Dragon

[JD42]

Anyone else involved in June? http://humanrace.co.uk/event/dragon-ride/

 

[windyrider]

Looks good, the Dragon Devil 305km, now there is a challenge!!!

Luckily for me I'm in Italy on those dates, cannot say the scenery will be better, but the coffee and the pasta party I think will.

 

[JD42]

The devil is a little out of my reach. Gran Fondo is the challenge for this ageing chap..lol. enjoy Italy!

 

[Banjo]

Look forward to some amazing scenery lots of climbing and fast descending .

I did the 200km version a few years back. The organization at that time was terrible but I understand in recent years its very well organized.

Th carpark que caused an obstruction right back to the M4 with police forcing people to carry on to the next junction while the parking stewards were hopelessly overwhelmed.You then had an even longer wait while riders were made to que for hours on a cool morning to be set off in small groups.Many strong discussions ensued when clubs started letting their mates push in.Once again stewards hopelessly inadequate.

The first leg from Pencoed to Porthcawl went well . I quickly scoffed a jam tart and refilled my bottle. A few miles down the road took a drink and nearly threw up it tasted of some vile chemical .A dry mouthed climb up the Bwlch for some clean water then off down into the valley and the second big climb up the Rhigos.(pronounced rickoss if anyone cares).I thoroughly enjoyed the ride itself despite an annoying gear cable snapped limiting my gear options on the last 30 kms.

I was ok but many normally fast riders who had entered the 200km event were delayed so long at the start that they missed the cut off point to continue on the long route and were directed to turn right down the south side of the Bwlch on the 80 km route back to the start.Some didn't even know until they rolled over the finish line barely warmed up.

The final fiasco was that the timing mats didn't work and only a handful of riders out of the 5000 actually had their timings recorded. There was a positive side to that though the organizers donated 10 grand to the air ambulance by way of compensation.

As I said I understand the organization is very slick these days but I cant vouch for it personally as I haven't done a sportive since.

Good luck to all who enter all the routes are challenging .The 305 really is only for hardcore mad people. Just thinking about Abergwesyn aka DevilsStaircase makes my legs tremble.

The 155 km route is almost identical to a cycle chat ride we did few years back with about a dozen off us making a weekend of it.

 

[JD42]

Look forward to some amazing scenery lots of climbing and fast descending .

I did the 200km version a few years back. The organization at that time was terrible but I understand in recent years its very well organized.

Th carpark que caused an obstruction right back to the M4 with police forcing people to carry on to the next junction while the parking stewards were hopelessly overwhelmed.You then had an even longer wait while riders were made to que for hours on a cool morning to be set off in small groups.Many strong discussions ensued when clubs started letting their mates push in.Once again stewards hopelessly inadequate.

The first leg from Pencoed to Porthcawl went well . I quickly scoffed a jam tart and refilled my bottle. A few miles down the road took a drink and nearly threw up it tasted of some vile chemical .A dry mouthed climb up the Bwlch for some clean water then off down into the valley and the second big climb up the Rhigos.(pronounced rickoss if anyone cares).I thoroughly enjoyed the ride itself despite an annoying gear cable snapped limiting my gear options on the last 30 kms.

I was ok but many normally fast riders who had entered the 200km event were delayed so long at the start that they missed the cut off point to continue on the long route and were directed to turn right down the south side of the Bwlch on the 80 km route back to the start.Some didn't even know until they rolled over the finish line barely warmed up.

The final fiasco was that the timing mats didn't work and only a handful of riders out of the 5000 actually had their timings recorded. There was a positive side to that though the organizers donated 10 grand to the air ambulance by way of compensation.

As I said I understand the organization is very slick these days but I cant vouch for it personally as I haven't done a sportive since.

Good luck to all who enter all the routes are challenging .The 305 really is only for hardcore mad people. Just thinking about Abergwesyn aka DevilsStaircase makes my legs tremble.

The 155 km route is almost identical to a cycle chat ride we did few years back with about a dozen off us making a weekend of it.

The organisation is alot better, in fact probably the best organised sportive out of the 6 i did last year. There were no issues with access and parking last year. My only grumble was only 4 feed stations for replens on one of the hottest June days for a while. Heh ho... better individual planning from me for this year..lol.

 

[GravityFighter]

I'm thinking about taking on the 305km Devil as a fundraiser for a friend's young son who has cancer.

I'm an average cyclist (16 mph on lumpy but not massively hilly terrain here in West Yorkshire) with decent fitness. Two questions:

1. Am I completely mad?
2. Can I train hard enough between now and June to complete the 305km route?
3. Am I completely mad?


Thoughts on how mad I might be welcomed :-)

 

[Banjo]

Totally mad but go for it.
There is a Lot of climbing on the route but much of it isnt terribly steep. The devils staircase is a leg buster but not unrideable.

Just consider the cut off point time.If you can beat the broom wagon then go for it.

 

[Maverick Goose]

I'm doing the Peak Epic long route this year, so bit of a fixture clash but maybe one for 2018!