Dunsfold Sportive 11th Oct
hitthewall
Posts: 114
Anyone here doing this or done it before?
I've registered for the full route. At 76 miles it's shorter than the usual Southern Sportive full routes but it does look a bit hilly. If I read the route right, looks like there is a double chevron near Westcott.
I've registered for the full route. At 76 miles it's shorter than the usual Southern Sportive full routes but it does look a bit hilly. If I read the route right, looks like there is a double chevron near Westcott.
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I'll need to put my 12-27 cassette on. Not that good on the hills so this one will be a challenge for me.
Any one entered?
2013 Yeti SB66
going down on the train on the sat and staying in some B&B which i've completely forgotten the details of.
From my local knowledge the one I'm worried about is as you head north from the A25 just after crossinf the railway line, thats a censored !
Was surprised to see they've not managed to include Barhatch Lane
I can see me diverting to the mid route. I'm not so good on the hills.
I've never seen a hill... I live in Norfolk!
I'm doing the long route, and I'll be on my new bike which is a 53/39 double, with 25/12! :shock: I think I've bitten of a bit too much...
Never mind, it'll be a babtism of fire, first sportive.
I'm staying in a B&B on Barhatch Road.
http://www.metcheck.com/V40/UK/FREE/day ... ford&day=2
if so see you there!
Like most of Surrey Hills - Short and Sharp climbs and dificult to get a chance to recover. Some of the roads are narrow and slippery too - so do be careful. I really enjoyed last year's ride, just regret losing all my fitness this year and not being on a bike for 4 weeks which meant tackling it would have been an issue.
Last year was so foggy that you couldn't see the beauty of the place for a long time too.
Also Cranleigh is a great place - I should know I grew up there and my parents still live there. Actually back tomorrow too so I guess I will see more cyclists on the way.
Have fun
It is indeed...
Be there around 8pm.
Whoever named the geographical areas of the North & South Downs must have hada wicked sense of humour... North & South Ups, would have been closer :shock:
The climbs seemed to go on forever, but the downhill surfaces were very broken up, my eyeballs were rattling around my head so much I could hardly see!
But, now that I'm home and bathed and relaxed, I can say that I did enjoy it.
Well organised, challenging route.
Saying that though, its my longest ride to date and I am pleased I got through it. Hopper1 your right those hills were endless, battling to walk this morning.
Ha! I just jumped out of bed... I reckon the people at the bottom of my road heard me! :shock: :shock: :shock:
I felt so good, laying in bed, too!..
I certainly wont choose a 124km sportive to break in a new saddle again...
Still, think i didn't do too bad to get as near as damnit to 5 hours despite getting a puncture just at one of the points where the shorter route rejoins, so effectively 4:45.
Really enjoyed the countryside, it's interesting to cycle in Surrey where the countryside is very different to what it is up north.
What i found weird was how you get a lot of what i would call "hill forests" - you'll be going up a hill and you've constantly got ferns and trees on either side, even at (what seemed to be ) quite high places. That was quite a novelty, and very picturesque and attractive i thought!
Is there anywhere else that's like that?
Contrast that to up north in, say, the peaks, where you've got either rocks or trees lower down, but then moorland higher up, or wales, where it's like rolling mountainous grassland. Really nice, good to see the countryside of a different part of the country.
I was in the first group out of the gate, passed quite a few of thegroup on the first climb and downhill
I'll have to wait until the results are posted, to get my time, my computer played up after the first few miles, I think that was the bone shaking downhill that dislodged it (!), and my Nokia battery ran out, so SportsTracker didn't finish...
Oh and Ultegra brake blocks are censored in the wet
Provisional times up this morning. I went off in the first lot and did the long route in 5.04. Cut-off for a silver was 5.03....
Tried to make up time on the flatish run back into Dunsfold but ran out of puff.
Good organisation as usual. Long route signage was OK.
Riding flat out, 4 abreast, round a blind corner on a tight, damp, gullied country lane is not conducive for YOUR survival. Neither is pulling an overtaking manouvre on the wrong side of the road, when there's a car clearly coming towards you, who has nowhere else he can go. Then giving the driver a death stare, even though he's stopped dead with his wheels in the gutter only reinforces the view that there are as many cretins on bikes as there are in cars. This was repeated multiple times yesterday morning.
Some of you, I feel, need reminding that you are NOT racing on a dedicated track, or a closed road. You ARE taking part in a non-competitive event on a public highway, open to all usual traffic, and that you need to ride with consideration for other users, both for your safety and theirs.
...and a note for the organisers...
It would be a good idea to stick warning signs up about the place, that there is a bike event on. The first I knew about it was when the first group of riders came teararseing round a blind corner on the wrong side of the road... Fortunately on a 1 in 5, a loaded 2 ton VW comes to a pretty sharp halt.
Anyway - rant over - I hope you all had a good day, with no accidents. I did! 8)
Saw a girl lying in the road on one of the sharper corners being assisted by a couple of people after she came off on a corner.
My mate and I saw a girl walking back up to the first feed station after coming off on the descent. She was wearing a Cervelo jersey and looked to be in a bit of distress. We offered to help but she said she would walk back up to the feed station. Does anyone know who she is and if she managed to get some help?
All in, a very well organised day out on the bike :-) I even managed to get up all the climbs without any mishaps...
2013 Yeti SB66