White rose classic?

[andyfromotley]

So did anyone do it? I did the 'easy' route and found it darned difficult, the hills were very steep. I know all the info was there for me to check it out but i did think that the easy route should have been milder, (69 miles 7,000 ft of climbing and lots of 20% gradient) i think most of the others i spoke to thought the same.

I know that BC ran this event this year and changed the location, but it certainly wasnt as well run as last year, booking in took 20 mins plus, wrong size t shirt, no certificate etc. Didnt seem to me that there were as many signed up for it this year.

Still awesome cycling countryside but unless there is a dramatic weight loss from me by next year i will have to give it a miss. shame really.

 

[ColinJ]

Still awesome cycling countryside but unless there is a dramatic weight loss from me by next year i will have to give it a miss. shame really.

Or just get lower gears for your bike Andy?

I don't venture deep into the Dales on my Cannondale because its lowest gear is 39/29 but I've been okay on my Basso with its 30/28.

 

[EITC]

I opted for the 'hard' route.. not that any route seemed easy!! As soon as i saw the hill (mountain pass surely?!) going up through garsdale i knew it was going to be a very long day! By the time we went over buttertubs pass (around 95 miles in) the legs had turned to jelly, and the sadistic sods still made us go the long route around and up the hill to the final checkpoint!! I had never ridden in the Dales before and i now have a new respect for hills...That is a serious ride.

 

[andyfromotley]

Or just get lower gears for your bike Andy?

I don't venture deep into the Dales on my Cannondale because its lowest gear is 39/29 but I've been okay on my Basso with its 30/28.

hi colin,

yes thats always an option but like most people i dont want to change my gearing for one event a year. I dont want to come across as a whinger, all the info was there for me to see, but i didnt convert that into the actual size (and more importantly the steepness) of the hills.

I would guess that about 90% of the people who did the easy route ended up pushing their bikes over the steep climbs, is that what people really signed up for? I think part of the attraction for sportives is that they hold something for everyone, from the moderately fit casual rider like me, to the advanced super fit club rider, an experience we can all share to a degree. I'm not sure that this one pulled off that trick.

 

[andyfromotley]

I opted for the 'hard' route.. not that any route seemed easy!! As soon as i saw the hill (mountain pass surely?!) going up through garsdale i knew it was going to be a very long day! By the time we went over buttertubs pass (around 95 miles in) the legs had turned to jelly, and the sadistic sods still made us go the long route around and up the hill to the final checkpoint!! I had never ridden in the Dales before and i now have a new respect for hills...That is a serious ride.

Ahhh well, if you sign up for anything with hard in the title you get what you deserve!

Like you i was halfway up garsdale when i knew i was in for a long tough day!!

Total repect for your effort though

 

[EITC]

Garsdale was a shock to the system, i didnt know hills like that existed in england! then i realised that was only one of many similar hills we had to tackle! i had built park rash up to be a monster but after the steep start wasnt actually that bad...The hill that broke my heart was buttertubs for the pure reason that when we arrived there i thought we had already done it!!! i thought we were on the descent into hawes when this 'wall' of a road appeared before us...... truely demoralising after 96 odd miles!
A fantastic event in a beautiful area, but tough as hell. I felt like throwing my bike at the cameraman on the rise out of dent!

 

[ColinJ]

hi colin,

yes thats always an option but like most people i dont want to change my gearing for one event a year. I dont want to come across as a whinger, all the info was there for me to see, but i didnt convert that into the actual size (and more importantly the steepness) of the hills.

Ah, but if you did change your gearing permanently you might be tempted to tackle lots of events like that every year, not just the one!

I'm still slow on the hills because I don't have loads of extra power to spare to cart my excess weight uphill so I compensate with lower gearing. I've done Fleet Moss both ways, and Buttertubs, Park Rash etc. and I didn't have to get off and walk.

I know that you are fitter than me (having ridden with you last year) so I'm sure that you'd be fine on similar gearing to me. As you get stronger, you'd be using the lower gears less and less but it's nice to have them there for 'insurance'.

I was much slimmer and fitter in 2001 and hardly touched my granny gear, but eventually there was one very long hard ride culminating in a slog up a 25% hill into a fierce headwind when I was eternally grateful for it.

When Lance Armstrong was at his peak, I remember someone pointing out that if you couldn't ride uphill at the same speed as him, why would you think that you needed the same gears as him? That made sense to me. My bottom gear is about 2/3 of what he would use - if anything it sounds like I am still overgeared since I probably ride at 1/4 his speed on a climb!

I'd rather be pedalling a 30/28 than walking a 39/26 (whatever)!

 

[Kirstie]

I was out in the Dales touring last weekend, and passed the whole field of the long ride. When I was going down Tan Hill, they were all hauling themselves up it. So if any of you remember being waved to by a woman going hell for leather down the hill on a panniered up bright yellow Airnimal - that was me! I felt very sorry for you all it looked like a sod of a ride!

 

[EITC]

By the time we got to tan hill all i could see were the tears in my eyes! Was a bit windy up there at the weekend wasnt it?!

 

[ASC1951]

Still awesome cycling countryside but unless there is a dramatic weight loss from me by next year i will have to give it a miss. shame really.

Well, the roads are all still there, so you could just go and do it yourself whenever suits you and at your own tempo; and the tee shirt will fit. I shall be doing a ride from Leeds to the Tan Hill and back, which is pretty much the route, as my September 100.

As to weight loss, I'm still trying to get my head round the notion that Wiggo can be fit enough to perform well in the Olympics then lose another 7kg and be even better; it's not as if he was a porker in the first place.

 

[Kirstie]

By the time we got to tan hill all i could see were the tears in my eyes! Was a bit windy up there at the weekend wasnt it?!

Yes it was - but it depended on the direction you were travelling! We mostly had a tail wind or cross wind on the climb, but you guys would have had it right in your faces!

 

[EITC]

yeah, bang in our faces, was like riding through treacle! That section seemed to go on forever. i was even tempted to park it outside the pub for a couple of hours..

 

[Kirstie]

yeah, bang in our faces, was like riding through treacle! That section seemed to go on forever. i was even tempted to park it outside the pub for a couple of hours..

You prob don't want to hear this but we'd just left the pub, having been there for two hours. There was a folk festival on - someone was playing the northumbrian pipes in there and the sheep were trying to get in. We had trouble staying off the beer (we did tho).

 

[ASC1951]

someone was playing the northumbrian pipes in there and the sheep were trying to get in.

To make them stop?

 

[Kirstie]

To make them stop?

It was pretty good actually. I think they were after the food...