44 Days to Go: Dales, Vales and Gales

I sit here tired and sore having upped the amount and type of climbing.  Going with the tried and tested wisdom of focusing on weakness I decided that I need to focus on harder, longer and more climbs.  My ability to ride for hours is strong, but any climbs over 10% and I feel my weaknesses come into play.

Last weekend we headed to the Lakes as Mark was completing part of the Fred Witton route (the idea to ride at the same time as the event to get some company).  As I was providing support by way of picking Mark up from the west side of the Lakes I did a shorter ride from Coniston.  I had forgotten how tough even some of the easier climbs were, and to be honest it is a bit of a shock after the more gradual Scottish hills.  I put together a superb short route taking in Hawkshead Hill, Kirkstone Pass, Langdale and then Hawkshead Hill again.  While it was only about 40 miles it involved 1300 metres of ascent. 

The real test came on Sunday in the Yorkshire Dales.  Mark was entered into Etape du Dales. As I was going to be there, and had managed to get a late entry, I attempted one of the "UK's hardest sportive". We turned up at 8ish on a wet, cold, windy morning.  After registering and sorting the kit out I was off at 8:40 with the marshall shouting - "Good luck, only 699 people ahead of you".  Yep, most had taken advantage of the early start time that was available from 6:30am.  This was going to prove a naive move on my part.

As there was a cutoff time of 2pm at 70 miles it seemed that most of the late starters were the fast lads.  I had calculated that I had time to make the cutoff but I had seriously underestimated the climbing time, and a strong head wind didn't help.  The first hour of the ride consisted of being passed by fast guys without so much as a hello. Were they pissed off because they started late or was this just the unfriendliest/ most serious event I have done? The first sign of company was when I got to the bottom of Fleetmoss when suddenly the pace eased up.  Spinning my way up as I remembered from riding this climb years ago there was a steep section at the top.  I must have been doing okay because a passed a few guys on the way to the top (who I spoke to I must point out), and managed the climb pretty easily.  Then it was the thrill of dropping down what must be one the best descents in the UK.  Although I quickly eased off when the strong side winds gave me the wobbles. 

The first food stop / checkpoint was just outside of Hawes. Unfortunately not much food left as 699 people had been through already, but managed to get some SIS GO which was a fantastic.  Picked up some friends here too as finally got some conversation out of my fellow Etape du Dalers.  So it was just Buttertubs, Turf Moor and Tan Hill before the next control point.  Heading up Buttertubs was okay but I was starting to get concerned as the occassional guy was seen heading the opposite direction, not looking too happy. But I tried to ignore that and once again I was looking forward to another enjoyable descent.  Dropping down at a fast but safe speed, hands hovering near the brakes I approached a tight left hand turn with caution.  I had noticed there were couple of cars coming so I made sure that I stayed well within the white line.  But the first driver completely cut the corner and I was faced with a stone wall and a car with about a foot in between.  The driver saw me at the last minute, swerved all over the road, and received an earful of abuse from me.  It was so close that I promptly burst into tears from the shock!  Pulling myself together I carried on to the next hill, for the next incident.

The initial approach up to Turf Moor was steep long section (for me anyway).  My legs gave up so I tried to unclip, failed miserably and ended up on the road - on to my right hand side which was already sore from an unavoidable crash the week before.  Unbelievably I have only had three offs on my bike, one spectacular one last year and now two in one week.  After some sympathy from a motorist, I dusted myself off and carried on.  Turf Moor and Tan Hill were bloody hard on account of a strong head wind.  Tan Hill just seemed to go on forever, and ever, and ever.  And then when you get to the top it is the most miserable place in Yorkshire.  On arrival the marshalls asked how I was.  Shattered was my response so they advised I rode to the nearest station and took a train home.  A train?????  As tempting as it was I was tired but not that tired.  Due to my late start it was absolutley impossible to make the next checkpoint by the cutoff of 2pm.  I was also told that I was only a third of the way into the route (not true!).  So after a cup of tea and a chocolate bar I grabbed some gels from the food stop and descended off Tan Hill, and headed back over Buttertubs.  I wasn't going to have battled that headwind all morning to not get the benefit of a tail wind. 

By now the steep sections of the climbs were taking their toll on my calf muscles (I did say I was crap at steep hills). I stopped for a strong coffee in Hawes to gather my strength to get back over Fleetmoss for the final push back to HQ.  I caught up with some other guys on this stretch who had also been sent back to Hawes.  I flew home on the final 20 miles after the final climb.  85 miles, 2600 metres of climbing.

I was gutted though when I check the splits on the results on Monday.  My time to Tan Hill was pretty reasonable.  Had I started earlier I would have made the cutoff and finished the entire event.  But you live and learn. 

61 Days to Go: Drumlanrig Tearfund Challenge

What a fantastic day yesterday, cycling the 82 mile Drumlanrig Tearfund Challenge around the beautiful, quiet Dumfries & Galloway countryside.  After the past few weeks I knew that this would be a real test of my fitness, especially as I had not ridden longer than 50 miles for awhile.  The forecast was for light rain and temperature of 8 deg, a bit of shock after the 18 deg we had been having.  Driving down in the morning through heavy showers I was bracing myself for a grim day, but the blue skies appeared as soon as I turned off the M74.

Wrapped up in mostly winter kit I set off in a small group at 9am.  After a couple of minutes I realised that there was another West Lothian Clarion rider in the group, who I had ridden with previously on our Rad Tour in March.  As our pace was pretty similar we ended up riding together, which makes a nice change as I often end up on my tod in these events. 

My decision to wrap up rapidly turned out to be the wrong one as I was overheating on the first climb, but this was quickly fixed when I removed my thermal top before the nasty 20% Dunnregan Brae. While this was not as long as those in the Lakes, the potholes and gravel made it very tricky.  Even worse was having to negotiate around riders walking up the climb!  

After that climb I felt properly warmed up, both mentally and physically and settled into the ride. Next came lovely open climbs with beautiful views.  We saw a flash of yellow, white and black as another Clarion rider passed us on the next long climb.  By this point I was used to the constant ups and downs and before I knew it 35 miles had passed, and there was only 8 to go until the lunch stop, and I was desperate for a cup of tea.

Now I am not sure if I have been spoilt by the last events that I have done, but I have got used to indoor feed stations with hot drinks.  I had forgotten that I should not expect more than a bit of food and some water.  As I have learnt my lesson, I don't generally partake in the food on offer as it can result in stomach pains if something doesn't agree.  I had just had four nights of pretty bad insomnia so was very tired mentally, so imagine my disappointment when there were no hot drinks or coke at the food stop. I hasten to add that this is not a criticism of the organisers at all, just my desperate mental state.  So I grabbed a banana, top up my bottles, dumped my superfluous clothing in the car, and headed off again. 

I was a bit concerned that I had ridden the first leg too hard, as my average heart rate was 154.  Normally I ride in the 140s.  This, coupled with my lack of caffeine, meant I went through a bit of a rough patch for the next 30 minutes.  When a couple decided to sit on my tail, without so much as a hello or the offer to work together, I was pretty hacked off.  They took off past me after 20 minutes and I tried to get in behind them but couldn't quite do it.  So as you can imagine I was not good company.  Then I remembered that I had some gel shots in my pocket - WITH CAFFEINE!!!! Yipeeeeeee!!!! So took a couple of those before the start of Mennock Pass.  Then I caught up with a couple of ERC riders, one of whom was very positive and commented on what a lovely ride it was with a big grin on his face, which put me back into a good mood.

Mennock Pass was fantastic! About 6 miles of climbing, albeit into a head wind, but when there is a trail of riders ahead of you there is something magical about everyone suffering together.  I started picking off riders one by one and felt the best I had all day.  Before I knew it I was at the next feed station with only 18 miles to go. 

I joined forces with the two ERC riders I had passed earlier.  We rode pretty well as a team, and picked up David (my morning's companion) and we made a team of four.  Pretty soon it was down on the drops for a beautiful fast descent to Elvanfoot.  Working as a team again we rode pretty strongly to the castle grounds before the last small push back up to the finish line. My total time was 6hrs and 1 minute!!!! I was gutted as I was aiming for under 6 hours. But then I won't let 2 minutes spoil a brilliant day and what was, for me, a strong performance.