L'Eroica!

No, its not some Spanish porn site, L'Eroica is a vintage sportive on the gravel roads of Tuscany, trying to recreate the 'heroic' era of cycling. The route features the grueling, relentless dusty tracks that criss-cross the region. Don't expect power bars and energy drinks at the feed stations either, instead you'll be presented with a selection of meats, breads, olives and wine.

Unfortunately due to the huge amount of entrants last year (3000), this years edition will be restricted to 'heroic' bikes only. The definition of heroic appears to be anything pre-1987, with externally routed cables, toeclip pedals etc. So get rumaging around in the shed and dig out your old steed, or your Dad's, or your Granddad's if it comes to it.

Sportive is on October 5th. Gwyd, if you can find a bike, I'm sure you can perfect a fantastic heroic facial hair design for it!

http://www.eroica.it/index_en.php

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.

2008 Retrospective

2008 was an absolutely immense year for cycling. Personally, it’s been my biggest year of cycling with many new experiences, but it’s also been the first time many friends and colleagues have seriously taken to 2 wheels. Inspired by other peoples efforts or the Olympics, they’ve bought bikes and started riding to work, entered sportives or just ridden for general pleasure. Looking back through the months I think there have been 2 catalysts to this surge in cycling interest, in my own life and outside.

Firstly the impact that Kelvin’s pan America ride had on the many readers of his blog still amazes me. When I returned to work I found that 4 people had started commuting at least 3 times a week to work, 25 miles each way. Within a month of our return I’d counted 5 new bike purchases amongst my friends and colleagues, 3 of them buying Tricross Sports identical to the model that carried Kelv nearly 4,000 miles. All were inspired directly by reading the Only Forward weblog.

Secondly, obviously the massive successes in Beijing elevated already successful riders to household names, bringing British cycling to the forefront on an unprecedented scale. This was preceded by Britain’s best individual results in the Giro and Tour for decades, not to mention total domination at the track World Championships. Awards at the Sports Personality of the Year and the host of MBE's and CBE's. 2009 is going to be another amazing year, but for now I’m going to look back on 2008.

January
2007 closed on a low note, the annual Boxing Day ride held religiously now for the last 4 or 5 years was taken up by myself and Kelv. Riding out of Llanwnog on our mountain bikes we aimed for the trio of lakes north of my parents place. We bearly got 2 miles, myself struggling with a bad cold and low fitness. A week later, full of New Year promise and Kelv planning a long distance tour somewhere, we rode from Brighton to George’s near Orpington, Kelv on his new pannier laden Tricross. An inspiring 120 mile round trip under crisp blue winter skies through the Ashdown Forest started the new year well, but for me it wasn’t to last.

February
That ride in January was to be my last for nearly 2 months. I can't remember touching the bike at all in February!

March
Kelv’s long distance trip thoughts were now a reality. The week before he flew to Florida a gang of us gave him a send off in the Peak District with Mountain Bikes and Booze. By mid-March he was riding out of West Palm Beach heading westwards destined for the Rockies. In the mean time I was desperately trying to sell my flat to fund a new bike purchase and a month’s leave to join Kelv in the USA.





April
Finally the sale completed and my trip to the USA became a reality. First thing was to spec out a dream Tricross and get the Specialized Concept store in Birmingham to build it. The first test ride was a 60 mile loop out into the snow through Llawr-y-Glyn, Staylittle, Dylife, Machynlleth, Corris, Tal-y-Llyn, Dinas Mawdwddy and fast home along the A470. Back in Brighton I tried the new steed off road, riding the Downs Link home from work and discovering a taste for the speed and handling of cyclocross. Preparations for the USA continued learning from Kelv’s experiences of what to/what not to take.

Meanwhile Kelv had crossed Florida and Alabama and through the course of April passed through Mississippi, Louisiana, Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas and finally Colorado. In 6 weeks he'd travelled nearly 2000 miles and crossed the dreaded plains, the toughest section of the whole tour.




May
The month that changed everything. Meeting Kelv in Boulder I eased into what was to be life for the next month. After some tough training rides in the mountains around Boulder I was off, heading for Wyoming on my own whilst Kelv took a well earned rest in the SUV with James. This was the toughest ride I’ve ever ridden and will be for some time. The mental and physical challenge of 120 remote, windy, hot, relentless miles to Laramie totally changed my perception of long distance riding and showed me the importance of maintaining a positive and strong mental outlook.

The next 4 weeks we experienced some of the most epic rides of our lives, almost on a daily basis. The trip culminated in a 3 day break in bike friendly Portland where I succumbed to the high quality bike porn and treated myself to a singlespeed Swobo. Read the full story at http://dog-solitude.blogspot.com


June
Coming back on a high from the USA, I returned to a new world - Meat, Sammo and others had started riding the 25 miles to work inspired by our tour, Jammer was eyeing up a Tricross of his own and the Bowden bought an Allez. 2 days after landing myself and Meat drunkenly agreed to enter the Brighton Naked Bike Ride, where we finished in first and second place (though it wasn't a race). By mid June 4 of us were riding to work together and the Swobo was converted to a commuter.


The Devil Ride sportive was looming on the horizon and training was stepped up. I rode with Rob to complete his first 100 mile ride, taking in Lake Vyrnwy, Bala Lake and Trawsfyndd Lake on an epic ride. I also had my first fixie crash, riding the Swobo to Machynlleth on the mountain road, lost concentration and travelled through Talerddig through the air.

I finally pulled my finger out and joined the Brighton Mitre, payed for a racing license and started joining their regular training rides. Wednesday evenings were spent at Preston Park as a spectator watching the track racing, Thursday evenings on the training chain gang and sundays on club runs. It would be a month or so longer before I tackled my first 4th category race though.

July
Gwydion's preparations for the Devil Ride included a nice new Trek and a grueling 100 mile loop of the Berlin Wall. I joined him later in July on the Swobo to repeat the slog, discovering the cobbled tracks and forest single track on the outskirts of Berlin. Plans hatched for the Midnight Maurweg, an underground singlespeed race around the historic trail.

Training continued with Jammer and Meat joining the fray on matching Tricross's. A wet weekend in Wales gave us a taster for what was to come in August. Meat's plans for a Peace Race inspired tour of Germany and Poland led to him being loaded down with panniers as a trial run. In hindsight maybe taking him up the Devil's Staircase was a little overkill as preparation for the long flat roads of Poland...

The bike upgrades and purchases with the Devil Ride as an excuse when into overdrive, including 3 brand new bikes and 2 complete bike rebuilds. The Trek received some attention, getting new wheels and a new 10 speed group set ready for racing action with the Brighton Mitre. My old Peugeot which I'd leant to Sammo benefited from a complete Dura Ace upgrade.

August
The Devil Ride was upon us, 100 miles of wild, wet and windy Wales and the climax of months of training, bike upgrades and purchases for many of us. Bob, Darren, Jammer, Gwydion, Jeff, Gwen, Kelv and myself set out from Builth Wells into an almost instant 25% climb, followed later by the Devils Staircase and the Gammalt. A tough but immensly rewarding day for all of us.

This month also saw my first and last races of the year, competing at Dunsfold and Goodwood as a 4th Cat with the Mitre. Dunsfold was a baptism of fire in a tremendous headwind, not to mention mixing it with the 1st and Elites once we were caught. Averaging 25 mph on the Goodwood racing circuit was a real eye opener.

The Burgess Hill Rumble sportive closed what was a very active month on the bike.





September
The Trans Cambrian was to be my last sportive of the year and other than a few training rides with the Mitre the bike didn't see much action. It was great to hit the roads of Mid Wales again, riding out of Rhayader on the back road to Llanidloes, followed by the toughest section of the sportive past Clywedog, then over the mountain road to Machynlleth. The last 50 of the ride were through amazing scenery, past Nant-y-Moch and into the Elan Valley.

Jammer was unstoppable on his Tricross, hitting the Guildford Cycle Challenge and making plans for the Southern Sportive.

October
Since returning from the USA I'd contemplated riding the South Downs Way in one go, covering 100 miles from Winchester to Eastbourne. Realistically October was to be my last chance with the days getting shorter. Having no great experience of riding the Tricross off road, Kelv and I tackled a few routes to give it a trial run, firstly on the Downs Link and later on the Kerry Ridge Way.


I'd decided to complete the south downs ride for charity and raised £650 for Diabetes. This was a major factor in keeping me going on the ride after some major mechanicals and a lot of riding in the dark. Kelv performed admirably as team support, bringing new tyres, clean socks and food and drink at points on the route. Of the 14 hours it took to complete the ride 4 hours were done in the dark with a Maxx Exposure Race light guiding the way.

November
Other than blasts around Brighton on the Swobo I didn't touch any of the bikes this month. November was a spectator month, catching 2 days of the Track World Cup at the Manchester Velodrome. Along with Meat and Chet we witnessed a GB Team at the peak of their performance, winning 90% of all gold medals at all levels, junior, men and women. Chris Newton delivered a lesson in how to totally dominate a points race, Pendleton was unstoppable, Kenny unbeatable and the Olympic Academy riders Armistead and Blyth outclassed their more experienced opposition. An awesome weekend.

December
Due to my fathers deterioating condition I spent all but 10 days of December at home in Wales. The bike was my escape and the hills around Clywedog a place to think and clear my head. Along with Curly Bob we braved the sub zero temperatures to venture out on to the mountain road to Machynlleth where we froze. New Years Eve was spent blasting around the Cli-Mach mountain bike trail near Corris, Bob on his single speed MTB and me on the Crosser.

On December the 21st Dad passed away, closing the book on an unbelieveable cycling career spanning 70 years. Beginning with touring as a youth with the Long Eaton cycling club it wasn't long before he was racing, competing ferociously on the track and winning many medals. Following a couple of years riding the Tour of Ireland he was invited to join the GB Team at the Peace Race as mechanic in 1955.

This began his long and varied career with British Cycling as mechanic and later team manager, taking him all over Europe on 8 Peace Races, the Tour de France, Tour of Sweden, Tour of Poland, Tour of Morroco, Tour of Algeria, Tour of Tunisia, Tour of St Lawrence (Canada) and many more. In the 70's he moved into race marshalling, becoming head marshall for races including the World Championships, Milk Race and National Championships.

He will continue to be my biggest inspiration.

2009...
This has got to be the year where I give racing serious focus and I'm setting my sights on the Hove Park series organised by the Brighton Mitre. Sportives wise, I'm looking to ride the Ronde Van Vlaanderen and the Tour of Ireland, both of which also require considerable training. The next few months should be interesting if I can stay focused, but I feel with my dad's passing I owe it to his memory to try my best.

Chiltern 100

Still off my bike unfortunately with a knackered ankle which is still swolen 6 weeks after I cracked it, hopefully I'll be back on by xmas. For those of you interested in Sportives, check out The Chiltern 100, which is right in my back yard, you may even have a place to kip if you promise not to help me get rat arsed the night before.... yes Bert, I'm looking at you!

Guildford Cycle Challenge

A month on from knackering my knee in the Devil Ride, I've moved my saddle up a bit, bought a more comfortable one, and invested in some Schwalbe Stelvio 700x25 road tyres to replace the 700x32 Borough CX tyres that come as standard on the 08 Tricross sport. While Bert and co were attacking the Trans Cambrian, Katie and I decided to do a more local Cyclosportive, the Guildford Cycle Challenge, run by the Charlotteville Cycle Club. They had three distances on offer: 28, 56, & 83 miles, so we went for the 56 miler, hoping my knee would hold out. Despite the terrible weather on Saturday, Sunday had only a few patches of light drizzle as we drove the 40 miles from North London to Guildford, and so we set off with the 08:55 group in good spirits.

The first 26 miles or so were great, the legs felt good, average speed was slightly better than expected. However, at about 27 miles we rounded a bend to find a 21% sign.. for some reason I'd misread the website, and set off happy in the knowledge that the steepest climb was 7.5% (I've since realised that was for the Southdowns Challenge, on 21 Sept). Coming around a corner to clap eyes on that put me straight into denial... "We probably turn off before that", I muttered to Katie. The road steepened to about 10% and then tailed off again. More denial... "Looks like that was it, perahaps someone defaced the sign, there's no way that was 21%". Of course the proper hill was around the next bend, and I counted more cyclists on foot than on wheels. Luckily I've a 11-34 cassette, and a 30t grannie ring, and Katie has about the same, so we both manage to stay on our wheels to the top, where the photographer is waiting - perhaps you can detect the smile in the second photo is more of a grimace. The remainder of the route was reasonably hilly, with a couple more significant climbs, and I used them to try getting out of the saddle a bit more on the shorter ones. It certainly makes a big difference to my overall progress, and provided I don't do it too often it doesn't seem to kill the legs too badly (a full length sportive might be a different story though).

We finished up very low down in the rankings, but had a good day out, and will probably enter the Southdowns Challenge in 11 days time - anyone up for that?

Trans Cambrian

It was with some trepidation that I drove back to Wales this weekend, literally to the heart of the storm that was lashing the South West coast. I'd decided to stay with Kelv Friday night at his new pad in Porthcawl which just happened to be at the focal point of all the weather warning reports I'd heard before leaving. Bridgend under water, A470 closed, Taff close to breaking point. I did begin to wonder if we'd make it at all whilst sailing down the M4. It was looking like it was going to be yet another wet and windy affair.

Thankfully the weather lifted later that night, allowing us to venture out onto the rocky seafront at Porthcawl armed with a bottle of port. Kelv had been leant a book by his new boss with the subtext 'An Amazing Way to Deal with Change in Your Work and in Your Life'. We celebrated his recent life changes and his return to work by burning it on the beach. I've never burnt a book before. Another perfect evening of sportive preperation.

I'd signed up for the Trans Cambrian after completing the Devil Ride, relishing the oppourtunity to enter another event in my old back yard. At 6:15am Sunday morning Bob's brother Darren and myself drove down to Rhayader in a light drizzle. It was steadily getting warmer and the forecast was promising - a million miles from the severe weather on Friday.

Clive greeted us at the start and we signed on and received our timing chips. Organisation was spot on, plenty of parking and a quick and simple signon process. We wanted to get an early start and headed out with the first 10 riders of the day tackling the first climbs out of Rhayader towards St Harmon. Looking at the route it was clear that the hardest climbs of the ride were confined the first 30 miles. The road to Llani via Pantydwr and Twlych has a good number of testing climbs to get the legs warmed up, but the real beauties were still to come at Clywedog.

The only slight hitch of the day was in Llanidloes, where the clear and well sign posted route was confused by a route indicator for another event. This unfortunately caught out a few people I met on the ride costing them a few miles in the wrong direction. I looked like it had been added after the event sign posts had been placed, as the rest of the route was perfectly sign posted, including caution signs and marshalls on the major road junctions.

Climbing out of Llanidloes it was amusing to see some names painted on the road a la Tour De France, stating 'Sean is Gay' and 'Go Llani Go' amongst others. At the top of the first climb I was suffering badly, nearly threw up and couldn't get into any rythym whatsoever. Perfect timing to be photographed by the now familar sight of George Burgess. Friday nights shenanigins were paying back heavily and I couldn't get comfortable, had knee pains, aching back and feet and a persistent headache. Heading past Clywedog I remembered I'd managed to avoid riding up Bwlch-y-Gle nearly my entire time living in Wales, only tackling it once when I was 19. Today there was no escape and I plodded up with empty legs.

After Clywedog the majority of the big climbs were out of the way and I began to recover from the tough start to the morning. I was now on well ridden roads heading from Staylittle over Dylife to Machynlleth - my training route when I'm home in Wales. The last climb out of Dylife was completely obscured by cloud which was a real shame, the scenery up there is some of the best in the area and Cadir Idris and Snowdon can easily be seen on a clear day. Dropping out of the clouds there's an awesome 7 mile descent into Machynlleth on the valley floor below. Ahead of me there were 2 other riders and we were the first to reach the food station just outside Mach.

Mach to Talybont was fast and flat on good surfaces and the weather was starting to improve making the Nant y Moch section the most enjoyable of the whole route. The scenery up there is awesome, almost alpine in places. I overheard a couple other riders saying it was the most spectular sportive they'd entered for scenery. They continued to be blown away by the route, heading then to Devils Bridge, Cwmystwyth and finally the Elan Valley. I rode the last 30 miles with a few guys from Stoke who were motoring along trying to make up time for their wrong turn in Llanidloes. I finally started to feel good towards the end, spurred on by my parents who'd been out and about on the route all morning.

At the finish within seconds of scanning my timing chip I was presented with certificate and timings, followed by a drink, sandwich and event tshirt. 10 minutes later I was enjoying a well earned cuppa and a leg massage. Perfect. After the glorified informal ride that was the Burgess Hill Rumble last week, it was a great feeling to be back participating in a superbly organised event. I clocked 5 hours 14 mins - 16 minutes off Gold and 15 minutes within Silver. It had been a great day, awesome scenery and well organised. The food stations were also very well stocked with a good selection, though I was first to reach both so not sure how much was left later in the day!

This week I'll I've got training Thursday and then my third race of the year Saturday at Hillingdon. The Southern Sportive is on Sunday... can I make it three sportive weekends in a row?? We'll see...

A Rumble in the Hills

After the series of mishaps which plagued the start of my day I began to think maybe I wasn't meant to ride in the Burgess Hill Rumble sportive today. Not only that, my lack of preperation for an event hit a new low and I still now don't know how the hell I managed to make it to the finish line. A week spent boozing nearly every evening with my Brother culminated in a 4am jaunt to the Volks on Friday after a double figure session of shots. Riding high on a bitter wave of self destruction it seemed logical to continue the trend and go out last night as well. Why not. What the hell.

So when I woke this morning at 7:00am to the sound of thunder and realised I'd set my alarm for Monday and not Sunday I guessed it was going to be a challenging day. Already 30 minutes late for registration in Burgess Hill, I fought with the idea of just sacking it off and going back to sleep. But, I'd got things on my mind and the only cure for my woes was to translate them into miles. In a rush and still dazed from 5 hours sleep I left the house without breakfast, forgetting my arm warmers, energy bars, cash card, long sleeve top and sunglasses.

Driving to Burgess Hill through the eye of a lightning storm I did seriously question what the fuck I was doing, straining to see the road ahead in the monsoon downpour. Lightning was striking closer than I've ever seen and water was starting to build up on the roads. Thankfully by the time I arrived in Burgess Hill it had lessed to a normal downpour, but I still sat another 10 minutes in the car pondering whether to turn round and go straight home.

The only thing which stopped me was having so much on my mind. I figured if i did drive back to Brighton I'd end up going for a ride anyway later in the day to get my head straight. So i got out the car, put the bike together and rode the mile or so to the start line. On arrival I realised I'd left my phone and photo ID in the car so couldn't register. Another 2 mile round trip later I was at the start and really wondering if I was meant to ride at all today.

I'd entered the 95 mile Classic Ride organised by SRS-Events. Though the route was good the organisation wasn't up to the standards of the Devil Ride, even down to having no timing chips. I reset my computer and set off pretty much straight away getting into a good group of 5-6 riders who were prepared to work together. The first 30 miles or so were fast and undulating and I felt surprisingly good cruising along at 20mph+. The first major climb of the day wasn't too steep just long and with a nice smooth surface. Once into the Ashdown forest things got a little more challenging, not least the road surfaces. With so much rain the roads were very slippy and there were a few crashes.

The second major climb was like something out of the Devil Ride, a mile long monster with 16% sections where many had to walk due to lack of traction. At the top was a food station and I ransacked its stock of flapjacks and bananas with a crazed look in my eyes, muscles and veins pumped from the intensity of the climb. From then onwards I was flying and left my group, joined and dropped others along the way until 30 miles out I was on my own. With the exception of the devious addition of the climb out of Ardingly I was at top speed for the last section getting me into the finish in 5 hours 45 mins. Here's the full route.

Getting back to the car I reflected on the day and was glad I'd decided to ride regardless. The troubles of the morning had been flogged over the 95 miles and now didn't seem quite so all consuming. The bike is tremendous for this. Unfortunately though, the bike took a bit of a hammering today with so much shit on the roads. It'll need a full service to be ready for roll for next weekends challenge: The Trans Cambrian...

This time I'll try not the spend the whole week drinking, eating takeaways and worrying about stuff I know I can sort out myself. Hopefully.

Excorcised

It's over, the Devil Ride demon finally ousted after a day of pain and suffering in the mountains of Mid Wales. It was an epic day with no prisoners being taken from the onset. The first climb reared up less than a mile out of Builth Wells with a 25% ramp welcoming the first riders out of the start point. Rain, hail and wind plagued the first 40 miles through the hardest sections of the route making climbing on the steepest sections tricky. I lost traction on spots of tarmac a few times on my pro race 3’s and had to chose a line carefully. Descending was equally as tricky though having knowledge of the roads was a big bonus.

I can definitely recommend riding as much of the route as possible a few weeks before to gauge how to pace yourself, when to eat and to concentrate on recovery. Knowing that in the last 30km there was a 10% climb (which I’m sure was at least 20%!! They must have run out of signs!) helped to plan food intake to have enough in the tank for the finish. The only mistake I made was after completing what I thought was the last climb I mentally switched off contemplating the rolling ride back into Builth. Instead there were a couple of final short sharp climbs in the last 10km to keep people on their toes.

I was surprised to see so few people working together on the course of the route. It seemed to be predominantly individuals, or a small groups riding without any co-operation, even in the strong winds. I was lucky to get chatting to a chap in the last 40km and we decided to both work together right to the finish. I was still feeling strong from Crossgates so did enough work to get us over the 10% climb out of Newbridge, but then needed a pull myself for the last few climbs. Working together we managed to get good times – myself on 06h29m59s getting Silver and the other chap who was in the next age category got within Gold by a few minutes. Not bad for a team effort! Check the results here.

My parents were out on the route at various points doing a great job in providing feeding station like facilities for our group, with many riders slowing down thinking (some hoping!) it was an official stop. The facilities overall were excellent, plenty of food and drink at the feeding stations and a well sign posted route. As my first experience of a sportive it was awesome and off the back of it I’ve entered the Burgess Hill Rumble at the end of August and the Trans Cambrian a week later. The Trans Cambrian looks tough as well, Rhayader to Llanidloes via St Harmon, then via Clywedog and Dylife to Machynlleth, back via Nant-y-Moch and the Elan Valley. Its not quite as much climbing as the Devil Ride but looks just as challenging. Next time I'll try and not spend a week drinking 7% cider as preparation...

The Devil is in the detail

Its 10:50pm and the Devil Ride is now under 10 hours away. I can gaurantee that there are a good number of us still awake in Mid Wales at the moment pondering what the hell we have let ourselves in for tomorrow. In these last few hours the thoughtprocesses will be going into overdrive, some of them now way too late in the day to consider: have I trained enough; have I got enough food; did I bring the right clothes for this beautiful August weather; is my bike gearing finely tuned; are my brakes ok; have I checked whether I need new tyres/blocks/chain/cassette; have I got tools/tubes/spares; do I know the route; do I know where the start is, the feeding stations...

I'm reading 'King of Sports', a textbook on road racing written in the 60's by Peter Ward. Though its dated there are many chapters which still are just as relevant today. The eve of the first sportive I've ever entered probably isn't the best time to start reading the chapter 'Preperation'. The opening paragraph doesn't bode well: 'Try to get to bed early the two nights before the event'.

I'm not sure 4am and 2am fall into that category. Though it doesn't mention whether drinking 3 bottles of wine or numerous pints of Guinness is unencouraged. This week has been disasterous for preparation. Impaling my thumb on a Shimano derailleur at the beginning of the week has kept me off the bike and in the Pub. Anyway didn't Landis claim his stunning victory was because of his couple of beers the night before?

At 8am tomorrow I'll meet the rest of our group that help form the field of 500 entrants. Its the first road sportive for most of us and having only ridden mountain bike sportives before I'm not sure what to expect - will people work together? how are the open roads going to cope with so many riders? My biggest question is how long is it going to take. I've never ridden anything flat out without essential stops before so can't gauge it.

The medal categories certainly look challenging on this course - 6 hrs 12 mins for a Gold, 7 hours for Silver. Thats bastard quick, maybe 17mph average. I rode a 20 mile section with Gwyd this afternoon, from Nantmel joining the route through Abbey Cwm-hir. There are a couple of climbs on that section which are testing but don't even register on the route profile map! Its going to be very very interesting reaching there tomorrow with 80 miles in the legs, plus there are at least 2 15% climbs in the last 15 miles...