Hell of the Ashdown 2009

Last weekend whilst looking through the Brighton Mitre forum someone from the club had decided to pull out of the forthcoming Hell of the Ashdown due to the forecast horrendous weather. I'd tried to apply for the event in November, but was amazed to find it sold out in just over a week with 1000 entrants signed up. Weather forecast notwithstanding I grabbed the oppourtunity and took up the offer.

My time slot was 8:35am, same as a couple of other riders from the Mitre, Mike and Claire. Preparing with a good feed and good sleep the night before I felt surprisingly good at 6:30am Sunday morning, getting my kit together and noshing on breakfast looking at the weather reports. Can it be as bad as Yellowstone? No...

The start was at a school in Biggin Hill and I could see straight away it looked like a well organised event. I picked up my timing chip, said hi to the guys from the club and got the bike ready. It was cold but not too bad, my recent purchases of winter kit really paying off. Gloves had been the only item I've struggled with and on this occasion took 2 pairs of different thicknesses.

We set off from the start in batches of 8 to avoid conjestion, another good organisational idea. Although my hands were freezing from the off, that thought soon faded as within 2 miles of the start we met the first climb. Over the course of the 67 miles the route took in some of the major climbs of the area, including Toys hill, Kidds hill (The Wall!), Ide hill and 'Col de Goombridge'. Icy sections of the route had been identified the night before and the route changed accordingly.

It may have been this last minute change of route that led to our straying off course, along with at least 30-40 riders. Up until this point nearly all major junctions had been marshalled, including large red flags as warnings, but even so we'd all managed to miss a turn somewhere near Edenbridge. This led to 10-15 minutes of riding up and down, checking with other riders to try and get back on course. In the end we opted to head for Edenbridge where we all eventually found the route again. This was the only downside to the whole day and was unfortunate.

Riding in a 3 with Mike and Claire I was feeling pretty good, taking in Toys and Kidds Hill at a good steady pace. I'd opted to ride the crosser due to its easier gearing (48/34 x 12/27) and this helped with conserving energy on the climbs. I'd experienced some of the climbs last year on the Burgess Hill Rumble sportive so came prepared this time round. 40-50 miles in I wasn't feeling great, maybe because I hadn't eaten enough and had so far just replenished the stocks using gels and energy drink. After toiling up Ide Hill I scoffed a nana and an energy bar which seemed to do the trick.

As I've found before it wasn't until 50+ miles that I began to feel comfortable and strong, which bizarrely coincided with a change in weather for the worse. After crossing the M25 I knew we had another stinker of a climb to come, appearing in the distance the same time the snow began to fall. Of all the ride this is when I felt strongest, hitting the climb in the stinging snow hard. By this time conditions were deteriorating fast with snow settling on the road in a few inches. The last 10 miles to Biggin Hill were taken extremely cautiously at no more than 15mph.

We arrived together and clocked 4 hrs 27 mins or so, not bad considering the route problems and weather conditions at the end of the ride. In the school hot food was served in the canteen, proper school dinner style. Missing the sign earlier aside, this was a very well organised sportive and I'll be entering again next year.