Manchester 100

[wilkie]

Hiya, has anyone done the Manchester 100 would they recommend it? I'm thinking of entering for this year it will be my first century ride!

 

[Kestevan]

I've done it a few times. It's a decent ride, pretty flat as 100s go, it's well signposted and there will be loads of others.
A few points to note though.

The organisers push it as a charity ride - however no part of your fee goes to charity. If you want to collect for charity thats on top.

Unlike most proper "sportives" the feedstops are not free (or particularly well stocked).

A large number of riders will never have ridden in a group before, some of the riding is best described as "unpredicatable". This is especially noticeable after the 60 mile route rejoins the 100. It's best to set off very early to avoid the majority of the "numpties".

Despite the above it's a decent day out, and a fun experience.

 

[on the road]

I've done it twice and it's great. It's not totally flat though, there are a few hills but nothing big. There's one hill towards the end at about the 94 mile mark, with 94 miles in your legs that hill is a good test, you always see people pushing their bikes up the hill and there's always a build up of traffic because of it so be prepared, that's assuming they've not changed the route in the last couple of years.

 

[ColinJ]

It's worth reading older threads about the event. (The search box will find them for you.)

There's one hill towards the end at about the 94 mile mark, with 94 miles in your legs that hill is a good test, you always see people pushing their bikes up the hill and there's always a build up of traffic because of it so be prepared, that's assuming they've not changed the route in the last couple of years.

I got caught out by that, 'big-Styal', first time I rode the event.