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Balls. I didn't actually expect to get a place.
How hard is it?
Probably to hard for you 😉
I applied but haven't heard yet, does this mean I haven't got in?
got the email about 20 mins ago
Ha, yeah me and a mate at work both applied and got in, wonder if the 'lottery' is really necessary! We're both first timers though so that might help.
Finished last year feeling good at the Bealach Mor on a relatively heavy bike, but then have spent most of November and December not riding because of a wrist injury. Hoping spin classes till end of February and then two months back on the bike will be adequate preparation!
On entry it did ask if it was first time and I think they reserved a certain number of places.
it'll be a good warm up for the Dartmoor Classic....
I applied but haven't heard yet, does this mean I haven't got in?
It's on open roads so ride it anyway!
Can be a cruise in the sun or a battle into wind driven hail.
Cross those digits (and give us a wave as you pass our front door)
You'll be fine. I stayed in Patterdale a couple of years ago and just went out one day and rode the route. Stopped at Whinlatter for a nice lunch.
If you're worried about finishing, the key will be not to get caught up in racing the first 20 miles like a crit when everyone sets off way too fast, then time trialling the next 20 miles.
Here's a picture of me climbing Hardknott. You know, just riding along... 🙂
[img] 
[/img]
I've actually climbed the equivalent ascent (10,023ft) in a single climb, 5 hours of climbing right enough... 😕
Amazed at how they cram all that elevation in considering the 'signature' climbs aren't actually that big.
I compared with the Aviemore to Pitlochry ride I did a few years ago and that is still a couple of thousand feet short, I guess because Aviemore itself is relatively high. If you ride Pitlochry to Aviemore and do two laps of the ski hill climb then you're pretty much bang on, not a ride I would ever have considered previously but might have to give it a go in April.
First timer and i got a knockback...boo!
It's surprising how much all the small rises add up, 20 metres here, 10 metres there and you soon get large totals. Did one of my "flat" rides a few months back, it's flat enough to consider for HR zone training, and it has 400 metres of ascent in 30Km.
On the FW there's a lot of up and down between Kirkstone and Honister for example and a hell of a lot between Whinlatter and Hardknott.
+1 first two hours are the key. Go off too fast and the next 6 will be hard.
Another first time and Im in!:D
Better get some hill training in. No chance of me getting caught up in racing, Im just out to complete.
Steady away up the hills, esp the first few then take it from there if your feeling relatively fresh. Obviously there's a lot of hills but there's quite a lot of flat sections linking them up and if you want a good time it's these that can make or break a sub seven hour time imho. Looking forward to it. Although I'll have to loose a few pounds if I want to better last years time 😳
and smash the last 10 miles - eh andy?
You in again?
reggiegasket - Member
and smash the last 10 miles - eh andy?
You in again?
Yeah 😀 Are you having another go or have you had enough ?
I applied but haven't heard yet, does this mean I haven't got in?
I'm still waiting for an email either way..anyone else still not heard ?
First timer here and got in. Riden most of the passes and parts of the route but never the whole thing in one.
Oh yeah, just after I took that photo above, I descended into the Wrynose bowl and bumped into a couple of blokes who were about 80 on a tandom.
Bugger.
No luck here either. First time applying for the Fred.
I just hope now it proves to be third time lucky with my application for Ride London.
A warm up for the Dartmoor Classic!? I did the DC in 2013 and thought it was a bit of a gift compared to Coasting in Cornwall (the worlds worst route and weather!) and Sommerset Hills Gran Fondo (which is fantastic btw). Is the FW not savage? I really don't know if you're having a laugh, sorry!
Check your spam folders - mine went in there on a Gmail address.
Whoooo, im in ....now where did i leave my road bike 😯 not been on it since July
Bugger, just found out I'm in. Shit just got real.
[quote=climbingkev ]A warm up for the Dartmoor Classic!? I did the DC in 2013 and thought it was a bit of a gift compared to Coasting in Cornwall (the worlds worst route and weather!) and Sommerset Hills Gran Fondo (which is fantastic btw). Is the FW not savage? I really don't know if you're having a laugh, sorry!
DC Grande Route is roughly same amount of climbing and distance. more long sustained climbs though than lots of short steep ones.
Alas not in, attempted for the first time last year.
Good luck to one and all
more long sustained climbs though than lots of short steep ones.
That's the really killer in the lakes generally. If you don't have the right gearing you end up having to ride way too hard to keep your cadence up, or you end up grinding over a big gear. Either way, it'll kill you for later in the ride.
Make sure you have the right gears for your fitness level. At [i]least[/i] a 34-28 as a starting point - preferably a bigger cassette if you can. I rode Hardknott at 4.5W/Kg on a 34-28 and had an average cadence of only 60! After 100 miles Hardknott is *really* hard.
EDIT: Contrast that with Matterdale 4W/Kg @ 93rpm, Whinlatter 4W/Kg @ 88rpm, Kirkstone 4W/Kg @ 86rpm.
Hmm... I managed a sustained 25% in 39/27 three years ago, I'm probably not as fit as I was then although there's still four months to go, would think I'd be OK in 34/28 although do have a new 11spd 11-32 cassette knocking around, would need a longer cage mech though.
Now the hunt for accommodation begins!
First timer and no luck for me.
I'm thinking of the Cumbrian 200 or the Sheffrec Full monty instead.
Or the Selkirk MTB marathon and do a second ride on the Sunday...
Now the hunt for accommodation begins!
is it difficult? any recommendations for a campsite?
Nah, I just had a quick look and there's still a variety of options, I just need to coordinate 2 co-workers, one of whom really needs a good night's sleep before a long ride, and the other of whom snores like beezlebub himself...
(plus the helpful targeted advertising above is already full of Grasmere hotels! 😀 )
Still no email (I checked spam too). It's odd as I received confirmation of lottery entry without issue. I guess I'll take it as a 'no' unless I receive something. Still I've got training for the long route of Cheshire Cat to get me off the sofa.
good news, emails arrived (header suggests sent 10:27 this morning but just arrived at 15:18 !?)
bad news, it's a rejection.
No luck for me really enjoyed it last year riding with a couple of friends that had entered! might volunteer to help out to guarantee a place for next year
Matts no pic as you went over the cattle grid? 8)
52:39 and 12-29 didn't do it for me on the four seasons version. There was walking!
It's an awesome day out, great atmosphere. Definitely 34-28 if you want to ride all the passes. Food stations are amazing, Cold Fell usually lives up to its' name (if wind is W or SW) and catches out exhausted riders. Get into a bunch for the A66 leg (and Cold Fell too if possible). Enjoy 😈
Has anyone tried to organize a STW group in previous years?
Their web site says there is on the 2nd May
http://www.selkirkmtbmarathon.com/
nope not in 3rd/4th time of trying,
might volunteer to help out to guarantee a place for next year
Can't find anything on the website about that - is that the case for all volunteers?
Trying to figure out some training for this, I'm still off the bike with a wrist injury and not anticipating getting back on until start of March.
2-3 spin classes a week until end of March
Between March and May
2 hilly 50 milers
2 hilly 60/70 milers
1/2 hilly 100 milers.
Maaaaybe..1 130 miler with the equivalent ascent of the FW.
Not very scientific but got to fit it around work and girlfriend!
My biggest concern is time in the saddle, I didn't use to be shy of 100-130 mile rides but it's been a while and I've herniated a disc since then. I know I can do 5 hours in the saddle before the back gets seriously sore and stiff, so hopefully just getting lots of saddle time in 2 months prior to the FW will see me right.
It's good fun planning rides with as much climbing as possible, lets you plot pointless 'there-and-back' climbs that you'd normally maybe ignore.
Aim for a sub 5hr time then...
Finding hills isn't a problem. My short of time road route is up to princetown and back. 13.5 miles. 1700ft of climbing.
Aim for a sub 5hr time then...
Ha, obvious solution! Don't dare look at the average times for FW, 7hr?
Didn't expect to but I got a place again this year. Guess I'd better sort out the road bike then...
Don't dare look at the average times for FW, 7hr?
7 hours is quick for the FW. I did about 7.28 last year and think I was somewhere in the top 10-15% of times.
Yikes, some quick lazy excel jiggery pokery suggests an average time of 8:50.
Further excel jiggery pokery suggests 7:28 is definitely in the top 15% 8)
So.... based on my last two times in longish hilly sportives, I think I'll be happy to get under 7:30, and have sufficient excuses not to be disappointed with anything under 8hr.
The guy I'm riding with would be chasing under 7hr then, maybe I shouldn't have my girlfriend wait for us at the finish line, don't want them both standing there waiting more than an hour for me to trundle in haha
Matts no pic as you went over the cattle grid?
Ha! Sadly not. 😉
Cheers Jam bo! I really fancy this, but always assumed it was beyond me as I only got a road bike in Jan 2013. Managed the aforementioned sportives and the Etape du Tour by July then back on the MTB until injury in Feb 2014. Just had an op to sort that so will stick FW on the 2016 to do list! I'll be riding to finish it, non of that wattage brutality for me!
Slight hijack while people read this: does anyone fancy doing www.ridetothesun.co.uk - separate thread here: http://singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/ride-to-the-sun-a-northern-scottish-dunwich-dynamo
Facebook at -
100m through the night from Carlisle to Cramond beach (Edinburgh) on the Saturday nearest the summer solstice. 250 signs up so far, free to enter, and grub stop organised at the chippy in Moffat!
Cheers
Do you guys follow training plans, or just get out and ride to build up the mileage and hills?
Didn't have any real training plan last year, just rode as many hills as possible. Make sure you do some steep stuff if you want to ride it all. Hardknott with a 100 miles in the legs is hard. My prep last year was an n+1 approach. Basically ride hills til I was knackered, including at least one of >15% gradient, then do one more.
I can heartily recommend any of the [url= http://www.seismic-events.co.uk/ ]Seismic Event series[/url], for training or a consolation for no FW place (you get 2 of these for the cost of a FW - though I know it's for charity etc)
+ 1 on the seismic events. Did two of them last year (as well as the Fred) If anything I'd say one of them (the tour of the high passes) was harder than the Fred.
As for training last year during the week I was doing a lot of hill repeats around the Bowland fells with a big ride at weekends, (anything from 80-120 miles) taking in as many hills as possible. This year I'm trying a different approach in that I'm doing a dedicated turbo training plan during the week with a ride outside at weekends. When spring comes I'll tail off the turbo work and do more road miles.
I know it's very close to the event but you could do this as a taster or a consolation event.
http://www.epicevents.co.uk/cycle-sportives/the-lakeland-loop-cycle-sportive-april-26th-2015.html
For all those wanting to get a guaranteed entry to the Fred a quote from Paul Loftus .....
All helpers on the ride do receive a reduce price place (£25) on the ride the following year, this place is guaranteed so volunteers do not have to go into the lottery, we find this arrangement works well for both sides.
Hope that has made it clearer?
and I'm in 😀
(from the reserve list)
I'd better start hitting those hills for training
😀 I am in off the reserve list 🙁 😛 😀 😯 😀
Entered in 2013 and couldn't do it, deferred to last year and my wife was seriously ill. One day I'll pluck up the courage to do it.
So.... how's everybody feeling about this weekend? 8)
I'm probably feeling better than I should considering my 'training' has been a shambles, one or two 100km rides with some short blasts after work thrown in. I guess I've got previous form in riding these sorts of things with little or no preparation and still enjoying them.
The weather is looking heinous though, think I'll be taking the Vaya with mudguards and disc brakes! The fact that it will shortly have a nice shiny Ultegra triple drivetrain fitted is purely coincidence... 🙄
My 2 co-workers have both had last minute panics about their 39/25 drivetrains, one has managed to jam a 28 tooth cassette on the back and the other has invested in an entire new compact drivetrain after trying to push 36/25 up a sustained 20% in the borders, think he got a bit of a fright...
chickening out of camping and just booked a holiday cottage for the week.
11-32 cassette on working great with 9spd XT mech. spin to win...
not enough long rides done but a good amount of steep climbing over the last couple of weeks.
Amazed at how they cram all that elevation in considering the 'signature' climbs aren't actually that big.
Le Terrier in the Forest of Bowland is even more impressive. 3,800m ascent in 100 miles, despite a high point of less than 450 metres.
Really not looking forward to it. Have barely ridden the road bike in anger this year, and half a stone heavier than last year. Considering bailing out and doing the Colne Valley MTB challenge instead. It's a lot of money though not to bother.
Dazh, I'm trying to ignore the numerous perfectly good reasons for bailing, although if the other guys in the office blink first and bail out I'd probably be joining them! Unlikely however, one of them has been training for it all winter...
I rode the route yesterday with a friend. A fairly casual 8.5h as I was knackered from the Selkirk National Mtb champs on Saturday.
I got round with a lowest gear of 34:25. I probably could have dragged myself over the passes on a slightly bigger gear but it would have been hellish and slower overall.
Reading through this makes me smile though. You can take it easy on the hills but if anybody can explain how you take it easy when it hits 25% you'll have to let me know. I'm a strong climber and I was pretty close to my max heart rate by the time I go to the top of Hardknott as I had to stand up on most of it and work hard just to keep moving.
It is a beautiful ride in the sunshine so I hope you get good weather. Would be difficult on some of the descents in the wet. Even the "not ridiculously steep" ones would be slow as the roads are narrow and not always in great shape in the remote bits.
Good luck to everyone riding, I rode it last year and I'm marshaling this, just near Skelwith Bridge.
Try to remember to enjoy it.
Would love to do this route, have never bothered trying to enter it as I'm definitely a fair weather roadie. Was thinking about asking to nab a mates place who hasn't trained much and doesn't seem very confident, good job I didn't bother, currently got the lurgy 🙁
aye, did the Phil Liggett route last year, didn't have access to a compact, had a 12-26 cassette, but 39x26 wasn't low enough to take it easy, full on grind all the way up winnats and could feel the effects for the rest of the day (started in glossop). Think I'd need a compact or MTB cassette for FW.You can take it easy on the hills but if anybody can explain how you take it easy when it hits 25% you'll have to let me know
Hope the weather picks up for you guys.
Did 175km and 3600m of climbing on the Welsh Ride Thing at the weekend as my final training ride.
Slept in a Bothy got cold, now have a nasty chest infection, X-rays this morning a week of antibiotics and the doctor says I need to rest for a week. 😯
Didn't dare tell her what I had planned for the weekend....
Riding my fourth (in a row) Fred. Forecast is too uncertain at the moment. It could be dry (and windy) or may chuck it down. Training has gone well, been riding most weekends through Winter. Was hoping for sub 7 hours but strong winds will put paid to that. Be happy with under 7:30. My best is 7:40.
Will take my winter bike with guards if it's going to be very wet, otherwise summer bike with ass saver.
Staying in Langdale YH the night before.
Identify yourself nammynake, I think I'm sitting on [i]your[/i] wheel.
Considering bailing out and doing the Colne Valley MTB challenge instead
Why? Loads wanted in including myself and didn't get a place
I'd hope they put a little star next to bailers names and refuse them entry in future years
Why? Loads wanted in including myself and didn't get a place
Not my fault they don't have a system for transferring entries. If I could transfer it and get my money back I would. Have a go at the organisers not me, when I entered I had every intention of doing it, but a couple of months of niggling injuries and illnesses have impacted my fitness and hence my motivation for doing it.
I'd hope they put a little star next to bailers names and refuse them entry in future years
Maybe they should have and extended application form where entrants must describe in 500 words why they want to do it, just so they get the right calibre of entrant and they can be sure they'll do it? If you're that bothered just ride it anyway. The roads are open and there's nowt stopping you from riding them.
id just copy and paste your whiney post and say I'm the opposite of this 😉
After a DNF on my first attempt last year at 103 miles due to my knee blowing up, training has been hit and miss and had two heavy falls in the last month that has killed my training plan though managed 5,113 ft in 33 miles on Sunday in horrendous weather, just put on Sammy slicks yesterday for Sunday 😯 so not looking optimistic. Please do say hi to the slow person with wide handlebars on a Ritchey p 29er.
dazh if you can do the CVMBC you can do the Whi(ne)ton.
If I could get down there for the day and get an entry I'd do it!
Not my fault they don't have a system for transferring entries.
They do, but you won't get your money back, but you'll get a reserved place for next year iirc. You just need to email them and get the new rider to pay the entry fee.
All the money goes to a great causes,
Our main Charity is Macmillan Cancer Support – we also support The Air Ambulance, Mountain Rescue and youth cycling in all its forms.
and monies go there regardless of people who turn up or not . Lets not forget this major element/driver of the of the event.
CVMBC is only 10 miles away, starts at a much more sociable time, is only 50km, won't require a 4am start, and will be much more fun as it's offroad. And on a point of interest, anyone know why they're so strict about not being able to give your entry to someone else? I can't think of a single decent reason why they don't allow it.
monies go there regardless of people who turn up or not . Lets not forget this major element/driver of the of the event.
Absolutely no problem with that. But don't see why you wouldn't get a refund if it was transferred to someone else.
vondally your mad!
from Fred Whitton site
If I have to cancel will I get my entry fee back?No, it will all be donated to the event charities, and if another rider takes your place then they pay their own entry fee. But if you let us know in time for us (or you) to find a replacement rider, and we’ve time to do the replacement, then we will save you a guaranteed deferred place on the following year’s ride – you will not then have to join the lottery, but will have to pay the entry fee again the next year. Note that we might not have time to do a replacement unless you cancel at least 3 weeks before the event. See our event terms & conditions for more information.