Tour Of Wessex 2013
AlexMac1973
Posts: 406
I noticed there was no thread about this event, thought I'd get one going.
I'm doing the 3 day event but only the medium route as it's also a family weekend away so balancing both. :roll:
I'm doing the 3 day event but only the medium route as it's also a family weekend away so balancing both. :roll:
Scott S40 Speedster
Dialled Stay Strong MX20R
I no longer live in an ivory tower, these days it's vintage white :shock:
Dialled Stay Strong MX20R
I no longer live in an ivory tower, these days it's vintage white :shock:
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Its always a good event with good routes and stops, backup etc but just seems to get struck by the weather gods every time. I just bet if I dont do it this year then it will turn out to be 3 warm dry days for the first time in living memory!
Thanks Neil
Dialled Stay Strong MX20R
I no longer live in an ivory tower, these days it's vintage white :shock:
3 days looks brutal !!!!
I'm going to be missing my Team Marmotte partner, who unfortunately crashed in a Cat 4 race and did himself some damage - so I'll have nobody to hide behind on the long stretches, like the windy climb into Minehead.
Does anyone know if the route has had any major or minor changes compared to last year?
(a) very tough
(b) very competitive.
Has anyone done this before? Are there plenty of people plodding along at the back for the 3 days?
Realistically, I'm looking at about 25hrs (if I make it). Bronze starts at 18hrs!!!
Can't find last year's results.
The last day is quoted as 185km / 3219m. Starts at 0830, finishes at 1800. On top of the first two days, I might fail to make that!
Just a quick tip for all those who are camping having just got a message from the organisers - if you're coming down on the Friday, you need to be there by 7pm to sign in for your camping spot
See you on the start line
There is a really good sense of camaraderie and it is relatively easy to find groups - but try to find groups that are doing all three days, and are therefore pacing themselves, or at least join individual day riders who are going slighly slower than you might go on an individual day.
The scenery is stunning - riding up Cheddar Gorge (day one), riding over the firing ranges on the South Coast (day two), and then the old Porlock toll road (day three - and encouragingly its not as steep as the main Porlock Hill!) - the beautiful scenery really does help take your mind off any pain you are feeling.
Good luck, enjoy and look out for a solo Marmotte shirt wearer.
I'm fairly good doing multi days (done many tours and trips), just not sure at pace.
as already said, its all about pacing and finding a good group to ride with!
The daily totals vary hugely depending on whether you look at the website or the map details.
Day 1 is either 2198m or 1563m
Day 2 is either 2255m or 1474m
Day 3 is either 3219m or 2138m
I'm not too worried about the hills, but I was just wondering whether to use a 27, 25 or 23 cassette. Im guessing that the map data is the more accurate as Day 3 would be similar to the Fred Whitton otherwise, I think my Garmin reckoned 3450m for the Whitton on Sunday.
Thanks
Day 2 - long drags around the Jurassic coast and military ranges but not steep
Day 3 - most climbing by far and some steeper stuff around Exmoor
27 might be useful simply because its 330+ miles and will be hard work
My plan is to take a steady pace on day one and keep something in the tank for day two, just hope it's not the usual bank holiday wash out. :roll:
Dialled Stay Strong MX20R
I no longer live in an ivory tower, these days it's vintage white :shock:
I've put Day1 into bikeroutetoaster and got around 1550m, so hopefully they're all on the lower side.
3200m+ on Day3 would probably push me over the edge!
Stage 1: 1776m / 14.1% max slope
Stage 2: 1794m / 10.7% max slope
Stage 3: 2565m / 15.1% max slope
Look like nice routes, I've done quite a bit of stage 2 bit by bit (it even goes past my front door) - looks like it goes on some busy roads in a couple of places though.
On the other hand I should just MTFU!!
Dialled Stay Strong MX20R
I no longer live in an ivory tower, these days it's vintage white :shock:
The worst climbs come on day 3 when you're knackered already and there are some tough ramps on Exmoor when you still have 50+ hard miles to go. The route gets tweaked each year so I dont know exactly what is in day 3 this year but they went up Porlock and Dunkery Beacon which are much tougher especially given the distance by then.
I did find there were a few too many main road sections and perhaps a little more planning would easily have removed a few, but its still a good event and a good challenge.
I've had cause to curse those "bonus miles" at the end of 7 hours on a bike!
I'm also doing the full 3 days; I've been getting in between 120 - 170 miles a week for the last couple of months, but those hills are going to hurt on the final day! I'll be going nice and steady, aiming to scrape in for Silver but no doubt happy to finish - it's been a long time since a did a multi-stage event. I'm camping all 3 nights, so hopefully I'll meet up with some similar riders to share the pain with.
Sat: Warm - Low wind speed- No rain (so far!!)
Sun: Warm - Moderate wind speeds - Rain forecasted in afternoon (very light)
Mon: Warm - Windy (It's a bank holiday! Shouldn't expect anything less) - Going to Rain :shock:
See you all there.
Dialled Stay Strong MX20R
I no longer live in an ivory tower, these days it's vintage white :shock:
The ride up from Yeovil station tonight looks very windy!
Let the pain begin.
Are we all too tired to post?
Although I'd planned and trained for all three days, I only did days two and three due to sustaining an injury in the week before the event. :x Had to take it easy up the hills to avoid re-pulling a calf strain.
But I enjoyed Day Two - it was amazing how much easier it felt than in previous years when it had been my second day on a bike. The ride over the Lulworth Ranges was every bit as good as I remember it, along with a superb descent down into Corfe.
But Day Three was brutal. All as going well up to and including the Porlock Toll Road, but once on the top of Exmoor, the wind just sapped all the energy and enthusiasm out of me. I spent half an hour at an average of 15k at the top of the moor. Every now and then a group would come past me but I was just too dispirited to put in the effort to climb on the back. Too long spent solo riding. But we pulled together a good group on the way into the 3rd feed stop,and worked really well together until the end - top work, Matt, Gary, Alberto. The last 2 hours were a lot of fun (nearly) and made up for the pain on the top of the moor.
Well done anyone who survived all three days - will you be back again next year?
Really enjoyed it. Great scenery, really well organised and a lot more friendly than many other sportives.
Had a good first day, but the second half of the second day destroyed me. Had very little left to give. Went to sleep thinking I'd do the medium version of the final day, but by the time I got up and worked out the logistics, heading home then made more sense. After struggling to the station, I was certain I'd made the right choice.
Will definitely do that again. Better prepared next time.
Day 1 fantastic, Cheddar Gorge was the highlight of the whole 3 days for me. King Alfred's Tower among the toughest hills I've encountered on a bike. Apart from these 2 major climbs a lot of very pleasant rolling terrain.
Day 2 we had superb weather and some great views out to the coast and over Lulworth. Although we had 7500 feet of climbing it was spread over 120 miles so wasn't too lumpy. Still felt good after the ride but was apprehensive about day 3.
Day 3 Brutal is a word often overused in cycling but to me that is the only word I can use to describe the ride. The first hill we encountered of any note was Quantock Hill which launched straight in at about 20%. Climbing Porlock Toll road from sea level to 1500 feet in about 4 miles was time consuming but not particularly tough. Once on top of exmoor the wind was blowing a hooly, the temparature had dropped about 10 degrees and the terrain was full of very sharp hills. This was followed by several other long and steep hills. By the time we had reached the final feed station with 25 miles to go there were a lot of despondent faces. As it turned out the final run back to Somerton was relatively flat with a cross wind that was slightly helping.
Did I enjoy it? Day 1 yes, Day 2 Yes, Day 3 no. Would I do it again? No way!!!