Devil's Punchbowl 6th Nov. 2011

Anyone else doing this one?
Charlie.

I'm there! 8th Sportive in as many weeks.

Note - big climbs are at the end of this one so keep something in the tank.

Not riding any this year but Jerry is right. Learn to pace yourself for the finish!

sold out and the forecast is rain....there must be more PNE members entered besides Charlie and I?

I'm not sure of the chaps name, I think it's Patrick. He's got a white verenti. He's doing it and if he's reading this if you still want to borrow a top, then you're more than welcome. you can do a personal message via this site for picking one up.

Regards

Carl Beck

I may have underestimated the hills at the end but I was quite pleased with a 3:40 (quicker than I did the south downs challenge). A really good ride.
Charlie.

Charlie96 wrote:I may have underestimated the hills at the end

I told you so

Good time! Some tricky conditions in places. Hope you smiled for the cameras? Were you in club kit? What time did you start? I didn't see you...

I started at 9:04 according to my result thing. I don't have club kit yet but I did see one other PNE rider. I think I got a good shot of me coming up a hill .
Charlie.

So, following on from Jon's very good write up of the South Downs 100 two weeks ago I thought I'd give a write up a go. I should have had a go at writing up the Evans Ride IT events at Cannock in the Midlands that I did last weekend but the road event wasn't that interesting and you wouldn't be interested in how I managed to crash my mountain bike 4 times in 28 miles (or once for every 7 miles if you will). I regret to say that I didn't feel the Evans events were as well organised (and sign posted) as the Wiggle sportives, that said at £12.50 they are half the price which is nice - and kids ride free!

I rode up to my parents house yesterday not feeling 100%, although I did top butser hill for a lively descent of harvesting lane so I am my own worst enemy sometimes After a lovely lasagne on Saturday night and with my body clock still set to BST I still managed to begin my ride to the start line late (albeit this time with less grumbling as it was really (BST) 9am not 8am). 10 miles down the road I began to pass riders that had already started. After a speedy registration I was ready to go at 09.02 - just thirteen minutes before the epic route start was due to close (anyone know how strict they are with this for future reference?).

I have recently come to think of myself as a very slow and cautious descender, so I was surprised when I dropped my group on the descent out of the start. I can only attribute this to a vigorous warm up from which my adrenaline was still pumping. On the subsequent flatter section a portion of the group made contact with me again until the first little climb of the day where they fell off my wheel. A resolution of mine for next season must be to not be SO aggressive at the start of a long ride - but for this season, what the hell. I didn't drop the group by much this time and they were soon back with me as we entered some twisting lanes, also with us was a car which was carefully regulating our speed as it was struggling to find passing places for the slower riders we were now picking up. Up the next climb I made a rather bold but ultimately successful bolt for freedom as I overtook the car much to the drivers surprise and stamped on the pedals past another 20 riders or so. Please take car when over-taking traffic, it can be very dangerous, ensure you have enough space and it is within your ability to do so safely!

The second half of the first stint flew by, having grown up in the area it was nice to do a sportive without feeling lost for a change. Although I was guilty of looking at the scenrry rather than a 90 degree right hand bend that was approaching at 50kph, with a photographer on the corner it should make for an interesting facial expression on the picture as I realised just how much faith I was about to place in my brakes. The first feed station was a welcome break although I was soon on my way again with drinks bottles full of energy drink and my mouth full of jelly beans...mmmm sugar.

The second stint was largely uneventful for me although I did witness a lady show off some of the best bike handling skills I have ever seen as she hit a drain cover on a descent and nearly lost it one way and then the other before recovering. The second feed station was at 50 miles, just after a T-Junction where the epic route turned left and the standard route turned right and rode a mile, two at the most to the finish. After 2 hours and 45 minutes in the saddle with the best part of 50 miles covered (excluding my commute) I have to say the right turn was very tempting but being a bully (ask Jon about two weeks ago) I decided I had not suffered enough for the quantity of food that I will inevitably eat tonight (that smiley is for the food!)

The last 20 mile loop was hard, on the map it did not look like much but it was sapping and I found myself glancing down at my computer to see how far to go and all too often I was unhappy with the speed reading I saw so I jumped out of the saddle and pumped the speed back up. I had an ambitious target of finishing sub 4 hours and with 10 miles to go this was looking achievable although knowing there were two 50 metre climbs to come it was going to be close. I could definitely feel myself fading although I kept pressing on, offering encouragement to all the riders I passed. I saw my 4 hour target pass as I passed the last photographer just a country mile from the finish. I attacked the last climb of the day with a big effort knowing that the finish, though not in sight, was at the top. It was at this point that I was passed for the first time on the ride, by two riders but being a stubborn git I lifted my pace and chased their wheels all the way to the finish which I bunny-hopped over just behind them in 4 hours and 7 minutes.

I have decided this will be my last road sportive of the year. Having had a road bike for just over 8 weeks and in that time ridden 1,550 miles including two and half ascents of mount everest from sea level I am satisfied with my debut season. So what have I learnt from it? Cadence is king, with good cadence you can get up anywhere they've laid tarmac. Understand your body and what it needs, keep well hydrated and energised to avoid blowing up. Look after your bike, make sure everything is working properly and ensure you have everything to carry out roadside repairs. Pain is temporary - and shorter if you can climb faster.

Next year, I'll start racing after a few chain gangs, does anyone else fancy seeing how fast a sportive can be ridden as a club/team? For now, bring on the mud! And I'll still see you all on the Sunday morning rides won't I ?

Glad to hear that you both enjoyed!

jerryc, I'm happy to join you on trying to race fast sportives as a team. I'm just looking right now to keep building up over winter and put some good training when the days start to get longer.

oh and yes, you are right put a good cadence and a good dance on the bike going up hill and it'll be over quicker!

Nice write-up Jerry. Yes, cadence is everything. Those of us who have ridden 12 hour events know that you can't expect to stomp all the way round on a great big gear (unless you are just cruising up and down a dual carriageway!).

There's plenty of scope for team efforts in next years' sportive calendar. What we need is a targeted approach and someone to 'champion' the cause. Any volunteers?