Cheshire Cat

135

Comments

  • sfichele
    sfichele Posts: 605
    I suspect there will be a lot of horse trading on the day, as a lot of people will have the "wrong" colour!
    BMC: http://www.bikeradar.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=12749451
  • JamesB
    JamesB Posts: 1,184
    I suspect there will be a lot of horse trading on the day, as a lot of people will have the "wrong" colour!

    event manual specifically indicates flags not transferable :shock: :shock: ; this could all get very very confusing indeed
  • sfichele
    sfichele Posts: 605
    I'm going use my favourite phrase! It's gonna be a Cluster-F@ck!
    BMC: http://www.bikeradar.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=12749451
  • andylivs
    andylivs Posts: 46
    cant do the cat this weekend due to injury,have recieved my pack which i paid £33, im willing to sell for £17 recored delivery.
    pm if interseted
  • andy_wrx
    andy_wrx Posts: 3,396
    Liam 2010 wrote:
    I totally agree, I've got no idea how parking is going to work out, it'll be interesting though lol. I suspect Crewe will look a bit like the front of a school at home time. Absolute madness, park where you can and want type of thing. In all fairness, they don't seem to do a great job organizing things beside the route, such as parking, queueing , start times, etc. It all seems rather rushed and put together at the last minute.

    And also, so as to be fair to the residents of Crewe, they should have a decent plan of action for parking. I wouldn't be best pleased if someone blocked me in my own driveway.

    Get on Google Maps or some other website of your choice and find a carpark somewhere a mile or so away.
    It's Sunday, council carparks will be free.

    You have a bike to get to the start, if you're doing 100+ miles then 2 more won't hurt !
    Enjoy riding past the traffic jams of cyclists trying to park right at the start.
  • symo
    symo Posts: 1,743
    This sounds like my plan, pitch up at 8, cycle to venue, do any paperwork, toilet, back to car, fanny about screwing up the bike with last minute indexing changes, ride to start, toilet again, set off at 9, stop at 9.05 to re-faff with the gears which now refuse to move, 0945 get off on Mow Cop as I cannot access the 28t and twiddle barrel adjuster even more, 1100 shout at bike, 1200 shout at self for fannying with bike, 1307 start thinking of excuses for poor time, 1430 come up with plan but realise can still make gold if I get a bat on, 1534 start shouting at stewards about their timing as my gps shows I made gold, sulk, massage, car, back to building, get changed, ride back to car, go to parents, call everyone blaming everything except a) my ability or b) my mechanical skills.
    +++++++++++++++++++++
    we are the proud, the few, Descendents.

    Panama - finally putting a nail in the economic theory of the trickle down effect.
  • sfichele
    sfichele Posts: 605
    symo wrote:
    This sounds like my plan, pitch up at 8, cycle to venue, do any paperwork, toilet, back to car, fanny about screwing up the bike with last minute indexing changes, ride to start, toilet again, set off at 9, stop at 9.05 to re-faff with the gears which now refuse to move, 0945 get off on Mow Cop as I cannot access the 28t and twiddle barrel adjuster even more, 1100 shout at bike, 1200 shout at self for fannying with bike, 1307 start thinking of excuses for poor time, 1430 come up with plan but realise can still make gold if I get a bat on, 1534 start shouting at stewards about their timing as my gps shows I made gold, sulk, massage, car, back to building, get changed, ride back to car, go to parents, call everyone blaming everything except a) my ability or b) my mechanical skills.

    Yeah, the trickiest thing about sportives is having a decent " logistic" before you start.

    I'd really sort your gears before the weekend :shock:
    BMC: http://www.bikeradar.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=12749451
  • Liam 2010
    Liam 2010 Posts: 101
    andy_wrx wrote:
    Liam 2010 wrote:
    I totally agree, I've got no idea how parking is going to work out, it'll be interesting though lol. I suspect Crewe will look a bit like the front of a school at home time. Absolute madness, park where you can and want type of thing. In all fairness, they don't seem to do a great job organizing things beside the route, such as parking, queueing , start times, etc. It all seems rather rushed and put together at the last minute.

    And also, so as to be fair to the residents of Crewe, they should have a decent plan of action for parking. I wouldn't be best pleased if someone blocked me in my own driveway.

    Get on Google Maps or some other website of your choice and find a carpark somewhere a mile or so away.
    It's Sunday, council carparks will be free.

    You have a bike to get to the start, if you're doing 100+ miles then 2 more won't hurt !
    Enjoy riding past the traffic jams of cyclists trying to park right at the start.

    Yes, I agree, and that's exactly what I'll be doing. I was just expressing my opinion on the parking situation overall.
  • Liam 2010
    Liam 2010 Posts: 101
    A friend of mine who was due to ride the 47 mile route at the cat isn't doing it anymore and so is willing to sell their pack if anyone wants it. It's the 47 mile option and the seat tag is white. I'll sell it for 15 pounds, PM me if you fancy it and I'll give you my mobile number so you can contact me and I'll give you the pack before the ride starts.
  • symo
    symo Posts: 1,743
    Liam 2010 wrote:
    andy_wrx wrote:
    Liam 2010 wrote:
    I totally agree, I've got no idea how parking is going to work out, it'll be interesting though lol. I suspect Crewe will look a bit like the front of a school at home time. Absolute madness, park where you can and want type of thing. In all fairness, they don't seem to do a great job organizing things beside the route, such as parking, queueing , start times, etc. It all seems rather rushed and put together at the last minute.

    And also, so as to be fair to the residents of Crewe, they should have a decent plan of action for parking. I wouldn't be best pleased if someone blocked me in my own driveway.

    Get on Google Maps or some other website of your choice and find a carpark somewhere a mile or so away.
    It's Sunday, council carparks will be free.

    You have a bike to get to the start, if you're doing 100+ miles then 2 more won't hurt !
    Enjoy riding past the traffic jams of cyclists trying to park right at the start.

    Yes, I agree, and that's exactly what I'll be doing. I was just expressing my opinion on the parking situation overall.
    So which car park are we all going to use as the 'BikeRadar' car park?

    I would suggest Browning Street as it has 77 Free Spaces.
    +++++++++++++++++++++
    we are the proud, the few, Descendents.

    Panama - finally putting a nail in the economic theory of the trickle down effect.
  • jgsi
    jgsi Posts: 5,062
    Liam 2010 wrote:
    A friend of mine who was due to ride the 47 mile route at the cat isn't doing it anymore and so is willing to sell their pack if anyone wants it. It's the 47 mile option and the seat tag is white. I'll sell it for 15 pounds, PM me if you fancy it and I'll give you my mobile number so you can contact me and I'll give you the pack before the ride starts.

    err... I'll take a few round for a tenner....I'll even give some haribo out at the end if you like
  • ramador
    ramador Posts: 14
    Would you rather ride 102 miles at an 18mph average or 76 miles at 20 mph average if the 26 additional miles are broadly flat? Does anyone else think the Cat has got his gold standards a bit wrong?
  • Liam 2010
    Liam 2010 Posts: 101
    Most sportives get the timing standards muddled, in my opinion. Always seem a bit too ambitious.

    My favourite are the ones that are done on age....so if your 20, your expected to be faster than someone who's 40...lol? What genius thought that one up?

    My uncle's 53....I'm 21..... but he would ride me into the ground, when it comes to climbing, so the idea of timing standards based on age and gender are ridiculous.
  • Liam 2010
    Liam 2010 Posts: 101
    JGSI wrote:
    Liam 2010 wrote:
    A friend of mine who was due to ride the 47 mile route at the cat isn't doing it anymore and so is willing to sell their pack if anyone wants it. It's the 47 mile option and the seat tag is white. I'll sell it for 15 pounds, PM me if you fancy it and I'll give you my mobile number so you can contact me and I'll give you the pack before the ride starts.

    err... I'll take a few round for a tenner....I'll even give some haribo out at the end if you like

    Hi JGSI,

    Can you clarify what you mean.....I'm unsure if the comment was supposed to be serious or sarcastic? :?
  • symo
    symo Posts: 1,743
    OK, so Gold means a min average of 18mph/29kmph. :shock:
    I can do about 25mph for an hour on the flat, but I mean this is going to be twisty as well as ups and downs. I predict maybe 200 people will get gold.

    Good luck to that, I was hoping to come in under 6 hours 30mins. Sh!te
    +++++++++++++++++++++
    we are the proud, the few, Descendents.

    Panama - finally putting a nail in the economic theory of the trickle down effect.
  • JamesB
    JamesB Posts: 1,184
    I predict maybe 200 people will get gold.

    which would seem to be a reasonable percentage, gold means gold and is for top few;

    maybe I might get a silver, wish they had age related std though as having just turned `supervet` was enjoying getting silver std medals :) whilst at top end vet cat I was scraping silver / bronze region
  • ramador
    ramador Posts: 14
    I wrote to them about the standards, and they are changed in the latest event manual, giving an extra 40 minutes for Medium Gold. Average speeds required are now as follows:

    G S
    Long 18.00 15.29
    Medium 17.54 15.20
    Short 16.88 15.00
  • Der Kaiser
    Der Kaiser Posts: 172
    This will be my first proper sportive. I have done Nightrider, The Great Big Bike Ride and Palace to Palace last year.

    I am doing the shorter route and I am really looking forward to it.

    I haven't had any of the problems that others have had with packs not arriving and I have been pleased with the comms from KTG.

    My target for the day is to finish the route. Have I got the wrong attitude?
  • xscreamsuk
    xscreamsuk Posts: 318
    Der Kaiser wrote:
    This will be my first proper sportive. I have done Nightrider, The Great Big Bike Ride and Palace to Palace last year.

    I am doing the shorter route and I am really looking forward to it.

    I haven't had any of the problems that others have had with packs not arriving and I have been pleased with the comms from KTG.

    My target for the day is to finish the route. Have I got the wrong attitude?

    Nope, that's exactly the attitude I have and will be riding with mates who are the same. I'm sure if I stuck in our club group we would all be chasing a gold time, but that's not what it's about for me at this stage of the year. Using this as first organised long ride in prep for the etape later in the year, as are a couple of mates. If we get close to making a quick time then I'm sure some will push on, but we will be going out nice and steady conserving some energy.
  • griffsters
    griffsters Posts: 490
    My aim is just to finish as well - doing the medium route but not done 76 miles before. I've done up to 52 miles on a hillier route, so I'm hoping the occassion and flatter route (bar Mow Cop / GunHill!) will see me home.

    Thankful for the good weather report as well. Only thing really bothering me is the parking situation beforehand - approx 2000 cars going into a strange town centre with limited spaces = Fred Karnos in my book
  • Liam 2010
    Liam 2010 Posts: 101
    My biggest dilemma now is what to wear on the day.....unsure, as I don't want to overdress, or likewise underdress.
  • Cleat Eastwood
    Cleat Eastwood Posts: 7,508
    Liam 2010 wrote:
    My biggest dilemma now is what to wear on the day.....unsure, as I don't want to overdress, or likewise underdress.

    same here - dont know whether to go short sleeve+arm warmers, bibs and leg warmers or a LS jersey and base layer....oooh curse you weather, curse you. Nice choice to have though, I'll probably decide on the morning.
    The dissenter is every human being at those moments of his life when he resigns
    momentarily from the herd and thinks for himself.
  • griffsters
    griffsters Posts: 490
    I think my car will be akin to a cyclists boudoir, and i'll decide what i'm wearing exactly when i get there. Best to be a bit chilly at the start? I was planing on a l/s jersey and base layer, start off with long finger gloves but take mitts in back pocket. Maybe long sleeve base layer and s/s jersey. Oh I dont know, feckin hell.

    Bibshorts is a given as I dont own any longs!
  • JamesB
    JamesB Posts: 1,184
    My biggest dilemma now is what to wear on the day.....unsure, as I don't want to overdress, or likewise underdress.

    absolutely, my biggest dilemna too :( Leaving my B&B at 8am, which will be BST so actually just dawn, guess it will be 7-8 c at best. Forecast though is for sunny and up to 15 c, so effectively 2 completely different seasons kit needed :(

    Think going for 3/4 leggings, mid weight baselayer, s/s jersey, gilet , full windproof, long gloves , buff and steadily remove as boil !!
    Carry fingerless mitts to change into later
    Don`t want to have first hour cold
  • Der Kaiser
    Der Kaiser Posts: 172
    My support team (Wife and Daughter in a Toyota Yaris) will be on hand to take control of all excess clothing at the start.

    I think I will wear my s/s HP Palace to Palace shirt with optional sleeves with cycling shorts and blue socks.

    Bike is an easy choice Ridgeback World Voyage (My only bike).

    I am not hardcore carbon fibre junky sort of cyclist. I just like to ride my bike. :)
  • hipshot
    hipshot Posts: 371
    Too warm for a base layer today. This is March, whats going on? 9.30 start so I think I will go for just ss jersey, armwarmers and shorts.

    Bit worried about blinding other riders with excessive leg whiteness though. There should be guidance in the manual about that.
  • xscreamsuk
    xscreamsuk Posts: 318
    ss base layer, long sleeve jersey and 3/4 bottoms, first couple of hours only just breaking into double digits, plus all the hanging around at the start,
  • alexberry.pgt
    alexberry.pgt Posts: 8
    Wow.... you bunch of frickin women! I cant believe what crap this thread has turned into! I was gonna ride this until today but because of this pompous nonsense I've entered the chirk 200k audax .... A 5 quid better spent!
  • griffsters
    griffsters Posts: 490
    Ohh you big manly brute, come over here and give us a kiss!
  • Liam 2010
    Liam 2010 Posts: 101
    I'm hoping I might be able to get away with shorts, but we'll have to judge it on the day.

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