Who's doing the cheshire cat this weekend?
Comments
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sturmey wrote:The bubble will eventually burst on these Sportive events when enough people realise they are just a badly organised rip off.
Santa's theme park was actually better value- you know the one made of cardboard where the organisers were guilty of fraud and went to jail.
Seriously, there is another thread discussing the value of sportives, feel free to comment here
http://www.bikeradar.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=12763968
This thread is for discussing the Cheshire Cat0 -
R8JimBob88 wrote:The decent down from there is interesting though!
Yeah, on the descent maybe from here of after the second climb I had a bit of an incident :oops:
Came to a really sharp bend that was littered with pot holes, couldn't brake hard enough, just about made it round the corner but then last my back wheel under a load of gravel. Road rash and new bib shorts wrecked
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Pokerface wrote:I did the 100 mile route in just over 5 hours. 2 bottles of water and 6 gels. No stopping along the way. (except at NapD's house to change a flat!)
See? It isn't necessary to pay £40 to ride public roads!
Fine time that Colin-you are an international though!
Didn't realise that Nap lived across from Holmes Chapel school-I'm a teacher there! Small world eh!
I'd pobably never pay the money to ride a sportive-certainly not £30 plus......however, each to their own, and it seems to be a fantastic way into the sport for many.....the guys that I know that did it (who are usually mtbers) all rated it as amongst their best ever days on the bike.
Well done to all who completed the 100 miles 0 -
Tom BB wrote:
Fine time that Colin-you are an international though!
To be fair, I did get dragged around for part of the way by a group of fast riders (4 of them). And for some reason, one of them had their own support van driving behind us the whole time!
Last year it took me around 7 hours (for 120 miles) but the wind was brutal.0 -
First ever Sportive.
did the 100 miles. The wait at the start was nasty. Was in shorts and just froze to bits. The feed stations I found to be well stocked. Had missed the parts where your time wasn't stopped at the feed stations which I made a massive use of. The cake at the 2nd feed station was superb!
Was fried so badly with 2 miles to go where I kept fell of the back of groups. Also heart broken when I was in a fairly large group tanking it big time jsut as the Medium and Long routes split. EVERYONE went into the meduim group and I was left on my own going the long way.
Completed in 6 hours 55 Minutes where I'm fairly happy with. Mow Copy killed me. I had to stop 50 meters near the top as someone had fallen just before me. But I really dont think I would had made it up. I got way too keen at the start and just climbed like I would with any other hill. the other 2 big climbs were so much more enjoyable though. Decent on the sweeping country lanes were so fun especialyl as I absolutly gunned it down them.
Found it to be a really good event overal. Really hope they sort out the lines at the start though. Lots of people were saying it was exactly the same last year.0 -
rebs wrote:Also heart broken when I was in a fairly large group tanking it big time jsut as the Medium and Long routes split. EVERYONE went into the meduim group and I was left on my own going the long way.
Completed in 6 hours 55 Minutes where I'm fairly happy with.
They were obviously tanking it cos they were only doing 67 miles
Similar time to me mate, I was pretty happy with that but I did follow a group that took a wrong turn . . . DOH! 105.5 miles in total0 -
I clocked over 103 miles too. Took 2 wrong turnsIf you do what you have always done, you will get what you always got....0
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I heard early their was 1 arrow pointing to the wrong direction. A friend ahead of me mentioned it but someone in his group had te garmin map who was totally convinced of the way. fortunatly they were right. Think the dude on the mavic bike amended the problem so it was joining the right direction when I came huffing and puffing past!0
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One thing that struck me was the number of gel wrappers thrown on the floor allong the route - whats that all about?
I dont find it acceptable at all.0 -
JD_76 wrote:One thing that struck me was the number of gel wrappers thrown on the floor allong the route - whats that all about?
I dont find it acceptable at all.
Agree massively! No need for littering
But to be fair I maybe saw 4 or 5 on the whole route so it's a minority who do it.0 -
My first major sportive and really enjoyed it.
Did the 100 in 5hrs 36 with 3 5-minute stops so I`m well happy.
No problems on Mow Cop - but weighing 142lbs and riding a 15lb Scott Addict puts me at a slight advantage! Plus I drove down on Friday and rode all the climbs, so I knew what to expect - although avoiding those walking and those hopelessly overgeared on Mow Cop was entertaining!
I`d like to say thanks to Pete (on a Madone 6.9!) and Simon for letting me work with them form Wincle to Holmes Chapel and also to Chris and Andy (Cancellara!) for the stretch between Holmes Chapel and the third feed station.
I wouldn`t have made the gold standard without you lads, cheers! 0 -
garetjax wrote:I do the Merida mountain bike events and they just have a mass start, sometimes with 3000 rides. Why can't the Cheshire Cat be the same? Great day, route, and the weather was better than predicted, but the wait at the beginning has put me off returning.
I think the Cheshire police would have fits if 3000 bikes appeared on the road at the same time in the middle of Crewe, no excuse for not having different start times for each length of ride though, just having one start time and one big queue is poor planning IMO.0 -
I also was surprised by how disorganised this event was. I enjoyed the riding though and thought the first 30 miles was quite challenging, followed by a very pleasant 37. This is my 2nd sportive and I thought mow cop was do-able right up untill the last 50 yards when my heart nearly exploded. I just cant seem to do these very steep short hills. I need to find more hills round my way to practice on! I wish I'd done the 100 now.0
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Oh, I forgot to say a big thankyou to the lovely lady (marshall?) on the canal bridge near Wrenbury, for telling me to quickly dive under the barrier and save myself 10 minutes, as the bridge was about to open!
Thankyou, you are a diamond! 0 -
Just going back to the subject of litter...
I've done this event for the last 3 years, though not yesterday, as I live on the route and so it had no novelty value. I have, however, been out for a stroll round Sutton near Macc tonight, and have picked up 8, yes eight, gel wrappers (clearly freshly discarded) over a mere half mile route out of the village.
Whilst I'm not going to suggest for a moment that anyone on this forum is guilty of littering, it does seem that it's becoming more common and/or acceptable at sportives. (Part of me wonders whether high entry fees create a psychology of "I've paid for this event, I've therefore got a right...'). It should be neither of those things, and as ever, a minority of folk are damaging the reputation of the majority.
All I would suggest is that the majority don't ignore it. Just because pros do it doesn't mean it's ok for the rest of us do the same. I've started (only done it once so far I confess) having a quiet word with people, nothing aggressive, just suggesting they put the wrappers back in the pocket they presumably came out of. It's got to be worth a try...0 -
the cheshire cat was my first sportive and i have to say on the whole it was very good indeed.
the start line queue was a bit of a pita but at least it wasn't raining.
i did the 45 miler in 2hrs 36mins so gutted i missed out on the gold standard but hey ho theres a good excuse to train harder.
a bit of a strange one though my garmin said it was 46.8 miles not 45? wonder if anyone else encountered this.
the only things that were a mild irritant were car drivers zooming past far too close for comfort and also a few tour de france hopefuls doing the same.
the road surface in places were a bit patchy but living in oldham (worst roads in britain)
i've seen worse.
i didn't experience the queue at the finish as it hadn't developed when i got there but it was getting a bit silly by the time we left.
so me and my friends all finished with no mechanicals or punctures and no one fell off or injured themselves.
and it was nice to see so many people having a great time too.0 -
I've just watched the promotional video for the Cat on Kilo's site which is listed as the 2011 ride. It isn't. It's last years. Don't suppose a video showing 3000 riders queuing for over an hour would've made good viewing.0
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Tonymufc wrote:I've just watched the promotional video for the Cat on Kilo's site which is listed as the 2011 ride. It isn't. It's last years. Don't suppose a video showing 3000 riders queuing for over an hour would've made good viewing.
That video was a promotional video for the 2011 Cat. They were filmin again this year I believe.If you do what you have always done, you will get what you always got....0 -
It's standard practice to stagger the start of big sportives. But normally they tell you when your start time is in advance. Not make you wait there for an hour.
I did the Manchester to Blackpool ride a few years back and there was a LOT more people. But they spread out very quickly once everyone hits the roads. First few miles is a mess.0 -
I would`ve thought it would make sense to stagger the groups, too. Those doing the 100 are likely to be the keener, faster riders. Let them go first, then the 67 milers, then the 45s. Let everyone know in advance of their start time and hey presto! Not as much queuing to start.
The other thing is that you won`t have the slower riders complaining about the quicker lads (and lasses!) flying past them - which I`ve seen complaints about on other sites.
To be fair, kilo-to-go have put comments on twitter saying that they are listening to the feedback that they are getting, so hopefully, next year will be better.0 -
If you do what you have always done, you will get what you always got....0
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Rider times here!
http://www.racetimingsystems.com/public ... aceid=1503
I was 434th on the 100 mile route out of 1006 so i'm happy considering it was 30 miles longer than anything I had done beforeIf you do what you have always done, you will get what you always got....0 -
I was 647th but did take a 5 mile detour . . . and crashed too0
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I took a 3.5 miles detour too so i'll shave 10 mins off mine If you do what you have always done, you will get what you always got....0
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Thanks for the links.
I came in 239 on the 100 mile distance. I'm pretty chuffed considering I've only been riding road bikes since February this year.
Rider number 3044Specialized Enduro SL Pro Carbon
Specialized Stumpy Evo Carbon
Canyon Aeroad Disc Di2
Specialized FSRxc - XC Race Bike0 -
If I was 10 minutes quicker without the little detour I would have gained almost 100 places! :oops:If you do what you have always done, you will get what you always got....0
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Scotter wrote:I would`ve thought it would make sense to stagger the groups, too. Those doing the 100 are likely to be the keener, faster riders. Let them go first, then the 67 milers, then the 45s. Let everyone know in advance of their start time and hey presto! Not as much queuing to start.
The other thing is that you won`t have the slower riders complaining about the quicker lads (and lasses!) flying past them - which I`ve seen complaints about on other sites.
To be fair, kilo-to-go have put comments on twitter saying that they are listening to the feedback that they are getting, so hopefully, next year will be better.
Ridiculous. FAIR??. Kilo have been running this event and others for long enough to KNOW how to get it right... they make pompous enough noises on their website...
oh yeah like getting in with Mow Cop Residents Assoc to maybe close the godamn road for an hour (its done for the Killer Mile run). so as to stop cars descending or doing u turns in front of participants.... but maybe that takes time .. effort and diplomacy kilo hasnt got or just too happy to take the money with never ending supply of new to the game riders.0 -
I run a lot of 10km events and at the bigger ones the faster people are encouraged to move to the front for the start. Some even have marked out areas for "sub 50 mins" etc so the race starts and runs smoothly. Cant see why they dont apply the same to a sportive but in terms of distance to ride etc.0
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JGSI wrote:Scotter wrote:I would`ve thought it would make sense to stagger the groups, too. Those doing the 100 are likely to be the keener, faster riders. Let them go first, then the 67 milers, then the 45s. Let everyone know in advance of their start time and hey presto! Not as much queuing to start.
The other thing is that you won`t have the slower riders complaining about the quicker lads (and lasses!) flying past them - which I`ve seen complaints about on other sites.
To be fair, kilo-to-go have put comments on twitter saying that they are listening to the feedback that they are getting, so hopefully, next year will be better.
Ridiculous. FAIR??. Kilo have been running this event and others for long enough to KNOW how to get it right... they make pompous enough noises on their website...
oh yeah like getting in with Mow Cop Residents Assoc to maybe close the godamn road for an hour (its done for the Killer Mile run). so as to stop cars descending or doing u turns in front of participants.... but maybe that takes time .. effort and diplomacy kilo hasnt got or just too happy to take the money with never ending supply of new to the game riders.
Hey pal, take a chill pill. It`s a figure of speech, ok?
You seem to have a lot of anger over this.
Have you contacted Kilo with your suggestions? Are Kilo aware of a "MowCop Residents Association"?
Do they know that the road can be closed temporarily?
Just a few thoughts.0
