Grand Fondo Luciano

Gazzaputt

Great ride today lovely route demanding towards the end some big climbs packed in the last 20 miles.

Plus points being the route and a whole load of powerbar goodies at the start.

Big negatives for me were lack of timing chips and the worst one was in the heat of today was no water at the finish only cans of coke etc. Really would have liked a litre of water.

andyp

I really enjoyed it. Good route, clearly sign posted and helpful, cheerful volunteers at the start, the half way point and the finish. The organisers even threw in good weather for free too.

@gazzaput - you can buy a litre of water from newsagents, garages and a host of other shops. I thought the can of coke at the end was a very nice touch.

Gazzaputt

Can coke at the end of a ride were you had been riding in temperature around 28 degrees? Wasn't even cold! Just want you need to rehydrate. Yes I can buy water from anywhere and that I had to but I'd paid £18 and water at the end could have been thought of with today's conditions, I rode past people at the end who were very dehydrated. A can of coke maybe a 'very nice touch' but isn't what is needed in today's heat.

A couple of weeks I did the Great Kent run and for £15 there was free water at the end.

It did sour which was an enjoyable ride for me.

gmillsy

i did the ride yesterday - thought it was great - nice route combining some lovely rolling lanes with a couple of spicy climbs at the end.

re the water - it would have been good to have some more facilities laid on by the organisers, but the event was in a sport centre, so there were facilities (i.e. drinking water) available, perhaps just not directly at the finish.

Dudley has asked for feedback, so let him know and im sure he will improve it in future - this was the first event after all.

all in all, a great sportive i thought, and a good leg stretcher for longer events.

Gazzaputt

Sorry looking at yesterday posting seems a bit of a rant there.

I stand by my point about the water and timing.

The road marking was an excellent idea in addition to signage. Also the feed station was stocked well when i got there.

It was an excellent day and I enjoyed it very much. Water at the end didn't 'sour' it at all for me!

xcorinmick

Done it yesterday, pretty spectacular route, 2nd and 3rd quarter were much flatter but a lot of it on more scenic routes than would have expected, while the finish was great with Leith Hill then onto another steep stuff before 8km cruise towards the finish.

Marking was not 100% perfect but ok, yes there was no cold water at the end but is that really a big deal as there was plenty of coke... The powerbar's at the start and the feed station were pretty good. As for timing chips, why bother ?

As for the price, was a premiere for me for this sort of stuff but guess organising this thing does not come cheap, so tks to the organizer and see you next year i hope..

For those who missed here is a temporary link to the track

http://www.gpsvisualizer.com/display/12 ... 9.183.html