Dragon ride
Alejandrosdog
Posts: 1,975
I’ve got nothing on tomorrow so I thought I’d go and sign on for this. It’s going to be a long day and a very early start.
I shall report back once the dragon is extinguished
I shall report back once the dragon is extinguished
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I will see you there.0
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Gethinceri wrote:I will see you there.
How did you get on? I thought it was a great route, non of the climbs were stupid steep and the A road descents were awesome!
I got very cold in the lead up to the Devils Elbow because of the rain and low temperatures but it warmed up later and I had a good day. I had heard the food was great on this event but barring the potatoes I thought it was the same old rubbish. I only stopped at one feed though. I did the Grand Fondo, it was far enough for me the dragon is an exercise in masochism.
with the exception of the mad dash from the start, I rode pretty much on my own without the aid of a group and rolled along to ensure i could finish so i was surprised to see 17.5mph average by the end. Probably aided by some very long general downhill sections because my climbing is NOT a strongpoint.
A good day out.0 -
I enjoyed, it's local so none of the climbs were new except that nasty little bitch out of Crai. I struggled across to Llanddeusant then remembered I had a banana in my pocket, which I devoured then I was revived in time for Black Mountain.
PR on Bwlch and Devil's Elbow (I didn't feel like I was smashing up either). Rain got me cold on a couple of occasions but wasn't too bad.
I rode the Gran Fondo too, but with some mates and we all had a jolly old time. 12 hours from start to finish, we had long stops for mechanicals, 15mph average moving speed, which was quite acceptable....we're heading out to do Stelvio, Gavia & Mortrolo in September and hoping for better weather, a little less body weight and a little more fitness!0 -
nice! the stretch of road down to the feed stop after Devils Elbow was great probably my favourite bit. I think 15mph is quite a good average over that sort of route, heavy roads, quite a bit of climbing and not helped by the weather. Id have been slower if i was with mates because id have been chatting. As it was, i pushed on to get it over with
On reflection i would have hated the even longer one.0 -
As a fat man riding the Devil in 14 hours:
The first descent felt sketchy in the driving rain (I'm not a particularly confident descender)
It dried up through the second descent, which was more fun.
The devil's elbow was OK, steep but doable. The devil's staircase is nuts and one mistep meant I walked the first ramp. Got back on. The rest of the climb was still so so steep.
The road after the devil's staircase was my weakest point. It killed me with it's up, down, up, which prevented any rhythm.
The roast potatoes were wonderful food wise, else meh.
I suspect the rain caused a few people to wisely shorten their ride though I wonder if people do better than if it's sunny and everyone gets dehydrated.
The black mountain was the most spectacular, but I was too done to really care.
I suspect the route is just under 300k, which is annoying.
Not sure the reversal idea is great, wouldn't want to descend the devil's staircase, or the elbow. Also the double of the rhygos and bwlch in the last 50k will be a killer.0 -
Nice going, Devil's Elbow is no big deal as a descent, even in the wet. I might give the Gran Fondo a go in reverse in the next few months, you may be right about Rhigos and Bwlch at the tail end but they'd be the easier sides of each in my opinion.
Black Mountain's fairly dull from the South in comparison to the other way.0 -
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Just under 9 hours on the Gran Fondo for me. Nice route, but the poor weather really took the shine off. Grim descending off the Bwlch, not too bad up the Rhigos and the stretch between feeds 1 & 2 was very beautiful. But cold, after being soaked through. Saw a very cold and blue woman at feed 2, who wisely climbed into the ambulance at feed 3. I couldn't find any groups to ride with, a real shame. Somehow the event didn't have the camaraderie that I've found on, for example, the Tour of Wessex.
Unusually for me, I stopped at all the feed stops, just to break things up. I thought the food was ok and let's be honest, it's not what we sign up for. Loved the croissant things at feed 2. Really impressed by the friendliness of the people at the feed stops. In fact, very impressed with the organisation overall. Really well signed, loads of marshals. And at least the sun came out for the last hour or so.
Oh, and Gethinceri
Yes, that was cruel!Gethinceri wrote:I enjoyed, it's local so none of the climbs were new except that nasty little ***** out of Crai. !0 -
I did the Devil route having done the Gran Fondo last year, the extra loop was some great riding, long steady climb to start then a nice downhill run and some stunning lanes leading to the Devil's Staircase. 25% ramps and 18% for 1km is not easy when you are already 187km in to the ride but made it up with no stops, plenty were walking. The descent then and the rolling terrain overlooking the lakes was lovely, depsite the hailstorm! Weather could have been better of course, in particular the lashing rain before the Devils Elbow, made that descent past the reservoirs a bit chilly but still a great route. I started an hour late so the last 80km was a bit lonely with just sporadic riders however got round just under 12hours which I was happy with. Not sure about the route reversal, I think that makes some of the climbs either easier or not as pretty however will give some nice descents.0
