Wiggle New Forest
Discussion
JustinF said:
Leave even earlier! last year the traffic queue to get in delayed our start by 90 mins!
Was that at the same start point, the one I did last year (wasn't the full 100) but similar time of year was at Matchams which isn't in the best place for a lot of folk to arrive at one time. This year it's Somerley House
Just received this in answer to my email query yesterday. Explains things !!!! (although doesn't explain the discrepancy between their PDF version of climbing and the Garmin version, but I've given up trying to understand that! Currently PDF says 1359 climbing on the epic (Garmin says 985m), 774m on the standard (Garmin says 523m))
"Thank you for contacting us.
Yes due to complications with feed stations and safety reasons along a section of the route, the overall route and mileage was required to change.
We have now posted this on social media and let all the rider know of this alteration. The final route has now been added to the pre-event information attached for you.
Yes you can change your route from what you signed up to from the standard to epic and visa versa. You can do this easily on the day of the event. Just let the member of staff at the registration desk know and they will change this for you. Alternatively if you decide along the route, just follow the appropriate signage and let us know at the finish line so we can change this on your timing record."
"Thank you for contacting us.
Yes due to complications with feed stations and safety reasons along a section of the route, the overall route and mileage was required to change.
We have now posted this on social media and let all the rider know of this alteration. The final route has now been added to the pre-event information attached for you.
Yes you can change your route from what you signed up to from the standard to epic and visa versa. You can do this easily on the day of the event. Just let the member of staff at the registration desk know and they will change this for you. Alternatively if you decide along the route, just follow the appropriate signage and let us know at the finish line so we can change this on your timing record."
Edited by dreamer75 on Wednesday 21st September 11:28
Stiggolas said:
Be careful out there, my nephew did this 2 years ago and the roads were littered with tacks thrown down by angry residents / activists especially round the Burley area (don't know if it uses these roads this year though.
There are a few New Forest residents that are anti-cyclists but the majority are fine. I ride the forest solo and with friends at least once a week (on and off road) and most rides are completely without incident. Be aware that at this time of year there may be a lot of pigs/piglets loose in the forest - if you spot any by the side of the road slow down - they tend to panic! Stiggolas said:
Be careful out there, my nephew did this 2 years ago and the roads were littered with tacks thrown down by angry residents / activists especially round the Burley area (don't know if it uses these roads this year though.
That year was carnage. I swear there were riders repairing punctures every few hundred meters for certain parts of the course. I was lucky and didn't get any, but I know there were people who run out of tubes (and patience) and were calling up the organizers to be picked up in the broom wagon.
Silver940 said:
anonymous said:
[redacted]
Start/Finish at Somerley this year just north of Ringwood. Quite a big chunk of the route is now outside the Forest to the North, nice area to ride though.All the blurb says don't arrive before 7.10am as it won't be open......... Based on the Spring Sportive, i wanna be earlier than we were then, it was a nightmare queuing everywhere, both in the car and in the long snakey thing filled with hundreds of cyclists at the top waiting for the off !! I'm guessing the access road will be barrier-ed off until then, but who knows......... ! I need to start as early as possible......lol First 100 sportive, though done several 100's this year.....!
ukbabz said:
I'll be there doing the epic one.. didn't really look at the climbing before signing up so expecting a bit of pain!
Will probably have my PH jersey on so say ello if you see me / pass!
I think I saw you at the first food stop? Saw a PH jersey, was about to say hello and a moment of "what if it's not the same person he'll think I'm a nutter" and then the moment passed!Will probably have my PH jersey on so say ello if you see me / pass!
Good day out - we saw a big queue of cars still coming in after we had started on the ride, but we pretty much drove straight in, signed on, got bike from the car and set off. Nice amount of people around until we split off for the Standard route and it got a lot quieter - maybe they were all in the queue of people still trying to get in ! We did it in 4 hours in the end, plus 18 minutes of stoppages which is about double what I hoped for - the stoppages, not the riding time! Would've been a bit quicker but something went in my knee about 10k before the end so was pretty much one legged cycling
Hope you all had fun!
More than possibly, I had my PH jersey on 
Just about recovered in terms of leg pain now after the epic.. more training needed but did it in 6hr31 including stops which am happy with!
Lots of folk on the epic route, or so it seemed. I got to about 80miles and had to stop for a breather, my snack pack of cookies and water as I felt like I was about to bonk.
Just about recovered in terms of leg pain now after the epic.. more training needed but did it in 6hr31 including stops which am happy with! Lots of folk on the epic route, or so it seemed. I got to about 80miles and had to stop for a breather, my snack pack of cookies and water as I felt like I was about to bonk.
SomersetWestie said:
Cracking day...... No PH jersey's spotted though........... ! Epic in 6h 14m........ bit windy over the tops on the way back though !!!!
Wasn't it just!!!!!! Very proud of getting Gold today (just missed bloke's Gold by 2 mins, but being a girl I get a bit longer 
)I did a 50 mile ride around the New Forest on Friday and couldn't believe the number of gel wrappers discarded by the road. This always happens after a Wiggle sportif (or any other sportif) - pity Wiggle don't cleanup after their event I am sure they make enough money from the entrance fees. Is discarding gel wrappers instead of taking them home / putting them in the bin part of the sportif mentality?
There was a Grid-Iron ride yesterday in the New Forest - I am sure that there will be even more discarded gel wrappers.
There was a Grid-Iron ride yesterday in the New Forest - I am sure that there will be even more discarded gel wrappers.
RideLondon is the same.
I ride (most of) the route after the official entrants have long finished. It is, quite frankly, disgusting that riders who are NOT racing feel that it is necessary to discard wrappers and other litter rather than pocketing it. It's also plain daft when folk seemingly would rather leave bits and bobs that they accidentally(?) drop, rather than stopping to retrieve it. Arm warmers, proper drink bottles, rear mounted bottle cages, glasses. All sorts really, just dumped at the side of the route. Do people not check their bikes and kit to avoid this problem?
I got a free pair of De Rossa arm warmers from RideLondon, and could have had oodles of team bottles but had nowhere to carry them (I passed through behind the pro race). Yesterday I got a free CamelBak Podium bottle from a MTB race - just sat at the base of a tree, filled with plain water. Happily, the race organisers of the MTB event must have done a litter sweep when they stripped out the course marking tape. I didn't spot a single gel wrapper in the woods. Unless of course it was such a short race that nobody bothered with gels at all..?
And FFS people - take your bloody inner tubes with you. You packed it in, pack it the f
k out. It's pretty fking STUPID leaving a holed inner tube behind anyway. If the fresh one you fitted gets holed worse than the one you dumped in the verge, you'll not be getting going again. "Calling the team car" is all that's wrong with modern cycling. MTFU and drag your sorry carcass home yourself, unless you're actually injured, or the bike damaged to the point where it can no longer be ridden. But "wah! I've got a puncture, I need a lift home. wah!" 
???? I cannot respect you, because you have failed to respect yourself, and more importantly the traditions of cycling in the UK.
Sorry if that rant seems excessive, especially given the thread title, but I feel VERY strongly about this subject.
I ride (most of) the route after the official entrants have long finished. It is, quite frankly, disgusting that riders who are NOT racing feel that it is necessary to discard wrappers and other litter rather than pocketing it. It's also plain daft when folk seemingly would rather leave bits and bobs that they accidentally(?) drop, rather than stopping to retrieve it. Arm warmers, proper drink bottles, rear mounted bottle cages, glasses. All sorts really, just dumped at the side of the route. Do people not check their bikes and kit to avoid this problem?
I got a free pair of De Rossa arm warmers from RideLondon, and could have had oodles of team bottles but had nowhere to carry them (I passed through behind the pro race). Yesterday I got a free CamelBak Podium bottle from a MTB race - just sat at the base of a tree, filled with plain water. Happily, the race organisers of the MTB event must have done a litter sweep when they stripped out the course marking tape. I didn't spot a single gel wrapper in the woods. Unless of course it was such a short race that nobody bothered with gels at all..?
And FFS people - take your bloody inner tubes with you. You packed it in, pack it the f
k out. It's pretty fking STUPID leaving a holed inner tube behind anyway. If the fresh one you fitted gets holed worse than the one you dumped in the verge, you'll not be getting going again. "Calling the team car" is all that's wrong with modern cycling. MTFU and drag your sorry carcass home yourself, unless you're actually injured, or the bike damaged to the point where it can no longer be ridden. But "wah! I've got a puncture, I need a lift home. wah!" ???? I cannot respect you, because you have failed to respect yourself, and more importantly the traditions of cycling in the UK.Sorry if that rant seems excessive, especially given the thread title, but I feel VERY strongly about this subject.
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