New Forest Challenge 11th Oct

Ironman595

Guys and girls,

First time doing this one...

Looking at the profile, I'm still in disbelief of how flat it is!! 600m gain over 100miles? Is it really that flat?

What's a good time to go for? I'm kind of thinking 22mph+ average? (I'm with 5 other pretty experienced riders) I can do the Southern sportive comfortably in about 4:40/ 7:30 marmotte.

Anything worth knowing- road surface, traffic, wild ponies!! ... I did hear there was a 25% climb- but this leads me to believe that the climb alone makes up at least a third of the climbing, making the course even flatter as an average?

Fingers crossed with the weather, looks like a great ride with great organisation.

Any info appreciated
Thanks
Tom- GS Henley

Hornetto

I'm tempted by this but am nowhere near as experienced and fast as you! It would be my first 100 mile ride and I'm only considering it because of the apparent lack of hills.

Putting the route into bikehike it comes back with about 932m ascent, so more than advertised but not exactly hilly over 100 miles.

The 25% is Blissford Hill, which is a short sharp climb of no more than 100 metres in length as far as I can make out from the map.

The New Forest has plenty of wild ponies, cattle grids, etc. and generally quiet and decent quality roads.

topcattim

Hornetto wrote:

The 25% is Blissford Hill, which is a short sharp climb of no more than 100 metres in length as far as I can make out from the map.

Yup, its a short sharp hill. You can carry a bit of speed up the hill from the less steep descent the other side. Its a bit narrow, with some gravel/broken tarmac at the bottom, so be careful about carrying too much speed. I went down there a couple of weeks ago, and the grazing cow presented an additional hazard.

The hill itself isn't too bad as it is so short - the biggest problem I have had is keeping my front wheel on the ground as I climb.

Agree with Hornetto re the pancake flatness of the ride. My only comment would be that a lot of the roads in the New Forest are quite exposed, and with the lack of trees you can find yourself battling winds a lot of the time.

I really wish I was doing this as it is local to me, but I'm struggling with knee and hamstring injuries at the moment. Good luck to all of you who do do it though.

Thomas the Tank Engine

Tom.....with a Marmotte time of 7h+ , i think a 22 average is definetely achievable.

I did a 10.20 at the Marmotte this year and rode the 80 mile New Forest Rattler on my mountain bike (slick tyres) with a 19.4 average......the courses are very similar (thats the Rattler not the Marmotte!! :? .

The roads in the first half are heavy with lots of cattle grids , while the second half is more lane based with variable surfaces.If its wet and the leaves are down then caution required on bends and junctions.

Blissford hill is very short , less than 50 metres at 25%......but coming near the end of the ride , less experiencd riders will need at least a 27 on a compact to get up it ! Hardly anyone made it up on the Rattler !and if its wet , it will probably be harder walking up in cleats ! This is also donkey and pony country around here so don't be surprised to end up on the verge for a bit of cyclo cross as they can be really reluctant to move from the road :roll: .

All the other hills wouldn't even register on the Marmotte profile......its just a nice rolling route.

Have a good one .....

Hornetto

Thomas the Tank Engine wrote:

Blissford hill is very short , less than 50 metres at 25%......but coming near the end of the ride , less experiencd riders will need at least a 27 on a compact to get up it ! Hardly anyone made it up on the Rattler !and if its wet , it will probably be harder walking up in cleats !

I think on the New Forest 100 Blissford Hill is only about 25-30 miles in, not near the end as I guess it was in the Rattler. So should be fresh legs all round (whether that will make much difference I don't know!).

andynewman

grew up around there, and remember that after heavy rain grvel and flint gets washed on to the roads - so take some tubes / patches.
did the gridiron last year, and nearly everyone in group got a puncture - it had been p*shing down for days prior

RichardWorksHard

Think I might be interested in this. Does anybody have a link for more info on this? Would be greatly appreciated.

topcattim

RichardWorksHard wrote:

Think I might be interested in this. Does anybody have a link for more info on this? Would be greatly appreciated.

Try here

pjm-84

Hardly anyone made it up on the Rattler !

I got up it on a 39x23. It does rear up but the key to it is not to go too hard to soon. Because its short it looks sprintable. Don't be tempted unless you are uber fit!

The problem with the New Forest route is the crossings, the cars and the horses. (Especially on a very sunny Sunday afternoon! ) A 22mph / 35kph average will be going some because of the "furniture" but not impossible with 6 guys working together.

itboffin

I'm in and i'm hoping for a sub 3hr 100k

Ironman595

Thanks for all your feedback guys- I really appreciate it.

It has mainly confirmed how I expected it to be, but it's nice to be sure! I may take 2 tubes rather than the usual 1- plus I'll be on hard cases. Should do the job :?
I popped down to Round Hill with the girlfriend and had a weekend exploring mainly the south of the forest, so driven half of the course. (I think)

Didn't come across Blissford but not really bothered about that. Short climb will def be sprinted

There will be 5 of us, all at least cat2, not that it's a race- I just want to set my own challenge to myself achieving a 22+ average... my only concern is the wind... especially after today's ride- was very gusty!

Anyway- for those who are going, good luck. I can't wait!

Cheers
Tom

Airwave

Looks like there might be a ridge of high pressure moving in for sunday.So it should'nt be to windy which will make a big difference as there are some exposed roads in the forest-i know that does'nt sound right exposed roads in a forest. :roll:

itboffin

I'm injured doesn't look like i'm going to make it

VerwoodAsh

My Local roads - and the hills are nothing to worry about. Quite a few cattle grids - but they don't give you any issue unless you approach them at a really slow pace. You will often find cars stopping for animals in the road - please take care when passing them as they are so used to people/vehicles they may just walk out on you.

Looking at the forescast - a possibilty of light rain - should be no real issue and a westerly wind which if you are going anti-clockwise (which I guess you will to get you up blissford hill the right way) means you are likely to be in the sheltered bits in the face of the wind and the wind on your back in the more exposed areas.

Quick times are very possible - all depends on the grocklels in the area and there shouldn't be too many of those around at this time of year.

juggler

did Blissford hill a few weeks back.... 39 - 27, not a problem. Might be different tomorrow if the road is wet, as the back wheel might spin. It is very steep and you have a few disconcerting moments when you feel like the front wheel might come off the ground, but it is also very, very short..... It's pretty downhill for a mile or so beforehand, so you should have some power in the legs to get up...

kingderham

My first sportif as well cant wait
I will be doing the 70 miles.

disquieting_museeuws

Ironman595 wrote:

I popped down to Round Hill with the girlfriend and had a weekend exploring mainly the south of the forest

Tee Hee

Ironman595

disquieting_museeuws... very good

first 50miles was very stop start today, either horses/ traffic/ overtaking people or waiting for team mates having a bad day.
1st hour I was averaging just over 21mph and was feeling good, second was 19mph and just couldn't get into a rhythm!

I knew any hopes of a 22 avg was out of the window so I gave up caring! I also left my team mates with about 30 miles to go so there were just 2 of us, then the wind just ramped up.
The last 20miles were painfully slow- and about halfway we missed a turn and did an extra 5miles!!!

So, garmin tells I did 105.6 miles and finished in 5hrs 33. Rubbish. great course/ excellent organisation- other sportives should take note!!!
One for next year definitely!

If we hadn't faffed around so much, a sub 5 was there, but we can't go around "what if" can we....

Hope you all enjoyed it!

Oh- and reading the topic on photographers on here- seems they had a good range of positions uphill/ downhill sweeping bends... I'll keep a look out- I was no.39

cyclistbruce

Good organisation, shame there was no timing chips. Also, no times on the finish line, certificates/medals etc. Bit disappointed as it was my wife's first sportive and the finish was a bit of an anti-climax. I know a lot of people may not be interested in the stuff at the end, but for the price, I would certainly expect it, in fact I think its the only sportive I've ever done that hasn't given out certificates/medals.

Stuck on a Giant

CTC gridiron, 100k, £4, no timing chips. village hall stops with free tea & biscuits
New Forest sportive, 70 miles, £19 - at least one 'gazebo' stop. no timing chips.

As they say - go figure!

Muzzlehatch

That was a nice event, lovely route and well organised, but a T-shirt would have been nice for the high entry fee.

Still, I was chuffed to go under 6hrs for the 103 miler, as I had to stop to fix a loosening bottle cage mount, and on one of the descents I overshot a left hand turn. Also there were really friendly other riders; I worked with a nice chap from Southampton for a large part of it, then we hooked up with a larger group at the 75 mile point and pacelined it all the way to the end into the headwind. Great stuff.

kingderham

This was my first sportive and i really enjoyed it, i only did the fun route, while i was cycling to the train station to get to brockenhurst i felt a cramp like feeling in my right leg other wise would have done the 70mile route.
There could have been better organisation at the end telling us our times and surely the timeings could have been put on the website at somepoint on sunday.
I met up with a guy in a royal navy racing shirt and spent a great 1 1/2 hours with him then met up with another chap who was very friendly thank you to both of you for a nice chat
the wildlife was good, there was a pig with piglets, a pig wich was huge (thoughts of bacon butties) and also a Stag (deer) jumped over a fence in front of me then stopped on the other side of the road stopped looked and then jumped another fence, sheep wandering around and a couple of partridge just stood in the middle of the road.Thats why i love the countryside and especially the new forest with animals just roaming around (looked after by the verderers).
The horses being rounded up.
Had a great day.

Hornetto

In the end I couldn't do this - too much stuff going on at home with 4 month old baby! Also did two 60+ milers on the previous consecutive sundays and felt that my stamina wasn't quite there for this one.

Shame as it sounds like it was fun for those that did it. Did it rain in the end?

Maybe this will be my goal for next year.