Legs of Steel tomorrow

Legs of Steel tomorrow

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Daveyraveygravey

Original Poster:

2,018 posts

183 months

Friday 2nd October 2015
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Weather forecast is dry, bright, little wind but cold. No excuses there for me!

It's 81 km with 1600 m of climbing; gold standard is 3 hours 10, I need to average 15.9 mph. I've missed it in the last two years by 6 mins and 3 mins respectively; I am hoping a no stop strategy will be enough. If the event had been a month ago, when I felt superhuman, I would be a lot more confident.

Anyone else doing it?

daddy cool

3,996 posts

228 months

Friday 2nd October 2015
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Not doing it - never heard of it! But good luck for tomorrow. Sounds like you arent far off the target already. Take it you are in the 40-49 age, rather than the under 18?
Ashamed to say ive never cycled around there, despite only living in Bracknell...

TwistingMyMelon

6,385 posts

204 months

Friday 2nd October 2015
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Looks good, just googled it

Good luck

Looks like my kind of sportive, 50 miles of hillssmileThink I might enter next year

SixPotBelly

1,922 posts

219 months

Friday 2nd October 2015
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I'm going. I'm no climber though so I'm not expecting a silver even. But I entered thinking the best way to get better at going up hills is to go up more hills...


Daveyraveygravey

Original Poster:

2,018 posts

183 months

Friday 2nd October 2015
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It is a really nice event, quite small by the standards of a lot of them.
The standards are well judged too, 3 hours and a bit is a long time to push hard but not totally beyond most of us.
I turned 50 in January so theoretically I have another 15 minutes in my pocket but am still aiming for 3.10. Last time out I got in a small bunch of 5 younger lads who looked like they knew what they were doing; I thought I'd do my bit and led them up the first hill, Ranmore Common. I had impressed myself with my powers, but as we rolled over the top, they got on the gas proper and I couldn't even hang on the back!

SixPotBelly

1,922 posts

219 months

Friday 2nd October 2015
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Good luck with your Gold attempt. It's difficult to predict my pace having never ridden in the area. Perhaps I'm being cautiously pessimistic, perhaps not.

On training rides in the Chilterns with similar numbers - 80km / 1500m - have taken me around 4 hours, including stops. But then I wasn't on the clock, and if I was I wouldn't have stopped. Riding THE 6 the other weekend at Brands, I did double the numbers - 160km and 3,300m - in the six hours. But then there were no junctions to slow for and the climbs were all short. So who knows.

Right now I'm just thinking about what to wear tomorrow. LoS follows the first rule of all organised events: start as early as possible. So our day will begin with us standing around waiting to start in the 7ºC of 7am and finish with us climbing up hills at full effort in the 15ºC of midday. It's so much easier when you can start at noon and finish at 4pm! I'll just layer up and peel off as I eat energy bars and create space in the pockets smile

Daveyraveygravey

Original Poster:

2,018 posts

183 months

Friday 2nd October 2015
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I want to start early too, a queue builds quite quickly and you can spend quite a lot of time waiting. Not sure what to wear either!
The road surfaces can be very dodgy and there are a couple of sharp junctions, though they are usually well-martialed.
I've got a red Giant Propel and will probably wear a white Everesting top, say hi if you see me!

SixPotBelly

1,922 posts

219 months

Friday 2nd October 2015
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I'll keep an eye out for you. Looks like it might be foggy too first thing now. I'll be on a green/black Synapse and I might be Gabba'd up, or in a red/white long sleeve, or a red gilet, or something else.... Black shorts and white helmet though.

IntegraTypeR

100 posts

249 months

Friday 2nd October 2015
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I'm going smile also running my first half marathon on Sunday so this weekend could break me!

SixPotBelly

1,922 posts

219 months

Friday 2nd October 2015
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^ now that's hardcore.

Daveyraveygravey

Original Poster:

2,018 posts

183 months

Saturday 3rd October 2015
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+1!
So, my official time was 3.20.50. I thought I was on for it with time to spare, but that shows you can't think straight 2 and a bit hours into a tough event. It was cold and misty/foggy all morning, I got held up at a level crossing and both times going over the A24 but not 10 minutes worth. I can feel a goal for 2016 coming on...

Granfondo

12,241 posts

205 months

Saturday 3rd October 2015
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SixPotBelly said:
I'll keep an eye out for you. Looks like it might be foggy too first thing now. I'll be on a green/black Synapse and I might be Gabba'd up, or in a red/white long sleeve, or a red gilet, or something else.... Black shorts and white helmet though.
"Black shorts" that will make you really stand out! wink

daddy cool

3,996 posts

228 months

Saturday 3rd October 2015
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Daveyraveygravey said:
So, my official time was 3.20.50. I thought I was on for it with time to spare, but that shows you can't think straight 2 and a bit hours into a tough event. It was cold and misty/foggy all morning, I got held up at a level crossing and both times going over the A24 but not 10 minutes worth. I can feel a goal for 2016 coming on...
Well done! You are beating yourself up unnecessarily - the way I see it you bagged the Gold with 5 minutes spare, that aint too shabby thumbup

(edit: if you notice a Strava follow notification from Mr Christopher, that's me)

Edited by daddy cool on Saturday 3rd October 13:48

SixPotBelly

1,922 posts

219 months

Saturday 3rd October 2015
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Cracking little route I thought. Weather was 'bracing' and increasingly misty, though not as foggy as I thought it was before I realised my clear shades were misting up (d'oh). The variation in elevation helped it seem to go quickly, I thought. It was the first event I've done where I wasn't counting down the distance to go. This time I thought "Oh, it's almost over already" when I came up to re-cross the A24. Probably also because the two events I've done recently have been twice as long rather than because I'm getting that much fitter.

3:25 for me. But I'm invoking excuse number 107, that is going off in the wrong direction at a junction (and adding in an extra little climb) before realising and back-tracking. Happy with Silver. (Now discovered the detour cost me only 2 minutes, so would have been a good 13 minutes off Gold anyway.) Rode almost all of it as a solo, so wonder if I keep training plus rode round in a group whether I could scrape Gold next year?

Gobsmacked to see I got a 2015 KOM on the way round. But then that was on a descending segment, so doesn't really count. My chest was all puffed for a second all the same smile

Next year, Davey. You and me will go prospecting for gold!

daddy cool

3,996 posts

228 months

Saturday 3rd October 2015
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A KOM's a KOM, well done to you too! biggrin

yellowjack

17,065 posts

165 months

Saturday 3rd October 2015
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clap

Well done all!

IntegraTypeR

100 posts

249 months

Saturday 3rd October 2015
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Really enjoyed that. I've not ridden any of the route before. Barhatch lane to Winterfold was seriously tough - I had to dig deep towards the top! My friend managed to crash on a tight corner of one of the descents (just after winterfold I think) so any chance of a decent time went out the window at that point.

Will definitely be back next year smile

Daveyraveygravey

Original Poster:

2,018 posts

183 months

Sunday 4th October 2015
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Daddy cool, thanks for the comments. I've done the event 3 years running, the first two times I was 40-49 so the target was 3.10. I don't feel any older, and if anything thought I was a little stronger this year, so really thought I had a chance of 3.09.55. I definitely rode it more solo this year, so that gives me a bit of a boost.

Six Pot Belly, there's definitely something about the distance/height/route of this ride, plus the standards are pretty challenging. On longer rides, I feel I have to keep something in reserve, so I don't go too hard too early. I also notice on longer rides I loose interest in the middle third, and start to think when is this over, even if I am enjoying it.

I also like the fact you don't get many "fun runners" doing it - people don't wake up on the morning and get a 15 year old Halfords mountain bike at the shed to have a go at it. There are a lot seriously quick guys and girls doing this ride. It does mean for people like me, you get overtaken more than you overtake
Well done on the KOM, will have to look that up. I'd say with the standards of the people involved that is no small achievement!

Integra Type R, hope your friend is ok. I think I know that corner, right hander after a left turn junction? Barhatch is a bugger isn't it? It seemed longer to me this year. At the bottom I was averaging 16.2, which would have given me gold; at the top it was 15.2.

So all, how do you train for this? I think my problem is all round my average is too slow. This year I tried not to waste myself on the climbs, and hoped to keep the average up on the flats. I had a horrible crash on a descent in June so I am willing to give up some of the "free" time on descents these days. My rough plan is to keep riding through the winter and then in April to start focusing on intervals. I have a target of 18 mph average on a 3 hour normal ride in my head, but doubt I have that in me.

SixPotBelly

1,922 posts

219 months

Monday 5th October 2015
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Daveyraveygravey said:
So all, how do you train for this? I think my problem is all round my average is too slow. This year I tried not to waste myself on the climbs, and hoped to keep the average up on the flats. I had a horrible crash on a descent in June so I am willing to give up some of the "free" time on descents these days. My rough plan is to keep riding through the winter and then in April to start focusing on intervals. I have a target of 18 mph average on a 3 hour normal ride in my head, but doubt I have that in me.
Can't answer for the others but I didn't do any training in particular for this. I just treated it as another ride. Helped perhaps that the profile was similar to the rides I did in the Chilterns when I was trying to prepare for the mountainous Granfondo I did in July, so it wasn't too a big shock to the system.

Sorry I can't be of any help. Anyway, event photos are online now, if anyone else is as narcissistic as me.


richardxjr

7,561 posts

209 months

Monday 5th October 2015
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Crikey, bit chilly was it?! Well done smile