Wiggle Mega Meon sportive

A few weeks ago I got an email about the Wiggle Super Series Mega Meon sportive. Free photos from Sportivephoto.com were on offer! Feeling in the mood I signed up for the 100 mile epic route.

Given that my last Wiggle sportive was literally a wash out (not to mention frustration with the timings being wrong), I was hoping this would be more enjoyable. Arriving at South Downs College, which was the start/finish, things were looking good. The weather was nice, plenty of parking on site (no muddy fields!), and lots of people looking eager to get riding!

When I registered I found that I hadn't signed up early enough to get the free High-5 goodie pack, which was frustrating as on my last sportive I was give the goodie pack, but because I was staying in a B&B a few miles away I had ridden to the start, had nowhere to put it and ended up giving it to someone else. Anyway, I fastened on my number and headed to the start line. It was well organised with little waiting to get off. I passed through the start around 7.30am.

After a slow start to warm up, I found myself riding with a pretty large group including several riders from Portsmouth North End CC and Fareham Wheelers CC. We were whipping along pretty quickly and shed a few riders on the climbs until we were down to around 8. When we got to the first food stop I decided to continue without stopping in order to stay in the group. This was a bit of a mistake as a few miles down the road my chain came off and got jammed in the front mech as I tried to get it back on. I had to get off and get my hands dirty, and by the time I was off again there was no chance of catching the group. I rode along to the second food stop on my own. Despite scoffing everything on offer at the second stop, later on I got really low on energy and really started to regret missing the first one. I was hot, hungry and thirsty. I passed a bus stop with a very inviting shelter and promised myself I'd rest if I saw another. Another came up quickly and I sat down and ate my emergency cheese and pickle sandwich, and finished off one of my water bottles, which made me feel a lot better.

The route was very pleasant with some beautiful views across the rolling farmland of the Meon valley. The weather stayed good all day and even the timing seemed to work this time. Overall a really good day. The only downside was the disappointment of seeing one or two riders who were perfectly happy to throw litter in what is an amazingly beautiful place. What makes them think its OK to throw gel and cereal bar wrappers is beyond me. Idiots.

The official time was 6h 16m which I was happy with and agrees with my Strava timing.

Wiggle Super Series - New Forest Spring Sportive

Last Saturday (13th April) I rode a New Forest sportive, part of the Wiggle Super Series. I'd signed up for the Epic route, 86 miles long, which is pretty far for me as most of my cycling is 10 mile commuting rides. I tried to do a little preparation with a couple of longer training rides (about 50 miles) the weekends before.

I've visited the New Forest a few times before, staying in the Youth Hostel at Burley and doing a bit of hiking. I was looking forwards to seeing some other parts of the National Park and getting some serious miles behind me. There's lot of other things to do too, so we decided to make it a family weekend and booked a local B&B. Alison at the Far Side made us very welcome and the location was perfect.

A soggy ride indeed

The Ride

On Saturday morning I ate a hearty breakfast, got into my gear, gave the wife and daughter a kiss, and set off for the event. It seemed pretty well organised at the start, but at registration they were giving away High-5 water bottles filled with product samples - what am I supposed to do with that? My bottle cage and jersey pockets are already full! I said I'd pick one up later after I had finished, but was unable to. The signs out on the road were great, as were the food stops and marshalling.

The first hour or so was lovely with the forecasted rain holding off, but eventually the inevitable happened and the last four and a half hours were spend in the wet. The route was good, with some nice contrasting heathland and forest scenery, in particular the Rhinefield Ornamental Drive was beautiful. Despite the wet and the many cattle grids I remained puncture free until the very end, managing to limp over the finish line with a completely flat front which I think I got riding over the cattle grid into the event area.

My only complaint is that UK Cycling Events seem to have messed up my results. My GPS upload to Strava puts my time at 5h 30 mins, but the official results put my time over 6 hours, has the wrong distance and the wrong rider number.

Sunday

There are lots of other things to do in the New Forest if you're not on the bike, and I'd recommend the New Forest Wildlife Park as a family activity.

RideLondon 100

Last year I entered the RideLondon 100 event, a new cycling event which is a 100 mile ride on closed roads in London and Surrey taking in much of the 2012 Olympic road race route. The ride was massively over subscribed with over 50,000 people entering for 20,000 places. I suspect that the actual number of public places is a fair bit lower once the sponsors, VIPs and charity places are taken into account.

There was a ballot for the places and unfortunately I didn't in. There are still loads of charity places open, but I don't have the time or wealthy friends needed to raise approx £500, which is the minimum mandatory amount needed. I knew the odds were against me but I'm still devastated. This promises to be a really, really epic event. Its being organised and run like the London Marathon, with closed roads and TV coverage. In fact its being organised by the same people who organise the London Marathon, as well as the people that organise the Tour Of Britain. A promising set up.

To commiserate myself I've just entered the Wiggle Super Series Spring New Forest Sportive. Quite a mouthful but it promises to be a good ride. I've visited the New Forest several times for camping and hiking, but I've never cycled the area. At least now I've got something to look forward to.