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Looking for a hilly sportive or two to do over the summer, just to use as training really and to take advantage of not having to stop at traffic lights or junctions etc. Can anyone recommend any? Preferably with lots of hills. Wales would suit best.
Ta!
Merlin Ride
Sarn Helan
Dragon Ride
Tour of Pembs (was 2 weeks ago)
Giro de Gower (more of a race, very tough and hilly)
Every UK sportive I've done you have to stop at traffic lights and junctions.
There are a couple of closed road ones - Etape "blank" generally.
I've done multi day ones in Europe that were open road but controlled junctions/lights - so we didn't ever have to stop. That was neat.
not many tl's on the merlin or sarn helan!
[url= http://www.greatbritishbikerides.co.uk ]Plenty of hills in this and saves you the entry fees ;-)[/url]
Look on the Audax UK website for their events - anything with "AAA" points will be lumpy.
Cheaper than a sportive, but you will probably have to stop at traffic lights, junctions, and CTC approved cafes.
Depends what you call hilly
http://bradwellhillbilly.co.uk. 78km and 2334 m ascent, billed as The Peak District version of The Fred Whitton
Giro de Gower
😆
Doing an Audax on the 18th, 2.25 AAA points so 2180+m of ascent (7150+ft)
[url= http://3pistescycle.wordpress.com ]3-pistes[/url] - 102 miles, 2690m climbing
Bit of a hike to get there but should deliver on the hills.. 🙂
Chilterns 100 is on June 1. Not the biggest hills but just ride them faster.
advantage of not having to stop at traffic lights or junctions etc. Can anyone recommend any? Preferably with lots of hills. Wales would suit best.
They have traffic lights in wales! who knew. Having just ridden some lovely welsh back roads id suggest you just go out and ride anything B road or less, I cant imagine youd find anything else on the road forcing you to stop at junctions, other than sheep, but they dont obey closed roads signs usually, or fences either for that matter.
I've only just got into road cycling so I've got nothing to compare it with, but I've just entered my lbs's event.
http://www.thebicycledoctor.com/pages/valleys-velo-sportive-2014
The Wiggle Mendips sportive in August has 3 good climbs, you have Burrington Combe, Cheddar Gorge and then a hill near Wookey Hole (Priddy?) which is a real slog. There are about 40 miles of flat between Cheddar and Priddy which offer some respite but its a good route.
http://www.ukcyclingevents.co.uk/events/wiggle-mendips-sportive/
Are you around on August 30th?
Evans King of the Downs has a fair amount of climbing, more than the Chiltern 100 that is a local loop for me. 2nd June, 110 miles around the Surrey hills.
Isle of Man Lighthouse Challenge http://www.sasevents.im/event/microgaming-lighthouses-challenge-2014/ has lots of hills and it's hard to get lost as you do a 100.3 mile circuit...
Le Terrier. 100 miles, 3800 metres of climbing and not a single traffic light.
Youve missed Ronde Van Calderdale, 77 miles and 3300m of climbing, most of it 20%+ gradient cobbled streets around Halifax.
GPX's for it will be easy enough to get hold of though and as training goes its pretty bloody intense!
Wild Wales
Etape Eryri
Tour de Mon Hillier than you think and the head wind will get you too!
+1 Chiltern 100
I found it tougher than the marmotte; relentless, brutal climbs
http://www.handsonevents.co.uk/?page_id=20
Bealach
http://roadcyclinguk.com/sportive/six-of-the-best-uk-sportives-to-ride-in-2014.html/2
http://www.kenlaidlawsportive.co.uk/intro.html
this one includes a Tibetan monastery
Not done it, but heard about it through friends, the Forest of Dean Classic sportive on 13th July.
http://www.wheelsinwheels.com/FOD/forest_of_dean_spring_classic_cycling_sportive.html
The long route is 90 miles with close to 9200ft of climbing - some of the hills are pretty challenging!
+1 Chiltern 100I found it tougher than the marmotte; relentless, brutal climbs
It's usually full by now but maybe the £40 entry fee has kept people at bay this year, wouldn't exactly say relentless brutal climbs - unless you are rocking up from the flatlands of eastern anglia that is 😉
Or the smuggler sportive
http://www.thesmugglersportive.co.uk/2014/03/view-all-routes-for-the-smuggler/
Looks like this one could be a great but challenging day out!
I'm doing this on the 1st of June
http://darkwhitecycling.co.uk/peak-epic/
103 miles 4000 m of climbing,with me at over 15 stone its going to be a struggle 😀
Evans King of the Pennines
Here's the gps track for Le Terrier: 3,835 metres over 165km. Hardest sportive I've done in the UK, and I've done quite a few considered to be hilly. Not a patch on La Marmotte though!
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/323885398
Cyclone goes around the cheviots. They're big hills.
North pennines etape is hilly but expensive.
Dartmoor classic. 106miles, ~10,000ft.
Sold out but people are always selling entries nearer the time.
The long route option of this is proper tough:
http://www.ukcyclingevents.co.uk/events/wiggle-peak-district-punisher-sportive/
100 miles, fraction under 10,000ft (3000m) climbing.