Kirkless sportive April 27th

mathi

The first 2 riders not on the offical start sheet ??? :shock:
I am in contact with the first rider home , so i shall be having words :evil:

SunWuKong

I really enjoyed it. The weather wasn't so good and I overslept so had to head off on my own, last to go. Kept it steady and enjoyed the climbs. Although the descents were a bit scary in places I did overtake a Land Rover on the descent into Holmfirth

The marshaling was really good IMO. The second feed stop could have been a little nearer the first but that's a minor point for me. There did seem to be nothing at the finish too. No sign, no one checking you back in?

But overall I think it was a good route and event.

Pokerface

I'm sure many of you passed me on the road. Finished in 6 hours and 15 mins - but not bad for a guy with only one leg!

I had ridden the route before to prepare so it wasn't a huge shock to me, but made the rookie mistake of going off the start too hard and suffering for it later in the day. Still - even though the weather sucked and I'm still recovering from the ride a few days later - it was worth it.

My next Sportive is in 2 weeks but will be much shorter and easier.

And anyone that wants a little cycling/weight loss inspiration - check out me at www.action.org.uk/colinlynch

ColinJ

johnbirkby46213 wrote:

And as a final ps. Thanks to Colin's bad back and winter beer poundage, I have discovered that if I don't go off like one possessed at the start, I finish feeling fabby at the end. The trick for me in future will be to try to remember said lesson. Amen.

:oops: :oops: :oops:

And the trick for me will be to stop drinking too much beer every winter, to keep on riding, and most important of all to tackle my back problem! It's not as though I've got dodgy disks, it's purely down to poor flexibility and lack of back/core strength.

I first met John a couple of years ago on a C+ forum get-together/audax ride in these here hilly parts. He really suffered then and I tried to cheer him up later in the ride by telling him that there was nothing more than a series of "2 minute grovels" to follow. As you can see from his signature line, he's never quite forgiven me for that little white lie...!

A year ago, John came up for another hilly ride. That time, he was equipped with his secret weapon - a new carbon-fibre Specialized bike which must have been at least 10 pounds lighter than the steel-framed Thorn he'd ridden the previous year. He claims otherwise, but I reckon John was a lot fitter too. My route took us up a nasty little climb out of Luddenden village near Halifax which has been used for the National Hillclimb championships. The improvement in John's climbing was a revelation! He took everything the route could throw at him. After that ride, his signature line got edited.

And then there was the recent Kirklees event! John is tall, pretty much the same as me (6' 1" - 6' 2"), but unlike me, he has his weight under control - 12 st 7 lbs. That's the weight I'm aiming to get back to. It was really great to see John flying up the hills, and I know that he wasn't even giving them his full effort. I just wish I could have been doing it with him . Next year, maybe?

Mossrider

Not Another Hill wrote:

Couple of the HSW lads 'dragged' me through the last 20 (Thanks again).

Hi Not another Hill - I think that was probably my brother and I; I was looking to buy you a beer at the end but I couldn't recognise you once you'd lost the helmet. My memory was that you didn't really need "dragging" and were doing pretty well on your own account, but always glad to be of service. Hope to see you out on a club run some day!

ColinJ

Pokerface wrote:

I'm sure many of you passed me on the road. Finished in 6 hours and 15 mins - but not bad for a guy with only one leg!

I had ridden the route before to prepare so it wasn't a huge shock to me, but made the rookie mistake of going off the start too hard and suffering for it later in the day. Still - even though the weather sucked and I'm still recovering from the ride a few days later - it was worth it.

My next Sportive is in 2 weeks but will be much shorter and easier.

And anyone that wants a little cycling/weight loss inspiration - check out me at www.action.org.uk/colinlynch

Blimey Colin, well done - that certainly puts my flab and back-ache in perspective!

If you don't mind me asking - can you pedal at all with your prosthetic leg? If you can't then doesn't that put an awful strain on your back? Do you do a lot of back exercises and are there any that you'd recommend? I was looking at a relevant article in C+ recently and those exercises looked useful, but I haven't tried any of them yet. Excuses, excuses - I'm going to find the mag and try some now!

Good luck with the next sportive.

davidmiller

When I finished there was a group of around 6-8 kids at the left-hand side of the entrance to the car park. They gave me a huge cheer that put the smile right back on my face.

It's clearly is the simple things in life........

DM

p.s. that would be the oppsite of the two teenage girls who walked past me and p****d themselves laughing as I was bent over pumping up a tyre in my tights.

SunWuKong

David why did you have a tyre in your tights? That was always going to get a laugh!

Pokerface

ColinJ wrote:

If you don't mind me asking - can you pedal at all with your prosthetic leg? If you can't then doesn't that put an awful strain on your back? Do you do a lot of back exercises and are there any that you'd recommend?

Good luck with the next sportive.

I lost my leg below the knee (so I have the use of my own knee). I use my quads and hamstrings to push the pedals. No calf muscles (on either side really). So - I lose power over a "normal" rider - but can always get there in the end. Just takes me longer.

I get a sore back - but I suspect that's just advancing years and not being used to being on a bike! A good night's rest and it usually goes away. Only other thing is - because I use my upper leg muscles so much - they tend to tighten up a lot and that also puts strain on my back - but nothing some good stretching can't fix.


Cheers,
Col

davidmiller

SunWuKong wrote:

David why did you have a tyre in your tights? That was always going to get a laugh!

LOL Yes, badly typed by me. Maybe I should have had a rolled up tyre down the front of my tights - that would have got a different reaction.

DM

ColinJ

Pokerface wrote:

I lost my leg below the knee (so I have the use of my own knee). I use my quads and hamstrings to push the pedals. No calf muscles (on either side really). So - I lose power over a "normal" rider - but can always get there in the end. Just takes me longer.

Respect! And you beat me by hours...

johnbirkby46213

The other day (before I left Flatshire to go up for the ride) I noticed a downloadable file containing the route that could be used in Googlemaps etc. Now that I am back here, I can't find it! :x Could someone please send me the link?

Thanks

JB

MartinJ

John different formats to download the route are available here:

http://www.cyclosport.org/article.aspx?id=248&eventid=1051

johnbirkby46213

Thanks for that Martin

Pokerface

ColinJ wrote:

Pokerface wrote:

I lost my leg below the knee (so I have the use of my own knee). I use my quads and hamstrings to push the pedals. No calf muscles (on either side really). So - I lose power over a "normal" rider - but can always get there in the end. Just takes me longer.

Respect! And you beat me by hours...

Ha! My only goal was not to come last! I have no idea how many people were behind me. Probably not that many to be honest.

At least my next event has proper timing and will post a list of times when it's all over. Good to see how you did against other people (even if it's not a race, etc).


www.action.org.uk/colinlynch

langsett

Thanks for all the comments , post ride feedback forms have been sent out and as we did last year we will seek to improve where we can.

such as, what would pepole suggest at feeders?

I agree about the end, it needs a bit more, watch this space?

johnbirkby46213

Hi Langsett
As I didn't register online, I registered on the line, I presume I won't be sent a form. However you can pm me one or I'll send you my email if you like.

JB