Dragon Ride 2018

mrfpb

Hi all.

I am taking on the Gran Fondo (230km) event this year and wanted a bit of advice on the road surface on the course. I have a genesis CdF, which theoretically can get up to 35mm tyres (but I couldn't get mudguards on with the original knobbly 3mm tyres).

Is the road surface suitable for 25mm tyres on a dry day? and how about a wet day? I usually use 28mm max for riding in the winter in Hants/Surrey, but would go bigger if the surface demanded it.

Secondly, I have 34/30 as my lowest gear. Would I need anything bigger on the steep sections? I'm no racing snake, and I occasionally use my lowest gear on long or steep climbs; though I never used it on RLS100 - I didn't get to go up Leith Hill though.

ugo.santalucia

mrfpb wrote:

Hi all.

I am taking on the Gran Fondo (230km) event this year and wanted a bit of advice on the road surface on the course. I have a genesis CdF, which theoretically can get up to 35mm tyres (but I couldn't get mudguards on with the original knobbly 3mm tyres).

Is the road surface suitable for 25mm tyres on a dry day? and how about a wet day? I usually use 28mm max for riding in the winter in Hants/Surrey, but would go bigger if the surface demanded it.

Welsh tarmac is among the best in the country... typically the first thing you notice coming from Shropshire or Herefordshire is the quality of tarmac suddenly changes.
I am not sure where you got the idea that an event marketed as "granfondo" would need off road tyres.

serkie

Hi mrfpb,

Well done on taking on the Dragon Gran Fondo distance!

I've ridden that route myself in 2016 and 2017. The surface quality on the whole is excellent, with only a few sections where the surface is bit mucky (especially the drag approaching the Devils Elbow). I've completed the ride both times on 25c tyres without any issues or punctures.

2016 was scorching hot and dry, last year was wet and windy so be prepared for whatever the Welsh weather may choose.

I'll be there again this year, taking on the Devil distance with some pals. It's a great ride (IMO) with some spectacular scenary and considerable challenges provided along the way.

The course splits around the 110Km mark between the shorter 150km route and Gran Fondo (230km), the following 50km just after the split is particular tough both mentally and physcially especially if you're by yourself so try and ride in a group or with someone.

Feed stations are average so make sure you have enough stuff you like / can tolerate with you and supplement at the stations.

Good luck!

mrfpb

ugo.santalucia wrote:

I am not sure where you got the idea that an event marketed as "granfondo" would need off road tyres.

I've never ridden an event marketed as Gran Fondo before, so don't know what to expect. Since Gran Fondo literally translates as Big Ride, I did not take it as any comment on road surface quality.

Many of the roads I ride on are in terrible condition at the moment. Currently some descents that are nice in summer are mudslides with added gravel due to stuff bein dragged off fields by farm vehicles and crap washed into the roads by rain.

I thought if wet weather causes something similar in the Welsh hills I'd like to be prepared.

bendertherobot

If it's wet, it's better to be more puncture resistant. Perhaps a bit wider. But it's so long and so tiring that going up to mega big tyres and a heavy bike would be quite taxing. If the CDF is your only bike, a big rolling tyre with low resistance would be fine. If you have a lighter bike, I'd use that. Gearing is fine btw.

gethinceri

Did the Heol Senni - Penderyn stretch last week, it's a bit sketchy on the stretch between Devil's Elbow and Ystradfellte.
It's a road tyres any time of year route, unless there's snow.

mrfpb

Thanks for all the positive feedback. It sounds like 25mm will be fine unless conditions are very wet. The CdF is my only bike and im not likely to be able to get a new one before June. I'm used to climbing on it, and it always feels lighter once the commuting gear is stripped off.

bendertherobot

Sounds fine. If you can afford it, I'd say 28c Conti GP40000iiS are very nice indeed and very worthwhile, particularly on a heavier bike.

mrfpb

bendertherobot wrote:

Sounds fine. If you can afford it, I'd say 28c Conti GP40000iiS are very nice indeed and very worthwhile, particularly on a heavier bike.

I'll keep an eye on Merlin as they often do a tyres + tubes deal on the more popular makes. My current winter tyres are 28mm 4 Seasons and they are great for puncture resistance, even compared to Schwalbe marathon+

bendertherobot

Those are good tyres. I'd be inclined to stay on them. Welsh tarmac is not necessarily as good as stated, especially off the beaten track and the high rainfall this year will have impacted quite a lot of it.

mrfpb

It turns out Merlin have that offer on now 2 tyres + tubes £64 in 28mm, £62 for the narrower sizes.

https://www.merlincycles.com/continenta ... 71989.html

bendertherobot

Good offer. Take them up now and run the GP4S until you ride. No point swapping yet.

mrfpb

serkie wrote:

2016 was scorching hot and dry, last year was wet and windy so be prepared for whatever the Welsh weather may choose.

I'll be there again this year, taking on the Devil distance with some pals. It's a great ride (IMO) with some spectacular scenary and considerable challenges provided along the way.

The course splits around the 110Km mark between the shorter 150km route and Gran Fondo (230km), the following 50km just after the split is particular tough both mentally and physcially especially if you're by yourself so try and ride in a group or with someone.
...
Good luck!

In the words of Sir Humphrey "that is a brave decision" to take on the Devil ride. Chapeau even for trying. Thanks for the advice and encouragement, I'll hopefully be stocked up on fruit and biscuits/cake. I have to watch what I eat at food stops as even a light meal can hinder me when I try to restart, especially if any climbing follows the food stop (which it will).

ugo.santalucia

mrfpb wrote:

In the words of Sir Humphrey "that is a brave decision" to take on the Devil ride. Chapeau even for trying.

Mmmhhh.. I must be mad then, as I signed up for this

http://www.aukweb.net/events/detail/16-195/

mrfpb

ugo.santalucia wrote:

mrfpb wrote:

In the words of Sir Humphrey "that is a brave decision" to take on the Devil ride. Chapeau even for trying.

Mmmhhh.. I must be mad then, as I signed up for this

http://www.aukweb.net/events/detail/16-195/

I read those details as start 6:00 finish by 22:00!

I think many of us already knew you were a special order of mad when it comes to Big Rides. Will you be taking a saddlebag on this ride?

Also I am puzzled by the time limit - one lines says 600km in 40h 00, another line says start 6:00 to finish by +22:00. It must be 40hrs, surely.

ugo.santalucia

mrfpb wrote:

Will you be taking a saddlebag on this ride?

Also I am puzzled by the time limit - one lines says 600km in 40h 00, another line says start 6:00 to finish by +22:00. It must be 40hrs, surely.

+ 22:00, means 10 PM of the day after, so yes, 40 hours.
I have a Topeak Backloader seatpack, which is about 6 litres in volume with a waterproof bag inside. Once under the saddle, you hardly notice it's there.
Will be mainly filled with clothes for the night/wet... spare ligths, an Anker battery charger, a few spares for the bike, an OS map of wales for when the GPS lets you down and some desperation rations.

Rides where you have to go through the night are something special... they feel like big adventures. It's funny I know people who only do big rides and never otherwise ride their bike. They don't jump on the saddle from January to July, then they do 1400 km in London-Edinburgh-London... it just puts training in perspective, innit?

mrfpb

My first 100km ride was overnight London to Brighton. Absolutely beautiful once out of the centre of London (where traffic at midnight is similar to most cities at 5:00pm). Descending on a country road in the dark is a great experience. However as the middle section of a 40hr ride, I'm guessing the fatigue must offset the adrenaline and endorphins by quite a bit.

ugo.santalucia

mrfpb wrote:

My first 100km ride was overnight London to Brighton. Absolutely beautiful once out of the centre of London (where traffic at midnight is similar to most cities at 5:00pm). Descending on a country road in the dark is a great experience. However as the middle section of a 40hr ride, I'm guessing the fatigue must offset the adrenaline and endorphins by quite a bit.

There are beds at Kings YHA in DOlgellau, which is booked for the event... realistically I'll have a couple of hours nap... often it's enough to recover most of the energy... it's about making it to dawn, when energy comes back in spades... dawn in late May is around 5AM

serkie

ugo.santalucia wrote:

mrfpb wrote:

In the words of Sir Humphrey "that is a brave decision" to take on the Devil ride. Chapeau even for trying.

Mmmhhh.. I must be mad then, as I signed up for this

http://www.aukweb.net/events/detail/16-195/

You must be mad!

ugo.santalucia

serkie wrote:

You must be mad!

Nah, the mad ones do this one:

http://www.aukweb.net/events/detail/18-1000/

I will help at the overnight controls... cooking, fixing bikes... this sort of things... should be an epic adventure for the lucky few

mrfpb

Can anyone who has done this in the last couple of years tell me their recorded climbing for the Gran Fondo. I read somewhere it was 3,600m but the tpx on the website only says 2,900m.

serkie

mrfpb wrote:

Can anyone who has done this in the last couple of years tell me their recorded climbing for the Gran Fondo. I read somewhere it was 3,600m but the tpx on the website only says 2,900m.

In 2016, I recorded 3442 metres over the 142.5 mile Gran Fondo distance.

mrfpb

serkie wrote:

mrfpb wrote:

Can anyone who has done this in the last couple of years tell me their recorded climbing for the Gran Fondo. I read somewhere it was 3,600m but the tpx on the website only says 2,900m.

In 2016, I recorded 3442 metres over the 142.5 mile Gran Fondo distance.

Thanks. The route for this year isn't finalised, and they are quoting a figure of 223km/138 miles, but I'll keep your figure in mind over the next ten weeks.

serkie

I also did it last year and it was indeed slightly shorter as you quoted. Sounds like they are sticking to the same route. The elevation was around about the same, not much in it.

There is nothing really bad climb wise. Devils elbow is probably about as steep as it gets but that’s over pretty quickly (thank god).

All the best, you will love it.

specialman

You'll be good with that chainset. Worst climb is Devil's Elbow, which is more about being nimble because it's steep so you get a fair bit of traffic and you ned to do some strategic weaving in places. But nothing is so bad that it's impossible... it's more a case of just grinding up some of the inclines because they're long.

Tyre-wise I did it on Conti Ultrasports last year and go round fine. Road conditions in Wales are generally really good; it's just a case of keeping your eyes peeled for potholes and rocks in places - avoid them and you're sound

It's an awesome ride - Bwlch and Rhinos are great climbs and the stretch after Penderyn opens up to truly spectacular views of the hills. The last stretch back to Margam is a bit of a TT with an industrial 'charm' to the sights Have a great ride

mrfpb

L'etape have announced that the official "nutrition partner" for the Dragon Ride is Optimum Nutrition,

including "Nutrimino Carbo Energy Gels"*

*Please note, these gels are not currently available for purchase. If you do not feel comfortable using a gel on event day that you have not sampled before, please bring your preferred brand.

I think I'll be taking my 2 litre saddle bag.

mrfpb

Another question for previous participants. Is there anywhere to drop a kit bag off for the day, so that I have stuff I need at the finish (eg fresh clothes, snacks, toiletries)? If there isn't I think I'll have to take the car rather than cycling 2 miles to and from the start line. The website doesn't say so, and the FB page haven't answered my query, so it's probably a no.

mamil314

Is this under-subscribed? Organizers are still spamming me to enter with 10 days to go. Unless many pulled out?

ugo.santalucia

mamil314 wrote:

Is this under-subscribed? Organizers are still spamming me to enter with 10 days to go. Unless many pulled out?

It's been going on for a long time now and probably everyone who wanted to do it, has done it. The sportive market is shrinking and DR might well be the next victim

ugo.santalucia

On a more general note, the Sportive market is a bit stale... they keep offering the same old formula of 100 miles or thereabout, goodie bag, medal, photo... the problem is most people have ticked that box already and are looking for something different.

Closed roads is popular, but it can't be applied everywhere and in fairness the Dragon Ride organisers have tried to diversify by offering a 300 km badass version of their ride, but it's never been particularly popular, for some reason. Maybe they are not marketing it correctly or to the right people, as clearly long distance cycling is booming... LEL which used to be a handful of old timers in the 90s is now a 1,500 riders event

Thigh_burn

ugo.santalucia wrote:

On a more general note, the Sportive market is a bit stale... they keep offering the same old formula of 100 miles or thereabout, goodie bag, medal, photo... the problem is most people have ticked that box already and are looking for something different... LEL which used to be a handful of old timers in the 90s is now a 1,500 riders event

By stale do you mean unpopular? I take it from your comment re people looking for something different that you do, plus the LEL anecdote.

It feels to me that they're more popular than ever. I suspect they're also more populist than ever. Quite a lot of people are happy to for the goodie bag, medal etc. The structured ride, often on roads they don't usually ride on is attractive to a lot of people, plus the inevitable challenge of the whole thing. The sheer number of sportives over the last year demonstrates that, as does people's willingness to sign up for multiple rides.

However, the one stat that would prove either of our points is the number of entries, and on that I haven't a clue - and couldn't find any stats. I totally accept that it's possible there are a ton of sportives out there, but they're under subscribed.