a ton and a bit of gravel

[numplumz]

Did an ITT lap of a certain gravel loop today. Wet and wild, one puncture and clocked 9hrs50 ish. Stava load will have to wait till tomorrow. It was 104 miles.
Great fun, but tough in wild winds at times. Few trees down and wet.
DaveL got a bit lost and only managed 95ish, waiting for Paul to tell us how he got on here, or to stagger into the pub.
If anyone fancies doing that on a cross bike they would have to be a hard man, and personally why would you! The downhills are ace fun, riding them in tyre management mode would be nuts. Full on bouncy MTB for me.
Right back to the muscle relaxant.

[johnnystorm]

Bravo!

[burty]

i pushed on to about 70 miles but the wind wasnt making it fun .
when i had to start peddling down hill or stop time was called.
My decision was made eaiser when a local offered me a brew.
took to much food and i may put the gears on for next time , but a good day all the same.

[slarge]

Well done all, sounds like a bit of an epic!

[99percentchimp]

Chapeau Sirs!

[Ian]

Nice one. With a strong east wind, anticlockwise would have been better I imagine.

[Mike]

So mtb or cx u reckon mtb would be better I was gonna try it on the cx but love downhills

[numplumz]

Started bang on 9am so put me down for 9:54:14
Your KOMs are very safe for now Ian http://app.strava.com/activities/134755341

Loved the route, some fantastic views and a great feeling of being out there for miles on end. Pretty battered body today, 200 miles mmmmm let me think about that now
The people at the YHA about midway are lovely, shame I could stop for the tea offered was Dave's comment.

[Ian]

Just the one lost then on the Escarpment Road, by two minutes. Well done. Find that one a tough climb towards the end...

[numplumz]

So mtb or cx u reckon mtb would be better I was gonna try it on the cx but love downhills

As the ride is all ups and downs I can't see how the extra speed on climbs would compensate for just how steady you would have to take many of the very long and fast descents. and that's before you factor in the inevitable puncture stops. Certain sections before Lyn Brianne are full on MTB only where you would be rolling so slow on CX.
The downhill after the Chapel was nuts, it was so windy riding down the side of the damage was very tricky as side winds made balance very tricky.

I had in my mind that I'd love to do this on mtb and then have a go on my monster cross with 38mm tyres for a compare challenge, now no way. And I'm a big risk taker on any bike, its very rare I'm passed downhill. But hey why not take up the challenge guys

A good rider would rip that loop in 8.5 hrs, I took it steady on the climbs, that final climb as your mileage clocks over 100 is a killer

[numplumz]

i pushed on to about 70 miles but the wind wasnt making it fun .
when i had to start peddling down hill or stop time was called.
My decision was made eaiser when a local offered me a brew.
took to much food and i may put the gears on for next time , but a good day all the same.

Nice one Burty, so what time did you call it a day. Like you I took some extra weight in food, light and waterproof (kept warm even though got soaked) which were not needed, but that's when it all goes well.

[slowupslowdown-under]

great effort!

hoping to do in late may when I have a family free week!

[Nick]

Well done! Definitely want to do this sometime this year, maybe I should take the Trance rather than the Fargo (they weigh about the same so why not?)