UKC

How did people get on?
My first ever road-sportive and i loved the experience.
Got a respectable 'moving' time of 5hr20min but made good use of the feed stations which added about another hour.

Not sure i would do it again however, as i found that it seems that in order to be a closed event, they have had to use some pretty bad roads.
My friend did it last year and said that there were some changes that were all for the worse in terms of some very dodgy downhill sections.

How did others find it?

In reply to Kimono:

Most of the local residents were fairly unhappy, but I've heard good things from friends who entered!

I was a little further north helping out on the Ruthin MTB event

In reply to Kimono:

I'm a local resident and I was happy

In reply to Kimono:

I suspect you had more freedom of movement on the public highways that day than those who didn't take part :-p

In reply to richprideaux:

true...though we managed to hit endless roadblocks on the way to Bangor at 6 in the morning!

In reply to Kimono:

It was good did it in 6hrs or 6.22 with stops i need to do a bit more training i found the hills hard but sure i will be back next year to try and beat my time.One down hill bit was a bone shaker but apart from that the roads are good,i saw a lot of crashes on the tight bends and was riding behind some one that looked beat up from a crash,just because no cars will be coming does not allow you to go round bends like a pro.

In reply to ox:

Did any cars make it past the closure signs? I know that was an issue on previous events.

In reply to ox:

i also saw a few crashes including a nasty one where the guy had landed on his face

There were several very loose nasty downhill sections that i would personally never ride on myself as there are so many other nicer options round here. (including the very loose arrival at the first feed)
But, as i said, to be able to close the roads, it seems they had to use some of the much less-used, and thus less-good options.

It must also be said that there are some far nastier climbs than the Horseshoe and the Shelf...Bwlch Penbarras, for example, would have brought a few tears to the eye

In reply to Kimono:


Good call. I was a bit bleary eyed hitting Bwlch Penbarras after the other two

In reply to Kimono:

I did it - absolutely full of cold so no legs at all. Managed 6.18 (all-in with some long food stops/rests).

But agree with the comments above - the roads were f'ing awful. I'm sure they weren't that bad last year. One or two places I'd have been nervous at speed on my mountain bike!

Saw one car on the road at about half distance - told a marshall who just shrugged?

Didn't feel as much effort went into it as last year to be honest - no marker signs with distances, top of climbs etc...

Did the Pennines and the Caledonia this year too - the Caledonia was superb but very soft in comparison. Thought the Pennines was silly: too many short steep ups and downs and no chance to get in a Rhythm!

Of all the ones I've done now, I'd say the non-closed-roads Etape Eryri was by far the best. And it goes past my house!

In reply to Tom Hutton:

>



And as a result i won't be doing it again....well, i won't be paying for it again
Next year i shall just join in on the part nearest me

In reply to Kimono:

Interesting point - I wonder if you could just join in, say if you lived near Bangor and could do 90% of it without entering? I suppose technically it would be breaking the law as the roads are closed...

Bwlch Pen Barras is always fun. On the Scott MTB thingy there was 1hr difference between the first and last riders (they set off from Ruthin so straight up there).

In reply to richprideaux:

Think the roads are only closed to motor vehicles?

In reply to Tom Hutton:

I believe they were closed to vehicles, so bikes would be included other than those partaking in the event. I may be wrong, but speaking a friend who lived on the 'closed' road he was told he could go for a walk from home but not drive OR ride on the closed sections. He had to park elsewhere and walk across the fields to ensure he could get to work on Sunday...

In reply to Kimono:

I was wondering about the legality of it.
That said, there were a few people doing it who hadn't entered officially.

I would ride the roads but not take advantage of the feed stations!