I think I've been spoilt by other rides I've done this year. I was really looking forward to it, especially when it was clear that the weather was going to be pretty kind, and in the end I just thought it was a bit "meh". I was down for the 104, but was only up for the weekend visiting family and I didn't want to spend all my time out riding and ignoring them, so I ended up turning left at Forestburn and doing the 63 instead.
The route itself was great. Really enjoyed it, the scenery and the roads that it ran on. Whomever came up with it (am I right in thinking it's Gosforth RC?) gets kudos. Sure there were some holes and gravel patches, but that's only to be expected after the weather in the week. I'd made the smart decision to change to monster truck tyres following the previous week's puncture-fest on the Dartmoor Classic, and although they rolled like lead hoops through molasses, they certainly kept the fairy at bay.
The staff seemed largely indifferent for the most part, certainly around Kingston Park itself. Despite there being dozens of people wearing the red Virgin Money tops, very few of them seemed to be doing anything. I was milling around for a while before somebody seemed to notice that there were a lot of people who seemed to be trying to get through to the start and decided it might be an idea of telling us how to get there. I saw a fair few fully engaged in their mobiles and not paying any attention to the riders at all. Not a massive thing, I suppose, but it's important. Sign on on Friday in Leazes Park was similar - it all felt a little disorganised and under-prepared.
The start was odd... There's a big funnel of riders corralled towards the line, but then you get all the other people who can't be bothered to head to the back pushing in along the sides. Then you have a timing system that needs to be manually scanned, so when you get called forward your clock is already ticking before you cross the line. Again, minor, but people are precious about these things. The rider briefing consisted of a short warning about the state of the roads following the bad weather... I know I'm at fault for not taking the time to read through the ride manual the night before, but truth be told I'd accidentally left it at home in Devon. What would have gone down well would've been a reminder of what the route signs looked like, and which route each of the 3 coloured arrows corresponded to. That's just common sense as far as I'm concerned. As it was, I didn't even notice a route marker sign until probably 10 or 15 miles... fair enough I was in a massive bunch of riders, but they're pretty small until you know what to look for.
As I've already said, the route was good. Traffic was patient (as far as I saw) and there was no silliness. I was in a nice big bunch of riders getting pulled along at a good 20+. There wasn't a lot of talking going on, but people were polite. I saw a chap wearing a Dartmoor Classic jersey, and so I pulled alongside to have a few words as I'd done it the week before. Turned out that it was someone that I'd been talking to on Facebook! I was surprised that there were no marshals on the route: Again, I don't think the ride really suffered because of it, but it just seems sensible to me. The first feed was well stocked - I was in one of the first groups to arrive at it and the cadets there did an absolute sterling job in getting people's chips scanned, and handing out food and drink. I nabbed a bottle of powerade and a 'nana, before pausing to refill my one empty bottle. The customary barrel of watered-down sports drink was even more watered down than ever, so I ended up dumping a sachet of my own in to top it off.
Forestburn Gate arrived, and once I'd clarified with another ride which route corresponded with the black and blue arrows, I voted with my head and turned left onto the 63 mile route. I was quite pleased to recognise some of the roads that I'd ridden when I'd been up visiting in March. Clearly most of the group that I had been riding with had turned right, and so there was only a small group of maybe four of us plodding along the 63 route, up a hill and into the teeth of a headwind. Still, the sun was out, and the scenery was nice. I fell in alongside a chap on a Cannondale and had a bit of a chat before he decided to hang back to wait for his wife. I decided to press on and did so solo, chasing an ever-elusive black-shirted rider in the far distance (I never did catch him!) The route was gently undulating but not too painful, though the wind saw to it that it was slower than usual going. I started to see signs for Ryal, and so I guessed I was approaching "The Ryals", the hills that everyone had been telling me about in the build up. To be honest, I found them a bit of a let down. They were certainly steep, but there's hardly anything to them. I did pass one guy pushing to the top of the first though.
At the top was another feed station. Except it wasn't. Well it was, but it wasn't an official feed stop, but nobody told me until after I'd accepted a banana, only to be told they were running it to make money for the local church. Bit of a con, but what the heck... I paid up and moved on, soon arriving at the actual feed stop at Stamfordham. I paused long enough to just register my time chip, before moving on. Shortly along the way, I happened upon another rider who was not only going at pretty much my pace, but was also up for a bit of a chat. Man who's name I forgot to ask, but who was wearing red & black Oakleys, thank you for the conversation and company - you made the last part of the ride far more enjoyable. We hacked our way through the lanes back toward the finish at a decent pace, only being passed by the Rapha team who were clearly out doing a training ride ahead of the following day's road race.
Back at Kingston Park, we were yet again completely ignored by a marshal, who made eye contact and then looked down at the floor. As a result we both went to the wrong entrance and had to backtrack to the finish to have our final times registered. After that I was ignored by another couple of red-topped "trainers", one of whom was too busy texting to notice me. Finally I found someone willing to point me in the right direction to hand back my timing chip and collect my goody bag. I registered a 3:49 (versus the moving time on my Garmin of 3:34), which I was well pleased with, though I wish now that I'd pushed on a bit harder in places.
Like I say, there was nothing particularly "wrong" with the ride... There were just a lot of little things that could've been done better I think, which felt like a bit of a shame to me.
(unlike last year) and finished in 5.09 (20mins faster than last year). I had been hoping for a sub 5 but given the windy conditions I'm pretty pleased.
I actually had to pedal pretty much all the way DOWN to Elsdon from Billsmoor, and most of the bigger hills after that were against a headwind, both up and down. My 4th time doing the 100+, and the most difficult. Riding time of 7hr30mins, plus stopping time of 1hr30 (I don't usually stop foir longer than 5 mins or so at the 4 feed stops, but was so knacked yesterday, I took my time, sat down, had coffee etc in 2 places, and made an extra stop at the CoOp in Bellingham to get something to eat that was savoury, rather than bars, bananas, energy drinks etc. I had two Scotch Eggs, which did the trick nicely 
.