Fred Whitton 2015 event thread.

tubaonwheels

First time for me so can't compare conditions with other years. I thought it was pretty good and that I was on for a decent time (for a 61 year old newbie to the sport), then I hit cold fell which I'd never visited before. It crucified me and struggled all the way to the feed station! Had a break there, plenty to eat and a coffee then a good dump. I seemed to recover a bit then and loved the ride down Eskdale with the wind behind. Truly made up that I rode all of Hard knot and Wrynose, was right on the limit up Hardknot but passing loads of riders pushing (and the fantastic support) spurred me on. My arms were aching as much as my legs descending! And after Cockley beck my quads were cramping up but eased off when I started climbing again. I loved the ride to the finish as I knew I'd cracked it. Delighted to finish in 9 hours 25 mins.

Steve.

overlord2

Aside....

The goody bag was about the worst goody bag i've ever been given. A note pad & pen wtf? :?

Come on all we want is some small memento either a mug or t-shirt will do. Very poor. Sorry.

anto164

Overlord2 wrote:

Aside....

The goody bag was about the worst goody bag i've ever been given. A note pad & pen wtf? :?

Come on all we want is some small memento either a mug or t-shirt will do. Very poor. Sorry.

I did think that.

For instance the wild wales challenge held by ctc is £18ish, and includes 2 or 3 feed stations giving cakes and butties, and also a slate plaque at the end which is a lovely momento.

However, less memento's mean more cash to the charities.

DeVlaeminck

Agree it's an odd choice of goody bag but given just about every junction was marshalled I'll forgive them. It's events like this that you don't begrudge the price, that and the fact it does raise money for charity unlike some sportives that imply they do but really just encourage the participants to do their own fundraising.

I'm not really up on the sportive scene in the UK, what are the other events - if any- that are similar in scale I wouldn't mind doing a few more like this ?

tubaonwheels

Have to admit to slight disappointment with goody bag, and half expected a T shirt on completion. Not whinging though as it was a superb event and very well marshalled etc. I did purchase a polo shirt as I thought all that effort deserved a memento.

mike1-2

THERE WAS A GOODY BAG? Why was I not aware? Feel a bit hard done by now!

ugo.santalucia

DeVlaeminck wrote:

Agree it's an odd choice of goody bag but given just about every junction was marshalled I'll forgive them. It's events like this that you don't begrudge the price, that and the fact it does raise money for charity unlike some sportives that imply they do but really just encourage the participants to do their own fundraising.

I'm not really up on the sportive scene in the UK, what are the other events - if any- that are similar in scale I wouldn't mind doing a few more like this ?

The three hystoric events are FWC, Etape Du Dales and Polkadot challenge. The last one has gone, victim of the inflation of events in May-June in the north of England... the Etape Du Dales is a great charity event, but I fear is on the way out, given it's no longer sold out in a couple of days as it used to. I am doing it on sunday hoping it's not the last. The Fred Whitton stands as the most popular and feared.

The Dragon ride has some heritage too, although it is a commercial enterprise and not a charity ride...

otherwise you are looking at events that pop up, run for 2-3 years and then disappear or get rebranded or bought out by Wiggle.

homers_double

My little tale...

Registered on the Saturday the drove up The Struggle and down Kirkstone to show my mate the kind of climbs to expect and had a beer in the sun at the side of the lake. Then back to the YHA in Hawkshead for a BBQ/pasta dinner and slept in a pod after a few bottles of red wine.

Got to the event at 5.30am for a 6am start which ended up as 6.30ish. Rain was not requested but didn't really bother me and the gloves and overshoes I picked were a god send.

Rode Kirkstone which was good, my mate's freewheel jammed at the top but a hefty drop of the back end seemed to sort that out.

Got a puncture somewhere.

Met Mike ( /\ a few posts up) on the way round as I know him from the old days of MBUK and we've ridden together before on the bouncy bikes.

Mate fell off just over the top of Honnister, his glasses dropped out and as he slowed he just went over the bars as it is so steep!

Mmmmmmm, ham butty and malt loaf!

Got up most of the climbs except the steepest of sections but nobody can feel any shame for walking up those hills and major props to those who rode them all!

Another pass... and another...

Bloomin' Garmin is playing up and had me on a -7% gradient going up through Winlatter.

Then onto Cold Fell? I assume thats the one where you can see the sea from the top? Yes it was windy but living in the pennines I'm used to it so just plodded on up it.

Mmmmmmmm, jam butty and malt loaf then TEA!!!!! Hot TEA!!!!!!

Got clapped by the marshals at the bottom of Hardknott, then got off and walked most of it.

Rode most of Wrynose and walked the steep bit towards the end.

Riding through Langdale I got the cheery wave from the marshal and a "5 miles to go" shout. My mate was relived, I thought nah, it's further than that. Lo and behold, the next marshal a few miles later gave me the same "5 miles to go".

I've suffered with painfull cramping feet when I ski for years and unfortunatly the last few miles the same pain appeared, not much to do other than ride through it until I could get my shoes off back at the event village.

We both came thorugh the timing gate at 11.59.00 (garmin moving time was 9hrs 44m) so we were some of the slower guys but making it round was the goal. 99% of the guys there are in a different league to us, flying up the hills and along the flats. The other 1% are women and even they were passing us at times.

A big thank you to the marshals for giving up their free time and the event itself was very well organised.

shmooster

I meant to ask, there was a Chopper on display in Grasmere with a race number on, surely no one was daft enough?....

KnightOfTheLongTights

shmooster wrote:

I meant to ask, there was a Chopper on display in Grasmere with a race number on, surely no one was daft enough?....

if people are stupid enough to do this silly event then why not?

shmooster

KnightOfTheLongTights wrote:

shmooster wrote:

I meant to ask, there was a Chopper on display in Grasmere with a race number on, surely no one was daft enough?....

if people are stupid enough to do this silly event then why not?

There are varying levels of stupidity.

nammynake

I went past a guy riding some kind of fold up bike (small wheels) with what appeared to be Zipps!

lakesluddite

nammynake wrote:

I went past a guy riding some kind of fold up bike (small wheels) with what appeared to be Zipps!

Ahh yes, I remember someone coming through on a Moulton - looked very shiny with it's skeletal steel frame. He wasn't near the back either, so good going!

tubaonwheels

I'm embarrassed to say the fold up guy passed me around cold fell, just to make me feel even worse!

ugo.santalucia

KnightOfTheLongTights wrote:

shmooster wrote:

I meant to ask, there was a Chopper on display in Grasmere with a race number on, surely no one was daft enough?....

if people are stupid enough to do this silly event then why not?

Big events attract that kind of people, who rise money for charity and maybe want to go around the course with a Boris bike, a Brompton or something. As long as they don't endanger themselves or others, I don't see the problem... if the brakes are in good order, a bike is a bike. I prefer to see a Moulton or a Chopper than a full on TT bike

slowmart

It maybe a mute point as entries aren't being accepted until December but what levels of fitness are required to do the Fred?

It's been a itch I'd like to scratch for a few years and I'd like a stretch target for next year to help focus and drive the many zone two rides over the coming months and I'm currently trying to establish what metric I should aim for?

The issue I have is I struggle to walk unaided and I appreciate some riders get off and push, road cleats and my gait mean snail pace progress so I really have the aim of riding up most if not all the climbs.

Trying to get up to the lakes is a natural step to do a few of the classic climbs but I'm struggling to find time before Christmas which would be a good indicator.

If I don't get a place I'll Marshall in 2016 and I believe then I'm guaranteed a place for the following year in which would be my 50th year.

DeVlaeminck

It's probably not the ideal sportive for someone that would struggle pushing a bike but I can understand that's part of the challenge. Very difficult to advise - normally I'd say you don't need a spectacular level of fitness to get round but if you want to get round without pushing your bike then you do need to be reasonably good. Even if you fit very low gears you can always be stopped by someone coming to a halt in front of you or a car blocking the narrow climbs and once you stop on something like Hardknott it's very difficult to get going again. Are there any super hard climbs in your area - if so how do you find them ?

slowmart

According to a mate I have a dinner plate on my bike and have found the local stuff fine. I don't mind a bit of a walk and Hardknott looks challenging and it's how the climbing presents itself over the course

My initial hope was ??watts/kg would mean 10 hours?

I really need to get up to the lakes for a recce!

lakesluddite

[url=http://www.bikeradar.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=19728786#p19728786]Slowmart[/url] wrote:

According to a mate I have a dinner plate on my bike and have found the local stuff fine. I don't mind a bit of a walk and Hardknott looks challenging and it's how the climbing presents itself over the course

My initial hope was ??watts/kg would mean 10 hours?

I really need to get up to the lakes for a recce!

I'd echo the post above Slowmart, you should be able to get round if you go at your own pace and not try and keep up with those wanting to do a PB. I did it in around 9 hours in 2014, and I thought afterwards that I could have gone a bit harder/faster. The placing, and taking full advantage of, the feed stops really helped me. I had 34/28 gearing which got me up the 30% of Hardknott okay, but I was fortunate enough to have a clear path. I also use the recessed MTB style cleats/shoes which means that if I had needed to walk it would have been much easier.
I would also advise that if you do volunteer to marshal, then bring a foldable chair - it's murder on the back having to stand around in the (inevitable) cold and damp conditions. I did it this year, and it was nearly as painful as riding the damn thing!
Hopefully I'll be riding it again this year, given I marshalled - but I haven't received any communication from the organisers regarding a guaranteed place, so not sure what will happen. Obviously I'll contact them if they do't initiate contact first.
If you do get up here, give me a shout and I might be able to suggest a few good routes, or even join you if I'm free - I'll need the training!

slowmart

Lakesluddite, cheers for the kind offer and I'll be in touch when I've got some dates sorted.

homers_double

I'm not the fittest of guys but managed it as per my post above.

We probably spent more time at the last feed station than was necessary and this reflected on our time.

I also had to refit the punctured tube twice as I couldn't get the pressure from my mini pump to take a bulge out of the tyre. Track pump at the feed station sorted that though.

I'd say mental and mechanical preperation is more important if you're no racing snake.