Highclere Sportive - How was it for you?
juggler
Posts: 262
Back home - enjoying a few ice cold alcoholic (beer) recovery drinks... great ride... weather a little hot for me... but the girls supplying ice cold water outside the Pub in Hannignton did the trick and they were not anything to do with the ride.. repsect... Great how the Police blocked the side roads etc... and they seem to be on Police mountain bikes as well...cool. Suffered a bit, but forgetting that now.... Feedstops.... too much choice of sandwiches, bananas and cake etc..... Good Job Organisers....
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great day out, very friendly organisers - make that exceptionally friendly - marshalling, signage all top notch - and blessed with perfect weather.
I preferred the route a lot compared to the hampshire hilly hundred. somehow it felt similar but cleverer. not sure why. anyone else agree?0 -
Didn't do the Hampshire Hilly but did the 75 mile route back in March for a recce with Neil and Jez from here.
Today was ace. I had a very enjoyable time.0 -
Really enjoyed the day. Did the 200+ had two goals, achieved both early so was even able to take it easy and enjoy the run in. Cyclists tan noticably improved.
Organisers obviously done a pact with the devil as third year running of sun (though devil has the last laugh, the wind on the way home was a real pain in the face).
Like the course improvements (helps from being from Newbury so can practice the early hills.) Only thing I would beg is get the distance right. I was OK but know others had a real sinking moment when the "10K" to go sign came when they thought it was only 5km (seems to be for all the courses, spoke to someone who did the 75 and ditto for them (and especially tough)).
(PS Nice to see some of the junctions marshalled/traffic stopped by police.)Martin S. Newbury RC0 -
felt physically sick between 100-120km. switched to water and ate some salty snacks at the steep feed station and felt much better. amazing weather & a very scenic route. 200km is a long, long way and im having an early night.
well done organisers and helpers.0 -
The good roads, absence of dangerous corners, absence of traffic (until end), views over countryside panoramas, the sensible hills (generally 3%-6%), challenging long route, arrows, marshalls and admin made this the best sportive I've ever rode (altho I didn't do particulary well). The only negative was holding Saturdays registration day in the middle of a motorway junction which made it awkward to cycle to.0
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This event is always well organised. I think it's a great route. Really enjoyed today, met some nice people many from Addiscombe Cycle Club. Some good trains going until I kept getting phoned, although a few reformed for the last leg. Didn't make gold but that was always a longshot.
The distance was pretty spot on from the GPX file. Wish they'd put in on their website next year. Oh and get the standards set down right. The website was different from the leaflet!
Good work Highclere organisers.
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John Stevenson0
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John Stevenson wrote:
John,
Before going to press, I would check with Ken which time is the correct time.
i.e. you list quotes the previous standards whereas Ken's list on their website uses the other standard. It does make a difference as on your list I made silver, but on his I got gold.
Picky? Yes, but there is a goal at stake here.
I was close to my cut off (being at the top end of my age group doesn't help ) but I specifically went and saw Ken after the ride and checked my result as the next sheet had not been posted.
The number that achieved gold etc will therefore increase too.0 -
Hi Gr.uB
Ah, that's annoying. We used the results that were sent to us by the organisers, but now that you mention it I see that the award levels are different between those results and what's published on the event website.
It's hard for us to check these things before going to press when we have no reason to suspect a problem. I doubt Ken would appreciate a call from Sydney at 2am!
But it's easy for us to fix them, and I'll do so now. I think it's a safe assumption that the award levels on the official site are right.
Thanks for letting us know.John Stevenson0 -
How was it? Bloody knackering. My legs, back and stomach no longer work correctly. I went pretty well until the last 15 miles when I started to struggle, the 10km at what I though was 5km to go was a poke in the eye, I lost the plot there. Anyone cycling near me at that point would've heard a lot of swearing. I cracked with 1km to go. AAaaarrrghgghghgh.
However, the event was superdooper. Excellent organisation, exellent route - as someone pointed out it was hard but fair and didn't take the mickey by sending you up every 20% climb it could find - a top notch day that feels like a real 'event'. This is one of the top cyclosportives in the UK.
I Just need to get a bit faster....!!!0 -
I learned 2 things on my first sportive.
1/ I should have really trained for it other than my commute.
2/ I should not have went off the start like a madman. First 40 miles at 19.7 mph average!!!
for me the last 85 miles were agony (yes the last 85) I even called my wife at the half way point saying I didn't think I could go on!!
Saying that if I had paced myself from the start I probably would have enjoyed it a lot more and probably finished a lot quicker. At one point I was down to single figures on the flat!!!!!0 -
Well organised, I went off to fast and suffered, 180 to 190 was a real grind and the last third of the ride my heart above 67%? Really killed my pace as I’d cracked the first third at 30kph+ I to felt shafted by that 10k to go sign but by then I could smell the finish and pushed on regardless.
Still, well organised but 200k is a real distance, had really enjoyed doing the first two days of the tour of Wessex where it was all over by 160k!
Given most of my conversations with people on the course, I’ll see you all in south Wales next weekend…0 -
I too had a fantastic time for my first sportive. I only did the 120k (much respect to all those that did 200k) went too fast for the first half and suffered on the second but still managed silver which I was more than pleased with. I think the hills here in Bath make the scorpion sting seems easy!! The organisation was great, very friendly police and a great cake stop. The massage at the end was brill really saving my legs. Many thanks to all the organisers, helpers etc.0
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A fantastic day out, glad I booked today off work to recover.
The only downer was that I punctured at 196km - I love getting tyres off my Ventos at the best of times - but soon patched up and over the line. Great organisation by the Highclere team, a good advert for sportives.0 -
I saw 3 riders join the race after the first 2 big hills. Were they avoiding them or did they get "lost"?0
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Great day, great organisation with excellent signage and marshalling, some of it excellently done by the local Police on both bicylces and in cars which was one of the most fun parts, sweeping (well in my head at least) through junctions with the traffic stopped by a bobby on a bike no matter if it was only me on my lonesome or riding with a group, Excellent! Great cake stop at Sparsholt too!
Oh if it was you who broke a spoke on the first climb, hope you got back safe, you made a welcome excuse to stop (only to offer assistance of course nothing to to with a breather and adjust gears so I could actually get into my largest cog)fay ce que voudres0 -
Gr.uB wrote:bahzob,
Was that you at the start in the Bognor kit that came and said hello?
Sorry but no. Only connection with Bognor is my wife went to college there (but they called it Chicester).
I was in the apallingly designed (but mandatory for local event) yellow/purple and white Newbury Road club gear.Martin S. Newbury RC0 -
Great event, excellent organisation, good to see the police helping out too. I can’t understand why this one doesn’t sell out months in advance every year.0
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I was a member of the Newbury RC back in the mid-90s and the kit was bad enough then but the latest incarnation is a shocker. :shock: Who designed it? A committee of blind men?bahzob wrote:I was in the apallingly designed (but mandatory for local event) yellow/purple and white Newbury Road club gear.0 -
I didn’t say that an event selling out was a good thing, just that I was surprised it didn’t happen to Highclere. This and the Autumn Epic have to be my two favourite events of the year.Michuel wrote:ju5t1n wrote:I can’t understand why this one doesn’t sell out months in advance every year.
Hold on! That's one of main reasons I entered the Highclere alongside the others you mentioned ... Event sell-outs don't impress me and are a turn-off.0 -
Well it was excellently organised as usual and the weather was near perfect (damn that nagging headwind at the end) but my oh my did i blow up at 150k. the last quarter was absolute torture i hadn't eaten enough and i felt sick and felt about as strong as Monty Burns from the simpsons. Usually if i get a patch like that it lasts for about 15-20k but i didn't recover from this one and whwn i saw the 10k to go sign i nearly cried. Missed out on sliver in the end but i'll definatley be there next year and i'm determined to get my fuelling right for the Dragon and the Etape.
See you all at the Autumn Epic i hope.
BTW rode along with Hugh Dennis for a few miles before recognising him and then utterly humilaiting myself by asking if he was Steve Punt :oops: :oops: :oops: To his credit he didn't seem to mind too much - top chap. i however am a complete berkpm0 -
andyp wrote:
I was a member of the Newbury RC back in the mid-90s and the kit was bad enough then but the latest incarnation is a shocker. :shock: Who designed it? A committee of blind men?bahzob wrote:I was in the apallingly designed (but mandatory for local event) yellow/purple and white Newbury Road club gear.
Think someones child did it as a GCSE arts project. Some of the guys still have old kit and its looking quite nice and retro, if a bit faded, now.Martin S. Newbury RC0 -
A belated thanks to James in the Powerade Racing Team kit for doing his best to keep me going after the second feed station and towing me up that hill just after it. Stomach cramps kicked in and I just couldn't keep up. It was either the High 5 or the phenomenal pace you were setting and my body saying "for God's sake, slow down!". :shock:
FCN 2-4.
"What happens when the hammer goes down, kids?"
"It stays down, Daddy."
"Exactly."0 -
Thursday's Cycling Weekly has 4 pages on the Highclere event. It describes the route and is very complimentary about the organization. 4 CW riders took part and they commented that gold medals were very difficult to get - eg only 20 awarded for the 30-30 group.0
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errrr not one mention of the gravel ? It was a little scary in parts when you descend down a hill like Il Falco to find a sharp right hander covered in gravel.... aghhhhhh !!!!!!
Also good to see people walking up the hill after 10km on scorpions tail ! LOL ! Well organised event but you'd also think they'd open the castle for the day so the wife and kids could do something other than hang out in a car park !0
