Vatternrundan

RichardFcp

So, I'm doing this for the first time in June with an Anglo-Swedish team of nutters, none of whom have done it before either! I know there are a few on here who are also doing it, and some that have done it before, so what should we expect? Any hills? What are the road surfaces like? Are the Swedes really expecting road bikes to have all their reflectors on wheels and pedals? Will they get arsey if you don't? Are rear LED flashing lights really verbotten? Are the food stops as well provisioned as the website makes out? How carefully do they check on the no driving for 6 hours after the event rule?

I'm hoping it is going to be fun, but I know it will be tough, so I'm keen to learn from the experiences of others beforehand.

vermooten

You might get some info here: http://www.anothercyclingforum.com/inde ... #msg451181

Not done it myself but it looks great. I expect you to post a full ride report on your return.

GeorgeShaw

I'm doing it this year for the first time, but with a friend who's done it about 8 times. I've already asked him similar questions. Hills are minimal, the highest point is only 120 metres above lake level, and there are no severe gradients. I've traced the route using BikeRouteToaster and that gives me 1200 metres climbing total. However the descent into Jonkoping is meant to be good fun, especially if you're in a fast group. I'm told the main problem is mental, just keeping going for the 300km.

The road surface will be good (they have to survive Swedish winters). I've never heard any rule about reflectors, but the lighting rule will be enforced, even though, if it's clear, you'll be able to see quite easily all night. The food stops (and massage ) will be very well provisioned, it has to be for 17,000 riders. No sure about the 6 hours being checked. This might be an insurance thing in Sweden. So if you have an accident, you'll be stuffed.

Captain Fagor

I did it in 2006, and it's a great event.

Having a start time of 20:20, I only had twenty minutes' worth of riders (~700) ahead of me, so I finished fourteenth on the road! I expect that it would normally be a very different experience, in that there would be hundreds (indeed thousands) of other cyclists on the road.

Profile wise, my HRM recorded and logged the ride as I rode. The damn battery went on the blink for a while, so I don;t have it all. But there's about 1500m of climbing in all: it's not all flat. Surface wise the roads are the best I have ever cycled on, and the locals are very tolerant for the event.

Lights-wise, I was fully equipped, but only a percentage of the bikes going through the marshals gate are spot-checked. My rear light fell off within the first 10km (and I wasn't stopping to pick it up) so once it went dark I didn't want to ride too much on my own.

I look forward to your review of the event - I thoroughly enjoyed it and will definitely be back.

Captain Fagor

By the way, as regards the food stops, I hope you like salted gherkins. :shock:

GeorgeShaw

Just back from this year's Vatternrundan. 17,000 people doing 300km around a lake in central Sweden. Really pleased with my time of 10 hours 8 (damn those 8 minutes ... :evil:).

A great buzz, especially if you like group riding. I got a late start time (4.16 in the morning) and most of the late starters are up for a good time, so there are plenty of really big groups to ride in - as many as 100 at times, which fulfils a lot of those TdF fantasies. Some of the riders are just so strong, leading these groups for 100km+.

Anybody else go?

RichardFcp

Strewth George, that's a good time!

A total time for me from start to finish of 13.55 including 5 - 10 minutes at all but one food stop, so 13 hours ish actual riding. Should have been better but there was torrential rain just before we started at 23.56 and we rolled out in to a pitch black rather than a light Scandinavian night so the first couple of hours were slow watching for the water on the roads and having never ever ridden at night before. Blustery head winds later as well (all the cyclists excuses coming out here!).

Came in 4th out of our team of about 12, the first 3 being younger guys who regularly ride long distances and who blew round in 10 hours and a bit and two abandoned due to the cold in the early hours so reasonably pleased with what I did. Room for improvement next year if I go again!

Cycling etiquette as usual leaving a lot to be desired. I'm not fast enough for the 35kph groups and I found that those groups I sat in on did not want me there so just slowed down, and if I took to the front no-one would come through and take a turn. Some massively stupid riding as well; downhill on the wrong side of the road into a blind left hand bend was one example I saw so Darwin must be out looking for new business :shock:

GeorgeShaw

Believe me, Richard, I was just as surprised. I've only been riding seriously for a couple of years, and in all that time I've only bettered that average speed once, and that was 24km that I treated as a time trial a couple of weeks ago.

I've been planning a nice steady ride at a low heart rate, but my mate Magnus had other ideas. We switched groups to one a little earlier, to ride with some friends of his. But like most of the late groups, this was one of the 35kph groups, as I found out as my HR was 30 beats more than I'd hoped. We eventually got shelled out at the first significant hill up to Granna, but there was always another fast group about to come along, so each time we were shelled out, we just picked up on another. But after Karlsborg we didn't find another decent group, and ended up leading our own. Probably a bad move as I suffered after we turned back into the wind, which cost us a sub-10 hour time.

A late start is definitely a good thing if you want a fast time, because of the fast groups. It's also light, and not too cold.

Didn't really have any etiquette problems myself. Most of the groups seemed to be led by a club, and in a big group they mostly seemed happy to rotate amongst themselves and allow the rest to wheelsuck. They wanted to keep together, so it wasn't a problem.

I did hear of some groups, though, where the "leader" would let a gap open between his mates and himself (and the wheelsuckers), and then scoot back up leaving the rest trailing. but that wouldn't have bothered me, as usually there would always be another group coming along. Saying that, when we ended up in the lead after Karlsborg, we tried to get some help but none was forthcoming.

The only difficulties I saw were when there was heavy bike traffic, with medium pacers passing slower riders at the same time as fast groups were passing them. A few of the medium pacers I talked to were a bit pissed off by getting boxed in like this. But from the groups I sat in, the signalling was always pretty good and we always tried to give everybody enough room.

There was very little traffic so riding on the wrong side of the road was almost compulsory in the fast groups - especially in the first few hours when it was congested. That extended to going both sides of roundabouts like the TdF ... but like I said, with so little traffic, none of that was dangerous.

And didn't you like the Swedish roads? It's the first ride over 40km that I've ever come back from without having numb toes from the vibration at any stage.

RichardFcp

Swedish roads? Brilliant! Well, other than that section through Gronne when I couldn't feel either of my feet at all. I topped and tailed my trip with 700kms each way through Sweden and Denmark and I couldn't believe the quality of the roads. Then you get off the ferry at Harwich and on to the A12 and then the M25. Unreal.

One of our group, not that we saw each other after we lost touch in the dark in the very early stages, saw the aftermath of a coming together with one of the fast boys and a slower rider. Apparently not enough margin was left and the fast rider hooked handlebars with the slower. The result was not pretty and two ambulances were needed.

nicklouse

Swedish roads? Brilliant!

i wish they would sort out the ones around me. the winter studded tyres have left a couple of tram lines in each lane.

But generally they are way better than the UK.

GeorgeShaw

RichardFcp wrote:

One of our group, not that we saw each other after we lost touch in the dark in the very early stages, saw the aftermath of a coming together with one of the fast boys and a slower rider. Apparently not enough margin was left and the fast rider hooked handlebars with the slower. The result was not pretty and two ambulances were needed.

Was that between Fagerhult and Hjo? There was a nasty accident there, at about 0900, the worst that Magnus had seen in 9 years doing the Vattern. The road was stopped in both directions and some poor guy was being put in an ambulance on a stretcher. Hope he's OK.

RichardFcp

I'm pretty sure that would have been the one. I saw two ambulances heading the opposite way at great speed although by that time I was a little oblivious to exactly where I was.

Captain Fagor

Nice to read about the Vatternrundan experiences - it's an awesome event.

I certainly remember doing a lot of riding near the middle of the road during the early stages of the event. Having an early start time meant that we passed loads of people early doors, and after about 150km the roads were deserted.

TomBombadil of this forum was with the group I went with in 2006 (Cyclists Fighting Cancer) and he's gone back each year since. Perhaps he'll give us an update on how he got on.

Well done to everyone who finished.

TomBombadil

Hi All,

Better late than never - Here's my 2008 VR story. I road this first with Captain Fagor and some other riders for Charity and fell in love with the idea of riding through the night in Midsumer.

Everything more or less went to plan. I flew from Stansted, to Skavsta. Then took a coach to Linkoping where I stayed at a Hostel type hotel. The room had plenty of space and a kitchenette. I arrived Wednesday night which was good as I had plenty of time to recover from travelling. On Friday I caught a taxi (large with space for bike just to be placed in back) to Motala. I had considered hiring a car as the taxi was going to be expensive. But in practice the taxi worked well and I didn’t have to worry about driving or fuel, resting for six hours before heading back or anything else.

The taxi driver was exactly the same one as last year! The taxi still had the same crack on the window as did did the coach from Skavsta – Amazing.

I arrived in Motala with plenty of time to register and was soon in my pen waiting to start. I had bumbled about deciding what to wear as the weather for the early evening were showers which were due to clear. It was due to get cold and I had bought a small backpack with spare jacket and leg warmers. After watching everybody get ready I decided to put the leg warmers on – It was a good job I did as it was freezing in the night and my toes were quite often numb.

In the pen I looked for a likely group – non looked evident – really!

So at 8:12 we were let out and led away by the bike to the edge of town. As soon as were allowed I started to put some steady effort in. No group appeared – hmphh so I was out on my own and before long, less than an hour, I had probably overtaken most of the riders ahead. Within a further 30 minutes I had found a cyclist to cycle with who was working at a smilar level. He was doing the Swedish classic, The VR a 4km swim, a cross country ski and a marathon at different times of the year. It then showered – well it poured down and we were sodden and cold. I lost him at some point when a couple of riders went past and I kept with them. It took a couple of hours after the last shower to dry out. At some point we split up I can’t quite remember which way me ahead or behind.

Meanwhile I tried to keep a steady pace. I kept hoping that some group would steam by - but no, it wasn’t going to be. Slowly the night and kilometeres drew on. All those riders to follow, it was hard to imagine as I, a quite solitary figure started into the second hundred kilometres with the sun popping out of the sky. I was soon cycling through the night and looking forward to my first stop. I had been fueling up on dried apricots which had worked really well on the TOI (Tour of Ireland) but at this time of night my stomach wasn’t playing ball and I was beginning to feel a little sick and very quickly didn’t want to eat anything as it the thought of eating made feel ill.

Still I found a couple of riders to ride with every now and then and the cycling through the night was just what I remembered it from my first time round. I felt steady and despite my stomach was managing to keep a fair pace. I wasn’t going to be on target for anything fast as without a group it was mostly a real solo effort.

Into the last hundred K I cycled with another couple of guys that helped pace me but eventually we broke up at one of the stops & I probably stayed longer than I should a few riders slipped past. In some ways it was helpful to know there was somebody ahead and when I finally got going after putting on my jacket I had a little red light to aim at in the distance. I kept it in view for an hour or so through the darkness of the trees. As the sun popped up I lost the rider ahead – ho hum – somewhere near the last stop I took a group finally appeared and went past but I didn’t have the strength to pick them up. It wasn’t a big group but it could have helped me bit. With my food intake being a little lower than hoped and riding on my own for so long I was alittle more tired than I had expected.

In the last 40km I had a bit of a bonk for 10-15 minutes but after a gel I picked up a little and made my way back into Motala. Annoying there was no man at the last turn or arrow and I chose the wrong way after 5 minutes I knew it was wrong and headed back the man was back at his post waving me to go in the other direction. All that way to get the last turn wrong – hmphh. It meant a couple of other riders squeezed past. When I finally crossed the line I was happy with the ride. It had gone quite well. I was quite away off the time I had hoped to achieve of 10 hours. But it had been a real solo effort. The showers and cold had slowed me a little and I lost 10 to 20 minutes lost in the end section and a few minutes heading the wrong way. I am sure I also lost a little time when I was cycling with some of the other riders for company as it was hard just to pass by when you had been on your own for so long. I justified it by telling myself we work better as a couple or small group. But in practice I found that they didn’t ride quite as steady and tended to just coast on any slight downhill which is where I certainly would have pushed to make speed and time up.

Looking at the final list I think I was a bit lazy at the end, lacked a little motivation, and should have been in with the one group that went past. That, I am sure, would have been close to the best I could have done on the day. They came in about 10:27 whwr as I came in at 10:50.

Unlike last year when I finally arrived back I had enough energy for a dash to the line and my legs felt quite good. The next day they were recovered pretty well. This probably shows I could have worked harder. This year the fastest riders managed 7:30 amazing, but from my TOI experience I know that working in a fast group can really get the speed up. After talking to some riders later I learned that some of the riders target their start time to make sure they are near to one of these fast groups. It makes sense if you are really fighting for a fast time. However, the two fastest groups started at 3:30 and 4AM.

For me one on the best bits of this ride is riding through the night and a solo ride is quite different from a group ride and different speeds should be expected. It just shows that for the same event quite different experiences can be had. On this note I am considering whether the next time I try this do I try and get near the fast groups and fight for a fast time or start at the beginning and go for the through the night ride? Personally I am drawn to riding through the night and will probably go for an early start again. I am not very good in the early morning and would rather ride without any attempt at sleep than try to sleep for a few hours and start at 4 AM. When I compare my time I will then get a fair comparison of any improvement etc

For anybody thinking of doing this ride - it really is great fun and a real adventure.


IStats – 300km /186 miles

Year Time
2006 11:09 - started 8:20 3 punctures
2007 11:21- flew same day and started 2AM
2008 10:50 - started 8:12 virtually solo (stops were completely empty waiting for the masses)

2009 ?