Mad March Hare.

davidmiller

Ok, first sportive of the year for me next Sunday - are you gonna be there??

I'll probably be wearing DHB tights with a blue Assos 851 jacket and coming in a green Disco. Say hello if you see me

I'll be riding my best bike (blue Trek 2000) and looking to complete in under 5 hours.

What about you guys?? How will I recognise you and what are your ambitions? Are you riding the winter hack or the summer mean machine??

DM

davidmiller

...........that'll be me, Billy no mates, on my own again then

I did put the title of this thread in captials, shouting so you'd all hear me, but somebody changed it!!

DM

ledburyloafer

i'll be there, helping though, not riding, will be dishing out the bacon butties at the end

davidmiller

I'll look forward to one of those - assuming I make it that far!!!

DM

Philip Whiteman

The forecast is not too bad (i.e. no ice, snow or howling gales). It may be a bit dull with a tinge of dampness and that is just my personality.

Other than that, I am looking forward to the day. Don't forget to complain if there is no brown sauce with the bacon butty (that is a cycling tradition you know ).

5 hours to complete should not be too difficult. Apart from the slog up Saintbury, it is a fast circuit especially between Bradley Green and the base of Saintbury. For anyone that has not climbed Saintbury, there are lots of false summits and bends. You think you are near the top when you still have a long way to go. Beyond that, there is a fast descent down Fish Hill and into Broadway before you setting off on you way to the base of Bredon Hill and back to Bradley Green.

All in all, this will be good value at £8. Perhaps it might take off!

I shall be there along with 21 other members of my club.

AlanW

ledburyloafer wrote:

i'll be there, helping though, not riding, will be dishing out the bacon butties at the end

Wot about the pies for that certain someone..........

whyamihere

Really annoyed that I missed the entry for this one. Good luck everyone who got an entry.

ledburyloafer

BTBR wrote:

ledburyloafer wrote:

i'll be there, helping though, not riding, will be dishing out the bacon butties at the end

Wot about the pies for that certain someone..........

Not enough pies in the county to cope with that order

Gary D

Philip Whiteman wrote:

5 hours to complete should not be too difficult. Apart from the slog up Saintbury, it is a fast circuit especially between Bradley Green and the base of Saintbury. For anyone that has not climbed Saintbury, there are lots of false summits and bends. You think you are near the top when you still have a long way to go. Beyond that, there is a fast descent down Fish Hill and into Broadway before you setting off on you way to the base of Bredon Hill and back to Bradley Green.

.

I shall be there with my cycling mate.
We did a short "practise" run on Saturday and went up Saintbury. Bl**dy hell! It made me realise how much fitness I had lost over winter :oops: :oops:
Also, on the way down Fish Hill I had a serious speed wobble - just approaching the sweeping 25mph bend :shock: :shock: I thought it was a puncture to start with and was convinced I was going to end up splatted on the side of the road. It was a real brown shorts moment.
I thoroughly checked the bike when I got home and there was the minutest bit of play in the rear wheel bearings so I adjusted them and am hoping that will cure the problem.

See you all there!!
Gary.

Philip Whiteman

So what finishing times are people anticipating?

If you use the category formula applied in the Autumn Epic to The Mad March Hare, these are the scary results:

18-39
Gold 3:26:0 19.36mph
Silver 3:56:54 16.83 mph

40-49
Gold 3.38.22 18.26mph
Silver 4.11.07 15.9mph

50-59
Gold 3.51.28 17.24mph
Silver 4.26.11 14.98 mph

Over 60
Gold 4.5.21 16.25mph
Silver 4.42.9 14.13mph

I don't think Paul is using the formula but the times above do provide a benchmark. In reality the gold times are too ambitious unless you are very fast on the flat. Perhaps it is more suited to hillier circuits

Gary D wrote:

Also, on the way down Fish Hill I had a serious speed wobble - just approaching the sweeping 25mph bend :shock: :shock: I thought it was a puncture to start with and was convinced I was going to end up splatted on the side of the road. It was a real brown shorts moment.

Gary.

Yes, the bends on this descent are not to be underestimated.

cakewalk

Philip Whiteman wrote:

So what finishing times are people anticipating?

If you use the category formula applied in the Autumn Epic to The Mad March Hare, these are the scary results:

18-39
Gold 3:26:0 19.36mph
Silver 3:56:54 16.83 mph

40-49
Gold 3.38.22 18.26mph
Silver 4.11.07 15.9mph

50-59
Gold 3.51.28 17.24mph
Silver 4.26.11 14.98 mph

Over 60
Gold 4.5.21 16.25mph
Silver 4.42.9 14.13mph

I don't think Paul is using the formula but the times above do provide a benchmark. In reality the gold times are too ambitious unless you are very fast on the flat. Perhaps it is more suited to hillier circuits

Gary D wrote:

Also, on the way down Fish Hill I had a serious speed wobble - just approaching the sweeping 25mph bend :shock: :shock: I thought it was a puncture to start with and was convinced I was going to end up splatted on the side of the road. It was a real brown shorts moment.

Gary.

Yes, the bends on this descent are not to be underestimated.

How did you calculate these figures?

Philip Whiteman

cakewalk wrote:

How did you calculate these figures?

A nice man, who shares my initials and organises three major sportives, provided me with the Excel calculator used for his own events and some of the continental fondos.

It works fairly well but does not take into account the relative steepness of climbs, road surfaces or winding sections of roads. To that extent it is an approximation. I found it to be accurate on some sportives more than others. I have used it for calculating the Beacon RCC sportive winter training rides. I guess that it is not totally realistic to have a perfectly accurate measure.

It also relative to the person. For me, gold standard on such a flat route as the Mad March Hare will be near impossible to achieve, where as a hillier route works well. So if you are fast rider then this will be a good proxy for your personal standard.

Would I be correct in assuming the 'Cakewalk' is the same person as 'Cakestop' on a Birmingham based cycling message board?

cakewalk

Philip Whiteman wrote:

cakewalk wrote:

How did you calculate these figures?

A nice man, who shares my initials and organises three major sportives, provided me with the Excel calculator used for his own events and some of the continental fondos.

It works fairly well but does not take into account the relative steepness of climbs, road surfaces or winding sections of roads. To that extent it is an approximation. I found it to be accurate on some sportives more than others. I have used it for calculating the Beacon RCC sportive winter training rides. I guess that it is not totally realistic to have a perfectly accurate measure.

It also relative to the person. For me, gold standard on such a flat route as the Mad March Hare will be near impossible to achieve, where as a hillier route works well. So if you are fast rider then this will be a good proxy for your personal standard.

Would I be correct in assuming the 'Cakewalk' is the same person as 'Cakestop' on a Birmingham based cycling message board?

Thanks for that. Do seem to get a lot of variety in standards - though as you point out we all have our own strengths ( & weaknesses). My first sportive was the Tour of the Black Mountains. Was pleased just to complete that and find it hard to imagine ever making silver. My second was the Autumn Epic where I (just) made silver.

I'm from Birmingham but not cakestop

Philip Whiteman

Thanks must go to Paul Prince who was dressed in a bunny costume . It was a stunning event and demonstrates how a few sportives can be a complete and utter rip-off. Exceedingly good value for £8. A great HQ, good signage and great bacon sandwiches. The sun shone so what else could we have asked for! As for the car parking, it turned out not to be a problem. I reckon that if The Mad March Hare is repeated next year, it will certainly be a sell out again.

Also thanks to Paul's assistants, Mark Thomas, Andy Overton, Salim Abutier, Carla, the other Paul and of course Paul Prince's long suffering partner, who was not wearing a bunny outfit! Hopefully I have not missed anyone else.

The weather could not have been better. The forecasted drizzle never arrived and we were bathed in sunshine all the way round.

Personally it was a great ride. I was in a group from the Beacon that floored the route in 3h15m. Still did not make Saintbury any easier though!

Ah, well my next cyclosportive for is the Forest of Dean Classic, I hope the weather holds! In the mean time I better regain my hill climbing legs on The Long Mynd 2000 and The Cambrian Audaxes.

Oh and some unashamed advertising, see the following that is completely irrelevant to this thread http://www.beaconrcc.org.uk/audax/cotswold/index.html

davidmiller

Agree with the above - fantastic day. I drove over form Cambridge Sat night and stayed in a cheap hotel so I could get an early start. My 4:16 includes about 5 miles extra cos I missed a sign before Saintbury!!! (Still only 70 though according to my computer).

4:03 riding time.

Many thanks to Paul and all his helpers for an excellent and resonably priced sportiff. Thanks also for the guys in the group that I spent quite a lot of time and with. Hope to do it again next year. My next one is the Lakeland Loop!!!

DM

cakewalk

Philip Whiteman wrote:

Thanks must go to Paul Prince who was dressed in a bunny costume . It was a stunning event and demonstrates how a few sportives can be a complete and utter rip-off. Exceedingly good value for £8. A great HQ, good signage and great bacon sandwiches. The sun shone so what else could we have asked for! As for the car parking, it turned out not to be a problem. I reckon that if The Mad March Hare is repeated next year, it will certainly be a sell out again.

Also thanks to Paul's assistants, Mark Thomas, Andy Overton, Salim Abutier, Carla, the other Paul and of course Paul Prince's long suffering partner, who was not wearing a bunny outfit! Hopefully I have not missed anyone else.

The weather could not have been better. The forecasted drizzle never arrived and we were bathed in sunshine all the way round.

Personally it was a great ride. I was in a group from the Beacon that floored the route in 3h15m. Still did not make Saintbury any easier though!

Ah, well my next cyclosportive for is the Forest of Dean Classic, I hope the weather holds! In the mean time I better regain my hill climbing legs on The Long Mynd 2000 and The Cambrian Audaxes.

Oh and some unashamed advertising, see the following that is completely irrelevant to this thread http://www.beaconrcc.org.uk/audax/cotswold/index.html

Great effort chaps.

One question - how come your website has the result before the event web site?

pprince

cakewalk wrote:

One question - how come your website has the result before the event web site?

because my webserver connection was down so I posted them on there as they fielded 20+ riders

they're on the website now

Gary D

Just like to echo all of the other positive comments

Great event Paul and thanks to you and your helpers.

Good organisation and well signposted. Plenty of food at the stop and at the end - the bacon roll was superb.
The weather was also fantastic for the time of year 8) 8)

We will definitely be back next year.

Gary.

cakewalk

Excellent event and great value. Please repeat next year (with maybe one more decent hill?)

Would be nice to see more events coming in at this price. Also good to have something close to Birmingham...