PH rides the Circuit Breaker - 25th October

[Gruffy]

http://www.ukcyclingevents.co.uk/events/wiggle-cir...

We managed around a dozen riders for this last year. An easy (2.5/5) rolling course out of Silverstone to wrap up the sportive season. The local Travelodge is currently £36 too. How many smileys can we muster this year?

1. Gruffy
2.

[Gruffy]

Epic route for me but I can see us having riders in both distances.

[Gruffy]

1. Gruffy - Epic
2. PeteB0

[Gruffy]

PeteB0 said:

Sure, why not. I need something to get me back training after Wedding/Honeymoon in September

Congrats. I'm also marrying and honeymooning in September. I just had 2-3 weeks off the bike with gluttonous travels and then properly broke myself on the stag do last weekend. 4kg heavier and dramatically less fit. Any form I had a month ago is a distant memory now. It's a race to regain something before Ride London!

[Gruffy]

idiotgap said:

I'm tempted to come out for this one, not sure if it's altogether sensible as the start is a 2hr drive North but I do fancy a PH outing.

A bunch of us drove up from London the night before and stayed at the Travelodge for peanuts (£36 per room currently). It gave us the chance for a pasta social with other PHers the night before.

[Gruffy]

This one https://www.travelodge.co.uk/hotels/185/Towcester-...

[Gruffy]

No part of the course is on the track itself.

[Gruffy]

Jason, John and myself are aiming to arrive for 7:30am registration and to try and be away in the first couple of waves. The weather looks cool, dry and breezy. Not sure what kit I'll be wearing yet but I'm the lanky one on the black Canyon with the fluro trim. I'll keep an eye out for Smileys!

[Gruffy]

Marcellus said:

M3John said:

Anybody else fancy it and a PH meet up at the start line?

definitely!

Definitely?



Come on, you can manage the easy route. It's one of the easiest sportives anyway.

[Gruffy]

That's how I recall it too. Plenty of Italian options within a few minutes drive for the night before.

[Gruffy]

FAO stepaway

Marcellus said:

If anyone wants a ticket then let me know as I've decided that I'm not going to ride it, not ridden for 9weeks and feeling it, so think it foolish that the 1st time I get on the bike after such a lay off I set out for an 86 miler!!

Even if you'd planned to do the standard route, you should 'be' Marcellus for sign-on and then just ride the standard.

[Gruffy]

I'll be wearing the yellow Tour de Pistonheads jersey.

[Gruffy]

stepaway said:

Hi everyone - apologies but I had to get going this morning as I wasn't dressed quite well enough to keep warm whilst standing around. Got to the event pretty early and hate standing around,so although I bumped into idiotgap I got going as soon as they opened the gate.

Good call. Far too cold to be waiting for people! We didn't get going until 8:45 in the end anyway.

I caught up with Broster en route, which is now becoming a tradition. Didn't spot any PH jerseys though - probably set off too late.

https://www.strava.com/activities/419978343
Happy with my ride, given the wind today. Climbing a bit better than last year. Would've been a bit quicker if I hadn't fouled up the navigation through Silverstone.

M3John coming into the finish.

[Gruffy]

spiritof'76 said:

I rolled out at 8:30 and recorded a moving time of 5hr 15mins which will do for me.....could have pushed harder but not having done this kind of distance before i was wary of running the tank dry !

That's a respectable time.

I probably would've passed you an hour or so into the ride, but I was wearing the yellow retro PH jersey so you may not have recognised it. I didn't spot any other PH jerseys either.

The venue change was definitely a bum deal. Shocking roads in and out, awful car park (walking miles on muddy flinty gravel in cleats or riding and risking punctures) and then the toilets that all blocked up. That was seriously grim. Nice route though. Shame we couldn't coordinate more of a PH social. Maybe next year.

[Gruffy]

idiotgap said:

…There weren't any challenging hills…

Everything's relative, I guess. Some of them definitely challenged me!!

The extra miles I did through Silverstone before retracing my steps and finding the right turn mean I missed the Strava leaderboard for the Epic course https://www.strava.com/segments/10755154 but I still beat the KOM time by 7 minutes. Happy with that. The segment traces still show me giving away bucket-loads of time on the climbs though and then clawing it back on the flats/descents. That's what I need to work on over winter/spring, I think.