Evans RideIt - Cannock Chase

RonB

Anyone have a go at this one earlier today? I managed the 60 in 4hrs, which I'm pretty happy with given my recent lack of miles.

It was a biit windy early on but turned into a great day weather wise. How did folks get on with Buttermilk Hill just past Bagots Wood? It was a bit tricky, partly the gradient but mostly down to the slippage due to being on slicks!

prawny

I did was great, pretty sore now though. I did the long route in 5.20ish will find out tomorrow for sure I was too knackered to check at the finish. Buttermilk hill defeated me unfortunately a combination of wet leaves a knackered rear tire too high a gear and not enough talent. I'll be back though, now i know where it is. A toughie for sure.

Wickers

Buttermilk Hill? I wondered what it was called. It came out of the blue (I don't know the area that well) but I wasn't worried about the gradient too much. I saw about three folk walking their bikes up as I hit it, which surprised me a tad - until I started sliding all over the shop. At one point it was like being on a turbo, I just about managed to get off before collapsing in an undignified heap, all very odd.

Cracking ride though. Lovely, lovely roads - saw a huge deer, antlers and all sorts - leaping through the woods just before the end, and as you crossed the rise before the reservoir it genuinely made me say "well would you look at that" (or something, more likely to have been " 'kinell!") and a nice, long not to strenuous climb to finish on too.

prawny

5.22 it turned out. 16.5mph average, seems pretty carpp to what people talk about on here, still was in the top 10 times and I think some people may have done the shorter route because I was in the first group off no one caught me but there's 4 people down with an earlier finish time. Suspicious, hmmmm.

RonB

I know there are some odd times, maybe as stated in the blog this is due to folks deciding to opt for a shorter route during the ride. There is the more sinister potential for a short cut at the start by sneaking down Birches Valley, then rejoining at Etchinghill

prawny

Yeah, i very nearly took the medium route when the rest of my group turned off, it was a lonely 40 miles from there it doesn't really matter what anyone else did really, could get a bit addictive though.