Wales : South Glamorgan Velothon Wales

[goody]

Sounds like a good opportunity for a 15mile warm up.

 

[benb]

Sounds like a good opportunity for a 15mile warm up.

Might do. It depends on my start time.

 

[NorvernRob]

Cardiff Gate is a bit out from the City Centre and not easy to ride in from, if I was you I would look for a better location.
We have a decent train system, so you might like to think about one of the rural hotels in the Vale of Glamorgan and catch the train in on the day or ride in

It's a bit late now, we've already booked and paid. It's going to be an early start Sunday morning so the ride in should be pretty much traffic free.

 

[BreastCancerCare]

Hi Everyone,

I hope your training is going well and that the winter weather isn't' stopping you from getting out on your bikes!

I wanted to let you know that places are still available for Velothon Wales with Breast Cancer Care. We are a Velothon Wales silver charity and the only UK-wide charity providing specialist support and tailored information for anyone affected by breast cancer. Our clinical expertise and emotional support network help thousands of people find a way to live with, through and beyond breast cancer.

To register for a place visit www.breastcancercare.org.uk/velothonwales, choose your distance (120km or 50km) and complete the one-off £33 registration fee payment. As a charity we ask that you pledge to raise £350 in sponsorship - don't worry we are here to support you every step of the way with fundraising and training advice.

We also welcome participants who have already secured a place and who would like to join the team and raise money for Breast Cancer Care.

For more information visit www.breastcancercare.org.uk, email sporting@breastcancercare.org.uk or call us on 0345 092 0804.

Thank you and good luck!

The Breast Cancer Care Sporting Team

 

[steve292]

Anyone from north Somerset/Bristol taking part?

 

[MichaelO]

The course has been published - with the 120km route now being 140km!
http://www.velothon-wales.co.uk/en/route/route-information/interactive-route-map/#map

 

[sleaver]

Don't forget the extra 400 meters of climbing either

That hill after 120km looks like it will be a nice walk in the park hurt like a right........

 

[NorvernRob]

Cool, that extra distance and climbing is going to make it more of a challenge.

 

[Nomadski]

Don't forget the extra 400 meters of climbing either

That hill after 120km looks like it will be a nice walk in the park hurt like a right........

Yeah that hill looks like it might be the giver of unwelcome pain right there.

Seems they are doing organised thing much better than RideLondon manage to do, a GPX released with 100 days to go? Unfathomable!

 

[Dogtrousers]

Hmmm.

140km holds no fears for me. 140km with 1800m of climb ditto. No problems. Brighton and back is harder than that.

I could do it tomorrow ... Unfortunately it would take me 8 hours or more.

140km with 1800m of climb in 6:40 - overall speed of 21km/h? I seriously think that may be beyond me.

Also you can't just tell the broom wagon to sod off and continue the ride at your own pace as they need to clear the road for the pro race. Hmph. Serious second thoughts about this, even though they have my money already.

 

[NorvernRob]

Yep I've said this on their FB page along with many others. I'll be ok with it as I'm used to a lot of climbing, but Velothon have been featuring stories about people doing this as their first big ride, others with very little experience doing it for charity etc.

Those last few hills are going to be virtually blocked with people walking up, that's if they're not already in the broom wagon (which is going to need to be a 500 seater).

And I wonder how busy those feed stations are going to be, I'm considering starting with 2x1L bottles and a decent amount of food in my pockets so worst case scenario I can carry on straight past and stop just once at the last feed area.

 

[Dogtrousers]

I just think that cut-off time is very short. I'm very used to 100-150km rides with and 1500m+ of climb, but I'm just not fast enough. I don't think I'm the right person for this ride. And if I'm not right, then there are going to be a whole load of people in a worse position than me.

I think that anyone who approaches this like a first marathon and trains to 75% of the distance and trusts to luck on the day is in for a nasty shock. As you say, they're going to need a fleet of broom wagons.

Edit: I've just been and had a look at the FB page, seems quite a few people agree.

Edit edit. I've just dug through my emails:

Velothon Wales Helpdesk Sept 2014 (by email)
In order to ensure the roads are clear in time for the Pro Race, a number of ‘sweep vehicles’ will travel the entire route at 17.1km per hour (10.6 miles per hour). If you are caught by this convoy of vehicles, you will be required to withdraw from your race.

(tee hee ... they said "race")

Velothon Wales FAQ Mar 2015
In order to ensure the roads are clear in time for the Pro Race, a number of ‘sweep vehicles’ will travel the entire route at 21km per hour (13 miles per hour). If you are caught by this convoy of vehicles, you will be required to withdraw from the event.

I think I might have a punt at getting my money back. Not too hopeful though.

 

[Nomadski]

I just think that cut-off time is very short. I'm very used to 100-150km rides with and 1500m+ of climb, but I'm just not fast enough. I don't think I'm the right person for this ride. And if I'm not right, then there are going to be a whole load of people in a worse position than me.

I think that anyone who approaches this like a first marathon and trains to 75% of the distance and trusts to luck on the day is in for a nasty shock. As you say, they're going to need a fleet of broom wagons.

Edit: I've just been and had a look at the FB page, seems quite a few people agree.

Edit edit. I've just dug through my emails:

Velothon Wales Helpdesk Sept 2014 (by email)
In order to ensure the roads are clear in time for the Pro Race, a number of ‘sweep vehicles’ will travel the entire route at 17.1km per hour (10.6 miles per hour). If you are caught by this convoy of vehicles, you will be required to withdraw from your race.

(tee hee ... they said "race")

Velothon Wales FAQ Mar 2015
In order to ensure the roads are clear in time for the Pro Race, a number of ‘sweep vehicles’ will travel the entire route at 21km per hour (13 miles per hour). If you are caught by this convoy of vehicles, you will be required to withdraw from the event.

I think I might have a punt at getting my money back. Not too hopeful though.

Have you done a sportive on closed roads before Dogtrousers? You will find your average is far higher than normal as you keep momentum throughout, rather than the normal stop start of road riding. When I did Ridelondon my average was 3mph above what it normally is and I wasn't pushing myself any harder than in training for it.

 

[Dogtrousers]

Cheers @Nomadski ... Glass half full!

No I've not done anything like this before. I am very familiar with my speed on normal roads over this kind of distance /terrain so I can't help but feel very sceptical.

 

[Nomadski]

Cheers @Nomadski ... Glass half full!

No I've not done anything like this before. I am very familiar with my speed on normal roads over this kind of distance /terrain so I can't help but feel very sceptical.

Keep the chin up. At least if we do get picked up we get an easier ride up Caerphilly Hill!