England : Buckinghamshire Ride Chartridge, 8th May

[CharlieB]

Just out of interest, is anyone of this parish doing any of the three distances on this one?

 

[Sbudge]

Just out of interest, is anyone of this parish doing any of the three distances on this one?

Yep, doing the 75 mile one ... probably quite slowly. By the look of it they've put both Whiteleaf and Kop Hill towards the end which should be 'fun'. What about you?

 

[CharlieB]

Yup. I'm in the 75 miler. I walked up some of Whiteleaf the only time I've attempted it before. Kop Hill I've never been up.
I'll be the fat geezer on a white Colnago hoping to start around 8-ish and finishing about 3.
Kit dependent on the weather- forecast is looking good at the moment.

 

[Sbudge]

Yup. I'm in the 75 miler. I walked up some of Whiteleaf the only time I've attempted it before. Kop Hill I've never been up.
I'll be the fat geezer on a white Colnago hoping to start around 8-ish and finishing about 3.
Kit dependent on the weather- forecast is looking good at the moment.

Cool, I ride up Whiteleaf most weekends and Kop Hill probably once a month. In my opinion Kop Hill feels worse because it gets harder towards the top, Whiteleaf's steepest bit is about half way up. The trick with Kop is to remember there are 3 nasty little ramps starting at about the mid point, so just make sure you pace yourself.

I'll be aiming to start the same time, probably on a grey/white/red Battaglin. For that course I should be averaging about 21 kmh so, with stop(s), a very similar time I suspect. Hopefully we can meet up, we're supposed to be starting in groups of 20 but I doubt I'll be keeping up with most folk!

 

[steverob]

I did the 60 mile (Black) route last year, which turned into a 65 due to a road closure detour near Chearsley and managed to make it up Whiteleaf without walking (although I'll admit I did stop briefly!).

However the climb I'll tell you to watch out for probably doesn't even show up on the elevation profile - after you've done Whiteleaf, Kop Hill and Frith Hill and are thinking you've made it, just about 2 miles from the finish you get completely caught out by a "little" dipper at Ballinger. You can't go fast down into it as there's an 90 degree bend at the bottom, so with no momentum you end up having to crawl up the steep hill on the other side at barely 5-6 mph. I can attest to numerous swear words being muttered in the organiser's direction while going up that!

Unfortunately I can't make the early start for the longer rides this Sunday, so am only doing the 30 mile (Red) route this time round and making up for it by adding on an extra 30 on the ride home.

 

[Sbudge]

I did the 60 mile (Black) route last year, which turned into a 65 due to a road closure detour near Chearsley and managed to make it up Whiteleaf without walking (although I'll admit I did stop briefly!).

However the climb I'll tell you to watch out for probably doesn't even show up on the elevation profile - after you've done Whiteleaf, Kop Hill and Frith Hill and are thinking you've made it, just about 2 miles from the finish you get completely caught out by a "little" dipper at Ballinger. You can't go fast down into it as there's an 90 degree bend at the bottom, so with no momentum you end up having to crawl up the steep hill on the other side at barely 5-6 mph. I can attest to numerous swear words being muttered in the organiser's direction while going up that!

Unfortunately I can't make the early start for the longer rides this Sunday, so am only doing the 30 mile (Red) route this time round and making up for it by adding on an extra 30 on the ride home.

Ah yes, I'd forgotten about that bit...I'm sure I can get up a hill slower than that though ;-)

 

[srw]

Ijust about 2 miles from the finish you get completely caught out by a "little" dipper at Ballinger.

The Ballinger Bastard! I've done it a few times, and loathe it with a passion. You could always take the next road along, which goes the sensible (i.e. flat) way between the Lee and South Heath.

Which way do you tackle it? I've only ever done it coming from the Lee, where the 90-degree bend is very tight. I suppose that if you've got a death-wish you could just about get some momentum if you're doing it from the other end.

We have twice attempted Kop Hill on a tandem, and twice failed. It's grim in the extreme.

On Sunday I shall be plodding around the roads of Marlow, wondering why my legs hurt so much. Because I haven't done a great deal of training and am 4 or 5 stone overweight will be the only sensible answer....

 

[CharlieB]

Thanks, @srw and @steverob, you're making me feel a whole lot better (not).
I'm off in ten minutes to go and have a look at this one…

 

[Sbudge]

Thanks, @srw and @steverob, you're making me feel a whole lot better (not).
I'm off in ten minutes to go and have a look at this one…

Good luck. Let us know how you got on...then in the morning we can try again!

 

[Sbudge]

The Ballinger Bastard! I've done it a few times, and loathe it with a passion. You could always take the next road along, which goes the sensible (i.e. flat) way between the Lee and South Heath.

Which way do you tackle it? I've only ever done it coming from the Lee, where the 90-degree bend is very tight. I suppose that if you've got a death-wish you could just about get some momentum if you're doing it from the other end.

We have twice attempted Kop Hill on a tandem, and twice failed. It's grim in the extreme.

On Sunday I shall be plodding around the roads of Marlow, wondering why my legs hurt so much. Because I haven't done a great deal of training and am 4 or 5 stone overweight will be the only sensible answer....

On a tandem??? Good grief, I can hardly even imagine that. You're braver than me for sure. This will be the first time I've tried it in warm weather so should be interesting for sure.

 

[steverob]

The Ballinger Bastard! I've done it a few times, and loathe it with a passion. You could always take the next road along, which goes the sensible (i.e. flat) way between the Lee and South Heath.

Which way do you tackle it? I've only ever done it coming from the Lee, where the 90-degree bend is very tight. I suppose that if you've got a death-wish you could just about get some momentum if you're doing it from the other end.

We're coming from the Great Missenden direction (i.e. up Frith Hill) heading north towards the Chartridge Road.

I'd always cycled the route you suggest via the Lee when I've been in that neck of the woods, so I didn't even know that this dip existed until I came across it during this ride last year - because it's so small compared to Whiteleaf, it only appears as a tiny blip on the elevation profile, but it is my abiding memory from it!

 

[Sbudge]

We're coming from the Great Missenden direction (i.e. up Frith Hill) heading north towards the Chartridge Road.

I'd always cycled the route you suggest via the Lee when I've been in that neck of the woods, so I didn't even know that this dip existed until I came across it during this ride last year - because it's so small compared to Whiteleaf, it only appears as a tiny blip on the elevation profile, but it is my abiding memory from it!

You were right, it was an evil little sod indeed. All in all though a really lovely ride yesterday. Excellent signage, perfect weather and a great route.