Jennings Big Ride - Keswick

durhamwasp
durhamwasp Posts: 1,247
edited May 2014 in Sportives/audaxes/training rides
Anyone doing this on Sunday May 25th? (Bank hol weekend)

Looks a cracking 75 miler, with Whinlatter, Newlands and Honister passes in the last 30 miles! Family rides, beer tents, entertainment etc in Keswick too, should be a good one!

6 of us doing it, hope its dry!
http://www.snookcycling.wordpress.com - Reports on Cingles du Mont Ventoux, Alpe D'Huez, Galibier, Izoard, Tourmalet, Paris-Roubaix Sportive & Tour of Flanders Sportive, Amstel Gold Xperience, Vosges, C2C, WOTR routes....

Comments

  • Guanajuato
    Guanajuato Posts: 399
    I'm doing the middle distance ride - 55 miles over Whinlatter twice & Newlands. I've got a target of 4 hours to get back to take my daughter on the family ride as well. Might be cheeky and head out with the longer route riders half an hour early.

    Did it the September before last, in the pouring rain and it was great fun. I was signed up for it last September too, but the horrific weather cause it to be postponed - The rain was worse than the Tour of Britain the following day. Hopefully moving it to May will mean its less likely to be a genuine rivers ride.
  • durhamwasp
    durhamwasp Posts: 1,247
    Good sportive, very well organised, fully stocked feed stations and a belter of a route! The sun even appeared!

    50 miles in and it was time for Whinlatter, Newlands and Honister pass in the next 15 miles, getting harder as they went!

    Only negatives I can say were that it would have been nice to have some energy drinks at the feeds, they were well stocked (sandwiches, biscuits, crisps, flapjack and water) but some drinks or gels would have been nice. Also disappointed that Jennings (the sponsors) had closed their beer tent and left by the time we finished at 4pm, seems you needed to ride the shorter routes to warrant a pint at the end.
    http://www.snookcycling.wordpress.com - Reports on Cingles du Mont Ventoux, Alpe D'Huez, Galibier, Izoard, Tourmalet, Paris-Roubaix Sportive & Tour of Flanders Sportive, Amstel Gold Xperience, Vosges, C2C, WOTR routes....
  • tackleberry
    tackleberry Posts: 82
    Weather was spot on and, I agree, a belter of a route. Very well organised from start to finish. I've heard that other supportive can't maintain stocks at feed stations. All I can say is that there were no troubles here.
    Honister and Newlands did for me tho'. Chewed me and spat me out. Descents were very, very hairy. Some like that sort of thing but not me. Wiggo crashed at the bottom of Honister and no wonder. Scary as hell.
    Looking forward to next year.

    T
  • carrock
    carrock Posts: 1,103
    Guanajuato wrote:
    I'm doing the middle distance ride - 55 miles over Whinlatter twice & Newlands. I've got a target of 4 hours to get back to take my daughter on the family ride as well. Might be cheeky and head out with the longer route riders half an hour early.

    Did it the September before last, in the pouring rain and it was great fun. I was signed up for it last September too, but the horrific weather cause it to be postponed - The rain was worse than the Tour of Britain the following day. Hopefully moving it to May will mean its less likely to be a genuine rivers ride.

    I also did the 55 miler, with ascents of Whinlatter, Newlands and Whinlatter again , and at 16 stone it was brutally hard.

    4 hours for that is good going- its like doing half the Fred Whitton.
  • carrock
    carrock Posts: 1,103
    the times are now up on the website. someone apparently did the 55 mile route, including 3 passes and 4000 ft of climbing, in 2 hours. thats faster than tour de france pace. My arse he did.
  • sportsunday
    sportsunday Posts: 73
    Photos at http://www.sportsunday.co.uk
  • durhamwasp
    durhamwasp Posts: 1,247
    bad day for us! too late (4pm) for the beer tent to still be open, and seemingly too slow to be photographed. Have to do a shorter route next year!
    http://www.snookcycling.wordpress.com - Reports on Cingles du Mont Ventoux, Alpe D'Huez, Galibier, Izoard, Tourmalet, Paris-Roubaix Sportive & Tour of Flanders Sportive, Amstel Gold Xperience, Vosges, C2C, WOTR routes....
  • Guanajuato
    Guanajuato Posts: 399
    Missed my 4 hour target by 15 minutes. :( A colleague did the long route in about the same time! Having done the 36 miler in the pouring rain in September 2012, It was nice to have some sun. I'm crap at hills, and the last kick up Honister did me. I got about 1/4 of the way up. The little climb out of Stair onto the Newlands road was a right bugger!
    I really like the way they have got a route in the lakes that starts with a flat(ish) 20 miles to get the legs warmed up.

    To make myself feel better, I tackled Hardknott from Cockley beck (east side) (after Birker Fell & the duddon valley - not exactly flat) and conquered it. Newlands is DEFINITELY harder. Maybe its the psycology of it being pretty much straight up where Hardknott is a series of very steep hairpins linked by not quite so very steep bits. Unfortunately, my GPS crashed about 2 miles from the end and I think its lost the track.

    I suspect the 2 hourer did the short route instead.

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