Tour Of Wessex 2013

mroli

Day one and day two for me too. Dropped out of day 3 for a variety of reasons (most compelling was a neck tweak that I did the day before day 1 that was seizing up by the end of every day), but really I just wanted to have a day with the family.

Two amazing days cycling though - Day one was a bit sketchy at the start - seemed to be a lot of people trying to settle into things, a couple of bad roads, some poor communication etc, but this all sorted itself out and the riding on day 2 seemed a lot more competent. Beautiful weather - steeper climbs on day 1, but there was "more" wind on day 2 and it was a bit longer. Well organised, well signed, although the food stops lacked a little imagination (but were well stocked) and I will not be going back for Accelerade any time soon!

Routes were really good (sad to have missed day 3 - but not if the weather was a stinker), generally quiet and a mixture of country lanes, B roads and the odd quiet A road. The climb up Cheddar Gorge, Alfred's Tower and whatever the climb was called on day 2 near the cost with the burnt out tanks to your left were all pretty great. My favorite bit of cycling though was the otherwise "dull" last 30 miles on day 2 - we got a good group together, pretty much everyone took a turn and it flew by.

Massage tent was good and Somerset lovely in the sunshine.

DanL

Did all 3 days but a little disappointed with my times. Day 1 and 2 I did to the best of my ability, which isn't going to be very good. I averaged about 15mph on both those days but was aware it was three days so kept something back. I did the event in 2009 & 2010 and hadn't completed either without walking so that was my target for this year after taking a couple of years away from training to study. I started training again in February so wasn't expecting the earth.

Felt ok on the start of day 3, led a group of about 25 out from the start which was exhilarating but in retrospect, stupid. Heart rate was up in the high 140s (day 1 averaged 142 and day 2 134) for an hour and by the time I'd got to the first big hill i was averaging 19mph (I know that's not quick but it's a lot for me into a headwind!) struggled up the first set of hills and was glad to have them out of the way. Was fairly confident my objective of cycling the lot was going to be achieved after that point. The long 4 mile drag up to Exmoor was fine and i was chatting and enjoying the view.

The next 40 miles after that were ridiculous. climb after climb, then the rain started, then the wind was in my face and more and more people poured past me. I averaged 8.9 mph for 20 miles! Then my head started to go and I started to get a bit miserable and frustrated. I finally got to the 'easy' last 30 miles that starts with a 17% mile long descent when half way down my rear tyre exploded. I had to wait 30 minutes for a replacement tyre (not a complaint, they were really responsive and helpful, I understand that phone reception can be sketchy) and by the time I got going again I was shivering, despondent and going to miss getting an official time. Managed to get a final bit of energy from myself for the last section.

They'd taken down the timing stuff by the time I got there but the guy kindly took my number and added me to the results. I think I pretty much came last over all for the whole three days.

Give me something to aim for next year - to try and complete it in less than 24 hours!

I'm not experienced in group riding so don't like to get to get involved in case I do something stupid, I'm not happy descending (quite flat where I live) and I'm too heavy to climb effectively. Those things plus more endurance base are all things to work on for next year. I did a wiggle ride the week before in Essex where I managed to get round with an average of 19.5mph for nearly 80 miles so I've got some kind of fitness but a flat 80 miles isn't a hilly 330 over three days!

On the plus side I'm strong mentally (there was no way I was getting in that sweeper van), I love long distance cycling and I've got some good mates to train with.

Apologies, that first post turned into something of a self help session!

fizz

Day 1 73 mile route with my girlfriend who only started cycling in January, we completed it and I'm really proud of her. Some of the riding left a little to be desired across the narrow gravel road across the somerset levels. I'm not used to group riding but I have done enough to know to hold my line and point out obstacles. One guy chopped staight in front of me as he pulled in before he had finished overtaking me causing me a bit of a fright.

I skipped Sunday's ride and did the 112 mile route yesterday which was brutal. Hardest day I've done on the bike. Physically I felt fine, but the mental effort required to keep going into that head wind has left me feeling tired today.

Very very tough, but if it wasnt it wouldnt be a challenge and then it wouldnt be worth doing.

Respect to everybody who completed all 3 days.

vs

Exmoor is a tough place to cycle for sure. Well done to those who completed yesterday especially those with back to back centuries already in the legs.

Slightly off topic but here's what ex US pro Jered Gruber had to say about riding on Exmoor in Peloton magazine after a ride I did with him on an icy December day:

"They say Belgium is a crucible. They say that Belgium makes hard people and harder riders. They say that the cobbles and the weather and the wind toughens the skin and resolve and that out of the other side of the muddy assembly line, a flahute is born.

If Flanders serves as a crucible and womb for hard men, then Exmoor is where they made the crucible, where the mother of all tough was born. The weather and the wind are worse, the terrain is infinitely harder, the daylight that little bit shorter in the winter, the moors desolate, unforgiving, forlorn, but beautiful."

© Jered Gruber. Peloton. 2013.

The full 10 page article is in issue 18.

topcattim

DanL wrote:

Felt ok on the start of day 3.......The long 4 mile drag up to Exmoor was fine and i was chatting and enjoying the view...... The next 40 miles after that were ridiculous. climb after climb, then the rain started, then the wind was in my face and more and more people poured past me. I averaged 8.9 mph for 20 miles! Then my head started to go and I started to get a bit miserable and frustrated.

Sounds like you had a really tough day out there. That stretch on the top was just horrible wasn't it. It felt like real sadism when you had got to the top of the main climb, then turned left into a steepening descent with a hard right at the bottom straight into the headwind and steep hill again - almost deliberately designed to get your gears crunching.

I totally understand re the head going and getting miserable. At the second feed stop I texted my wife who replied that she was shopping in a local retail centre. I hate shopping, but at that moment would happily have spent the day there rather than out on the moor.

Bad news re the burst tyre. Still, at least you can come back next year and enjoy it more!

AlexMac1973

I wasn't sure if I was gong to make it for all 3 days, but I managed it and completed it thankfully.

This was the hardest cycling event I've ever done, I trained 3 nights a week on the turbo plus at least one ride to get 200k in a week so the legs would feel ok for recovery. I thought cornwall had some b/stard hills, nothing on par with the time trail on day 3 on exmoor, that 25% decent on the way down was a bit hairy! I lost the feeling in two fingers I was holding onto the brakes so hard

Day 1 was going swimingly, I got to feed station 3 (No:2 to me as I was on the medium route) in good time with a good pace of around 26/27kph average, called the wife to say I'd be back around an hour so see you soon. Went back onto the road and missed the sign to turn left and carried on, god knows how but I managed to navigate my route onto the standard. Only when I got to 110km I started to get suspicious that something wasn't right. Luckily when I realised one of the motorcycle guys stopped to make sure I was ok, we had a chat and decided the only thing I could do was keep riding on the route back to feed stop 3. There was a few surprised looks from people when they saw my red timing number, especially when the wife called to see where I was and I was half way up Alfreds Tower. On I trotted (well peddled) and eventually made it back, I covered 180km with my detour on that day, the legs were feeling it. All I kept thinking was there is no way I am going in that broom wagon!

Day 2 was tough with the extra milage under the belt from day 1, nothing that presented any problems although the hill on the way of the thatched village before the last fee stop got the lungs going.

Day 3 started well, the first 30k only took just over an hour, but then the hills came and things slowed up. All in all I made it back, the legs burned a bit on the last 20k but then you have to think 'what would Jens do?'.

My only criticism was the feed stops could do with something better than sugary stuff and nasty energy drink. The motorcade guys were great, hats off to them as they never gripped once and probably did more milage than we did.

I'd do it all again, but I'm losing a stone of upper body weight first. :idea:

DanL

topcattim wrote:

DanL wrote:

Felt ok on the start of day 3.......The long 4 mile drag up to Exmoor was fine and i was chatting and enjoying the view...... The next 40 miles after that were ridiculous. climb after climb, then the rain started, then the wind was in my face and more and more people poured past me. I averaged 8.9 mph for 20 miles! Then my head started to go and I started to get a bit miserable and frustrated.

Sounds like you had a really tough day out there. That stretch on the top was just horrible wasn't it. It felt like real sadism when you had got to the top of the main climb, then turned left into a steepening descent with a hard right at the bottom straight into the headwind and steep hill again - almost deliberately designed to get your gears crunching.

I totally understand re the head going and getting miserable. At the second feed stop I texted my wife who replied that she was shopping in a local retail centre. I hate shopping, but at that moment would happily have spent the day there rather than out on the moor.

Bad news re the burst tyre. Still, at least you can come back next year and enjoy it more!

I just checked my Garmin connect account after reading your story and it was 8.9mph for 75 minutes - and I guess most of that was up the toll road - it just felt like 2 hours!

I think the burst tyre might be to do with my descending (lack of) ability. I think I rode the brakes so hard that the rim heated up to the point the tyre and tube couldn't deal with it.

That right turn after the main climb was like a punch in the face. I was telling myself how (relatively) easy the main climb had been and now I had a descent to look forward to when all of a sudden I had to make a gravelly turn back into it and up we went again.

Hope your injury clears up fully soon - you've given me a chuckle with your idea of 'taking it easy by only cycling 220 miles with thousands of feet of ascent' as rehab!

I'll definitely be back next year and I won't be whinging any time I have to train into a heavy wind in the meantime. I'll be ready for it in 2014!

Roobsa

This was my first sportive (talking about diving in at the deep end, eh!) but I was dead impressed with the quality of riding throughout the 3 days. Any time I'd join a group, either by catching one up or getting caught by one, the group would naturally start working together doing turns on the front sharing the work load.

I'd say my favourite climbs were Whiteways and Porlock Toll road, though special mention to Cheddar Gorge. That was pretty awesome. The descent down into the first feed station on day 3 was insane. My Garmin maxed out at 57.9mph down there! There was a moment going up the first climb on day 3 (around the 25 mile mark) where I really questioned whether I'd be able to do the rest of the 85~ miles.

My main goal was to finish the full three days, second goal was to not let any hill beat me. Having achieved both, there's a massive sense of achievement that I think will last for a few days. Will definitely be back despite the agony (I secretly love it). Can't wait for the photos!

Mendip rouleur

Did all three days for the 3rd (& definitely last) time. This year's route was the hardest I've done (in 2010 I remember Dunkerry Beacon but this was worse because of the headwind combined with the repetitive nature of the climbs), and though we were lucky with the weather by comparison with some previous years, Exmoor was brutal.

Has anyone looked at the times on Pendragon website? Mine are missing, even though I know I "beeped" after every timing checkpoint in 3 days, bit frustrating if there is no official result after all that effort!

topcattim

Mendip rouleur wrote:

Has anyone looked at the times on Pendragon website? Mine are missing, even though I know I "beeped" after every timing checkpoint in 3 days, bit frustrating if there is no official result after all that effort!

Yup, mine are missing too. I'm wondering if that is because they haven't yet processed them all - I was signed up for all three days but had to miss the first day due to injury, so they will only have clocked me on days two and three.

So far they don't seem to have posted times for people who did single days (or for any of the climbs), so let's hope when they tidy up the data they will find you and me.

theHAIRYleggedONE

Individual days results:
http://www.stuweb.co.uk/results.html

Classic event!
Portlock toll was the one climb I had looked forward to the most and it didn't disappoint! Loved the pain of the last day in a very wierd way :evil:
Impressed with the standard of riders, although I've not done many Sportives... this one was one which really had some good riders willing to do work and keep the group rolling on.

AlexMac1973

Thanks for posting the link Hairy, good to see the results.

They still haven't moved my result over to the standard route for day 1, I'd asked a few times to have it changed and every time they told me they would move it. Never mind, according to the results I'm 2nd last but if I hadn't have missed the signage I reckon I'd have been in the top 100.

Best make sure I do better next year

tlr

Just to add my thanks to the organisers; great event, well organised, and I thought that the feed stations were spot on. More savoury stuff than I've seen on an event before (except maybe the Whitton).

I thought £105 was actually pretty good value given the support, the number of marshals etc, and the logistics of running an event for 3 days. Put many events to shame.

Very glad it didn't rain on day 3 I have to say.

Krys

Gutted - looks like they have me down as a DNF for Day 2 and 3...and I mostly certainly wasn't! Maybe if the timing chips hadn't been so flimsy and a pain to attach? I much prefer helmet stickers...or the tag/bike number combo.

Mendip rouleur

Yep, I'm DNF for Day 1 on their timing sheets, even though they timed me up the climbs. How/who do you contact to let them know to change it?

The timing chips were rubbish. Saw this type on the Black Rat last year, Dragon a couple of years ago and they are flimsy and prone to malfunction. Call me a luddite but what iswrong with the old chips you attach to your wheel? Is it a cost saving? Loads of people were trying to attach them to their bikes where they also have small saddle bags, and they don't fit. And who wants to attach a gluey thing to their bike anyway? Rant over.

Other than that a good event I thought. Ha'peth of tar though Pendragon, ha'peth of tar

iainjh68

Did all 3 days and full 330+ miles.

Found it all ok. I rode within myself on day 1, rode with some slower friends on day 2, which meant I have good legs for day 3.

Day 3 was tough accross Exmoor with that headwind, which I seemed to do all on my own. But I got back well before any rain so pleased with how I went.

I have to admit, due to not riding my Cervelo since last Oct my 'seat' area was not used to 330+ miles on that particular saddle :shock: legs held up fine though.

All good training for Geneva -> Nice in July