TDY 2015 sportive

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classic33

Leg End Member
Both Norther Rail & First are now saying that they will not be carrying bikes on any service on the day.
Their advice is do not attempt to travel, by train, with a bike.
 

MikeW-71

Veteran
Location
Carlisle
Bike is all set with mudguards back on and I've put the brake pads on the front that actually work in the wet.

Looks like we'll be riding in the rain for while, hope they've got some shelter at the start if we have to wait for an hour....

Good luck everyone :smile:
 

PaulSB

Legendary Member
Have to say I was disappointed with my riders "pack". Considering the event costs £50 I thought we might get a bit more than we did. I can't make up my mind on the whole organisation of this event. On the one hand it seems we are simply being squeezed for the maximum amount of money and minimum return, on the other there seems to be good common sense.

Hopefully on the day the organisers will come up trumps.

My son and I entered the 140km seperately - I'm 60, he is 29. We have been allocated consecutive entry numbers and the same start time. That is great and I don't think can be pure luck.

Got a 06.50 start which helps my confidence no end. I've ridden the distance and further on many occasions but never so much climbing. Overall will be my toughest ride to date and I'm not sure I can complete it.

Never been on a ride before where I seriously doubted my ability to finish. It's going to be interesting.
 

Freds Dad

Veteran
Location
Gawsworth.
I was down to do the 104k ride but I've been having a knee problem for the past few weeks. I've spoke to the organisers who say I can step down to the 55k if I'm unsure about finishing the 104.

The friends I was riding with are still doing the 104 so I have to make the decision as whether I travel to Leeds to do the shorter distance alone, drive to watch the race or sit at home at watch it on the TV.
 

MikeW-71

Veteran
Location
Carlisle
Have to say I was disappointed with my riders "pack". Considering the event costs £50 I thought we might get a bit more than we did. I can't make up my mind on the whole organisation of this event. On the one hand it seems we are simply being squeezed for the maximum amount of money and minimum return, on the other there seems to be good common sense.
I didn't expect anything else in the rider pack TBH, if there's any goodies to be handed out, we'll get them at the end.
 

gdmc1

New Member
Have to say I was disappointed with my riders "pack". Considering the event costs £50 I thought we might get a bit more than we did. I can't make up my mind on the whole organisation of this event. On the one hand it seems we are simply being squeezed for the maximum amount of money and minimum return, on the other there seems to be good common sense.

Hopefully on the day the organisers will come up trumps.

My son and I entered the 140km seperately - I'm 60, he is 29. We have been allocated consecutive entry numbers and the same start time. That is great and I don't think can be pure luck.

Got a 06.50 start which helps my confidence no end. I've ridden the distance and further on many occasions but never so much climbing. Overall will be my toughest ride to date and I'm not sure I can complete it.

Never been on a ride before where I seriously doubted my ability to finish. It's going to be interesting.

Don't worry, you're in good company there! If the weather forecast had been better and the spectre of the broom wagon had been absent, it would be a nice steady challenge. hey ho!
 

MikeW-71

Veteran
Location
Carlisle
Just got back home.

:eek::B)

That was quite an experience. Absolutely pishing down at the start, I got there for about 8:20 and just went as soon as I could, just after the group that had David Millar riding with them. We were diverted off the expected route fairly early due to an accident on Otley Chevin, which also meant we wouldn't be climbing back up it either :dance:

I only found that out right at the end when I was in such a bad way with stomach cramps that I would have gladly jumped into a broom wagon, but since we'd just gone over the last steep climb (I walked) I knew I could make it to the finish.

I failed to realise we would be going up the cobbled high street! That was fun in a masochistic kind of way, the pros made it look so easy! Still, I got up it in one, even after the steep hill before it :biggrin:

Riding through the crowds was great, helped the motivation in some places, and riding up the finish straight, you got some idea of what greets the pros at the end of the race.

Would I enter it again? Errr, no :biggrin::laugh:
 

ColinJ

Puzzle game procrastinator!
Just a quick report because I am on my phone in a pub - my Internet is off for a couple of days while I switch from TalkTalk to Plusnet.

I enjoyed it apart from the awful weather for the first few hours. I didn't miss doing the Chevin climb. The route was hard enough without.

There were some horrible accidents ...

Somebody told me that a rider lost control on the first steep descent and hit a wall.

The cyclist on the Chevin descent (1 mile at 10%) lost control in the rain and hit a car. The police closed the road so we were diverted round it.

Carnage greeted us on the steep narrow descent to Sutton. Members of the public shouted at us to slow down and then a marshall told us to dismount and walk down. We soon discovered why - someone with a head injury looked in a very bad way. He was unresponsive, whitefaced, and his eyes had rolled back in his head - a horrible thing to see. Then we sW 2 more barely conscious cyclists lying at the roadside next to their mangled bikes. They were all being attended to by paramedics. Deeply sobering ...

On the run in to the finish I saw yet another casualty on the verge. A police officer was seeing to an injured cyclist and a motorist stood nearby, his car slewed round.

As if all that was not enough, a marshal told my cousin that a cyclist had overtaken another on a bend and gone head on into the front of a van, and went through the windscreen.

Maybe somebody should reevaluate the wisdom of such massive events with mixed abilities of rider on such demanding terrain?

The bad news continued ... my cousin had come down from Scotland to ride the event but he had a serious mechanical disaster which trashed his bike!

On a more positive note - I rode up everything, including climbs that most riders walked up! I got quite a buzz out of the cheers of the spectators.

As I came in towards the finish I suggested to the guy next to me that we should sprint to the line. We accelerated side by side to a huge roar. Unfortunately we were 800 metres from the line and our legs only lasted 250!

Fingers crossed that all the crash victims make good recoveries.
 

MikeW-71

Veteran
Location
Carlisle
Wow! I didn't see any crashes or injuries from my end, but yeah, the steep descents were really sketchy in the wet. 5000+ riders meant that I was always in a group

I wore away half of a new set of brake pads. It normally takes me a whole year to do that!

I didn't have the fitness to ride everything, that's a seriously demanding area. I was wishing for a triple chainset after halfway.
 

nickyboy

Norven Mankey
Just a quick report because I am on my phone in a pub - my Internet is off for a couple of days while I switch from TalkTalk to Plusnet.

I enjoyed it apart from the awful weather for the first few hours. I didn't miss doing the Chevin climb. The route was hard enough without.

There were some horrible accidents ...

Somebody told me that a rider lost control on the first steep descent and hit a wall.

The cyclist on the Chevin descent (1 mile at 10%) lost control in the rain and hit a car. The police closed the road so we were diverted round it.

Carnage greeted us on the steep narrow descent to Sutton. Members of the public shouted at us to slow down and then a marshall told us to dismount and walk down. We soon discovered why - someone with a head injury looked in a very bad way. He was unresponsive, whitefaced, and his eyes had rolled back in his head - a horrible thing to see. Then we sW 2 more barely conscious cyclists lying at the roadside next to their mangled bikes. They were all being attended to by paramedics. Deeply sobering ...

On the run in to the finish I saw yet another casualty on the verge. A police officer was seeing to an injured cyclist and a motorist stood nearby, his car slewed round.

As if all that was not enough, a marshal told my cousin that a cyclist had overtaken another on a bend and gone head on into the front of a van, and went through the windscreen.

Maybe somebody should reevaluate the wisdom of such massive events with mixed abilities of rider on such demanding terrain?

The bad news continued ... my cousin had come down from Scotland to ride the event but he had a serious mechanical disaster which trashed his bike!

On a more positive note - I rode up everything, including climbs that most riders walked up! I got quite a buzz out of the cheers of the spectators.

As I came in towards the finish I suggested to the guy next to me that we should sprint to the line. We accelerated side by side to a huge roar. Unfortunately we were 800 metres from the line and our legs only lasted 250!

Fingers crossed that all the crash victims make good recoveries.

Sounds like a perfect storm; wet conditions, lots of riders not that familiar with really fast descents, tight max time causing pressure

It's easy to get these descents badly wrong. I did one today near Slaithwaite that I've never done before. Narrow, twisting, probably 18% average. I did 12mph down it, any faster would have been reckless

Hope the casualties are all ok
 

bladesman73

Über Member
That was awful..shocking even. I entered the 140km as i can do that length of ride normally. However.....firstly although i had waterproofs the rain was so bad it went right through me. I knew i was in trouble at the first feed stop,shaking like a leaf with cold.i got to 60k mark and stopped with my mate to speak to his parents and that was it for the me.i was shaking so bad i got taken straight to their house nearby. Never been like that,ever.im gutted,been training for months for this.would have been suicidal to carry on.i still felt strong, id done the hills ok up to then.
As for the event, i thought it could have been better organised. Firstly hardly any shelter at the start,given the forecast they could have sorted some kind of temp shelter.i was in the first wave and it was peeing down, they made us wait ages to set off as well.also the first feed point again no shelter. marshalling was ok tho.
The course was mental, absolutely treacherous in the rain, i saw one guy stack it badly,he was ok apparently. Its eaten my brake blocks as well.
The weather tho was the tipping point never cycled in weather like that on such a difficult course,i think it shoulda been cancelled tbh, no wonder so many have crashed
 
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