Burgess Hill Springtime Classic Cyclosportive 20th March.

SRS Events

THE BURGESS HILL SPRINGTIME CLASSIC CYCLOSPORTIVE

This years Burgess Hill Springtime Classic Cyclosportive is on the 20th March.

There are three routes to choose from :-

Classic 71 miles
Challenge 53 miles
Tour 35 miles

Notable hills on the Classic ride are, Pillow Mounds Hill, Kidds Hill, Groombridge Hill, with all routes going up the infamous short but steep Cob Lane Hill and the Ardingly Reservoir Hills,


CLOSING DATE 10th March
Website http://www.srs-events.cc

leejdavies

Doing this for the first time (and my second sportive) this year.

On a scale of 1–10 how bad are the climbs? Any watch-outs?

Butterd2

They are fine, "the wall" is more of a gentle slope, Cob Lane is steep but very short.

bcss

climbs are not a problem, just get enough spare tubes, I punctured 3x last year

flanners1

Thinking of this, looks good.

leejdavies

Excellent. Good tip with the tubes I'll be sure to fill up the seatpack.

Flanners1, You should get involved. However, how would you choose a ride? :shock:
eenie meenie miney moe

Evil Laugh

I'm up for this if you can arrive in time from south London on the train.

bobtbuilder

Evil Laugh wrote:

I'm up for this if you can arrive in time from south London on the train.

The start/finish town has two mainline stations (Burgess Hill & Wivelsfield). They are on the main London - Brighton line so are regularly sevred by trains from both Victoria & London Bridge.

flanners1

leejdavies wrote:

Excellent. Good tip with the tubes I'll be sure to fill up the seatpack.

Flanners1, You should get involved. However, how would you choose a ride? :shock:
eenie meenie miney moe

Yes it is a bit like that, except if it is inclement weather and then it is the Viner with mudguards and winter wheels! Going to sign up and do this did HOTA weekend before last, hoping for good weather

flanners1

leejdavies wrote:

Excellent. Good tip with the tubes I'll be sure to fill up the seatpack.

Flanners1, You should get involved. However, how would you choose a ride? :shock:
eenie meenie miney moe

Yes it is a bit like that, except if it is inclement weather and then it is the Viner with mudguards and winter wheels! Going to sign up and do this did HOTA weekend before last, hoping for good weather for this too

Boleynboy

Butterd2 wrote:

They are fine, "the wall" is more of a gentle slope, Cob Lane is steep but very short.

That is the first time I have heard anyone describe Kidds Hill (The Wall) as a gentle slope! I would like to know what you consider to be a steep slope? The Wall is 10-15% all the way up the last section which is often called the tunnel, not the hardest climb you will ever ride but certainly not to be dismissed as a 'gentle slope'.
Cobbs Lane is the sting in the tail of this ride, it appears right near the end and is 22% at its steepest point, but it is mercifully short!
This is a good early season sportive which has enjoyed great weather in the past, beware the organiser's claim of a free meal at the end of the ride (do not know if they are offering this on this ride) however, this was offered on one of their summer sportives last year and it turned out to be a dry ham sandwich and packet of crisps in a brown paper bag!

guillaume

kidds hill is uncomfortable, but cobb lane hill is more worthy of 'Wall' status - especially the view as you drop down before the ascent

SRS Events

The longest and hardest route on the Burgess Hill Springtime Classic Cyclosportive is the Classic Route at 71 miles

Classic Map can be viewed by following the link below

http://www.routeyou.com/route/view/5748 ... -200311.en

Statistics Link below

http://www.routeyou.com/route/stats/574 ... -200311.en

Other maps to follow

SRS Events

711 entered

Late entries available until the 17th March on line :-
http://www.srs-events.cc/event1/how-to-enter.htm


Obviously there is some debate here about how hard the hills are but then it all depends on how fast your are going up them as well doesn't it

GOLD Standards awarded if you do the 71 mile CLASSIC course faster than the following :-
Men Under 18 4h 35 min
Women Under 18 4h 40 min
Men 18 - 39 4h 20 min
Women 18 - 39 4h 30 min
Men 40 - 49 4h 35 min
Women 40 -49 4h 40 min
Men 50 - 59 4h 40 min
Women 50 - 59 4h 45 min
Men 60 & over 4h 55 min
Women 60 & over 5h 00 min


Some of the fastest riders have done the course in under 4 hours.

But remember this is not a race please take your time and enjoy the route.

Classic riders don't have to stop at all feed stations if they don't want to but they must stop at Hever Village Hall to book in their timing chip.


Gears

We recommend 50-34 x 11x23 or 53-39 x 12-25

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Butterd2

Boleynboy wrote:

Butterd2 wrote:

They are fine, "the wall" is more of a gentle slope, Cob Lane is steep but very short.

That is the first time I have heard anyone describe Kidds Hill (The Wall) as a gentle slope! I would like to know what you consider to be a steep slope?

See my "Col Collection" in my signature. Kidds Hill would be a little out of place on there.

(The Marie Blanque is probably still the climb I fear the most)

carlflinn

I'm only doing the smaller route but the longest road climb I have been on is to the top of Leith Hill. How do the hills on this route compare?

SRS Events

Leith hill is hard and in general much longer than the climbs you will be doing on the Smaller ride (tour route) on the Springtime Classic.
But .......... Cob Lane although short is steep at 20%, if you have lost your leg strength before Cob lane then you will be in a little trouble.
THERE IS NO SHAME IN HAVING TO WALK UP COB LANE...............or is there :evil:

On the short ride (Tour Route) there is also the Ardingly reservoir hills to conquer, it is difficult to compare these hills with Leith Hill but they are a little bit easier than Leith Hill.
Then again if you suffered up Cob Lane your going to die a thousand deaths getting up the Ardingly reservoir hills. Thankfully the organisers have organised a feed station in Ardingly after the Cob Lane hill and before the Ardingly Reservoir hills.

See You Sunday :!:

Noclue

Gutted that i can't make it this year, first spring one i would have missed, but just can't get out of work. Have always had a good time on them, have fun and i will be doing one later in the year.

the_one_with_the_big_wang

Ha, I'm doing this on 55-39 x 11-23. I think I shall be dying a slow and painful death!

Boleynboy

Butterd2 wrote:

Boleynboy wrote:

Butterd2 wrote:

They are fine, "the wall" is more of a gentle slope, Cob Lane is steep but very short.

That is the first time I have heard anyone describe Kidds Hill (The Wall) as a gentle slope! I would like to know what you consider to be a steep slope?

See my "Col Collection" in my signature. Kidds Hill would be a little out of place on there.

(The Marie Blanque is probably still the climb I fear the most)

I did and it is all very impressive I am sure, but you were still giving the wrong impression to someone who has not climbed Kidds Hill by suggesting it is a gentle slope because it is not, no matter how many cols you have conquered!

Butterd2

Boleynboy wrote:

Butterd2 wrote:

Boleynboy wrote:

Butterd2 wrote:

They are fine, "the wall" is more of a gentle slope, Cob Lane is steep but very short.

That is the first time I have heard anyone describe Kidds Hill (The Wall) as a gentle slope! I would like to know what you consider to be a steep slope?

See my "Col Collection" in my signature. Kidds Hill would be a little out of place on there.

(The Marie Blanque is probably still the climb I fear the most)

I did and it is all very impressive I am sure, but you were still giving the wrong impression to someone who has not climbed Kidds Hill by suggesting it is a gentle slope because it is not, no matter how many cols you have conquered!

Yeah fair enough but it's not insurmountable and I certainly wouldn't want someone not to come along because of it.

bam49

Kidds Hill was ok - goes on a bit but not too tough. Cobb Lane was the one to worry about, seen several riders get off and walk it..

Just got back home from a great day out on the Burgess Hill Classic.. Very well run event - sign on was quick and easy, signs were good and plentiful and there was plenty of grub at the food stations.. Pre start bacon rolls were v nice and only a quid ...
I thought the 15 miles or so after Ardingley Reservoir were the hardest, draggy roads into a headwind had me wishing for a small group to come past so I could suck some fast wheels ... I did not feel that fast, need to lose a few more pounds and get some longer, hilly rides in but I was pleased to scrape a Gold with 4:29 for the 71 miles..
All in all a great day out, I would definitely recomend this event.. Looking forward now to SRS ' Eastbourne sportive in May..

PostieJohn

bam49 wrote:

Kidds Hill was ok - goes on a bit but not too tough. Cobb Lane was the one to worry about, seen several riders get off and walk it..

Just got back home from a great day out on the Burgess Hill Classic.. Very well run event - sign on was quick and easy, signs were good and plentiful and there was plenty of grub at the food stations.. Pre start bacon rolls were v nice and only a quid ...

All in all a great day out, I would definitely recomend this event.. Looking forward now to SRS ' Eastbourne sportive in May..

Me and Cobb lane are not speaking!.

As above once again all great, from start to finish, my only gripe is something you have no control over anyway, and that the quality of the roads.
They went from fairly shocking to down right dangerous in places, sadly I doubt I'll be making it for a third time, I just can't imagine my 'lucky' holding for another 53 miles.

It's a real shame because as said it's easily the best organised event I attend, so well done for that.

the_one_with_the_big_wang

I agree the state of the roads were really bad. There was a really annoying bump every 15 metres or so along the main road back to Burgess Hill that wanted to suck the last dregs of energy from my limbs and totally destroy any tempo I had going. But it was still a well run event with loads of food but not enough time to eat much of it! Little disappointed with the lack of tuna in my roll at then end though.

spezial

PostieJohn wrote:

bam49 wrote:

As above once again all great, from start to finish, my only gripe is something you have no control over anyway, and that the quality of the roads.
They went from fairly shocking to down right dangerous in places, sadly I doubt I'll be making it for a third time, I just can't imagine my 'lucky' holding for another 53 miles.

+1 Superbly organised event, lots of well stocked feed stations, super smooth signing on and good signage. I've done 2 SRS events now, and that has been the case with both of them, looks like a lot of work has gone in to staffing the HQ and route. The route itself is really good too, I've entered their 127 mile Tour de Weald in June, which looks pretty daunting!

Also +1 on the roads. Obviously nothing to do with the event, but a lot of the country roads in mid Sussex/ Kent are really dangerous at the moment, at times there's not a lot you can do apart from hope for the best when you're going descending down narrow lanes. I know it's down to the previous snowfall and freezing conditions, and that these back roads aren't a priority for repair, so I'm not sure what the answer is. As PostieJohn says, I feel like I've used up my 9 lives on roads in this area, and it's only a matter of time before I have a serious off.

spezial

Sorry, didn't delete the tags properly, didn't realise I was quoting bam49, so substitute his name into that last sentence!

bam49

Yeah - I have to agree about the state of some of the lanes..On the Classic route, there was a fast downhill section just before the final run in to Burgess Hill that was pretty hairy, lots of gravel, large puddles on both sides of narrow lane and I started fishtailing through it as I was hanging off the back of the saddle.. One With The Big Wang ( such a long user name ), - I remember that regular bump - most annoying...

Gazzaputt

I did the VO2 sportive and it joined with the SRS for some miles.

Agree with the state of the roads. Descending on some hills was awful.

Toys Hill is very bad.

I have a very stiff bike (Canyon CF with Mavic R-sys wheels) and this setup really gave some sketchy moments due to the road surfaces.

Kent County council really need to pull their finger out.

thiscocks

Really well organised evet. Staff were all really friendly and the food was plentifull and more than enough to refuel you at the end. Liked the big screen showng cycle videos at the end also.

on-yer-bike

leejdavies wrote:

Excellent. Good tip with the tubes I'll be sure to fill up the seatpack.

Flanners1, You should get involved. However, how would you choose a ride? :shock:
eenie meenie miney moe

He didnt show-up so guess he couldnt decide which bike to ride.

on-yer-bike

The timing chips on ribbons were antiquated and mine stank of the sweat of a thousand riders before me. They need to be washed or updated. Had to ride the complete 71 miles alone – there were no groups for some reason. If that certificate is the best they can do they may as well not bother. Tougher than the Hell and a good ride apart from the third world roads.