Tour of Dartmoor

Pross
Pross Posts: 40,589
edited September 2010 in Sportives/audaxes/training rides
Apologies if there's already a thread on this, I went back a couple of pages. I'm hoping to ride this next month as my first sportive. Has anyone ridden this in the past and, if so, is it a well run event? I know the roads fairly well so know there's some seriously steep slopes though not overly long.It seems a smaller event than the Dartmoor Classic earlier in the year but I think that's a good thing potentially.

Comments

  • rjh299
    rjh299 Posts: 721
    It's a well run event. No problems with the organising or feed stops. You say you know the roads, so you'll know it'll be brutal!
  • Pross
    Pross Posts: 40,589
    Thanks. I know the roads well but haven't cycled them. I was there last week and from what I can work out it goes from River Dart Park more or less straight up the series of 20 - 25% steps to Poundgate so a good warm up :shock: The terrain is quite similar to what I'm used to but it's a longer distance than I've done in years and I've got a lot of weight to get up them there hills!! Will get my entry in now I know it's a decent event.
  • bam49
    bam49 Posts: 159
    I have done it 3 times now and it is a well run event by same peeps behind Tour of Black Mountains, Tour Of Wesssex etc.. V good food stops :D , I'm sure there were some sandwiches and other savoury stuff which makes a good change from bananas and flapjacks.. Signs are usually p good, and have m/cycle escort that seems to go back ward & forward , all v professional .. First 10 or 20 miles are the worst I think - with the worst hill being straight out the back of Ashburton, goes up under the trees and always catches people out - I have seen 3 people keel over on this hill in front of me, don't know if they were overgeared or just tried to do it in big ring or what but it always seems to happen... After that it is a nice course over some quiet roads for Dartmoor..The bit between Noss Mayo and the finish can be a bit of a drag if you are on your own... I will sign up for another crack at it - got 6:45 last year so want to get under 6:30 for a Gold ..
  • rjh299
    rjh299 Posts: 721
    bam49 wrote:
    I have done it 3 times now and it is a well run event by same peeps behind Tour of Black Mountains, Tour Of Wesssex etc.. V good food stops :D , I'm sure there were some sandwiches and other savoury stuff which makes a good change from bananas and flapjacks.. Signs are usually p good, and have m/cycle escort that seems to go back ward & forward , all v professional .. First 10 or 20 miles are the worst I think - with the worst hill being straight out the back of Ashburton, goes up under the trees and always catches people out - I have seen 3 people keel over on this hill in front of me, don't know if they were overgeared or just tried to do it in big ring or what but it always seems to happen... After that it is a nice course over some quiet roads for Dartmoor..The bit between Noss Mayo and the finish can be a bit of a drag if you are on your own... I will sign up for another crack at it - got 6:45 last year so want to get under 6:30 for a Gold ..

    Remember last year telling my brother to 'keep going, the top's just there', he just turned, replied '**** off!', but still kept going. Killer hill which definitely warms the legs up.
  • Pross
    Pross Posts: 40,589
    Just put the GPX of the route into Ride With GPS and realise it doesn't go up the one hill I thought at the start (through Poundsgate) but the route it takes doesn't seem much different i.e. very steep although not overly long. The profile of the route was scary!! :shock:
  • bam49
    bam49 Posts: 159
    anybody else having problems trying to enter on line for the Tour of Dartmoor ? It always seems to crash when you got pay... Also e mailed the organisers about it over a week ago - not heard back from them so far.. I have tried the contact phone number given and you get BT announcement that ' number is not recognised ' .... I think the organisers may have gone bust ? would be a real shame if that is the case, Pendragon events are usually v good & I was looking forward to doing this again :(
  • bam49
    bam49 Posts: 159
    update on my previous post - all is ok , Pendragon have moved offices, with new contact numbers etc - event is definitely on and I am signed up for my 4 th crack at it :)
  • TheDrunkMonk
    TheDrunkMonk Posts: 181
    Sorry to hop over to your post after posting mine. Did any of you do the Tour Ride (South West)? and if you did, how would you say it compares to the Tour of Dartmoor? In difficulty that is...
  • bam49
    bam49 Posts: 159
    sorry - I did not do the Tour ride so can't compare them...

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