Cheshire Cat
kr1s
Posts: 125
Hi - Anyone riding the cat? Ive just been reading up on the starting zones (now coloured) and wonder if anyone can shed any light.
Im riding it with a mate and we both have packs arriving shortley, if the colours are different does that mean we have to start at seperate times? Seems a bit odd as sportives are generally ridden with friends of similar ability together.....
Cheers all for any info
Im riding it with a mate and we both have packs arriving shortley, if the colours are different does that mean we have to start at seperate times? Seems a bit odd as sportives are generally ridden with friends of similar ability together.....
Cheers all for any info
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Comments
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Hi Kris - Good spot didnt realise that they had changed the starting routine. As the manual says they realised that last years queuing wasn't good enough. Last year it was a free for all and it was a mess so hopefully this will resolve things, however you make a good point how are we going to be able to ride with others, friends or club mates.0
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Good question. Perhaps they will put all those in a club/named group in the same starting zone.
This only works if you state you are riding with a group of course...
Otherwise you would have to wait for each other - mucking up your time.
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Had word back from kilo to go - unless your a group you could get any colour - which means me and my training and travelling partner could have different start times - not impressed already with my first K2G sportive - hope theres some swapping going on pre start !
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yep i've been split up from my chum, but last year was chaos, i'm sure you could sort something out on the day , a few sat in the wrong starting group won't make too much difference, or you could wait and forget about the 'official' timing.0
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Sounds like a nightmare because it wont be a 'few sat in the wrong starting groups' almost everybody will be in the same boat of not having the same colour as their mates.
Would have been nice to have been told about this up front. Also what if you arrive later than your allotted time etc.
hmmm, not looking forward to the race pack now...0 -
I would have entered as a group had i known, but 2 is hardly a team!!!0
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There's 4 in our "team" and we all got the same colour. Except me, so there's a bit more to it than naming a group.
Obviously, I'm slightly miffed but I'm sure it'll be Ok on the day.Who you gonna believe? Me or your own eyes?0 -
o o o o o o me too!
Got my pack, I appear to have a green seat tag.
See you on the day.+++++++++++++++++++++
we are the proud, the few, Descendents.
Panama - finally putting a nail in the economic theory of the trickle down effect.0 -
i havent got mine yet The dissenter is every human being at those moments of his life when he resigns
momentarily from the herd and thinks for himself.0 -
I got my rider pack through a few days ago, my seat tag's black.
I guess the coloured tags must correspond to different departure times, and it might seem a bit disruptive, but considering that the cat will have or possibly even in excess of, 300 riders, it makes sense to have some sort of order to the start.
It was a bit like this at last years Blenheim palace sportive. There was no coloured tags, but you were aksed to sort yourself into groups like 100 fast, 60 fast, 100 medium, 60 medium, etc. And you were set off like that.0 -
I did the Stoke Tour Ride last year, and there was a thousand+ riders, I think. There was obviously a large queue to start, but it only took 15 minutes to get through it. I'd rather wait in a queue for a short while than not start at the same time as my mate.0
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sfichele wrote:I did the Stoke Tour Ride last year, and there was a thousand+ riders, I think. There was obviously a large queue to start, but it only took 15 minutes to get through it. I'd rather wait in a queue for a short while than not start at the same time as my mate.
Agree! Its the first and last ktg event for me, or should i pass judgement after....0 -
would be nice to have an indication of start times before week before too; if it`s really early then I`ll have to get overnight accommodation and woudl like to have a while to sort that out......0
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Isn't there close to 3,000 riders :shock: ?
I'm doing the ride with 2 workmates, 2 blues and a yellow for us. I thought we'd just be able to sneak the 'yellow' in but I think 3,000 other riders might have similar ideas. Sounds like it could be chaos.
It would have been nice to know all about this before signing up as we'd have signed up as a 'team'. We have signed up before as a team but it appeared to make no difference to anything so we just didn't bother this time.
On a positive note, at least my blue label matches the colour of my bike
Anyone want to swap a yellow for a blue? Where's Noel Edmonds when you need him?Wind. Cold. Rain. Pick two.0 -
Haven't had my pack yet..
I expect this year's Cat to run like greased clockwork.
If not, I will simply pirate it every subsequent year in perpetuity.0 -
Well I've got a blue tag, but the letter says I should have a black tag....0
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sfichele wrote:I did the Stoke Tour Ride last year, and there was a thousand+ riders, I think. There was obviously a large queue to start, but it only took 15 minutes to get through it. I'd rather wait in a queue for a short while than not start at the same time as my mate.
Ditto, I did the stoke tour ride last year, too.
I loved it, I thought everything about it was brilliant, the route, plenty of sign posts, and good organization. Kilo to go could do with taking a leaf out of their book. Kilo always seem a bit sparse on the sign posts.
It was the same for blenheim palace, there must have been in excess of 2000 plus riders and there was no problem at the start line, there was a bit of wait, but that was just down to limited space leaving the palace grounds.0 -
kr1s wrote:sfichele wrote:I did the Stoke Tour Ride last year, and there was a thousand+ riders, I think. There was obviously a large queue to start, but it only took 15 minutes to get through it. I'd rather wait in a queue for a short while than not start at the same time as my mate.
Agree! Its the first and last ktg event for me, or should i pass judgement after....
I would wait till you have rode the cat and experinced the day first, then pass judgement.
A lot of guys I spoke to who were at last years event complained heavily about queuing and the seeming lack of organization, so I expect this years event should be brilliant, because they won't want to lose the big attraction and mass participation that the cat brings.
Fingers crossed...... 0 -
I am personally looking forward to the orderly line at Mow Cop. I have found a lovely little steep hill here in Hampshire to practice going up after riding 60 miles so I am pleased to hear that it is only 15 miles in!.
Way hey!
Remember Green Seat Tag, Kiron Bike and not sure which wheels yet.+++++++++++++++++++++
we are the proud, the few, Descendents.
Panama - finally putting a nail in the economic theory of the trickle down effect.0 -
I'm still waiting for my entry pack, grrrrrr
3 of us entered on 1 booking the otheres have received their packs.
Kilo are not respondong to requests for info.
If someone from Kilo is watching this would they care to comment.0 -
With winter just passing how much training have you guys been doing. I've not been out much, and got out for the first time in ages last Sunday and did around 91K. I've stupidly signed up for the 100 miles and am feeling a bit under-prepared.
Still looking forward to Mow Cop...0 -
Done hardly any training. Oh well.+++++++++++++++++++++
we are the proud, the few, Descendents.
Panama - finally putting a nail in the economic theory of the trickle down effect.0 -
MIsterGoof wrote:I'm still waiting for my entry pack, grrrrrr
3 of us entered on 1 booking the otheres have received their packs.
Kilo are not respondong to requests for info.
If someone from Kilo is watching this would they care to comment.
No i'm still waiting - on FB they said theyre still sending them out "When you enter, first thing to do is check you've got your event confirmation email. Then log into your account and check that your personal data/address is correct. We need a correct address to post your rider pack to; and other information needs to be correct in case there is an incident on the day and the section entitled 'What Happens Now" explains when to expect your rider pack - although we often, not always, post some early. The email also explains when to expect a subsequent email with a link to the full event manual with the joining instructions"The dissenter is every human being at those moments of his life when he resigns
momentarily from the herd and thinks for himself.0 -
sfichele wrote:With winter just passing how much training have you guys been doing. I've not been out much, and got out for the first time in ages last Sunday and did around 91K. I've stupidly signed up for the 100 miles and am feeling a bit under-prepared.
Still looking forward to Mow Cop...
This is my first time riding the cat, so I've no idea what I'm in for, but mow cop should be fun. Not forgetting gun hill, and if you've rode the tour ride last year, then you'll know that that one hurts quite a bit as well, lol.
I have been out quite a bit over the winter, but for not nearly as long as i should have been. So, recently I have been putting in 80km/100km rides when i can to try and make up some lost ground.
I went out last weekend and did 55 miles, and did a few 20's during this week, I'll do a 50/60 miles ride this coming weekend, then maybe a 30 mile on tues/weds, then nothing until sunday. I bought a spin bike off ebay at the end of last year and I've been using that a bit throughout the winter months and not so nice days, and it seems to have kept my fitness in pretty good shape, I must say.
The profile don't look too bad, the first 40 or so miles looks a bit lumpy, but after that it looks pretty good.
Do you know if they are including the swiss hill climb this year? I've heard mixed statements on this one.0 -
My goodness, I have gone 'slower' > I am not partaking of the 'Cat' , it being too expensive and too local and not a race and all that, but have just taken a bit of time out to get up the steep side of Mow Cop this morning - 9:51 from the the level crossing to the top of Station Road. It was foggy and it was cold . Hill is still a brute you all be glad to know, but the grip was ok even with the road being very damp. I wasnt geared up for such inclines 38/25 (41 gear inches methinks / a bit too high) , hence the grinding nature of my climbing in this instance, so if you have a triple or compact, you'll be fine and no need to stop, as long as you PACE yourselves from the bottom.
Bon chance!0 -
MIsterGoof wrote:I'm still waiting for my entry pack, grrrrrr
3 of us entered on 1 booking the otheres have received their packs.
Kilo are not respondong to requests for info.
If someone from Kilo is watching this would they care to comment.
I wouldn't hold your breath mate....on them replying to you, that is.
Judging from comments and respones on their facebook page they seem to selectively answer questions.
I'm sure your pack will come though, 2 friends of mine have entered in for the cat, and they have yet to receive their packs, but I received mine several days ago. I think it must have something to do with order of entry, as I entered quite a long time before them.0 -
How does Mow Cop compare to Winnats pass?0
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If you climb Winnats without too much hassle then the Mow Cop should be no greater demand except that the max 'ramp' of 25% is higher but only for a very short distance and a resident always parks his car on the rh side which is always a nice marker to know that once past it you have done the deed almost and if he can park his car on it , it cant be that steep can it? oh yes , the locals do support, but you might find someone needing to get to Kidsgrove Tesco in a bit of a hurry.0
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JGSI wrote:If you climb Winnats without too much hassle then the Mow Cop should be no greater demand
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If you climb Winnats without too much hassle, then Mow Cop should be a piece of p***.JGSI wrote:If you climb Winnats without too much hassle then the Mow Cop should be no greater demand
KiloToGo hype it (hype everything !) as if it's the North Face of the Eiger, but it really isn't that hard, not remotely in the same bracket as Winnats.
Just don't race up through the wooded bit at the bottom and knacker yourself early.
Lots of people do, get into the red there, then come out onto the open bit and see the steep bit above them and climb off, demoralised by it.
But if you just pace it, the 25% bit is only 100yds long so go steady up to the pub then you can monster up it without too much fuss.
Danebridge & Wincle always surprise a few people however, because no-one ever mentions them...0
