UKC

Any UKC'ers riding the Dartmoor Classic this weekend?

Weather looking hopeful at the moment.

In reply to Phil79:

I'll be doing it again, lovely route. I'll be in my Essa cycling gear, orange with the outline of the Brunel rail bridge as a logo. Say hi if you see me.

Good luck.

Toby

In reply to Toby_W:

Excellent. I don't hold out much hope of seeing you among 3000 riders, but I'll do my best

Are you riding the 67 or 107? Looks like there is an additional climb on both routes since I did it 2 years ago (Beckaford Hill) which looks a bit of ramp. Still cant be as vicious as Holne Chase!

In reply to Phil79:

Got to get value for money so .. is it really 107, in my head these things are always 100 so it's a nice surprise when they're 90 and a zip up your man suit moment when they're more
Two years ago was the rain and wind. Fingers crossed for a nice day this year.
Sammy/Sam on here often does it or will be cheering on the Yogi riders from the roadside so you may see her as well.

Cheers

Toby

In reply to Toby_W:

Rather you than me, Pork Hill and Merrivale will be fun with 70 miles in your legs! Still its all pretty much downhill after that hill to Doccombe, about 15 miles from the end.

Next year I'll do some proper training and ride the longer one.

Good luck!

In reply to Toby_W:
Hi Toby,

Not sure of my movements for Sunday at the mo as I'm training for the Bontrager 12hr mountain bike enduro at Newnham next month so need to ride the MBK for a long one on Sunday but you never know I may pop up somewhere. Have a great ride!

Sam 😃

In reply to Phil79:

Note to self I must do the classic again sometime! Did the Moor2Sea last year and that was a lovely local sportif with a fab feed station.

In reply to La Shamster:

Moor2sea looks good, maybe next year.

Are you the same Sam who runs/ran the weekly woman's mtb rides for Rockin Bikes? I think I might have seen your name crop up on there fb page from time to time..

In reply to Phil79:

Good luck all!

Where's the best place to find events like this?

In reply to SteveoS:

Fairly comprehensive calendar of UK sportives here:
https://www.britishcycling.org.uk/sportives

There seems to be loads in the Devon/Cornwall/Somerset areas now (same as everywhere else!), the 'big one' being the Dartmoor Classic. There was also the Plymouth Gran Fondo a few weeks back, the Moor2Sea, 2 Moors 100, Ex-terminator, Exmoor Beast, etc.

In reply to Phil79:

Thanks
Are they all named so terrifyingly on purpose?

In reply to Phil79:

Guilty as charged Phil that was me! Now I organise the once a month Sunday XC fun ride from the shop instead. The week day ladies rides just weren't well supported to make them viable.

In reply to Phil79:

Yep, doing the 67 with a few mates. 'Er indoors is doing the Debutante.
I've been battling sciatica for the last month, so not expecting a fast time

N

In reply to cousin nick:

Well best sportive time ever for me today. I've gone much faster, top ten times but never been really bothered about it all. Today my legs were weak, my knee hurt and I burried myself for the last 40 miles, doing speed distance sums in my head the whole way. Got a gold time with 1 minute 20s to spare and I was quite pleased to put it mildly. Things are all the sweeter when you really have to work for the.

I hope you all had an equally rewarding ride and I hope with less pain 😊. It's a hard route.

Cheers

Toby

In reply to Toby_W:

Excellent job, well done. What's the Grande gold time, around 7:30 isn't it? No chance I could manage that!

Got round the Medio in my best time so far (4:42), I was riding with my brother and held back a bit with him before really going for it in the last 10 miles, so I think there is still room for improvement with bit more training. Plus we had a mechanical and spent a fair while in the feed station, so lost a few more minutes than I'd have liked. Either go for a gold time next year, or the 100 miler.

It was a great atmosphere and ride this year. The tail wind from Princetown back was very welcome.

In reply to Toby_W:
Silver for me in the Vet 50 category (did it in 5:08). Pleased with that under the circumstances, although the leg was actually OK on the day. Mrs also got Silver in the Debutante (and was closer to Gold than me). I liked the route a lot, even the hills, but I've got the SRAM WiFli groupset (50/34 x 11-32) which means I can winch myself up the 1:5 at Holne whilst remaining seated. Headwind towards Princetown got a bit boring, but was soon forgotten on the blast to Moretonhampstead. The last leg down the Teign valley was a joy, particularly since I managed to parasitise the back end of a fast chain (all I could do to stay with them TBH!).
Great atmosphere at the event HQ afterwards - rewarded with chips 'n beer!