Dragon Ride Wales 2009

richa

NWL,
If you are currently doing 100k+ rides in Surrey Hills @ 27kph, and can do BH in 9:04 then I can see no reason why you can't complete Dragon Ride next year. One long ride per week will be enough to get you to the Dragon finish.

NWLondoner

What are the local hotels like with regards to taking a bicycle in with you?

richa

Travelodge & Premier Inn are both moments from the start. Both will be full to the rafters with cyclists ansd most will have bicycles in their rooms...

kingstongraham

NWLondoner wrote:

Dombo6 wrote:

NWLondoner wrote:

How much training would you recommend before considering taking part in this event?

Depends what level you're starting from in terms of riding and general fitness. Give us an idea of that and we can relate to ourselves and advise accordingly.

Sorry for delay in replying.

My stats from my recent ride on Saturday are as follows. I hope these help

Riding a 50/34 with 12/25

106.58km, Cycling Time 3:58.37. 27.04 km/ph average speed. Around 600/800 mtrs of ascent. This included Box hill which is 2.46km 5% Average Max 14.6 in a time of 9.04.

Due to shifts & personal circumstances I can only manage 1 ride per week.

Do you think i would have a slim chance of completing this route next year or just kidding myself?

You'll be fine. I only really started riding this time last year, and only started doing any distance when it warmed up this year. My longest ride before the Dragon was about 110km, and I did the full distance, without any embarrassing walks. If you hit some of the nastier climbs around the Surrey Hills, nothing will be a shock on the Dragon - Winterfold and Whitedown are stiffer than anything on the ride. You can't replicate anything like the length of the climbs when training in Surrey. And I only did one long ride a week.

NWLondoner

Well it looks like I will I give it a shot next year. May even try the autumn epic next year as well. Gonna do a few local sportives this year to get some practice.

GeorgeShaw

You'll be fine as long as you hold something back for Cimla (the only steep hill) and the second Bwlch climb, and get your feeding and drinking right. After that there's only a couple of short rises. I'm a little faster than your figures, and got around in a fraction over 8 hours, with plenty of energy at the end.

One reason was that I did a couple of recces with my club. If you can drive to south Wales and go from the M4 up the valley to Ogmore, then you can do a shorter short route from there, taking in all 3 big climbs, in under 4 hours. Just knowing the climbs and how it feels will give you the confidence to handle the real thing.

NWLondoner

GeorgeShaw wrote:

If you can drive to south Wales and go from the M4 up the valley to Ogmore, then you can do a shorter short route from there, taking in all 3 big climbs, in under 4 hours. Just knowing the climbs and how it feels will give you the confidence to handle the real thing.

LOL

Well, the fact that I DON'T drive can make things like this awkward.

Although it would make some sense and i may make a trip up beforehand. Not too much fuss to get a coach there and back

richa

NWLondoner wrote:

Well, the fact that I DON'T drive can make things like this awkward.
Although it would make some sense and i may make a trip up beforehand. Not too much fuss to get a coach there and back

Direct trains from london to bridgend and the hills are close by...

NWLondoner

Has anyone got a link to a Garmin Connect TCX of the route that they did?

dinosaur

Is a GPX any use to you? If so, you can get one from bikely or mapmyride.
Can you then convert to TCX with bikeroutetoaster?

* I don't know what a TCX is so please forgive my ignorance

oldwelshman

I would not reccie the climbs in the winter though they can be brutal
Last year in March I was on a compact and was on a 36 x 25 and was blown to a standstill twice going towards the beacons on Penderyn at it is only very slight grade!! On way to Merthyr was coasting at 40mph!!
Another time I was blown right across the road going down the Bwlch descending towards Ogmore (opposite direction to the Dragon).

sampras38

Are they doing gold silver and bronze this year does anyone know?

I know they're doing a finishers medal but do we know how it's being awarded?

Westerberg

I'm looking for a place if there are any early cancellations!

JesseD

GeorgeShaw wrote:

You'll be fine as long as you hold something back for Cimla (the only steep hill) and the second Bwlch climb, t knowing the climbs and how it feels will give you the confidence to handle the real thing.

+1

I went to fast in the beginning, hammering it pretty much for the 1st 50-60 miles, I had to stop on the Clima halfway up and swore all the way up the Bwlch the second time round, the last 10 miles were fun though as me and my mate started to sweep people up and ended up in a little fast moving bunch.

I am signed up and really looking forward to this year, fingers crossed for the weather.

oldwelshman

Lou not sure if you still read these posts but !!
I rode a fair section of the dragon ride on saturday and some of the roads are terrible.
On the decent of the Bwlch towards Treorchy, towrds the bottom the fast 90 degree bend has a spribg running across it with pothole damage across large part of road so would be surprised if no one either came of there or punctured as it is a fast turn there.
The road through Treorchy to Treherbert is awful surface with many potholes and very very bumpy.
The climb of the Rhigos has loads of large potholes and road damage, and a lot of these are to the left of the road on the riding line. I rode alone and could not avoid all of them so in groups will not be nice.
I am not actually riding just providing some feedback, if I was I would leave the deep rims off and use 32 spoke GP4's
Hope the council sorts roads out before the ride !

sampras38

Hummm, interesting.

Doesn't sound like it's gonna be much fun.

Dragon Master

oldwelshman wrote:

Lou not sure if you still read these posts but !!
I rode a fair section of the dragon ride on saturday and some of the roads are terrible.
On the decent of the Bwlch towards Treorchy, towrds the bottom the fast 90 degree bend has a spribg running across it with pothole damage across large part of road so would be surprised if no one either came of there or punctured as it is a fast turn there.
The road through Treorchy to Treherbert is awful surface with many potholes and very very bumpy.
The climb of the Rhigos has loads of large potholes and road damage, and a lot of these are to the left of the road on the riding line. I rode alone and could not avoid all of them so in groups will not be nice.
I am not actually riding just providing some feedback, if I was I would leave the deep rims off and use 32 spoke GP4's
Hope the council sorts roads out before the ride !

Thanks "oldwelshman". Coincidentally I'm due to ride the lower section of the route tomorrow in order to compile a report for Bridgend Council on the pot hole situation. It's particularly bad on the run in to the finish as well. My intention is to look at the route as it lies within each of the four local authorities and report back accordingly. At least then they will have been informed.

We had our press day ride two weeks ago over the Rhigos and there was a council crew repairing some of the damage on the ascent from Treherbert, however this was near the top by the forestry car park. By the sound of it they haven't done much to the poor surface lower down as yet.

I'll start a new thread with a request that anyone like yourself who spots any bad pot holes can report directly to the relevant highway departments. The more we pester them the more chance they'll get something done.

Lou.

oldwelshman

I did notice the repairs towards the top, just a few patches done.
I notice this year on the roads everywhere, large sections where the newer surface has dissapeared in large sections exposing older surface below and these are large areas, not like the traditional winter pothole. Theres a few of these on the lower part of Rhigos.
If your riding the route, hope you have a mtb with suspension when going through Treorchy

bendertherobot

Nothing is currently as bad as the Old Llantrisant Road at the Radyr roundabout. Nothing. Ride through that and you'll be fine.

SteveR_100Milers

bendertherobot wrote:

Nothing is currently as bad as the Old Llantrisant Road at the Radyr roundabout. Nothing. Ride through that and you'll be fine.

I bet to differ!

The section of A4054 between Rhydyfelin and Upper Boat is so bad it literally shakes parts of your bike off. I have never encountered such a multi-surfaced piece of tarmac; it would appear to be a secret council competition to see who could make the least flat repair!

bendertherobot

SteveR_100Milers wrote:

I bet to differ!

The section of A4054 between Rhydyfelin and Upper Boat is so bad it literally shakes parts of your bike off. I have never encountered such a multi-surfaced piece of tarmac; it would appear to be a secret council competition to see who could make the least flat repair!

I'll raise you a much longer section of said pave from the Southerndown turn off in St Brides right through to Southerndown itself. Roubaix stuff.