I was just trying to remember which was the hardest ride I've been on.
Its a toss up between:
a Monster day out we did in the Quantocks or
a Northern mincing Peaks route to scare us southern shandy drinkers or
Penmachno and Llandegla back to back as fast as I could or
a Sheldon FOD Special
I think the award just goes to the Northern Mincing Peaks route
What's been yours and why was it so hard?
In terms of sheer post-ride poopedness, it's the Sheldon FOD special.
a 300km audax ride a few years ago.
i was sick over the bars
and i coud not feel my 3 outer finger for a month after.
Now I don't race anymore I don't need to put myself through those 'EVERY SUNDAY NO MATTER WHAT THE WEATHER' 4-5 hours training rides with my mates.
I miss the racing but not those miserable, freezing, soaking, grinding rides.
So probably ANY of those !
The first dartmoor ride I rode with Bagpus and co.
IHN - What about tuesday's ride - I heard you got "beasted"!! 
My first road century, on a geared Inbred with heavy commuter slicks, hurt quite a lot toward the end. Took me ten hours!
I did Plymouth Hoe to Minehead seafront across Dartmoor and Exmoor using as much offroad as possible, in a day once. (20 hours)
Doing all 3 of the old CyB routes in a day, twice. 98 miles, 16000ft of climbing at 11 hours. For obvious reasons.
Bristol bike fest in 2007 was tough I pushed myself too hard without drinking enough I was crying when I collapsed at the end.
I did the 6 hour pairs at BBF 2007, and got mental cramp about 200 yards from the finish, whilst leading! Some nice bloke waited with me while I was ranting about how I'd lost it and got me back on the bike, good event!
"Doing all 3 of the old CyB routes in a day, twice. 98 miles, 16000ft of climbing at 11 hours. For obvious reasons."
Jeeeezus!
That's just silly...
I don't know about any particular ride, but ones where I've been cold, wet and miles from home aren't favourites.
Actually, one where I cracked a rib, about 20 miles from home, was probably the most painful (front wheel jacknifed, end of bar straight into chest). Had to ride all the way home, in quite a bit of pain, and fell off another 3 times, because I couldn't control the bike properly. That didn't help.
Had to take 2 weeks off work, and couldn't ride for nearly a month.
It wasn't as hard as it sounds RB, the 2 laps of the Karrimor were boring, but by the time you've done them you're well over half way! It was a slightly stupid scheme hatched the night before, hardly a well planned epic! Didn't get overtaken the whole day though, which was good!
Riding out from Ealing to Newlands Corner at 6am on a borrowed mid 60s Roberts short wheelbase tandem, entering a 200K audax, having bearded audax riders pull out of our slipstream on the drop down to Shere pedalling like mad as we coasted at over 50mph before they stopped infront of us and we discovered that the front brake had slipped as we rode over them. Discovering that riding up Pitch Hill with a bottom gear of 53/21 was a bit tough. Having enough after about 120K of the audax and riding back to Ealing getting back at 8pm.
My third road bike ride was a 200km audax, the annual 7 hills. Bit of an eye opener.
Done some 50km, 75km & 100km mtb races that were more taxing though
The 1999 Paris-Brest-Paris. 1200 kms in 92 hours with about four hours sleep in total, the longest amount of continous kip being about 40 minutes. I tried to give up several times but something deep inside me made me ride it to the end. I declined to purchase one of the official photos of riders on sale at the end of the ride 'cos i looked like a mustard gas victim.
Riding on the Cairngorm plateau in scotland during the heatwave in 2003 we had never ridden in such heat before and didnt take enough water. It was only when I sucked the last drop out of my drink bladder did it strike home we were about 2 hours away from our next drink. I ended up hallucinating and babbling about cats. Took the rest of the week to get over it.
Deffinatley 4 lakes passes when I was 14 with a 32 lb rigid bike, in the rain in a shell suit and trainers.
Honister Pass, Scarth Gap Pass, Blacksail pass, Sty Head Pass.
Not so much a ride as a horrible carry
2008 La Ruta De Los Conquistadores.
4 days of mud, climbing, mud, 20km technical rocky decents, rail road. More Mud. Bit more climbing. Some heat & humidity. bit more mud, bit more climbing. Some of the best scenery I've ever seen and did I mention mud?
2008 Etape was pretty tough with the cold.
2007 Etape was horrible. Bonked on Port De Bales.
I'd like to Paris-Brest-Paris and then the RAAM but I don't think my body will last.
Last year Roper set up a ride along the Straights of Gibraltar in June/July. The idea was to set off early, so as to avoid the mid day sun. Well it turned into a 6 hour epic in 33c heat and I was an absolute wreck at the end of it but I made it. I was woefully under provisioned in the food side of things but ended up with two of JanetStreetPorter's chicken, cheese and coleslaw rolls.
1200 kms in 92 hours with about four hours sleep in total
Ladies and gentlemen; we have a winner.
I can't even begin to comprehend why, let alone how, you could do such a thing.
All other tales pale into insignificance, next to that.
But I bet some nutter will be along to try and top it...
Laggan black as a novice. I carried down 2 of the obstacles but stubbornly rode the rest. Twice over the bars and off a few times. Refused to give up and ended up cut, bruised and with tendonitis in my arms wondering if this mtb malarkey is really for me. Strangely I was so angry at the end of the run I had red mist and cleaned the Devil's Chessboard which is the main gotcha for most people. I've done a 108 miler off road in a day since then but it was a walk in the park in comparison.
Merida 100K June 2006 Builth Wells, hottest day of the year, now that was toughy due to the Heat, I was not in a Happy place at times, but done it.
Stanage edge on a hard tail, the descent was so rocky even land rovers were getting stuck! Not much fun that!
its not even hard
Etape du Tour 2005. Crossed the finish line and found a shady spot under a tree and promptly slept for 45 mins.
I still can't remember some parts of the climb up to the Col du Marie Blanc.
the last descent there is hard enough, great big rocks and land rovers everywhere, one climb thats impossible to do, the rest is ok. probably should have saved it for 'the worst ride you have ever been on' thread, its never to be repeated.
1st Cristalp,
The South Downs Way. A total of 100 miles and 11,660 ft of climbing all in a day. Cant wait to do it all again this year...
Matt
Rudeboy wrote...
'1200 kms in 92 hours with about four hours sleep in total
Ladies and gentlemen; we have a winner.'
I was one of the last people to finish before the cut-off time, and the last Brit to finish. Some folks did it in half the time I did it in, some with no sleep. So there were plenty more people more hardcore & nutty than me! It was particularly hard for me 'cos my pre-ride preperation & training was a complete shambles. Luckily I've failed to qualify for the two subsequant PBP's.
The South Downs Way in a day...
... and back the day after, not nice, not big and not in any way clever!
We've got a bit of an ice storm going on just now. Because we've had silly temps like -10 for a week the ground is so cold that even though the air has managed to reach the dizzy heights of 3 deg, the melted hoare frost and rain has frozen solid on contact with the ground. The result is sheet ice over everything except the main roads. I thought the woods would be different - WRONG! I have just done 10 miles of the hardest, most sphincter twitching, mind focussing icy trails ever. Only 2 offs but a few sliding tripods. One of the offs was a motorcyle style slide alongside the bike for what felt like miles. If it isn't my hardest ride ever it's only a gnat's cock off it!
Helvellyn & Highstreet with Boggies a few years ago - i was so unfit. Done quite a lot of harder stuff since but i now to be ready for it.
Ran the Devil O The Higlands 43 mile foot race last year, 6hrs 57mins, that has been the hardest sport i've done so far.
pants.
i did that merida too,
i was thinking i wouldnt make it at some stages.
never been so happy to see a feed station or a finish line before or since
My first epic for sure. 50km over High Cup Nick and the side of Cross Fell. Have done longer rides since, but had only been riding for about 8 months and I was so trashed at the end I couldnt even take my socks off or pick my bike of the ground after I dropped it on my mates bike. Otherwise, the second day of the W2W this year - managed to get heat stroke, but after some rehydration and peanuts I finished it; or Selkirk and Innerleithen - I got the fear after blood came flooding out my arm, was the most technical riding I had ever done at theat point; or Skiddaw Figure of 9 - first ever MOUNTAIN bike ride and I was broken mentally and physically; havent done it in the 2 years since, but I know I could def now have it!
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