magnificat

2

Comments

  • skinnypunter
    skinnypunter Posts: 144
    4 punctures for me :-(
  • dragon66
    dragon66 Posts: 18
    No punctures for me. Couldn't believe how many people were puncturing. Skinnypunter really bad luck. I was dreading the thought of puncturing in the conditions we had.

    Overall enjoyed the ride!

    First 1/3 seemed the hardest. Certainly different sportive compared to the Fred Whitton, Ryedale Rumble and Richmond 5 Dales.
    Surprised how much major roads, roundabouts and junctions we had to cross. Guess it was worse considering the conditions.
  • windsorwise
    windsorwise Posts: 23

    http://www.cyclegb.co.uk/results/magnificat/all
    http://www.cyclegb.co.uk/results/route80cat/all
    http://www.cyclegb.co.uk/results/communicat/all

    Kudos to the lanterne rouge - best part of 11hrs, gutsy!
  • jamespiggot
    jamespiggot Posts: 69
    Doing fine for the first 90k then a double blow-out on a downhill section. I had already realised that I'd forgotten to pack extra spare tubes, and I didn't switch to winter tires, or lubricate the chain with wet weather oil...

    Luckily was only a couple of kilometres from the second intermediate feedstop where they kindly gave me an inner tube and and an extra one as well!

    Only a couple of km. later on Winchester Hill the front tube blew as well, very exposed up there so not a good place to stop. Managed to replace the tube and get going again and from then on got no more punctures in spite of having about 40 PSI in the tires

    The only difference being that the tubes from the feedstop were not racing lightweight tubes and therefore could stand up to the conditions?

    The rest of the ride was like wading through treacle under a cold shower, luckily it was a tailwind all the way home. I could only use about three cogs by then as the gears were slipping, tried adjusting them but hands had no grip so gave up. Finished in over 9 hours I think which in itself was an achievement.

    Morale of the story is when the rains stay at home, but if you are foolish or brave enough to go out cycling then take the right precautions - heavy duty inner tubes, winter tires and wet ride lubricant on the chain.

    Mind you I did the Quebrantahuesos last year in worse conditions with the same equipment and had no problems at all.
    http://oxfordsportive.com
  • Meta-Sequoia
    Meta-Sequoia Posts: 4
    Also, endured and enjoyed (in retrospect) the 127 mile. I rode with TopcatTim for much of it and he pulled me admirably on the sections in the middle when I ran out of energy, only to be rescued by the fantastic feed station people and a 'nice cup of tea.' Thanks Tim, would have been tricky riding on my own and thanks to the organisers- no thanks to 8hrs of torrential rain.

    Heres to next year.
  • Dominic Baker
    Dominic Baker Posts: 10
    Looks like the timing worked perfectly! You must have all spent a lot of time and effort ensuring your numbers were not wrapped around the bars!

    Obviously you have learnt a lot from the Dragon ride when you were no good at putting the numbers on with the supplied kit! :wink:
  • itboffin
    itboffin Posts: 20,072
    I wonder if everyone who switched from the 127 to the 80 told the organisers? If they did they are a lot of Damn fast wet weather riders out there.
    Rule #5 // Harden The Feck Up.
    Rule #9 // If you are out riding in bad weather, it means you are a badass. Period.
    Rule #12 // The correct number of bikes to own is n+1.
    Rule #42 // A bike race shall never be preceded with a swim and/or followed by a run.
  • Meta-Sequoia
    Meta-Sequoia Posts: 4
    itboffin wrote:
    I wonder if everyone who switched from the 127 to the 80 told the organisers? If they did they are a lot of Damn fast wet weather riders out there.

    Even though the conditions were bad I was surprised at how few golds and silvers there were :!:
  • itboffin
    itboffin Posts: 20,072
    Meta-Sequoia wrote:
    itboffin wrote:
    I wonder if everyone who switched from the 127 to the 80 told the organisers? If they did they are a lot of Damn fast wet weather riders out there.

    Even though the conditions were bad I was surprised at how few golds and silvers there were :!:

    for us it was a case of endure the extra 47 miles or ramp up and finish the 80 still feeling human and PF free. Still its all character building stuff :roll:
    Rule #5 // Harden The Feck Up.
    Rule #9 // If you are out riding in bad weather, it means you are a badass. Period.
    Rule #12 // The correct number of bikes to own is n+1.
    Rule #42 // A bike race shall never be preceded with a swim and/or followed by a run.
  • de_sisti
    de_sisti Posts: 1,283
    dragon66 wrote:
    No punctures for me..
    What tyres were you using?
  • jamespiggot
    jamespiggot Posts: 69
    The guy who came first in the Dragon ride averaged 66kph by my calculations, didn't see anyone going quite that fast last Sunday.
    http://oxfordsportive.com
  • Meta-Sequoia
    Meta-Sequoia Posts: 4
    I definitely didn't feel human at the end :)
  • chris_phillips
    chris_phillips Posts: 90
    It was my first ever sportive and it was not a pleasant experience, three punctures did not help but the weather was something else. Def doing the event next year but may check the forecast beforehand. Certainly a character building weekend. completed what i set out to acomplish and even got an award all be it a bronze.
    Trek emonda sl6 pro 2019
    wilier izoard 2011
    canyon grail 7.0 al 2019
    Cannondale caad 12 2018
    Dolan professio2018
  • skinnypunter
    skinnypunter Posts: 144
    I just got round to checking the times on the site. I'm properly hacked off to see that even with a double puncture just before Sparsholt I was bang on schedule for a Silver in the old gits age category. Hey ho.

    The next two punctures cost nearly two hours - ever tried applying patches in the rain? Let me save you some time: don't. Thanks to the the two guys who finally donated their spare tubes to the cause! I think they could see I was about to go postal.

    One (other) thing that's bugging me is the litter than gets dropped by some riders. When I was struggling with puncture #4, I was subjected to an extended lecture from a resident about how she'd just seen someone leave their old tube and 2 CO2 cartridges by the side of the road. There were quite a few gel wrappers etc around as well. Sure, some get dropped accidentally, but a lot of people don't seem to give a flying duck about their rubbish.

    Thoughts, anyone?
  • Meta-Sequoia
    Meta-Sequoia Posts: 4
    No excuse what so ever to deliberately leave anything on the roadside, even if you are very cold and wet. Not impressed that you witnessed that and had to take the justifiable wrath of the locals!
  • windsorwise
    windsorwise Posts: 23
    Yeah there is always a minority of people that are selfish be it throwing gel wrappers (mind boggles how long one of those takes to biodegrade!) running red lights (such as a certain Cervelo S3 rider in Basingstoke on Sunday leaving me to apologies on his behalf to the driver in the car!) and other such clichés - its happened every event I've taken part of and each time I see it I feel acutely embarrassed to be associated with them.

    I'm not sure what can be done though...
    event organisers making littering a bigger issue - signage, disqualification if witnessed etc
    invent biodegradable gel wrappers

    How do you gel users dispose of the used ones on your person? I always end up with a VERY sticky back pocket but not as bad as putting them down the front of shorts :oops: akin to a god waxing at the end of the ride :shock:
  • topcattim
    topcattim Posts: 766
    windsorwise wrote:
    Yeah there is always a minority of people that are selfish be it throwing gel wrappers (mind boggles how long one of those takes to biodegrade!) running red lights (such as a certain Cervelo S3 rider in Basingstoke on Sunday leaving me to apologies on his behalf to the driver in the car!) and other such clichés - its happened every event I've taken part of and each time I see it I feel acutely embarrassed to be associated with them.

    I'm not sure what can be done though...
    event organisers making littering a bigger issue - signage, disqualification if witnessed etc
    invent biodegradable gel wrappers

    How do you gel users dispose of the used ones on your person? I always end up with a VERY sticky back pocket but not as bad as putting them down the front of shorts :oops: akin to a god waxing at the end of the ride :shock:

    Time for a confession. I've never littered deliberately, and don't plan to change my mind now. I've always, also, been offended by the amount of litter on the road, and similarly by RLJers on sportives (and to be honest, at any time when they are on the road). But on Sunday, after about 5.5 hours on the road, with freezing fingers, I dropped a gel wrapper as I tried to stuff it back into the tri-bag on my top-tube. A momentary thought to stop and pick it up was crushed, and I continued.

    I'm not looking for any public absolution (!) and I certainly don't think that all the litter we come across on the road is left by mistake, but its just an interesting observation that my disapproval of such behaviour from others wasn't enough to make me avoid doing the same in a moment of weakness.
  • windsorwise
    windsorwise Posts: 23
    I dropped one on the lead up to Walbury Hill and turned myself around and collected it. The internal debate I was having was would I have if it was 90+ miles in on the lead up to Ashford Hill?

    I think that its the people who feel no amount of guilt/shame at it that are the problem - Hell it isn't just the cyclist throwing things about (unless they think Carling is a good energy drink!) its just sickly gels aren't a popular choice for anyone else!

    ps. thanks for the tip on the top tube bag I think I'll give one a go.
  • shannigan
    shannigan Posts: 2
    Hello all, my first post here.

    I enjoyed/endured the 81 mile route on Sunday as well. Photos are here, if you really want to see how you looked....

    http://sportivephoto.thirdlight.com/vie ... 780&home=1

    Bedraggled about covers it.
  • mgcycleguy
    mgcycleguy Posts: 292
    Well guys... I think the event was what my old welsh games teacher used to call "character building" ... I did the 81mile ride, at the half way point was on for a nice silver time at just under sub 2:30... then two punctures on the way back in scuppered me chances...(and I was using Conti 4000s) the weather was truly shocking mind...

    ... as for the gel wrapper issue, it really anoys me as well and there is a super simple answer, Gel flasks for God sake.... they only cost £2 a go, you can get 3-5 gels in each one, no mess, no hassle, you can use them one handed, you can see how much gel you got left..

    ... tip for future event organisers... get some flasks given out at the start and end of events as giveaways ! ... Also I think the UCI should make the pro's use them, that way maybe some of the guys who copy the "pro" look will also get the message ?

    ... chainreaction sell em for £1.99 !

    http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Mode ... elID=17064

    MG
  • windsorwise
    windsorwise Posts: 23
    Hi mgcycleguy,

    I like the idea of gel flasks but have a couple of issues
    1. The volume they can store (I got through 12 on Sunday on the 127miler)
    2. How to regulate how much you swig at a time although that can be practised.

    But I DO think you have something - I hate the fiddly nature of the gels and it would certainly be a very easy proactive thing the Organisers could do and I can see it being a marketing gooey dream :shock: for torq/high5 etc

    Retrospectively I think I should have stuck with my commuter tires as it was so wet but they are noticeably slower (that is if you don't puncture!). Would have been an interesting post race questionnaire of what tire, how old, how many punctures etc - okay interesting to a geek like me.
  • topcattim
    topcattim Posts: 766
    windsorwise wrote:
    Retrospectively I think I should have stuck with my commuter tires as it was so wet but they are noticeably slower (that is if you don't puncture!). Would have been an interesting post race questionnaire of what tire, how old, how many punctures etc - okay interesting to a geek like me.
    Won't be a very comprehensive or representative sample group, but I can start us off. I wonder if it is also helpful to know how old the tyres were (I figure that as they wear, they are more likely to puncture)

    Michelin Krylion Carbons, 0 punctures, about 800 miles so far.
  • windsorwise
    windsorwise Posts: 23
    Yeah my stats teacher will be turning in his grave as there are too many variables!

    Myself,
    GP4000s + latex tubes, 0 punctures, 300 miles at the start

    BTW
    On my commuter wheels I haven't had a puncture despite the glass fest which can be Bracknell underpasses and flints of the Chilterns for the last 5000+ miles with schwalbe durano plus - If you really can't stand the idea of punctures try the schwalbe marathon plus they outlasted my old bike with about 8000.
  • de_sisti
    de_sisti Posts: 1,283
    The weather forecast (that I was looking at) for Sunday said light rain after about 11 ish.
    I decided to use Michelin Krylion Carbon, because they are the tyres I've been using on my
    audax bike all winter, without a puncture. If I had realised how bad the weather was going
    to be, I would have used the Scwalbe Durano Plus, that I have in my shed. :roll:
  • windsorwise
    windsorwise Posts: 23
    This is an interesting review of the schwalbe pairing - the first photo is a flashback to the weekend!

    http://www.vc10.org.uk/vc10/?p=1136

    De Sisti,
    I don't think the Krylion were a bad choice maybe as topcattim said it is also a matter of how many miles they have in them.
  • itboffin
    itboffin Posts: 20,072
    I ran conti 4000s rear & gatorskins front however I live and commute around the route and after 50+ punctures in one year I now use conti hard shells on my commuter in almost 2 years I've had 1 visit from the PF.

    I'd defo give em a try, they're not much heavier than gators. I also have a garage full of various failed commuter tyres.
    Rule #5 // Harden The Feck Up.
    Rule #9 // If you are out riding in bad weather, it means you are a badass. Period.
    Rule #12 // The correct number of bikes to own is n+1.
    Rule #42 // A bike race shall never be preceded with a swim and/or followed by a run.
  • skinnypunter
    skinnypunter Posts: 144
    I like the gel bottle... Never occurred to me that they existed.

    Re gyres, I was using Continental Force/Attack, which are 5 months old, and have survived a lot of Surrey Hills action. The guy I rode with was also on Contis and didn't get any punctures... Unluck of the draw, I suppose.

    My first 2 punctures were the result of a car forcing me into the verge and I hit a drain cover just before Sparsholt, so I don't think any tyres would have helped. Next time (!) I will run something heavier though.
  • windsorwise
    windsorwise Posts: 23
    My other musing is if I would do it again next year (or any other event) in such conditions. It was my first century ride and as a stubborn git I wasn’t going to let a little drizzle get in my way... But as I write this I have tonsils the size of golf balls a bottom lip exploding with cold sores and a rear wheel that has water sloshing about in it :oops:

    So would you do it again? Personally I think I’ll take a rain check if the radar looked like it did that morning...
  • de_sisti
    de_sisti Posts: 1,283
    edited June 2011
    I've just bought two new sets of tyres, for future use, Michelin Krylion Carbon (25 mm) and Scwalbe
    Durano Plus (23mm). I've used Kyrilon Carbon for a long time, but this new pair seem to be more
    robust, similar in sturdiness to the Durano Plus.
  • rusty nuts
    rusty nuts Posts: 49
    I used to use Conti GP four seasons. never punctured on them at all.

    I don't understand why riders need to use the latest racing rubber for sportives.
    TL

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