Tour of Wessex 2012

topcattim

Surprised by the lack of chat on here about the Tour of Wessex. Are we all too tired to post anything?

Well, I survived it, for the second year in a row, big thanks to my fellow Marmotteer for towing me along when I needed it. Route was improved from last year - it kept the classics such as the ride up Cheddar Gorge, Alfred's Tower, Lulworth Ranges, Exmoor etc but replaced Dunkery Beacon with Porlock toll road. A big improvement in my book - Dunkery Beacon was tough and a real achievement to get up, but nowhere near as enjoyable a climb. And the views back onto the coast from the toll road were great.

The standard and pace of riding at the Tour of Wessex seems to be higher than at other sportives I've done - perhaps because it pulls out a higher proportion of the serious riders? At one point, every other rider who I spoke to seemed to be about to go off and do an Iron Man. Very friendly atmosphere, lots of people willing to work in groups and chat as we climbed. Good stuff.

Feed stops were brilliantly stocked - none of the problems you often get at other sportives with the food running out. My only complaint - and its a big one - is that the water was badly tainted with something - some kind of cleaning product? It meant you had to carefully ration the water that you started with.

I will definitely be back again next year (if my wife allows me - she is watching me as I type this! )

bigpikle

Just day 3 for me this year - it did feel like a triathlete training camp at times though. Everywhere I looked were people in knee high socks and swaying around on tri bars..... But seriously it was a good route and ride, the weather stayed good today and despite the usual Pendragon extra 7 miles over the already long 106 advertised for today, I enjoyed it!

topcattim

Bigpikle wrote:

and despite the usual Pendragon extra 7 miles over the already long 106 advertised for today, I enjoyed it!

Yes, those extra few miles at the end of today were tough! I can't understand why this wasn't accurate, what with gps technology and all that. A lot of people around me were riding with Garmin routes that they had downloaded the previous night, and these tried to send them off route several times. Strange.

bigpikle

Yep - they always do it. No idea why but the route never matches the GPS files and the distances a always significantly under quoted on the website. As long as you know to expect the 'bonus miles' every time you're fine

BalhamBadger

I did the first two days of this. Really enjoyed it, an awesome ride in some beautiful scenery. I thought the feed stops were brilliant, loads of good grub and no rationing. I didn't have any problems with the water as I stuck with the energy drinks, which didn't taste brilliant either but I accept that as inevitable.

I guess a real test of this kind of ride is when you need support. I had a tyre blow out within five miles of the start of day 1. I called it in, and a motorbike mechanic was with me in 10 mins - sorted me out with a new tyre and tube for £15 and I was on my way. Really grateful for that as it could have been the end of my ride.

Massive respect to those who did all three days, I was suffering by the end of day 2!

WorcsPhil

Yes...deserves more chat in my opinion also. Me and a mate just did the saturday ride due to other holiday commitments, but we trecked up on Friday for a sneaky 100kms on exmoor before camping friday night on a rather pleasant cricket outfield at the tour venue (Somerton Sports Club) which meant a smoot under-canvas surface. I thought the one day I rode was excellent...like most comments so far, the feedstops were amongst the best I've experienced...fig rolls, tuna sandwiches, cheese sandwiches, ritz biscuits, jelly beans, bananas, jaffa cakes...like a midnight feast. Having done the Tour of the Peak the week before, the foodstops were non comparable. The ride itself was fast, and I'd agree that there were a lot of serious cyclists there (with some serious kit), which meant keeping up on the climbs was really tough. Cheddar gorge was good fun...like Winnats, but not so steep and without the traffic as we got there about 10:00 (KTG...please note). Alfred's Tower and Pen Hill were the other named climbs and both steeper and harder...but overall pleased with my ride. We then packed up and left on saturday late afternoon, just as it began to rain. I hope it remained ok for the sunday...big respect to the 600 or so doing all three days you deserve luck with the weather. For those who read these posts but haven't considered this ride, check it out next year, this is a well run, well attended weekend without the hoohaa of other sportives, but is run considerably better, and as all 3 days start and finish in the same place, you do get a cycling atmosphere in the town that is all to rare.

pantsani

Did day 1 long route on this, was a great ride - great organisation as ever with Pendragon and decent standard of riding so some nice groups forming, and I got lucky with the Saturday weather, hope the Sunday crowd weren't too soaked.

Will maybe do 1 day or all 3 next year if I'm about, nice event :-)

cakewalk

I think the food stations were as cr*p as you'd expect. You boys have got very very low expectations.

jimmurray

Only did the Sunday but agree with the food stops being very poor. Second one was a joke with a bloke struggling to make rolls whilst the queue built up. Also why no savoury food at third stop?

bigpikle

interesting on food stops - last year I did all 3 days and the stops were great, even had a village hall with the WI serving tea/coffee in china!

Day 3 this year was good - plenty to eat at all stops and friendly helpers. Smaller field obviously but as good or better than any other events I've done in the UK.

KPHC

Did all 3 days, my first ever back-to-back centuries. Despite the distance/ altitude discrepancies I thoroughly enjoyed putting myself through the weekend and certainly plan to be back for next year. Still have the Tour de Force to come this year so ToW was just a warm up, bring on the Tourmalet!

BalhamBadger

cakewalk wrote:

I think the food stations were as cr*p as you'd expect. You boys have got very very low expectations.

Ok then misery guts, what makes a good food station in your opinion?

Tell you what, the ToW stops were head and shoulders above those put on at last week's Tour of the Peak.

KPHC

cakewalk wrote:

I think the food stations were as cr*p as you'd expect. You boys have got very very low expectations.

Harsh, and not exactly a constructive criticism, what exactly would you have been expecting to improve them?

Only blip i thought, was a lack of energy gels at stop 1 on day 3, other than that I was delighted with what they had at the feed stops. As others have said, if you are reading this and haven't done the ToW before definitely look into it next year, it will not disappoint

derek48

cakewalk wrote:

I think the food stations were as cr*p as you'd expect. You boys have got very very low expectations.

We have low expectations because of our experiences with many other UK sportives. The TOW is head and shoulders above most of the events I have done. Have you done the Dragon for example?

pantsani

cakewalk wrote:

I think the food stations were as cr*p as you'd expect. You boys have got very very low expectations.

I only stopped at food stop 2 for 5 mins on the Saturday, pocketed 2 gels for later , scoffed a couple of fig rolls and filled 2 bottles up on energy drink , didn't really hang about to survey what else was available. I'm not really after a picnic just the right stuff to keep me going , but seemed perfectly adequate in that sense to me.

Water did taste a bit funny though I agree, although not had any ill effects, not the greatest to drink.

In comparison to some of the other UK events this is very well run, doing the Ariegeose Cyclosportive in France in July so will see how that compares.

cakewalk

BalhamBadger wrote:

cakewalk wrote:

I think the food stations were as cr*p as you'd expect. You boys have got very very low expectations.

Ok then misery guts, what makes a good food station in your opinion?

Tell you what, the ToW stops were head and shoulders above those put on at last week's Tour of the Peak.

That's because they are all cr*p.

How about :-

- changing the food over the days
- better savoury food / more choice
- Having food ready when you get there
- different drinks


I could go on. I'm with the Sportive Pirates on this one. we are being ripped off.

KPHC

cakewalk wrote:

That's because they are all cr*p.

How about :-

- changing the food over the days
- better savoury food / more choice
- Having food ready when you get there
- different drinks


I could go on. I'm with the Sportive Pirates on this one. we are being ripped off.

If you do feel that strongly then I would have hoped you had a better gripe!

1. What changes to the food each day would help? Not sure I can see the benefit to not knowing what to expect at the feed station, surely consistency is better no?

2. What is "better" savoury food and what extra choice do you need when you fly into the feed stop and most just paw at what ever you can get? This isn't a dining experience, the food types cater for the activity pretty well I'd say

3. Food was always ready to an extent, most people at the big carpark feed stop on day 2 were more than happy to grab a bun and spoon some filling in themselves, noone seemed astonished at the lack of table service and quite rightly so, the teams have a constant stream of hungry cyclists flooding through for hours on end at each stop so the fact that (in the most part) there were more than sufficient provisions for people to grab a handful of at each station seemed right in line with expectations.

4. Was water (taste points aside) and energy drink not enough? Didn't see anyone go dry at any point during of the days....and am sure you realise that there are some constraints depending on the chosen drink provider.

I'm at a loss to see what can have caused such a strong reaction to a great event and would be interested to hear what you think a correct costing per head would be to cater for a 3 day event? If you seriously think that £10/15 a day is the ballpark figure then that is just madness, you could consume more than that in energy gels and powdered drink between 2 feed stations for a start.

£95 for 3 days is entirely reasonable so I suspect that, per your original comment, it is more likely that your expectations were far too high than ours being too low.

FransJacques

I was part of the London Phoenix red/black train that you might have seen. I didn't stick around for long on the first day b/c going through those lanes with gravel and/or grass in the middle at 50kmh+ on Day 1 was too high risk for me. There were 4 core guys from LP who finished top 10 each day and overall - they really ripped that event a new one.

Really impressive was a duathlete and a guy in Sky kit who together were first to finish on all 3 days. Great riding.

544 kms was excellent training and unlike Kent/Surrey the hills were not so steep. I really enjoyed the long climb on Monday, parts of it felt like the Soller or looked like the last Giro - beautiful forests etc.

topcattim

FransJacques wrote:

I was part of the London Phoenix red/black train that you might have seen. I didn't stick around for long on the first day b/c going through those lanes with gravel and/or grass in the middle at 50kmh+ on Day 1 was too high risk for me. There were 4 core guys from LP who finished top 10 each day and overall - they really ripped that event a new one.

Really impressive was a duathlete and a guy in Sky kit who together were first to finish on all 3 days. Great riding.

544 kms was excellent training and unlike Kent/Surrey the hills were not so steep. I really enjoyed the long climb on Monday, parts of it felt like the Soller or looked like the last Giro - beautiful forests etc.

Yup, saw the Phoenix train going by! Respect to you and your clubmates.

Results are out now - looks as though there were quite a few more entrants and finishers this year than last year - think the weather might have had something to do with that!

cakewalk

KPHC wrote:

cakewalk wrote:

That's because they are all cr*p.

How about :-

- changing the food over the days
- better savoury food / more choice
- Having food ready when you get there
- different drinks


I could go on. I'm with the Sportive Pirates on this one. we are being ripped off.

If you do feel that strongly then I would have hoped you had a better gripe!

1. What changes to the food each day would help? Not sure I can see the benefit to not knowing what to expect at the feed station, surely consistency is better no?

2. What is "better" savoury food and what extra choice do you need when you fly into the feed stop and most just paw at what ever you can get? This isn't a dining experience, the food types cater for the activity pretty well I'd say

3. Food was always ready to an extent, most people at the big carpark feed stop on day 2 were more than happy to grab a bun and spoon some filling in themselves, noone seemed astonished at the lack of table service and quite rightly so, the teams have a constant stream of hungry cyclists flooding through for hours on end at each stop so the fact that (in the most part) there were more than sufficient provisions for people to grab a handful of at each station seemed right in line with expectations.

4. Was water (taste points aside) and energy drink not enough? Didn't see anyone go dry at any point during of the days....and am sure you realise that there are some constraints depending on the chosen drink provider.

I'm at a loss to see what can have caused such a strong reaction to a great event and would be interested to hear what you think a correct costing per head would be to cater for a 3 day event? If you seriously think that £10/15 a day is the ballpark figure then that is just madness, you could consume more than that in energy gels and powdered drink between 2 feed stations for a start.

£95 for 3 days is entirely reasonable so I suspect that, per your original comment, it is more likely that your expectations were far too high than ours being too low.

The event was great. The food and drink were cr8p. You are just so use to being suckered by Sportive organisers that a couple of bread rolls with some manky cheese mix seems like a top effort.

KPHC

cakewalk wrote:

The event was great. The food and drink were cr8p. You are just so use to being suckered by Sportive organisers that a couple of bread rolls with some manky cheese mix seems like a top effort.

Pipe down a bit there pal, I'll decide if I've been suckered or not so try and stick to topic rather than belittling the ones who enjoyed the event (including the support throughout) alright

Where exactly are we being suckered by the overall costs and what exactly would meet your expectations for the £95? This whole sportive-cost-bashing argument falls flat unless you can actually explain exactly what it is that you want for your dollar. I'll admit that £50 odd for a one-day sportive is getting silly but you can't whinge about a £31/day event that is so well supported in every other aspect apart from "manky cheese rolls" and whatever drink issue you had. They even had motorbike support including spare wheels...I'd take that over a prosciutto and brie ciabatta or san pellegrino supplied feed station any day!

cakewalk

KPHC wrote:

cakewalk wrote:

The event was great. The food and drink were cr8p. You are just so use to being suckered by Sportive organisers that a couple of bread rolls with some manky cheese mix seems like a top effort.

Pipe down a bit there pal, I'll decide if I've been suckered or not so try and stick to topic rather than belittling the ones who enjoyed the event (including the support throughout) alright

Where exactly are we being suckered by the overall costs and what exactly would meet your expectations for the £95? This whole sportive-cost-bashing argument falls flat unless you can actually explain exactly what it is that you want for your dollar. I'll admit that £50 odd for a one-day sportive is getting silly but you can't whinge about a £31/day event that is so well supported in every other aspect apart from "manky cheese rolls" and whatever drink issue you had. They even had motorbike support including spare wheels...I'd take that over a prosciutto and brie ciabatta or san pellegrino supplied feed station any day!

You can have both you know - who said either/or ? And who suggested prosciutto and brie ciabatta ? Not me. You seem to have rather fancy tastes ....

KPHC

cakewalk wrote:

You can have both you know - who said either/or ? And who suggested prosciutto and brie ciabatta ? Not me. You seem to have rather fancy tastes ....

Actually, I don't know, can you let me know what the costings are for motorised support crew, marshalls, ground staff, food, drink etc etc... and then, if that's well below the entry price per head, you might actually have a case to make here. I think to most of us it seems like relatively good value as a complete package

I was having to read between the lines on your menu expectations, all you've offered so far is "cr8p" and "manky", so I've no real idea on what it is exactly that you're griping on about

cakewalk

KPHC wrote:

cakewalk wrote:

You can have both you know - who said either/or ? And who suggested prosciutto and brie ciabatta ? Not me. You seem to have rather fancy tastes ....

Actually, I don't know, can you let me know what the costings are for motorised support crew, marshalls, ground staff, food, drink etc etc... and then, if that's well below the entry price per head, you might actually have a case to make here. I think to most of us it seems like relatively good value as a complete package

I was having to read between the lines on your menu expectations, all you've offered so far is "cr8p" and "manky", so I've no real idea on what it is exactly that you're griping on about

No let me know it's you who came up with either/or.

KPHC

cakewalk wrote:

No let me know it's you who came up with either/or.

You really don't bring a lot to the table do you

All you have said is that the food & drink was "crap" (whatever that means as you've yet to really expand your case past that statement), I am trying to support the event and state that the food supplied on the day was perfect for the size of event and the fact that it was a very well supported sportive in general...that should be the key messages here...rather than having an unsubstantiated whinge

Have you ever been happy with a Sportive? If so then I would be fascinated to hear what that cost and how the support / provisions differed to this weekend?

FransJacques

Idle information, 3 Garmin links:
Sat: http://connect.garmin.com/activity/186220426
Sun: http://connect.garmin.com/activity/186220556
Mon: http://connect.garmin.com/activity/186220631

FWIW, I didn't think the feedstops were brilliant either, just average. Being a racer using sportives for training I need/ want "technical" food like gels and carb/electrolyte drink. Not jammy dodgers, sausage rolls, nor jaffa cakes. Sorry but those are NOT performance options, they're riding food for peeps carrying 25%+ body fat who just want to finish. And for them it works great. I didn't mind the mini tuna sarnies tho, had 1 a day. And the staff worked brilliantly - they were alert to what the riders wanted, humour-full, and super supportive. Plus they had kitchen roll to clean my sunglasses which was very helpful.

I used the energy drink & thought it was a bit too watery but I don't know the brand. I spent easily another £25 on SIS gels, GO, and PSP22 on top of the enrollment cost. Won't bang on about it like CakeMan, you just have to accept it otherwise stay at home and do a turbo session. I packed at least 30 gels in my bag, but do note that I was there to hammer that event so planned & ate accordingly. No biggie, it's part of the overall cost of biking/eventing.

IanPV

There were loads of gels at the feeds I stopped at (just the middle one each day).

FransJacques - I saw your London Phoenix lot at the finish each day - you seemed to start a bit later and come through most groups during the day. The duathlete was a guy called David Vaughan - I rode with him on day 1 and 2 but he dropped me on every hill above about 6-7% - on day three there were too many hills for me to get back on! He was very strong, as was David Mcintosh in the sky kit who also gave me a kicking on day 2. Both nice guys with a good attitude to my attempts to stay on the wheel. Lots of fun, overall, and a great challenge to ride three quick hilly centuries back to back.

derek48

Why do it then???

derek48

Sorry missed out the quote from the whingers.

FransJacques

Good point about the High 5 gels, they were great and I availed myself.

Sky guy was nuts, he basically rode with Vaughan most days 2-up, just incredible how they burned thru so many riders. I spoke to others who said Sky guy was really strong on the hills.

Just looked you pictures up and I didn't ride with you but saw you around. I was on a R3SL. The tall guy on the red/black CLX you rode with on day 3 is a friend of mine - incredibly strong for a larger chap.

We started later owing to kitten herding with that many riders from the same team :-)

Great result for you! I'm 13/14 spots below on the overall, and in the next age cat up.

pantsani

Just assuage my competitive OCD who are we saying was likely quickest on Day 1 ? There are a few unrealistic times in there just wondering where the realistic ones started.

I clocked 5:38 and ave'd 19mph on the Saturday which I was happy with considering I hadn't prepped for it ( I took a mate's spot for the day at sort notice as he couldn't make the event ).