Lakeland Monster Miles

durhamwasp

Anyone doing the Monster Miles and have a route profile?

The promo video looks excellent, and should be some stunning scenery if the weather is decent.

Planning on doing the 62 mile route.

andy46

Me and my girlfriend are doing the mini massif route (44 miles) this is a link from Garmin if it works!

http://connect.garmin.com/course/4788284

Guanajuato

Links to the GPX files here: http://bookmyride.ipcshop.co.uk/shop/maps-route-info

I'm booked on the Massif route. I'm doing it on a heavy MTB - From the description I reckon a road bike with wider tyres might be OK. But I'd rather not take the chance, and after 2 pinch flats just on potholed roads recently, I'm not too sure I'd get round even if I took half a dozen spares.
Never done that kind of distance on the MTB before. Done a few 20-odd milers and definitely more tiring than the same distance on a road bike. I've got some more suitable tyres (Schwalbe CX Comp) so I'm not wasting too much energy on the road sections. And replaced the original heavy fork with a similar heavy (but slightly lighter) fork with lockout. Definitely makes climbing easier.
I'm looking forward to it with a little trepidation. Should be fun. The weather forecast is looking OK at the moment, but this IS the lake district.

For anyone looking for somewhere cheap to stay the night before, I can recommend Denton House Hostel, just where the old railway goes over the Penrith Road. Basic, but ideally located and doesn't seem to have the Keswick premium to pay. No link to the place, just it was perfect for the Jennings Rivers Ride last year. Had booked for this year too, but that was postponed.

durhamwasp

just rearranged my gearing on the cross bike for it, hope its dry or those off-road sectors are gonna feel twice the length!

Can you pay on the day?

Guanajuato

Just for information, anyone coming along the A66 on the morning, leave a little extra time.
http://www.thewestmorlandgazette.co.uk/ ... d_Keswick/

As for on the day entries, the website doesn't mention either way. Maybe get in touch with Rather Be Cycling (the organisers) on Facebook.

durhamwasp

From Cycling Weekly's facebook page:

"If you've been contemplating trying our new adventure cross event this weekend, there's still time to come and give it a go? Online entry closes on Thursday at 5pm but you can register on the day.
http://bit.ly/16eRHUJ"

andy46

I'm also doing this on a mtb which currently has Continental Race King's on but I do have a set of Mountain King's in the shed.
Which would be the better tyre to use?

Guanajuato

andy46 wrote:

I'm also doing this on a mtb which currently has Continental Race King's on but I do have a set of Mountain King's in the shed.
Which would be the better tyre to use?

Its really intended for roadies seeking a challenge & something different. Cross bikes are the ideal, supposedly.
Seeing as its half on road, and the offroad sections are mostly bridleways & fire roads, with a couple of muddy sections. low rolling resistance is probably the main thing to look for, but with more grip than you'd get from slicks. (see the article in Cycling weekly a couple of weeks back).
Looking at the descriptions and pictures of the two tyres you mention, the Race Kings look like they should be the more suitable - fewer/smaller nobbles to deform and soak up energy. But I'm not exactly an expert.

And to prove my lack of expertise, here's my numpty question: :oops:
I've got a (cheap suntour hydraulic) lockout fork. Is it OK to switch the lock on/off whilst riding or should I stop and get off to unload the fork before locking?

andy46

Yeah, think I'll go with the race kings. Just hope it's not too wet.

As for your fork, I would think you'd be alright switching modes while moving. I do with mine although mine is an air fork, not hydraulic. I can't see there being a problem though.

Maybe ask in the mtb part of the forum

Guanajuato

andy46 wrote:

Just hope it's not too wet.

BBC, Accuweather & Met office all say periods of light rain on Sunday. But the Met Office forecast for the Lake District is

Some mist or fog patches at first will be slow to clear, but once they have cleared a dry and bright day with sunny spells should be expected with a light southwesterly breeze.

Yesterday, the BBC said heavy rain in one forecast and sunny in another. Make of that what you will. Living here, I know it could quite easily be all of those, potentially at the same time. Absolutely bucketing down overnight & so far today. So the ground is going to be wet whatever. Such Fun!

andy46 wrote:

Maybe ask in the mtb part of the forum

:shock: They'd have me riding full suspension & baggies and pointlessly twisting handlebars every time the front wheel left the ground. :P

andy46

Ah yes, all I've been doing these last few days is checking various weather websites. It'll be a good day whatever, we're really looking forward to it

andy46 wrote:

Maybe ask in the mtb part of the forum

:shock: They'd have me riding full suspension & baggies and pointlessly twisting handlebars every time the front wheel left the ground. :P[/quote]

Cheshire Cat

Now that was an effort and a half (did the Massif), anybody that went into the event thinking it was a breeze would have got a rude awakening. Did it on my cross bike, and although there were one or two sections where a mtn bike would have been the wise choice, on the whole a cross bike was the best choice. Rode with Schwalbe Sammy Slicks, although they slipped several times when out of the saddle they proved their worth - no punctures.

A great course, demanding, especially that bloody climb through Whinlatter, hope they run it again next year.

Guanajuato

Cheshire Cat wrote:

Now that was an effort and a half (did the Massif)

Agreed!
I did it on my MTB and wished I had a lighter bike. Even the sections where I wimped out & walked were hard work. I was close to just sitting down and quitting by the 2nd ramp in 'The How' through Whinlatter. by that point, the slightest uphill had me in my lowest gear, struggling. I wasn't the only one though.

Couple of falls. One on the Fellside sector where I just couldn't quite unclip quick enough and toppled onto the grass. 2nd was just where the track dived down the gulley to Loweswater. Braked to turn and the bike just kept sliding and got trapped in a rut. Again, couldn't unclip and fell quite hard on my shoulder. The marshall was very helpful.

Chapeu to the marshalls who couldn't have been having a nice day with that wind blown drizzle. Not impressed with the people at the Loweswater feed station saying it was only 20km left - must have been at least 20 MILES. :shock:

One thing I found hard was trying to choose a safe line but having some nutcase pass at speed half an inch away. I saw a few people doing it on Singlespeeds - Insane! There were a few people completely unaware of others around them. One bloke almost took several people out on the Fellside sector as he swung his bike onto his shoulder, more than once.

It was an experience and an acheivement. But I'm sticking to roads from now on, or just pootling round Grizedale with my daughter.

durhamwasp

Very challenging sportive! Don't let the 62 miles deceive you, this was tough!

Hardly a flat 10 metre stretch all day, over every terrain you can imagine! Can only see this becoming more and more popular, especially if it wasn't held during cross season!

Took our 2 guys just under 8hrs, albeit after quite a few soft drinks in Keswick until the early morning of Sunday! :P

mikenetic

Really enjoyed it, excellent route signage and very good marshals. Props to everyone who finished, a tough but very rewarding day out on the bike. Some spectacular scenery and lots of nice riders.

It was hard, but everything was rideable on a CX bike. The climb up Whinlatter Forest was a bit tough with a 36-27 as the lowest gear. Worth it for the descent though, that was excellent.

I had fairly chunky tyres (Schwalbe Racing Ralph/Rocket Ron) and they worked a treat.

mikepeters

Tough but very rewarding day and very well organised. I could have done with a lot less air in my tyres though, as I was bouncing down most of the hills. I was on Sammy Slicks too (when I wasn't on my backside :? ).

Guanajuato

durhamwasp wrote:

Hardly a flat 10 metre stretch all day, over every terrain you can imagine!

And any flat stretch was generally under 3" of mud or covered in loose rock. I struggled as much with the descents as the climbs. I very nearly took a 'shortcut' on one hairpin on the descent in Whinlatter, just slid, gradually slowing down and missed the drop on the outside of the corner by about a foot. Felt a bit sorry for the guy just in front of me who stopped at the bottom with only 2 chainring bolts remaining. :shock:

Very glad for the cuppa at the end, and the bike wash. Could have done with a shower too.


Scales Hill, looking back towards Loweswater from just past the marshalls on the cattle grid. The only section of road that had me walking - legs had properly gone by this point.

Psychotext

Wouldn't be surprised if I saw a few of you on the day... I'd have been the one swearing at my legs as you cruised on by!

Anyone know how many people started the massif? I was told that quite a few people switched to the mini when they had the choice. I know about 280 people finished the massif in total.

On an event related note, towards the end I had pretty much decided that I'd had it and I was going to take the shortcut when I got to it. What I hadn't realised is that I'd gone right past the shortcut without noticing and was actually not far off the top. I would have felt so much better had I known!

The marshal just before that section had asked "are you feeling ok" etc and I'd replied sarcastically "No!" with a laugh and just carried on up the hill. I'm guessing she actually wanted to know if I was going to take the other option.

Guanajuato

Psychotext wrote:

Wouldn't be surprised if I saw a few of you on the day... I'd have been the one swearing at my legs as you cruised on by!

You & me both! And I know there were a fair few others too I was very close to taking the shortcut on the road at Whinlatter but decided 'Bugger it, I've come this far, I'm going to do the lot or pass out trying' With hindsight...

If you enjoyed the scenery but weren't enamoured with the off-road sections, the Jennings Rivers Ride have just announced the rearranged date following postponement in September. Its now on May 25th. Organised by the same people (Gav & Cheryl of RatherBeCycling) but money goes to the Cumbria Community Foundation charity. You can sign up from tomorrow. I did the community circuit last year as I'd only just got back into cycling. Despite the weather (far worse than Sunday) it was a very enjoyable day.
I'm signed up to do the Foundation Flyer, but only because I'm also signed up for the Family ride with my daughter and couldn't possibly manage the full route in 4 hours. Its going to be hard getting the foundation flyer done in time. Its not that Honister Pass scares the willies out of me at all. :roll:

andy46

My other half and me did this, it was our first event ever and was a lot harder than we expected. Once we got to the finish and got our medals though it was worth it

I managed to come off on a downhill part, no injuries and the bike is ok. It did knock my confidence for the rest of the off road stuff though.

We're thinking of doing the 3 rivers ride, is this all on roads, or is there off roads parts to it?

Definitely got the bug for organized events, loved the atmosphere and I'm going to try a sportive next year.

Guanajuato

andy46 wrote:

We're thinking of doing the 3 rivers ride, is this all on roads, or is there off roads parts to it?

All road, although some of the roads may only just fit that description. Whinlatter (from Lorton or Scale Hill direction) is the easier of the 3 passes.

andy46

Guanajuato wrote:

andy46 wrote:

We're thinking of doing the 3 rivers ride, is this all on roads, or is there off roads parts to it?

All road, although some of the roads may only just fit that description. Whinlatter (from Lorton or Scale Hill direction) is the easier of the 3 passes.

Would the hybrid be the best choice of bike for this then?

Guanajuato

andy46 wrote:

Would the hybrid be the best choice of bike for this then?

Depends - if its a choice of hybrid or MTB, I'd say hybrid. But it IS a road coarse, so a road bike would be the best option. I'll be using the road bike. But if you do it on a 53/39 with a 11-23 at the back, you'll struggle unless you're very fit/strong.
A fair few bits of the road sections of the monster miles are used. Nothing as badly potholed as the bit of road/track on the climb that was called 'Stairway to Heaven'. Expect a few potholes and possibly a bit of farm debris. The bit that was on the road between Loweswater & the killer section through Whinlatter is about as bad as hard as the road riding gets, with the exception of the last mile of Honister - see the Tour of Britain Stage 2 highlights.

Psychotext

Pictures are up: http://sportivephoto.thirdlight.com/vie ... 598&home=1

I wont say which rider I am, but I'm super, super serious.

durhamwasp

So, over 700 entrants for this! Does anybody know how many officially paid for the Massif, and how many finished it? Having read only 260 finished the massif, with most turning off to the smaller loop.

Psychotext

They just said this on facebook:

"644 starters and yes quite a few switched from the long to the short route at the split point on the day. Most of our routes are a bit back loaded with challenges but we reckon that just makes the beer / glass of vino at the end of the day taste sooooo much better "

If registration was anything to go by there were far more riders on the massif, but I'm guessing they'll never tell us!

alesupper

Don't suppose anyone has a gpx file for the massif route I can have please?

Psychotext

Edit - Removed

alesupper

Thanks but it says it is private/locked.

Psychotext

Try this one: http://www.gpsies.com/map.do?fileId=ybz ... 0CB4D3366C

alesupper

Nice one. Thanks very much.