Time to start planning this year’s days of suffering …

Trying to keep in local(ish), plus Wales IMO has some of the best road riding scenery in the UK, so the list so far includes:

Anglesey Lanes Audax http://www.aukweb.net/events/detail/12-994/

the new Etape Eryri (just don’t look at the route profile!) http://etapeeryri.com/

Wild Wales Challenge (to see if I will break on certain hill climbs …) http://www.wildwaleschallenge.com/

Possibly the Etape Cyrmru for the opportunity to ride a closed road race http://www.etape-cymru.co.uk/

If anyone else is doing these and spots a small lass on a red Specialized Dolce, say hello … or better still give me a push 🙂

So what races etc have you got planned for this year?

My club is hosting a reliability ride this weekend. I’ll possibly do Luton CCs RR on the weekend of 26th Feb.

I may do a crit race at Hillingdon on 3rd March which will be my opening road race of the season. There’s a 3 race series at MK Bowl on Saturday’s starting 17th March. I’ll be doing the MK Bowl summer series on Thursday evenings too.

Scattered in with those will be some open road races. Probably Fleche Welwyn and a load of others that are local.

Dunno about sportives, maybe do 1 or 2 depending on races.

I was thinking about this just this morning as it happens.

I would like to do:
Lionheart http://www.thelionheart.co.uk/ (probably just the 100k)
Wilts white horse http://www.whitehorsechallenge.com/

and maybe something in may

All in preperation for:
http://singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/road-route-ideas-in-the-jura-north-of-geneva

🙂

100k? An Sunday club run is longer than that!

Haven’t planned any yet, but do have a target to do both a 5 hour (imperial) century, and 200 miles in a day so should probably start looking for some events.

Anyone recomend an ‘easy’ 200mile audax in September?

Quebrantahuesos in June, should be excellent – 7000+ riders, closed roads, head over the Pyrenees from Spain to France and back again.

Etape Caledonia, booked on a whim.

And the Dunwich Dynamo again, hopefully, after a couple of years of deciding I couldn’t be bothered with riding all night again.

Omloop in Ghent, very civilised, great beer after:
http://sport.be.msn.com/cyclingtour/omloopvanvlaanderen/2012/fr/parcours/

Possibly the London Classic again, most definitely not a race:
http://www.thelondonclassic.org/

The Las Vegas Institute of Sport audax on 25th March (Bristol-based)

http://audax.lvis.org.uk/

Great routes (100 and 200k), excellent cake, cheap and a brilliant atmosphere. What more could you want?

an independent review : http://www.road.cc/content/feature/15986-my-first-200km-barrys-bristol-ball-buster and if you Google, there are loads more positive reviews.

I’ve so far avoided entering any events for this year. I’m rather enjoying the freedom of just riding “for fun” 🙂

I’m planning on doing a few Lancs/Chesh/Yorks based ones,here’s one
http://www.bikeradar.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=40007&t=12832529
Also as I’ve been invited to see the my sisters family down Sussex I’m looking to do a sportive down that end.

My riding year may be curtailed slightly so I’m trying to do as many as catch my eye between April and September, current plans are:

Nofussevents Buachaille Etive Mor, April 22nd. 110 miles though Glen Coe, down the shores of Loch Lihnne and back up through Glen Orchy and across Rannoch Moor. Doubt it will be the most inspiring route I’ll ride this year but its my local circuit, might even have my folks on the roadside on bidon duty just so I don’t have to stop 8)

Then planning the 45 mile Bealach Beag on May 12 as I won’t be able to enter Bealach Mor this year and quite fancy really attacking the climbs without already having approx 40 miles in my legs before I get to the bottom.

The Merida Selkirk Sportive May 19th should be good, tried to sit up last year to save myself for the MTB marathon (didn’t work…) but the roads were great and very quiet, looking forward to chasing a good time on it!

Then the Cairngorm Classic in early June, the 100 mile route was my first ever Sportive last year and I had a great time despite a big night the night before, so I’m hoping to better that this year, hopefully sub 5hr.

Maybe even organise another totally futile Etape Caledonia ‘recce’ with a group of riders who haven’t actually entered it like we did last year! Also fancy the Aviemore to Pitlochry century, not a sportive but perhaps on of the best rides in Scotland, if you like hills.

And just for the haters, I’ll be there fully team kitted up, taking myself far too seriously and riding them like races, because its fun and I know I won’t be the only one! 😀

I’ll be making my annual pilgrimage to Islay for The Ride of the Falling Rain (and possibly probably definitely a few drams) in August. 8)

I’m doing a ride with a mate to raise money for help 4 heroes, Edinburgh to Bolton in a day, 212 miles.

As many road and crit races as I can to get to 2nd cat.

End of the year will be a season of cyclocross races (after i decide which cross bike to get on the bike to work scheme)

also perhaps a mtb enduro event with some STW peeps (TSY,idave, molgrips?)

Booked so far we have:
– Tour of the Peaks
– Etape Du Tour Act 2

Plan on doing a fair few with the club as well, but not sorted these out yet.

I am mostly concentrating on road racing this year, with one 30 mile mtb race thrown in. If all goes to plan, i’ll be racing once or twice a week from the start of march to september. Will be adding in a few time trials and crit races but they will be used as training for road racing – a hilly 25mile time trial is one. Eeek!

No sportives for me this year – not many free weekends in amongst the races, and they are so expensive compared to road races. Currently loving the fast and painful nature of road racing and tactics involved… i wonder now why i didn’t stop doing sportives years ago and start racing!

Maybe even organise another totally futile Etape Caledonia ‘recce’ with a group of riders who haven’t actually entered it like we did last year!

You’ll have to be quick with dates, mustard and i are almost fully booked for every weekend, between moving house, training camp abroad and racing! 🙂 BTW, 9.45 group this saturday for us.

My riding year may be curtailed slightly

you planning on getting preggers? 😆

p.s. Had a good chain going on Sat, kept together all the way in from Aberlady to Musselburgh. Just a bity slower than we’d have liked but at least we weren’t hypothermic by the end!

Endura Lionheart at Longleat (good route last year)
Probably one of the New Forest ones
Asthma UK Beach to Beach (Bournemouth > Brighton)

Probably a load more as well

Tricky, where are you based?

Hoping to get to a load of crits and RR’s to get up to 2nd CAT,
I’ll stay out your way!

Jif Lungopeners first, then the Vale of Evesham, Castle Coombe crit…

Hampshire Hilly 100
Magnificat (127 miles)
Haute Route (7 days, 780km, 21000m of ascent)

bristol.. you?

I know.. it’s a tall order but got to have something to aim for.

You’ll have to be quick with dates, mustard and i are almost fully booked for every weekend, between moving house, training camp abroad and racing! BTW, 9.45 group this saturday for us.

I’ll not be out Saturday, family get together. Hoping for a good one on Sunday either with the uni club or on my tod out to Whiteadder Reservoir.

you planning on getting preggers?

No, but could be a worthwhile excuse, will keep that one up my sleeve…

Pontypridd, I’ll be happy to finish in the bunch at a few tbh!
First proper road race is 3/2/1/E, Gulp!

Possibly the Etape Cyrmru for the opportunity to ride a closed road race http://www.etape-cymru.co.uk/

It’s not a race. And last year it was not very well received at all, dreadful organisation. It’s been taken over this year by some much more experienced event promoters so hopefully they’ll have learnt lessons from last year.

I’m doing the Endura Lionheart – that was fantastic last year. Probably a few others thrown in as and when.

Also getting back into road racing – my first race is the Eddie Soens Memorial in 2.5 weeks time so I’m going to get a thorough kicking there. It’s one of the biggest season-opener races in the UK and I’ve seen the entry list – teams like Rapha-Condor-Sharp, Endura Racing, basically all the Elites. 😯

Hampshire Hilly Hundred and La Marmotte again. Probably one other sportive but cutting back on them as they’re now increasingly poor value for money (in the UK).

Just trying to think what to do after the Marmotte. Might join the local club and try some TTs.

Dartmoor Classic. 106 mile route.

furthest I’ve ridden to date is about 35 miles so I’ve got some work to do.

raising money for the Neonatal unit that got my son home safe and well.

Paris-Roubaix. It’ll be my first organized event, can’t see the appeal in most of them. Vaguely tempted by a 400km Audax.

First proper road race is 3/2/1/E, Gulp!

gulp indeed!

So you’re a 3rd cat? so must have some races under you’re belt?