Verenti Dragon Ride - Are we up for it ?

caw35slr

What an excellent day! That foul breeze that seemed to be against us for so long ended up behind us for the second Bwlch climb, which was nice. The temp was good too. Hard work but the Dragon is a great event.

Feed stations:

As others have said: gel and drink at the first, no drink at the second or third. I'd be very interested to know where the blame lies. Did High5 simply not provide enough? Did riders (as somebody said earlier in the thread) grab "handfuls" of product? Is somebody selling tons of High5 stuff on ebay today? I've given up relying on feed stations for anything but water and the odd snack.

Incidents:

Saw two guys in ambulances. One at the second feed station (the victim of the Landrover incident?) and one on the descent of Llangeinor (the last hill after the second Bwlch descent). The latter may have been serious, an ambulance and two cars were at the tricky left-hand hairpin. He may have run wide. Also a London Dynamo on the very first climb appeared to have taken a spill. Two motos were in attendance and as we passed we heard him say "nothing broken".

caw35slr

alp777 wrote:

I don't ride 117 miles to receive a goodie bag, have you looked at the contents? Why bother? Some decent grub would have been better.

If you'd had a really good look at the contents you'd have found a small can of powerful deoderant. Probably the most useful goody bag item I have ever received. Well worth the 117 miles effort.

bendertherobot

Whilst I do think that Llangeinor is a better way to go (see above) it's not the first time I've heard of incidents there. One guy shot over the t junction last year. I always tell people to take it easy as I ascend here as it's a tricky little bugger.

mamba80

Yes, it was a lovely day, the riding great BUT really for £29 you got sod all, the ride back to the car pk was a joke no knew where to go with loads of riders heading back to the M4.
When u finish a ride like this, you need a bit more than a bloody milk shake!!!!
To me the whole thing was just a commercial venture and nothing like say the Cornwall Tor or Autumn Epic or even the Dartmoor classic, let alone something like the Maratona.
I got a good time and enjoyed the ride but no way will i waste my money on this again

greeny12

Yes, one thing I would say is that having to go back to the car park via a very busy, unmarshalled roundabout was a fault. Because people were trickling back I guess you can't stop the traffic the whole time, but maybe hold riders until there are sufficient numbers then let them though in a batch, like the start?

Or is there any other cut-through back to the Sony car park? I dunno, but that was the least pleasant part of the experience, particularly as I had a flapping goodie bag on my bars and very tired legs by then!!

The lack of energy drinks was also a bit off, but I think the comment about riders grabbing handfuls says it all....to be honest, after three bidons full of various teeth-coating SIS sweeties I was happy with water!!

bendertherobot

greeny12 wrote:

Yes, one thing I would say is that having to go back to the car park via a very busy, unmarshalled roundabout was a fault. Because people were trickling back I guess you can't stop the traffic the whole time, but maybe hold riders until there are sufficient numbers then let them though in a batch, like the start?

Or is there any other cut-through back to the Sony car park? I dunno, but that was the least pleasant part of the experience, particularly as I had a flapping goodie bag on my bars and very tired legs by then!!

The lack of energy drinks was also a bit off, but I think the comment about riders grabbing handfuls says it all....to be honest, after three bidons full of various teeth-coating SIS sweeties I was happy with water!!

The easiest way is back through the start line, turn left, down to the roundabout (the much quieter one) then turn left into the car park.

on-yer-bike

The food was disgusting at the feed stations. The organisers ought to be ashamed of themselves. Crappy fatty cakes and biscuits! I thought this was meant to be a healthy sport.

magliaceleste

The easiest way back is through the cycle-path almost opposite the finish line..It's marked but has only got small markers on it though.

I'm not surprised there was nothing left for the later riders. People were grabbing handfuls of gels, and the water was just left running. Unbelievable. The food stops on the Dragon have always been the most disorganised I've ever encountered in a sportive.

The other thing that was poor was many peoples riding. Riding out in the road for no reason. i.e. not overtaking anyone. I'd be very surprised if there isn't some backlash from that.

I think it's a fantastic route though. I had a great day and I'll be back to do it again. 6.39 for the long route including those pesky stops, which is 14 mins faster than last year.

greeny12

bendertherobot wrote:

greeny12 wrote:

Yes, one thing I would say is that having to go back to the car park via a very busy, unmarshalled roundabout was a fault. Because people were trickling back I guess you can't stop the traffic the whole time, but maybe hold riders until there are sufficient numbers then let them though in a batch, like the start?

Or is there any other cut-through back to the Sony car park? I dunno, but that was the least pleasant part of the experience, particularly as I had a flapping goodie bag on my bars and very tired legs by then!!

The lack of energy drinks was also a bit off, but I think the comment about riders grabbing handfuls says it all....to be honest, after three bidons full of various teeth-coating SIS sweeties I was happy with water!!

The easiest way is back through the start line, turn left, down to the roundabout (the much quieter one) then turn left into the car park.

That info could/should have been in the briefing pack....

nickwill

It was my second Dragon Ride and I was delighted to knock 24 minutes off last years time. I was aiming at 7 hours but managed to get round the 190k route in 6 hours 52. For me a good sportive is all about a good route, good signposting and enough people around to be able to move from group to group. As someone who prefers to rely on my own energy drink, gels and bars, I only need water at the checkpoints. The goody bag is an irrelevance to me and i've never received one on any other sportive. The only negative for me relates to the queues to get to the start line.We finally started t at 8.58 and the announcer was saying that this would be the last group for the 190 route. We had to point out that there were hundreds if not thousands still waiting to get through the pinchpoint before the starting area. I hope everyone who wanted to do the 190 was able to.
Over all a cracking route and a real change from the steep hills of Cunbria and Yorkshire where I usually ride.

bendertherobot

There are so many people saying "I don't use the feedstations" one must wonder how little High 5 they actually had

mamba80

I'm sure its very helpful to be told of all these short cuts back to the car parks ON MONDAY morning!
But the organisers should have marshalled us back via a decent shortcut AND not as many did, trying to x a dual carriageway., not good publicity if someone had been killed on that busy road/roundabout?
My point is that the organisers are getting poss in excess of £90k, most people helping out r volunteers, and this is, what, their 5th of running the event?
i was early on the road but running out of water or energy drink is just unacceptable.
Look around, there r many many more events that are just as challenging but dont have the rubbish that the Dargon has, what about all those grotty towns we had to ride through?
i was really lookin fwd to this evnt but returned back to Cornwall thinking "why did i bother?"
the Autumn Epic is far far nicer and u get a free hot meal afterwards + a couple of bidons!

On the plus side, i always enjoy riding in wales and once out in the hills , it was beautiful and it was always nice to hear some encouraging cheers from many people on the roadside.

bendertherobot

mamba80 wrote:

I'm sure its very helpful to be told of all these short cuts back to the car parks ON MONDAY morning!
But the organisers should have marshalled us back via a decent shortcut AND not as many did, trying to x a dual carriageway., not good publicity if someone had been killed on that busy road/roundabout?
My point is that the organisers are getting poss in excess of £90k, most people helping out r volunteers, and this is, what, their 5th of running the event?
i was early on the road but running out of water or energy drink is just unacceptable.
Look around, there r many many more events that are just as challenging but dont have the rubbish that the Dargon has, what about all those grotty towns we had to ride through?
i was really lookin fwd to this evnt but returned back to Cornwall thinking "why did i bother?"
the Autumn Epic is far far nicer and u get a free hot meal afterwards + a couple of bidons!

On the plus side, i always enjoy riding in wales and once out in the hills , it was beautiful and it was always nice to hear some encouraging cheers from many people on the roadside.

I live 1 minutes ride from the start so it's easy for me to comment on short cuts.

But what gets me is that they don't seem to take feedback on board.

Very little savoury option again. Lots of really cheap food. Running out of drinks and, for those who don't know the area,, poor car park stuff.

There were two car parks as well. One by my house and Sony. They should be dividing the cars between them and taking you the safest way.

By my calculations the entry "pot" is in excess of £100k now. Where does it all go?

nickwill

Despite all the carping I rate it as one of the best sportives in the country. As regards the organisers making a profit, I don't have a problem with it. Participation is optional. As I understand it, the feeds are not run by volunteers and that may well be the case with other people working on the event. I'm sure I read somewhere that organisation of the ride is now a full time year round excercise.I think the level of organisation required to get 3000+ people to, round and away from an event of this scale is an order of magnitude greater than that required to run the average British sportive.

bendertherobot

Nickwill wrote:

Despite all the carping I rate it as one of the best sportives in the country. As regards the organisers making a profit, I don't have a problem with it. Participation is optional. As I understand it, the feeds are not run by volunteers and that may well be the case with other people working on the event. I'm sure I read somewhere that organisation of the ride is now a full time year round excercise.I think the level of organisation required to get 3000+ people to, round and away from an event of this scale is an order of magnitude greater than that required to run the average British sportive.

Making a profit isn't the issue. It's providing value for the entrance fee, one which provides for feedstations. So "carrying your own" or "getting there quicker (told to me by one of the, I assume now, paid employees" isn't the point. If it takes a year not to be able to organise that then they need to think about their organisation.

I attended the village, advertised as opening at 10 on Saturday, at 10:15. There was nothing open, there was no village. Again, all you need to do is set up earlier. Or the night before.

APIII

I quite enjoyed my day. The marshalling was good, decent route, plenty of opportunity to form groups, etc. The feed stops were a disgrace as has been mentioned. No energy drink, and a choice of crappy apple pies or a banana? They should have a look at the Fred Whitton if they want to learn something about running a first class event. I'm glad I've done it, but I doubt I'll be back for more.

twotyred

Good event overall. I don't enter these things for a goody bag so getting even a poor one is a plus. I thought the feed stations were OK however I do carry my own energy drink powder and gels so only needed water and a few bananas.

My three complaints are as follows.

The ridiculous funneling of riders one at a time through that gate at the start causing big queues. Got there in what should have been plenty of time for an 08:00 start and finally got away at 8:40

Riders riding out to the right on descents even when there's no one else around. I don't climb very quickly but I do go downhill fast and was quite often across into the oncoming lane to get past them rather than risking taking them on the inside.

No/poor signage at the finish to give directions back to the car parks.

Mind you it is expensive vs other Sportives vs what you get. Guess they can charge what they like as its so popular.

prb007

Ok - this was my second Dragon, and I managed to rope ten mates in too - and we ALL enjoyed it - OK the feedstations could have been better, but the scenery couldn't, the parking could have been better signed and sorted but the weather couldn't, High5 in sachets not the best idea - think they are meant for 750ml bottles and I had 500's so mine was like treacle - not pleasant, but the local support - apart from the occasional muppet en route was good - high fives by kids in the Cimla was cool, heckling in Nantymoel not so cool.
There will be over 3000 different accounts of this event and not all of them good, I'm sure, but me, I had a blast; I beat last years time by 20 or so minutes, NO-ONE passed me on any downhill (thanks to my 100kgs of momentum!), and all my mates were complimentary about the event, the marshalling and the day as a whole.
As for the comment about riding through crappy villages - this is South Wales mate, not the Cotswolds, get over it, no-one said Treorchy or Nantymoel were Stow-on-the Wold!!

bendertherobot

twotyred wrote:

Riders riding out to the right on descents even when there's no one else around. I don't climb very quickly but I do go downhill fast and was quite often across into the oncoming lane to get past them rather than risking taking them on the inside.

.

All I'd say about that is be conscious of what can be on the left. Sometimes a rider has to move further out (though not all the way out) to avoid what they can see. Overtaking riders need to be more conscious of the rider in front and what they might have to do to avoid their own problems. Remember that at 50 mph a descending rider will find it hard to look behind!

sane_man

To be honest I thought the organisation was pretty good when you consider you have to cater for 3500 riders and all the parking. You really have to get there early to avoid problems with parking - 7:15 at the latest. We stopped off at McDonalds for a coffee and went through the cycle path bottleneck at around 7:35 and it was fine at that time.

I though the High 5 thing was a shambles considering the free advertising they get from the sponsorship. Last year it was all ready mixed and I was able to get a bottle filled at all the feed stations, this year I got one sachet on the Rhigos and that was it. I'm not really a fan of gels. On the plus side, the urinals were a bit more civilised this time round!

The only thing that really pissed me off was the number of local riders (many from my own club) who hadn't entered, yet parked at the start, avoided the start area and rode the entire course, helping themselves to free food at the feedstations. Some of them even took goody bags at the finish. :x

greeny12

prb007 wrote:

As for the comment about riding through crappy villages - this is South Wales mate, not the Cotswolds, get over it, no-one said Treorchy or Nantymoel were Stow-on-the Wold!!

Glad someone else picked up on this comment. I'm as "townie" as you like, having lived in London for 23 years, but really a comment like that is pretty poor, to say the least.

Abdoujaparov

Results are out on the website. Pleased with my 6h33 and coming 165th, especially having never ridden further than 92 miles before!

Absolutely loved the day - my first time in Wales (!) and the views at the top of some of the climbs were spectacular. Great atmos and nice support from the locals too - some very helpful words of encouragement at the right moments.

Think my girlfriend finished as the third girl in the medio fondo!

mamba80

greeny12 wrote:

prb007 wrote:

As for the comment about riding through crappy villages - this is South Wales mate, not the Cotswolds, get over it, no-one said Treorchy or Nantymoel were Stow-on-the Wold!!

Glad someone else picked up on this comment. I'm as "townie" as you like, having lived in London for 23 years, but really a comment like that is pretty poor, to say the least.

Why? its true! but i did say towns NOT villages (they were lovely) you need to take off your rose tinted glasses and realise that hoards of cyclists hurtling down and up busy pot holed streets, disrupting traffic flow, peeing off residents and car drivers, does nt do cyclings image any good what so ever, this is nt a RR which passes by in a few minutes, organisers should avoid towns (even pretty ones) as much as possible.
We dont live in a cycling friendly country and as one American cyclist said to me "your english drivers are like american ones, they try to kill you"

MrChuck

First time on this event for me too, enjoyed it on the whole but agree with some of the comments above. The queue at the start was crazy, and I'd have to say the feed stations were probably the worst of any event, road or MTB, I've done so far. No High 5 at any of them, didn't see any sachets and only clocked the gels at the last minute at the last station. I wasn't expecting to have to hunt out what's on offer.

That said, they did the job and provided enought to get round. Signposting and marshalling was great, I had a flat about 6 miles from the end and in the space of a few minutes two motos had stopped to check on me.

Some great scenery, although if I'm honest the CycleOps event at Builth a couple of weeks ago maybe edged it for me. The climbs on the Dragon suited me better though, long drags I can do!

My GF asked me if I'd do it again next year and I hesitated. I'm glad I did it and I enjoyed it, but I'm not sure if I came away feeling it was a must-do event.

stevo1602

Considering the amount of riders (don't know why it's not that good) it was well organised, the logistics for this many must be a nightmare. Having read all the write ups from previous years, and the event's own "Hype" I have to say I was dissapointed.

The only good thing was the fact there were a lot of riders, like the big Sportives in Europe, so there was always someone to ride with. The course was good but not that good, did not have a problem with the feed stations...as I don't use them.

Comparing this event for £30 to the Richmond 5 Dales for £15, there is no way it is £15 better, infact the Richmond event could charge £30 and it would still be better.

The directions back to the car park at the end were a joke, I don't know the area and its the first time I had done this one, I ended up riding another 5 miles up and down bypasses and around round abouts dodging cars trying to find the fecking thing.

The goody bag, not that I am that worried about it, was like a result from a pick and mix at Boots.

Glad I have done it..I was happy with my result...6 hrs 14 mins for the Gran Fondo but won't be back, basically its over rated.

stfc1

I enjoyed the day and got what I wanted out of it, which was some miles in my legs and the chance to have a bit of a dig on the climbs, which are stunning for those of us who don't live amongst such scenery. A nice day on the bike.

Just to echo others though, in the hope someone might be listening, the queue at the start all the way back to the main road just to get through the cycle path gate was ridiculous. The fact that getting stuck in that then meant there was no energy drink left at any of the feedstations was also very poor. It might not be a necessity, but it was advertised and not delivered. Stop cutting corners and pre-mix it like everyone else.

In the grand scheme these are obviously minor quibbles, but it is clear from this thread that they gave a negative impression to a lot of people so they're surely worth addressing.

dombo6

prb007 wrote:

As for the comment about riding through crappy villages - this is South Wales mate, not the Cotswolds, get over it, no-one said Treorchy or Nantymoel were Stow-on-the Wold!!

Haha! Brilliant reply!
+1

bendertherobot

The themes for the Dragon Ride are always:

1. Poor organisation at start line;
2. Poor organisation at finish line;
3. Running out of stuff;
4. No savoury stuff.

These are themes every year. Everyone loves the ride itself. These are the niggles. They don't get addressed.

I'm pretty ****** off with the Marshall who told me that to get High5 I had to ride quicker.

galatzo

First timer
Gran Fondo in 8.15 including an hour of stops.
Biggest ride prior to this was Stoke Tour Ride in 6.30
Very happy with my performance and reckon I could easily take 30 mins off with quicker stops and less time on the front.
Ergo lever came loose after 10 miles and didn't get fixed until last feed station and had to ride with brake qr on as it had affected it somehow.
Managed it on 53x39 with 27 on the rear although I only used the 23 sprocket.
Feet were killing me for last 10 miles but the rest was ok.
Feed stations were chaotic. I took almost everything with me because you never know if you can rely on them and the cakes are never Mr Kiplings !
Got there early enough to miss the queues.
Great route and the extra loop for the Gran Fondo really sapped the strength as it was so exposed. Found the climbs easy, great to have long steady climbs rather than the brutal steep ones of the Peak Disitrict.
Agree the Expo area wasn't up to much on the Saturday and didn't bother with it after the ride.
Some very poor riding by some people. I like going fast but why try to overtake a horsebox that's doing 40mph dowhill ? Just plain dangerous. Drivers seemed more patient with it being an "event" than they would have been if a sunday group of 10 were holding them up.
Goody bags are a waste of time - free samples you can get anywhere.
Some great bikes out there, particular favourites include a new all white carbon Principa and some Ciocc and Casati. There were also some very expensive bikes making some awful noises !
Apart from the ergo lever problem my Isaac Sonic was great to ride and coupled with the new Assos shorts incredibly comfy too, contrary to what you may hear about Isaac's.
Would I do it again ? Maybe - I've done it now. £30 entry, overnight accomodation plus diesel and food means it's not cheap and considering the Peak District is only 15 miles away from my house I think 1 of these type of things a year is ample for me.

Best bit is I'm now slightly less apprehensive about the Otzal Radmarthon although that's a lot higher and a lot longer.

Regards

clanton

Anyone got an accurate - GPS - reading of the total distance for the long route? My speedo is undereading and I'd like to work out how much it is undereading - so I can extrapolate what my top speed was!