It started with an email from Dan to James and myself on the 13th July...
Are either of you interested in a strenuous bike ride around Exmoor on 1st November. Either 103km or 100 miles. I am going to enter, but wish to know if you would too. Phil you will need the road bike for speed, but probably the mountain bike for gearing! Dan"
My answer...
"Hmmm sounds interesting. Km for me. You know i'm going to cycle
wainwrights coast 2 coast next year with the friends went to france
with. Can i ask them as will help with our very early training!"
I could go on but that would be kinda boring though interestingly / strangley (subconsciously of course) I did omit the word 'strenuous' when touting the idea around. Sorry.
In preparation for our C2C ride next year it sounded like good fun and something to get us all out and about. The final entrants for team "Lets Go Faster" being: Dan, Kev, Lisa, Nick A, Nick D, Dean, Phil B and myself...
Training consisted of firstly spending money - buying some hybrid clip on pedals, clip on shoes (mountain bike suitable), and changing my tyres from 2.2" slicks to a paid of 7 year old 1.5" Michelin which have spent three years under Indian weather and are still holding out really perfectly!! A tip in why to buy quality tyres.
Having accomplished 408 training miles and it went from 102 day count down as the weekend drew closer the weather started to look really bad with a weather front or three passing directly over the course throughout the day. With that in hand a final dash out to buy a pair of overshoes in the attempt to keep my feet dry. 7 hours with wet cold feet would not be nice.
Dropping Aaron off with Sarah, Dan I and headed for Minehead Butlins to register. Being half term too and Halloween night it was full - and not of cyclists either. Never been to a Butlins before but the 20 mins to register and pick up everyone's numbers was enough really.
Meeting up with the others at the hotel, with Nicky F and Andrew (who's sneaking around the course without a number) we headed out for a nice high carb fest at the local Italian - Pinnocio's only to find it was fully booked. At a fiver a main course didn't look bad either. Nearest alternative was a Weatherspoons so there we ventured and sat nurturing the odd beer or two (I was good and only had one). I did however have 2 dinners - which appears to be a regular occurrence - the third time in a month!! Bacon Carbonara followed by Steak and Kidney Pudding. Not bad - on the whole and waddled back to the room to catch the end of X Factor before sliding off to sleep.
5.45 am and the alarm wakes Dan and I up. Down for breakfast we are shown to our seats by a very matronly member of staff - must sit at the table where our room numbers are!! Big bowl of cereal, toast loaded with butter, a banana and start waddling again.
Preparing the bikes in semi darkness wasn't much fun, given the drizzle even less so but we all managed to get the right bits attached.
Is Dean checking his front wheel really is there?
A blur of motion while Lisa goes through her envelope. What no chocolate!
Nicky A rushing, you can tell that by the way he's all blurry, to get his bottle emptied and then filled with nice clean pure water. Have these people not heard of drink supplements!!
Yes ma'am, sorry ma'am, I have been a naughty boy and you may put the naughty sticker my helmet.
The ride - as it wasn't a race but a challenge - was to start at 7.00am and we got there to find it had been delayed by an hour due to the horrendous weather. God knows what it was actually like on the moor - it was bad enough in Butlins. Or perhaps that was as we were in Butlins.... This gave me time to have my bike given the once over. The bearings on my front wheel seemed a bit loose - thankfully not terminal.
Finally with the start eminent adrenaline starts to pump and the need to get under way kicks in... sod the weather lets just get this under way - will be long, will be wet - just let me go!!
Kev and Nick A - too many Nicks around really - looking fit... to err go back to bed.
Dean, clearing his head of all meaningful thought ready for the constant pedaling for 103km. Lisa really looking like this was not such a good idea to sign up for. And we haven't even started yet.
We started in groups of about 100 a few minutes apart. Out of Butlins and in land we passed the Tesco's store not that I noticed it as it was raining so hard you could barely see... then after about a mile (1/60ish of the way) the first f all the hill started - gently and methodically the days regime of going round and round started.
That was until we turned left from
Luccombe up to Cloutsham - a very steep slippery hill due to the wet leaves compacted on the road, which wasn't help by a cattle grid which caught a number of people out. Nice shot Dean.
The first time to get off and push. There were a few more times - but by the end of the day had got used to sitting in first gear and plodding away. Here's Kev demonstrating into the wind, and up a hill. Something we would all get very used to.
The photos just doesn't convey the sense of speed - namely as on parts you has to pedal harder to get down hill than up the wind was that changeable. Lisa not getting very far quickly either.
And myself proving the same... as if it needed proving.
Nick A not looking too please with the 'mess I've got him in', and Kev just barely breathing by the looks of it.
Dean - your front wheel is still there!!
By the time we finished our mini stop we had effectively been overtaken by a good 600 / 700 people and were at the back... such a moral booster - but the game was to finish! Lisa was the most sensible to be riding a road bike. The rest of us on mountain bikes - and they were a rarity indeed. Not the right thing to be riding - too heavy, too much friction and wrongly geared...
Some of the dangers of riding cross Exmoor -you should be aware of especially in what many of the riders termed "the worst weather conditions they have EVER ridden in" (bad being 20 mph wind and up to 58 mph gusts), aside being mentally unbalanced for attempting it are in my experience 3 fold:
Gaps in hedges - You are traveling at a nice 16 /20 mph perhaps sheltered from the wind by nice high hedgerows and you pass a gate to the field you are passing... Beware being blown at least a foot to the side - and it doesn't really matter which side the hedge is the wind just wants to blow you over - its having fun... 10 pin cyclists!!
An alternative to this is where there is no hedge and you have to lean over to keep yourself from being blown over. Then you come to a wall or something which acts as a wind break and as you are still leaning over .... its best to get upright but quick watch for that hole in the hedge..
The third is locking the back wheel up when going down hills on wet windy roads with blind corners.... though that could be more to do with rider error / foolishness / or something like that. Just not a good move when you start to feel the back end let go.
There's a very sharp hairpin on the map marked by the 'safety tent' Not only a hairpin but extremely steep coming down with the wind behind then turning into the wind and going up hill very very very slowly. I may have cursed. Its also the first time (and hopefully the last) I get to smell my bike brakes burning!!
Nicky D blasting past the camera position.
On the map -this shelter is about the 5th arrow, quite close to the coast. This was around 20 miles in - so not even 1/3 done and it had taken us 2.5 hours!! As we came up here a number of people were going back the other way, haven given up.
One bloke also resting told us it was 5 miles to Lynmouth and where we turn inland towards the first feed point at Simonsbridge 10 miles after that. Those 10 miles being all up hill!! He was giving up.
The luxury of a bit of shelter from the elements, we were still however dripping wet and chilled to the bone.
Two men in their Bells.
Dean - your front wheel's not in there, and don't go asking if Nick got it either!!
"We are not amused!!" Cold hands, cold feet. wet - trust me no one was.
Time for the off again.
Next came the 5 miles to the hill which went down into . This was so steep that by the time I reached the bottom my hands and arms were aching from holding the brakes for a good couple of minutes... not would have been very stupid and dangerous. As soon as you crossed the bridge at the bottom the hill out of the valley started. This was at about 25 miles. Thankfully it was steep sided and tree covered so the ride was sheltered At 28 miles I thought I can do this... still pedalling along at 5mph... but at 31 miles and still going up hill out of the valley, would it never end, across moorland through wind and rain again I was not best pleased. At all. Thankfully Dean had caught me up and having someone to chat to was very welcome for the last couple of miles to the feeding first station.
Lisa celebrating with her cup of lush hot soup.
Phil B, who arrived first by about 15 mins looking really refreshed.
And cheers to you to!!
I hate him, I hate him, I hate him!! Would that be me then Kev?
Thankfully over lunch the wind and rain blew over. That didn't stop us being cold and wet. So much so that when I went for a pee, it was like playing a game of Where's Willy?
From left to right Phil B, Dean, Kevin, Nick A, Nicky D, Lisa, Nicky F, Me & Andrew.
Bouyed by the good news that we have broken the back of the course - we set off up another hill... thankfully once up this one it was flat to gently undulating and with wind the wind behind a seemingly effortless cruising speed of 22 mph was achieved... until a major hill appeared and then it was back to first gear and 4 mph!!
Downhill into Exford a very respectable 44mph was clocked... fastest I've been on an bike - to date.
At around 48 miles a text came in as I was plodding up another hill. Over the last few miles another rider and I had been overtaking each other. I'd surprisingly pass him going up hill but as he was on a road bike he whizzed pass me on the downhill sections. I'm not sure what it was, either the drinks or the seed bars but every half mile or so I had to stand on the pedals and let a little wind pass. Once more I did this - a bit heavier that usual.
"Thanks for that" came a voice from right behind me...
"Oops sorry, didn't know you were there." He'd snuck up on me!!
Together now with Dean, Kev, Lisa, Nicky and Andrew we traveled the last few miles together. Apart from going downhill were I do seem to like to go faster than everyone else. On what we hoped was the last down hill the road became very tree lined and narrow. The road was covered with wet leaves, tarmac showing only where the cars had been. The corners were all blind too so I did slow down. Coming round one corner though the inevitable had happened and someone had come off and by the looks of it broken his leg. Thankfully he was riding with a coupe of others and they were calming him. Jumping off, as he was on the blind side of the corner went back up hill to slow everyone else down to warn them. An ambulance was called, Dean and Nicky then helped with the traffic till one of the organisers turned up and we were on the way.
Of course there was one last hill through Dunster, which was sworn at.... and that was it... home free with only the muscles at the back of my legs hurting... as they had for the last 20 miles!! (Will have to ask the physio which ones).
Passing Tesco's was a damn sight easier now - a mere 8 odd hours later - not in the sun - but at least there wasn't a gale blowing.
Here's Andrew sneaking across the finish line... without going beep.
Followed by Dean (who's still being blown around by the wind by the looks of it) and front wheel intact too - amazing.
Kevin, looks like he's already asleep and Lisa very happy its all over, done and dusted.
5000 calories.... that's what we burnt on the way round... not bad for 6 hours 25 mins of cycling really.
(The photos do not really show show i) the wind, ii) the rain or, iii) the 600 odd wimps (30%) who either gave up or didn't turn start!!)
Kev most eloquently put his day as follows...
"Didn't press hard on the pedals all day, just kept going round and round and round round and round and round round and round and round round and round and round round and round and round round and round and round round and round and round round and round and round round and round and round on the pedals. Then I went to the pub!!"
