is the event?
Want to check out all these famous climbs from the Milk Race...especially Winnats Pass...who's up for it?
Who's done it? How Difficult is it? How well run is the event?
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Comments
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Me - never done it before so can't say other than I've heard its a bit of a killer if like me you need to lose a few stone!0
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My first time in the Polkadot as well. Looking forward to it as don't ride in Peak district very often..similar questions to richyboy - any advice from anyone who has ridden it in the past?0
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I'm doing it.
You'll enjoy it some nice long steady climbs and a few shorter steeper ones. Winnats is pretty tough if you've not done it before. My advice would be to take it easy before you approach it (the left turning after you come out of Castleton). Once you approach the caves entrance and cattle grid just get your easiest gear and go easy. I normally sit down until I reach the green grit bucket on the left hand side. After that it's just out of the saddle stuff to the top.
Good luck.0 -
Polka virgin too. What's the distance between grit bucket and top then ?
What about the other hills ? Anything else nasty to be aware of ?
"Get a bicycle. You will not regret it if you live." ~ Mark Twain, "Taming the Bicycle"0 -
I'm playing out too.
Let's hope it's dry - the speed down the other side of the Snake should be pretty amazing.
why is it sunny all week yet rains at weekends ?0 -
Agree with Dayvan Cowboy,Cat & Fiddle,Long Hill,Chunal Hill,Snake etc.are longish,steady climbs and should pose no problems.Winnat`s is in a different league.It`s not that long,but the really steep bit just seems to go on for longer than is comfortable.I do most of my cycling in the area & admit to avoiding Winnat`s unless I`m feeling frisky.Grit bucket to top probably just under a kilometer from memory.0
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I'll be there, hopefully I won't die too much, I've never cycled 100 miles before though I do ride in the peaks all the time, oops.....[:)]0
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All the hills apart from Winnats are long and steady. Winnats is short, steep and nasty being too narrow for the amount of traffic it carries and prone to a headwind coming down between the rocks. My advice to anyone doing the Polkadot is don't underestimate the last climb - Gun Hill. This isn't as famous as the others but catches more than a few people out.0
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I'm in, depending on how comfy my bed is on Sunday morn. Strikes me the hills of the Peak District are long and gradual - not the leg breakers of the Dales or the Lakes, more like the Alps.
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<font size="1">"I'll do what I can to help y'all. But the game's out there, and it's play or get played. That simple."
</font id="size1">~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
<font>"I\'ll do what I can to help y\'all. But the game\'s out there, and it\'s play or get played. That simple."
</font>0 -
If I can recover from the rigours of the WRC on Sunday, then I should be there. If it's going to be a scorcher, then I might give it a miss.0
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Im in. Winnats is the only hill anyone needs to walk up but if you take the steady bit before the main climb as easy as you can you should have enough energy to get to the top. I always find axe edge demoralising it just seems to go on forever when the legs are already tired.0
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<blockquote id="quote"><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica" id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"><i>Originally posted by vermooten</i>
I'm in, depending on how comfy my bed is on Sunday morn. Strikes me the hills of the Peak District are long and gradual - not the leg breakers of the Dales or the Lakes, more like the Alps.
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Why not join us on a forum ride next time up Blaze Hill, Lamaload, Pym's Chair, Swiss Hill etc and see if you still think the Peak's climbs are long and gradual [;)]0 -
Indeed will love to be proven wrong! I only know cat & fiddle and Snake Pass, really. My Tracklogs map indicates that Goyt Valley has some right steep doozies.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
<font size="1">"I'll do what I can to help y'all. But the game's out there, and it's play or get played. That simple."
</font id="size1">~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
<font>"I\'ll do what I can to help y\'all. But the game\'s out there, and it\'s play or get played. That simple."
</font>0 -
<blockquote id="quote"><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica" id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"><i>Originally posted by cacbyname</i>
<blockquote id="quote"><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica" id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"><i>Originally posted by vermooten</i>
I'm in, depending on how comfy my bed is on Sunday morn. Strikes me the hills of the Peak District are long and gradual - not the leg breakers of the Dales or the Lakes, more like the Alps.
<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote"></font id="quote">
Why not join us on a forum ride next time up Blaze Hill, Lamaload, Pym's Chair, Swiss Hill etc and see if you still think the Peak's climbs are long and gradual [;)]
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I reckon that Vermootens meaning that the Polkadot has more Gardual climbs compared with the 2 sportif's he's already did this year...Fred Whitton and Etape Du dales....and although the Peak district will have some shocking hills they will not be in the same severity league as there Lakes/Dales/NY Moors counterparts...not being in any way disrespectful to the peak District but just being honest I suppose....the Lakes/Dales/Moors are the toughest areas in the UK ive ever encountered[:0]...I reckon the Peak District will be more akin to my Native Scotland....hard long climbs...and a couple of steep buggers...its good that all areas are different...The Peak District looks awesome! and the Polkadot looks great...I suppose if you wanted to experience the most shocking Peak District climbs it would be the 'Spud Riley' or the 'Legbreaker' Challenges...they look very difficult...but i'm more interested in the more famous climbs associated with the area....maybe next year i'll try one of the other 2 afore mentioned[xx(]0 -
some bikes and sheep and stuff:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/16682367@N00/0 -
I'm heading up too.
Coming from Cambridge, I'm still getting over the shock of the Etape du Dales, the Grand Fondo Cymru and the WRC. Normally, the biggest climbs we have are the endless slogs over the M11 motorway bridges - must be at least 5%. Keen to see what the PD has to offer!0 -
<blockquote id="quote"><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica" id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"><i>Originally posted by cacbyname</i>
Blaze Hill, Lamaload, Pym's Chair, Swiss Hill etc and see if you still think the Peak's climbs are long and gradual [;)]
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Lamaload ![xx(][V]
I wonder how many people do the Cheshire Cycleway every year, thinking "It's only Cheshire, and Cheshire's flat", then change their minds at Lamaload...
why is it sunny all week yet rains at weekends ?0 -
I'm in too. Looking forward to it.
Brian B.Brian B.0 -
i'm in , second year, and with compact this time! Forecast looks fine so anyone else aiming for sub-6 hour?0
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That was fun, apart from the puncture half way up Snake Pass. Strange and old-fashioned. 6h32m. I was bobbins for the last 20 miles - red top, Cervelo R3 you probably passed me as I struggled on. At least the guy in the Cartman jersey didn't overtake me....
Anyone else do it? As I drove away I saw who I assume to be the mighty Richey Boy (Orbea, Gerolsteiner jersey).
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
<font size="1">"I'll do what I can to help y'all. But the game's out there, and it's play or get played. That simple."
</font id="size1">~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
<font>"I\'ll do what I can to help y\'all. But the game\'s out there, and it\'s play or get played. That simple."
</font>0 -
That was a good ride. The weather was a lot more bearable than the White Rose last weekend and the distance/climbing a lot more manageable. It was well run, route was easy to see and there was food and drink at all the feedstations and the biscuits and coffee at the finish were just delicious. The parking helper was a star for letting me avoid the grass and park on the tarmac, he was worried my car had too low a clearance - big thanks to him.
I got round in 6h 1min, mainly thanks to thetrotter who helped drag me round. We had a 2 man breakaway from a big group after Axe Edge and just before Gun Hill, I was gutted when I cracked 2 miles from the finish and they caught me with 200 yards to go! I could have had a much easier last hour just sitting in with them [:)].0 -
Did 6h 44m, which I was a bit disappointed with as a) I thought I was going better this year than previous years when my time was roughly the same, and b) I got up Winnats on 2 wheels rather than 2 feet for the first time (lack of traffic helped). Think a few mins might have been added by the return route going through Gawsworth and Prestbury, rather than straight along the Silk Rd through Macc. Any other Polka Dot veterans agree?0
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6hrs 50 mins. Me and my bro and another guy really worked hard together for the last 10 miles. He was gent of a bloke and shook his hand afterwords as we gave our all and managed to drop at least about 10 others.
A strange day and felt bad on snake pass but came ok after that. Winnats was a good climb - In your face and with a head wind and pretty steep. All in all a great day out and gun hill was a bit off a surprise.
A five hour drive up the road was not good though!
Brian B.Brian B.0 -
I did 6:45 official but did a bit of gossiping before getting my card stamped. I timed myself at 6:35... the last 20 miles were purgatory cos I cramped big time at the bosley lghts; otherwise a good day out
some bikes and sheep and stuff:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/16682367@N00/some bikes and sheep and stuff:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/16682367@N00/0 -
Nailed a 5.45 hours today. (Sheff Rec gear - old silver cannondale)
Not bad considering I did the Etape du Tour course 2 days ago! I now realise after the Col de Bales most hills are straight forward!
BTW thanks to the guy who time trialed me home in the last ten miles.
Looking foward to the Spud Riley - now that is hard.0 -
<blockquote id="quote"><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica" id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"><i>Originally posted by vermooten</i>
That was fun, apart from the puncture half way up Snake Pass. Strange and old-fashioned. 6h32m. I was bobbins for the last 20 miles - red top, Cervelo R3 you probably passed me as I struggled on. At least the guy in the Cartman jersey didn't overtake me....
Anyone else do it? As I drove away I saw who I assume to be the mighty Richey Boy (Orbea, Gerolsteiner jersey).
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
<font size="1">"I'll do what I can to help y'all. But the game's out there, and it's play or get played. That simple."
</font id="size1">
<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote"></font id="quote">
Shame you couldn't have stopped and had a wee blether Vermooten, Indeed that would have been me, Me/bro went round together and apart from a few mechanicals and other timewasters we had a great day out, the route was harder than what I'd expected, unlike the FWC(where I'm always holding stuff in reserves) this Sportif really allows you to really give it a 100%, the climbs were superbe...the Cat & Fiddle was a monstrously long grind which really set the tone for the rest of the climbs...never seen feedstops on hills before...strange! Found the ascent after the 1st feed a bit of a grind(Chunal), seen a lot of people struggling there, the Snake Pass was a real belter...probably the most consistent gradient climb i've did in the UK, thought at one point it was never going to end, Winnats Pass for me was sore...I took cramps as I hit the lower slopes...but 'spun[xx(]' through it....I thought the climb was a brute, I put it on a par with Honister Pass in the FWC...real tough climb it was...good stuff.
The climb upto the 2nd feed was a bit of a choker! I somehow suffered there....but for me the worst piece of the entire ride was Axe Edge..I suffered on the lower slopes of that, I know the climbs not hard but this was where in the ride I suffered...afterwards on that fastest ever descent I started to pick up..I knew about Gun Hill and expected a bit of a steep bugger and it was! but it went on a whole lot longer than i had anticipated...after this the strength really came back into me and me/bro and a few others really fired home...all in all a great/real tough day out and always near at 100% effort...
A T-shirt/Bottle/2 feedstops/Free parking and the most outstandingly signposted route for œ15...thats crazy....surely the entry fee must go up?....the organisers should really give themselves a pat on there own back...it really was a brilliant day....my time was 6.49...which i'm well satisfied with.0 -
Great ride. Did 6:45 but didn't really have a time I was aiming for as I'd never done any of these. Strangely felt quite good after Gun hill and just cycled my @rse off with a couple of other guys, especially the last 10. Didn't really have a target other than getting up Winnats on my bike, not my feet which I managed.
"Get a bicycle. You will not regret it if you live." ~ Mark Twain, "Taming the Bicycle"0 -
Yep I enjoyed that. Well organised, friendly, good value. The weather was even pretty good for it - not too hot, not suicidally wet.
I'd have done better if I hadn't taken the wrong turn in Warren : went my usual route through sheer force of habit and then horror ! no signs at the junction at the end. Worked-out the way to go to get back on route, probably only added a mile and a bit but it burst my motivation a bit - was going for it to get a time and then I go and do that - pah !
Cat & Fiddle was easy, because it keeps flattening out. The Snake was tougher because it's continuous without any breathers, and a very consistent slope, 7.8-8.2mph all the way up for me. None of the others is actually all that long.
Winnats however...
It's a shame the first feedstop layby is on the wrong side of the road, bit of a hazard with riders milling about across the traffic.
And that second one ! My heart sank when I saw that hill, which looked just awful from a distance, but then I saw the feedstop at the top and perked up a lot !
Julian, were you the Sheffield Rec I got stuck behind the cars with, coming down the Snake ? (Me : yellow gilet, red&black Spesh)
Going down to Bamford, a bloke on a LeMond sat in behind me for quite a distance and showed no signs of wanting to take a turn, so I pulled-out and forced him to go through, his speed dropped 4mph. Bu$$er that I thought, shot off and dropped him.
Any of you the white top & S-Works, or mate in blue, I wnet up Gun Hill with then along from Rushton Spencer to the canal turn-off. It was good to be working together on that bit of straight main road.
Oh decisions - haven't entered Spud Riley because it's the week before Cumberland. Two in a row, should I, shouldn't I...
why is it sunny all week yet rains at weekends ?0 -
<blockquote id="quote"><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica" id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"><i>Originally posted by andy_wrx</i>
Oh decisions - haven't entered Spud Riley because it's the week before Cumberland. Two in a row, should I, shouldn't I...
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You <b>must</b>!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
<font size="1">"I'll do what I can to help y'all. But the game's out there, and it's play or get played. That simple."
</font id="size1">~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
<font>"I\'ll do what I can to help y\'all. But the game\'s out there, and it\'s play or get played. That simple."
</font>0 -
Yes, that was me, that Blue audi A4 was a pain.
Probably lost at least 5 minutes there.
You should do the Spud Riley it's a killer!0
