2014 Dragon Ride - some observations

prb007

I didn't sign up for this years' Dragon(I've done three of the last six)...injury, work commitments, a restoration project, and if I'm honest the £57.50 price tag to ride on my local roads, all combined, were enough for me to procrastinate long enough for it to be sold out.
However, last week, with the forecast looking ok, fitness returning and a couple of mates off to 'tag-along', I decided to do the same and did the 50 or so miles from Pontrhydyfen, up the Afan Valley, over the Bwlch and Rhigos climbs, before ambling home, this morning....
Some observations -
1. Shock-horror - roadies take themselves too seriously - far too many frowns, grimaces, grunts and groans from those around me.
2. The 'average' sportiviste - you know him, 15mph avg. speed, 2k bike, team kit, Garmin, doesn't have a clue how to ride in a bunch, or how to behave in a paceline, and really isn't very sure how to hold his own line..
3. Pointing at road hazards - potholes (there were plenty - come on NPTCBC, you could have made SOME effort to scan and repair the worst of it over the last three months!), manhole covers, dead animals etc, is not just for your mates; have the courtesy to point them out to others, too...
4. The Ambulance that had to negotiate 5-abreast groups on the way through Cymmer at about 10.00 - not until I screamed 'AMBULANCE' did the fifty or so riders in earshot fall into single-file...thirty years in industry and my ears could still hear it approaching, even though others, apparently, did not!
5. The angry Volvo, Jag and Audi drivers in Treorchy at the lights - chill out; its' once a year ffs! Does the more you spend on a car, make you more impatient, also??
6. The Mr.Creemy Ice cream van in Treherbert playing 'We'll Keep a Welcome in the Hillsides' - QUALITY!
7. Chapeau to any/all the 180-milers - some still out there, I imagine, especially as I'd be surprised if they stayed dry - the weather closed in about 16.30..bad luck.
...and NO - I didn't blag any freebies at the food stops, and yes I did point out road hazards to people as well as offer assistance to one guy with a puncture, two girls with a dropped chain and one poor lad on the Rhigos climb with a snapped derailleur.
Hope you all enjoyed - despite some of your poker faces that would have made Nairo Quintana look like Joe Pasquale .

longster

Would just like to add a few things. Why do a small minority of riders think it is ok to drop their empty gel/bar wrappers everywhere you are not Chris froome and do not have a team of people to clean up after you. If you think it is ok to litter our stunning local area please stay at home. And please look over your shoulder when pulling across the road when descending. On a positive note I was out training this morning and met and chatted to some lovely people. To they guy who's bike died just after cimla bad luck I really felt for you and the guy by the lights it Treorchy who put his empty rapper in his pocket who I patted on the back thanks. And I hope the guy who hit the sheep at the bottom of the rhigos is ok and have a speedy recovery.j

Grifteruk

Our club run crossed the route this morning a couple of times and it was interesting to see the range of riders who had entered.

broadly things were ok but it does seem like people who should know better (groups in club shirts for example) often ignoring the same rules they must follow on their own regular routes. Lots of 4/5 abrest forcing other riders onto the other side of the road to pass despite requests and ignorance of cars behind. Also a shameful ignorance of junctions which has been a common theme on a lot of the sportives ive entered in the past. If id been a car and not a cyclist on one section where 3 guys just pulled straight out of a junction in front of my group there'd have been a fatality - bonkers.

not the organisers fault of course but it seems like a lot of people seem to leave their brains at the start line. Its strange you would think riding on unfamiliar roads with loads of other people you dont know would cause people to be more cautious rather than less so

bikergirl17

Interesting observation on club kit. I wasn't on this but another sportive last week -- and it was like it gave them some cloak of immunity to ride irresponsibly. I had them pass on the inside nearly taking me out.

chrisw12

I did the ride today, I'm also local so had the debate of should I bother, so glad I did.

Think you're obs. about the cyclists is a bit harsh. Lots of good stuff going on out there. Yes a minority do silly things, with that number of people over that length of time, you're always going to be able to pick out some bad stuff.

The gel wrappers on the floor was disgusting, again a very small minority given the number of riders and gels that must have been consumed but tbh one is one too many.

Shark Sandwich

Can you clarify further on point one? I Cant' see see what's wrong with grunting and grimacing if you are hurting from a ride.

ilikecycling

I did my first Dragon yesterday, really enjoyed it. Really well organised and generally I thought the riders behaved fairly well. Saw two or three instances of idiocy but given the number of people taking part I guess that's no surprise. I still don't understand why people don't take a second to look over their shoulder when pulling out, especially when going at 40mph down hill! Littering drives me mad, but I was pleasantly surprised by how little there was on the road compared to some of the other events I've done, but at the second feed stop it was astonishing to see the amount of stuff just thrown on the floor. I would have thought a ride of this scale could have done a gel wrapper amnesty - swop an empty one for a full one at the feeds/finish perhaps?

On a separate note, what was the name of the hill they used for the 'King of the Mountains' ?

Grifteruk

As I said, "broadly" things were fine and agreed there are commonly those with less upstairs than others, which is difficult to avoid.

However I don't see that numbers of riders excuses the items I identified (or commented on by bikergirl17 on other events) and which were picked up despite the fact we only crossed only 20 miles of a sportive where most rode 140 miles. Had numbers on the road caused what were quite serious issues there may be some explanation (although perhaps not justification). They didn't, particularly the near miss T bone at a busy junction which actually came from riders who by their club affiliation should in my opinion know better. I suppose you had to be there to see the near miss at the junction I described but if those guys had taken me and 8 of my club mates down (which he very nearly did) because they ignored the rules of the road they'd be on the receiving end of a rather large bill for new bike(s). It sits alongside club members and others jumping red lights at the bottom of a blind descent across a lane of 40mph traffic in the 2013 event. By far the craziest thing I have ever seen any roadie do all to save about 10 seconds.

Not wanting to put a downer on the event by any means, which appeared to be enjoyed by those taking part with what looked like good support from motorbikes and marshals. I may even enter next year. However I stand by the view that people switch off in such events at times when they should be more aware of their actions.

nunowoolmez

....but what about that savage wind coming off the Black Mountain descent!! That was utter carnage. Actually at the top of all the big climbs was pretty gnarly but all part of the fun I suppose! Great day all round & with a bit of wet weather riding thrown in it felt one day classic. Easily the best feed stations around, those salted potatoes were a godsend! Well done all who finished :-)

Grifteruk

Black Mtn wind is very difficult to describe unless you have felt it for yourself !! Depending on the wind direction I have either flown down freewheeling at 50mph plus, or had to mash the pedals full bore just to maintain 19mph down an 8% gradient descent !!

I remember once watching one of my buddies being blown across the entire carriageway on the way down by a gust which sent him into the ditch on the other side of the road. Not a lot of guys in our club bother with deep section wheels !!

Would like to see a Dragon Ride taking on the weather in Feb or March - guessing there wouldn't be so many starting or finishing that course

JSS

longster wrote:

and the guy by the lights it Treorchy who put his empty rapper in his pocket who I patted on the back thanks

As in "guns don't kill people, rappers do"? (Goldie Lookin' Chain, 2004)

dandrew

It was a great ride. Excellent weather bar the downpour a couple of miles from home. Meant I didn't have to queue for the showers!
re litter, I think most people try to stay tidy but it's easy to inadvertently drop a warper when getting out a bar/gel from your back pocket. Think of all the other cycling bits you see on the road during a sportive ( gloves pumps etc )
Didn't see anyone jump red lights. Food stations were excellent. General ride etiquette wasn't bad either. The only crash I saw was early on when a group managed to touch wheels ascending!
One of my mates was in a very fast group that did an extra 60km due to no sign / marshall at a junction.
I'd say that this was the best and hardest sportive I've done in the Uk and best organised.

aahjnnot

What did others find in the feedstations? I was in a group with a slow rider, and the stations looked like a Soviet era Russian grocery store. Nothing savoury anywhere (although this was promised), no energy gels/bars/drinks, not even any water at Ystradfellte (oh, the irony in a town famed for its waterfalls!) - just empty tables.

At the Rhigos I could choose from water, apple pies, jam tarts and bananas. At Ystradfellte, the water and bananas had gone. It's a good job I brought my own food with me, but others weren't so lucky and had to go shopping in the pub.

Slow riders pay the same entrance fee as fast ones. I'm not very impressed.

bendertherobot

Pointing at road hazards?

Right, 4000 riders, incessant rain during the winter months, potholes and hazards everywhere.

I doubt you'd spend more than a mile or so with two hands on the bars

neal1984

My first Dragon, furthest I've ever ridden and most climbing done in a day. I was so far away from the fitness I'd intended to go in with I should of hated this ride but I really enjoyed it. Ok the last 15 miles were agony for me and the rain at 16:30 didn't help me get up the last climb but crossing the finish line I was one happy bunny. Shame I had a long drive back to sunny Essex. I don't disagree with any of the points raised but I find every sportive is much the same in those respects. The one surprise was the feed stations were not as good as I expected but if that's all I have to moan about then bring on 2015...

RallyBiker

I did the Medio and really enjoyed the route. The pros of the event were, the mostly nice gradual climbs that went on forever with a huge grin inducing descents on the other side (especially Bwlch!). The start was excellent as was the car parking and toilet facilities both at the start venue and out at the feed stations ( revelation to the usual 4 portaloos!!). The Devils Elbow wasn't too bad after what I though it would be. The support crews were great as were the ambulances, which I saw in action a couple of times! The cons I found were the amount of riders 4/5 abreast, hugging the white lines while cars/ caravans were trying to make their way through, no need for it and totally anti social,as was the excessive littering. The feed stations could have done with supplying gel satchets. The Powerbars supplied were a hell of a job to open on the move. When I finally managed the stuff was so warm it was stuck solid in the wrapper, luckily I just about had enough of my own High5 energy bars to get me through. The last feed had only water and bananas. The organisers must have booked the weather and being on top of Hirwaun in those conditions was no hardship whatsoever, No sir!!
All in all a good event with a HUGE 4000+ entry! Time to limit numbers though maybe??

biggayal

What I noticed more than anything was the amount of high end bikes that creaked and groaned more than the riders that were on them, especially the Di2 shod machines

Gav2000

What I noticed more than anything was the amount of high end bikes that creaked and groaned more than the riders that were on them, especially the Di2 shod machines

I noticed that as well, the creaks all seemed to be from the bottom bracket area, is it the press fit bottom brackets that so many bikes have used in the last few years? That amount of creaking would drive me mad.

My BB is a Campag Ultratorque and screws into the frame, it still took carefull assembly and some blue threadlock to stop it from making any noise though. Having said that my groaning on some the later hills would have hidden an awful lot of noise!

Gav.

My Dragon Ride bike -

slowbike

bendertherobot wrote:

Pointing at road hazards?

Right, 4000 riders, incessant rain during the winter months, potholes and hazards everywhere.

I doubt you'd spend more than a mile or so with two hands on the bars

Reminds me of a ride with my brother a couple of years ago ... he's a long time club cyclist. My route and not an area he's familiar with ... got to one part, he was in front and was pointing out the potholes to me ... I suggested that he might like to just point out the smooth surfaces as it'd be easier and I know where the potholes are as I'd ridden the course several times prior to this time ...