Fred Whitton 2014 Changes

robklancs

Cheers, that will feel like 20 on way back!

nunowoolmez

I've not had letter either yet, tomorrow I hope!

I think I will still drive to be honest. I like to dump everything in the car & sort jersey pockets & clothing choice at venue & last time I did it we got a load of (useful) free stuff at registration, which was nice, & that got dumped in the car. Also, if it's rubbish weather its nice to get changed into warm dry clothes at the end before the complimentary free meal you get at the finish, & it's always nice to stay & chat & compare tales for a bit. I remember last time was the year Man City won the title with that crazy game & the Sergio Agueroooooo! goal, & that was being shown in the bar & made for quite an end to a great day.

This year I will be hoping for a mental last minute goal for Arsenal which will clinch the title for us. It's Jack Wilsheeeeeere!

neil.s

Anyone else still waiting on their letter? :shock:

warreng

Got mine today

There was a tweet earlier on as well blaming the lack of emails on people providing the wrong email address

nunowoolmez

Got mine today too. :-)

lakesluddite

Not got a letter yet (as of wednesday, maybe waiting for me now).

The official rider list is now live, and I'm on that, happy days! Better get some training in then...:shock:

See y'all on the 11th May

neil.s

GOT MY LETTER!!!!!!!

alexjones5

Does anyone who's mentioned trying to get round in about 7 hours fancy starting and trying to ride together?
If we set off in a group I reckon we'd have more chance? Share the work and encourage each other etc

nunowoolmez

alexjones5 wrote:

Does anyone who's mentioned trying to get round in about 7 hours fancy starting and trying to ride together?
If we set off in a group I reckon we'd have more chance? Share the work and encourage each other etc

In principle that it a good idea, but due to the extreme & relentless nature of the climbs, i reckon a group would quickly splinter & it would be difficult to keep together. Also, people might feel under pressure to really smash it & then end up blowing & risk NFA'ing due to the pace. In my opinion, unless a group is well used to riding with each other & knows the levels of each riders strength is similar on the flat, climbs & descents, I don't think this course lends itself to spontaneous groups being formed & kept.

Having said all that, I joined up with a couple of lads early on in the Wiggle Long One last year & we stuck it out the whole way round, it was fairly evident we were all of the same ability, & it did make a big difference to time & energy. Although longer than the Fred, it doesn't feature Freds brutal climbs. So quite different.

Fair play to anyone who wants to give it a go though. Chapeau & all that...

alexjones5

agree with you to a point but there are several people within this thread who have stated a 7 hour target time. Once over Kirkstone there is a significant section to the bottom of Honister where riding in a group is, pretty much essential, I reckon. Honister is so steep I can't see anyone taking significant time gaps out of each other (if the target is 7 hours)

Also, it is always good to ride with a few like minded souls isn't it? Especially over Cold Fell!

nunowoolmez

Yes definately, although Cold Fell just reminds me of some sort of horrific battle scene where plucky riders pit themselves against the worst nature can throw at them. Every man for himself!

I guess it would be good to give it a go & see what happens. It would certainly make it more manageable between climbs & a good way of reserving energy (as long as everyone did equal turns!!). I would love to have a go at 7 hrs but feel that is beyond me right now. Unless we are talking 7hrs 'ride time', not 7hrs total time (ie including stops etc).

warreng

So I'm doing 200km a week (commute and a longer weekend ride) and 3 turbo sessions of 45 mins and a couple of hours of pilates.

I did some hill-reps on Sunday which included Box Hill and Ranmore Common which was ok-ish - slow but ok. I then did Pebble Hill Road which I think is the steepest hill I can find near me - according to Strava it is about 20% at it's steepest. I thought my heart was going to come out of my nose

I genuinely don't think I'll finish - especially if the weather is poor

twizit

WarrenG wrote:

So I'm doing 200km a week (commute and a longer weekend ride) and 3 turbo sessions of 45 mins and a couple of hours of pilates.

Blimey, when do you fit it all in?! - this coming from someone who's doing around 140 miles a week of commuting and weekend riding. Am certainly hoping that will be enough training for me and the Fred, after throwing in a few early season sportives / longer rides.

Trying not to get worried about hill speed at this stage of the year, and just concentrating on getting more miles in the legs. If you're around Ranmore Common, then there has to be a nice hill circuit to be made up around there, also taking in Whitedown, Crocknorth Lane and Coombe Bottom, all of which get up to around 20% in places.

nunowoolmez

WarrenG wrote:

So I'm doing 200km a week (commute and a longer weekend ride) and 3 turbo sessions of 45 mins and a couple of hours of pilates.

I did some hill-reps on Sunday which included Box Hill and Ranmore Common which was ok-ish - slow but ok. I then did Pebble Hill Road which I think is the steepest hill I can find near me - according to Strava it is about 20% at it's steepest. I thought my heart was going to come out of my nose

I genuinely don't think I'll finish - especially if the weather is poor[/quote]

Jeez, why so negative? It's not even mid February! If you turn up at the start thinking like that, then yes, you won't finish, because you will have already accepted defeat in your head. What's the point? Just get on with your training & quit the loser speak. Man up & you will be suprised at what you can achieve. If people with one arm can do it, you can! (I assume you have 2 arms?). Remember with training it is the accumulative effect, you shouldn't expect it to necessarily start kicking in straight away. Keep at it & be positive man.

warreng

You're quite right, apologies. I AM A TIGER, GRRRRRRR!

*punches wall and karate chops the dog*

pollys_bott

WarrenG wrote:

So I'm doing 200km a week (commute and a longer weekend ride) and 3 turbo sessions of 45 mins and a couple of hours of pilates.

I did some hill-reps on Sunday which included Box Hill and Ranmore Common which was ok-ish - slow but ok. I then did Pebble Hill Road which I think is the steepest hill I can find near me - according to Strava it is about 20% at it's steepest. I thought my heart was going to come out of my nose

I genuinely don't think I'll finish - especially if the weather is poor

Wot Nunowoolmez said...

Warren - you're doing 50km a week, 3 turbo sessions and a couple of hours of Pilates more than me...

I had the sh1t kicked out of me by the Ryedale Rumble (70-odd miles around the North York Moors) in 2010 - I just wasn't prepared for the on/off/on/off effort required to get up numerous nasty short and not-so-short climbs. I trained harder and smarter for the 2011 ride and got up both signature climbs that had had me for breakfast the previous year (Boltby & Blakey Banks). As I said to my bro-in-law: "Want to get better at riding hard steep climbs? Ride hard steep climbs." Sounds like you've got some close to you so go ride them! It doesn't matter how slowly you go up them as long as you get up them. No-one goes quickly up Honister or Hardknott. We all know it's going to be frickin' hard so practise riding frickin' hard to give yourself the best chance of doing well on the day. The Fred is still 12 weeks away, lots of time...

I'm aiming to do my last 'big' ride a fortnight before the Fred - bike over to Rutland Water and do the 70 mile Rutland CiCle Tour then ride home. Approx 120 miles over lumpy (for here) terrain with the 25 miles home doubtless into a headwind . I'd then have four days a week commuting (7-10 miles each way, not exactly strenuous) after that, two days off then the Fred. Sensible?

DeVlaeminck

No I think that is far too much of a taper - 2 weeks of not really exerting yourself on the bike will see you lose a little bit of fitness and you don't need 2 weeks to be fresh.

pollys_bott

Well, I can make the commutes as hard as I want but I was working on the premise that I'm not going to gain any more fitness in those last two weeks. I could chuck in a 5-ish hour ride on the penultimate Friday which would give me a week of commutes to tick over and stay fresh. That would suffice, in your experience?

Guanajuato

Drove over Hardknott & Wrynose passes on my commute today (jealous ayone?). The surface has suffered even more over the winter. The descent of Hardknott in particular is very dangerous. There's a few places where potholes are a foot deep, spread across the steepest sections, covered in loose rocks. The worst is on the 2nd to last right-handed hairpin where its hard to tell road from fellside.

Unless you're a confident descender with VERY good brakes, seriously consider walking down. Someone is going to get seriously hurt because of the shitty road maintenance of Cumbria County Council.

lakesluddite

Guanajuato wrote:

Drove over Hardknott & Wrynose passes on my commute today (jealous ayone?). The surface has suffered even more over the winter. The descent of Hardknott in particular is very dangerous. There's a few places where potholes are a foot deep, spread across the steepest sections, covered in loose rocks. The worst is on the 2nd to last right-handed hairpin where its hard to tell road from fellside.

Unless you're a confident descender with VERY good brakes, seriously consider walking down. Someone is going to get seriously hurt because of the sh!tty road maintenance of Cumbria County Council.

Thanks for the warning G, lets face it, if CCC can't repair the mess that is Kendal town centre (I'm thinking of the Lowther Street/New Road/Blackhall Road area), then what chance do we have of them sorting Hard Knott and Wrynose?
I'm heading out that way for a few days in a self catering place, so I'll be testing myself on the ascent of Hard Knott. Looks like I'll have to test myself on the descent as well.

markhewitt1978

Guanajuato wrote:

Drove over Hardknott & Wrynose passes on my commute today (jealous ayone?). The surface has suffered even more over the winter. The descent of Hardknott in particular is very dangerous. There's a few places where potholes are a foot deep, spread across the steepest sections, covered in loose rocks. The worst is on the 2nd to last right-handed hairpin where its hard to tell road from fellside.

Unless you're a confident descender with VERY good brakes, seriously consider walking down. Someone is going to get seriously hurt because of the sh!tty road maintenance of Cumbria County Council.

To be fair on the council, this is a very minor road in a very out of the way place, plus the winter is not over yet, so there's little point in coming out to fit the potholes which are still being damaged by the overnight frosts.

nedmoran

Be interested to hear what state other parts of the route are in. I'll hopefully be heading over in a few weeks to do the route in 2 halves. I heard the road that leads to honister had collapsed somewhere near Grange?

hatone

If anyone here on Bike Radar is unable to do the Fred for any reason, I would happily take up their place (your entry can be transferred to 2015) please let me know. Thanks

overlord2

markhewitt1978 wrote:

To be fair on the council, this is a very minor road in a very out of the way place, plus the winter is not over yet, so there's little point in coming out to fit the potholes which are still being damaged by the overnight frosts.

Really? Come on this is one of the main tourist destinations in the UK and they can't keep the road safe. People don't want an alpine smooth road but it would be nice to actually be able to use the road without being thrown off or having suspension and alloy wheels torn to shreds. Too much to ask? :roll:

Its not just through winter though is it the road was in a bad state on the last Fred and its probably not even been touched. That second to last bend he was talking about was bad then I suspect the road now has been completely washed away. Not acceptable in 2014 in my opinion.

lakesluddite

Well, went over Hard Knott on wednesday morning, not too bad after pootling in from Eskdale (about 5 miles), but after 90% of the Fred Whitton Route and Kirkstone, Honister, Newlands, Whinlatter, Cold Fell in the legs it'll be a different beast! I was really glad I had a 28 cog on the cassette and had just swapped to a compact up front, just made it that much easeir (less hard!). The best thing was looking into the eyes of the motorists coming down the bends, utter concentration/fear, and there was one flat bed van that left a lot of burnt rubber on the way up, only to give up and have to reverse back and abort the attempt! I'd much rather try and cycle up it than have to drive up.
The condition of the road - going up it's strange, but imagine a tarmac road that has wrinkled (just think Samuel Becketts forehead), not potholed but lumpy in places. On the way down the road was generally below average, not that dangerous as I was constantly on the brakes and alone so able to pick my line, but yes there is one three metre section near the end of the descent, over what looks like a stone bridge, which is absolutely horrendous - it looks like the water has washed the tarmac away and all that is left is gravel and dirt. Saying this, I was still squealing down on both brakes so I didn't hit it at any speed, and saw it in plenty of time so managed fine, and it's on a flatter section. When there's going to be dozens of riders all squeezed onto that section, then that's another thing, but I'm just going to make sure I'm tight on the brakes all the way down.

nammynake

For those who did it last year in the rain, what clothing advice would you give should we have similar conditions?

jxohn

It's the lake district and has it's own climate! I underestimated last year in shorts, windproof shirt, waterproof, and windproof gloves. My legs were cramping from the cold and rain before Hardknott so will be taking leg warmers this year. i have also bought some Endura neoprene gloves to possibly have in my pocket in case of rain. Try braking down hardknott when you can't feel your fingers! It's the most terrified I have been on a descent.

alexjones5

I was exactly the same last year. Knew it was coming but not as early as it did. 30 minutes at Calder Bridge wrapped in Alu blankets and fan heaters.

This year I've invested in a Castelli Gabba top which, unless its tropical, I'll wear with a decent base layer, the nanoflex arm and leg warmers (can always take em off) and a gilet. Depending on forecast may also start in overshoes and winter gloves.

overlord2

nammynake wrote:

For those who did it last year in the rain, what clothing advice would you give should we have similar conditions?

Wear 3 or 4 layers. Some gloves with changeable liners. Skull cap. Neck buff. Leggings that you can take off. Water proof jacket thats packable.

This is what I wore last year and I didn't freeze to death. Those looking at me at the start weren't looking at me so wierd at Calder Bridge.

If it gets hot you can take all that stuff off or even dump it and collect it later.

I really didnt understand how people managed to get it so wrong last year. As cyclists we train through the winter in awful conditions you wouldnt have set off on a 100 mile training run in shorts with no provisions for bad weather so why do it on something like this. Didn't and doesnt make sense to me. :?

And scrutinse the weather forecast.

jxohn

Hindsight is a wonderful thing! The weather did catch many out last year the severity of the wind and rain wasn't forecast. I wouldn't say i got it wrong as i was equipped for the forecast. I think most cyclists like to travel as light as possible hence the desire to cut down on clothes where necessary. However in the case of the Fred I think a more cautious approach is warranted. the section over cold fell is close to the coast and susceptible to extreme weather even in May! Overlord got it right but I can understand why many didn't. Let's hope we have to worry about suncream this year!