Hampshire Hilly Hundred - What can I expect?

Jungli

Hills for a hundred miles... in Hampshire..

Who has done it before? Experiences?

wildmoustache

done it twice.

on a good day (like last year) ... an amazing ride. smooth quiet roads, left turns only (I think), lovely countryside ... hilly but not ridiculous. watership down is typical of the short steep type of hills.

2006 will not be forgotten by those who were there.

if it's going to be wet, my advice is either do it on a mountainbike or stay at home.

Jungli

What happened in 2006?

:?

wildmoustache

it was apocalyptic weather ... more punctures that I've seen in my life. i mean almost everyone puncturing.

Jungli

What are the climbs like on it?

Short and steep?

pjm-84

The climbs are not too bad. More rolling then steep although there is a short nasty one up to Owslebury of about 14% early on.

skavanagh.bikeradar

I'd second the above responses. I was there in 2006 and it rained, hard, for 7 hours. It was like cycling along river bed. Personally I used up 10 years of cycling good fortune by not puncturing, but as wildmoustache says virutally everyone else did at least once.

However this year will be run off in brilliant sunshine I'm sure. Please.

The route itself is a bit like the White Horse Challenge - hard but fair. No hills every 2 miles! So you get a rest between efforts.

bahzob

I rode the route a month or so ago. Its more rolling than hilly, similar to Highclere if done that. Certainly easier than Dragon/Tour of Wessex/Tour of Black Mountain.

Watership down is probably the hardest climb, gets above 15% but only for a short while. One thing to watch on this is that climb comes in 2 halves, first bit easier than second bit, so hold a bit in reserve.