[snappyandrew]

just found that I have got in via the lottery. Gulp!

Apart from start training now. Does anyone have any practical advice? thinking that I’ll get the train from London to Windermere and then cycle to anywhere I can get near the start. 

Any one got any suggestions?  Losing 5 kg’s is not a useful suggestion

ta in advance

Andrew

Topic

[SingleSpeed]

Thanks DaveyRaveyGravey…

Thanks DaveyRaveyGravey…

As it stands I think I’m likely to extend the Easter week in Girona into two weeks and sack off the Whitton, I’d only be doing it to say I had, and that’s no reason to enter!

[Daveyraveygravey]

I got in last year on the

I got in last year on the reserve list, loved it, although Hardknott and Wrynose after 95 miles were too much for me and I had to walk.  The hot and sunny weather probably contributed to having to walk.

I am 80 kg, 6 foot, and 51 years old.  I had a 52/36 on my bike, and went long cage and 11-32 at the back.  It took me 8 and a quarter hours, my second highest ever suffer score after Everesting.

I did A LOT of Sussex and Surrey hills beforehand, but only one century ride.  If I was doing it again, I would do more longer rides with more climbing; I knew after 40 miles (so after Kirkstone but before Honister) that it would be a long hard struggle of a day for me.

I started early, and rode with friends who were aiming at 16 mph average, so I backed off and let them go.  That wasn’t a realistic pace for an all day ride for me, and that may explain why I knew by 40 miles I was in for it.

We were lucky with the weather, it was gloriously hot from about 10 am, exactly as the forecast said.  But at 6 am at the start I think it was only 6 degrees, so shorts, short sleeve top and short sleeve gloves were not helping against the cold.  

If you plan to drive in to the start on the day, get there early, like before half 5.  We left in the first few waves, and the queue of cars in the opposite direction must have been 5 miles or so, past where the ride turns away from the lake.  

Walking your bike up Hardknott is very tough, as others have said.   I can’t imagine how you would ride it in the wet.  If you sit on the nose of the saddle, you can just about spread your weight enough to keep the front down and the back still gripping.  Definitely practice this if you plan on riding up HK.  

The descents are tricky, Honister has a bridge which you turn right into and then left to get off, someone had a bad accident there.  Hardknott and Wrynose are just as bad, very steep, with rippled tarmac so push your butt off the back of the seat, get low, and keep your speed down.

[SingleSpeed]

65kg and I’m XC/Cross race

65kg and I’m XC/Cross race fit, but don’t fancy spending any more money than required it’s already looking like costing the best part of week in Mallorca…it’s closer to drive to France from Devon than Keswick!

I regularly spin up Haytor, Widdecome, Dartmeet on my current gearing but know the Lakes Well and the severity of some of the hills with a century in your legs…I’m more inclinded to put some slicks & 42t ring on one my XC Race Bikes than mess with my Willier, though that may I fear cause derision in the riders around me. 

[CXR94Di2]

I’ve just completed a week in
I’ve just completed a week in Tenerife riding every day. Most riders were 70-80kg and coped with a 50/34 and 32t back sprocket. I the other hand weigh nearly a 100kg and used a XT MTB setup with a low ratio of 28 front and 40 rear. This allowed me to keep spinning happily. One rider who was big a me, had a standard setup and struggled as the climbs went on and was always last by at least an hour each day trying to keep up. Gear correctly for the event you’re entering.

[snappyandrew]

Having done it last year with

Having done it last year with a compact chorus and a 32 I’ll say that you may die.   You may be a better , and more importantly, lighter (77kg here) man than me though

SingleSpeed wrote:

Pants…

Looks like I’ve got a place on the 2017 ride. Last time I rode Hardknott was on my Dads Eddy Mercxx with a low gear of 42-23 or something ridiculously old school. Track Stands and Zig Zags!

My Willier has Chorus Mid Compact and 25 on the back…Anyone done it on this ratio, will I die?

[SingleSpeed]

Pants…

Pants…

Looks like I’ve got a place on the 2017 ride. Last time I rode Hardknott was on my Dads Eddy Mercxx with a low gear of 42-23 or something ridiculously old school. Track Stands and Zig Zags!

My Willier has Chorus Mid Compact and 25 on the back…Anyone done it on this ratio, will I die?

[Daveyraveygravey]

Does anyone know when you are

Does anyone know when you are notified if you have a place on the reserve list?

[rjfrussell]

KnowThyInnerTube wrote:

Definitely need good brakes, the descent was bad enough; I was able to slow down but I probably wouldn’t have been able to stop. 

 

They’re doing hydraulic disc brakes on road bikes now, which are quite effective….

 

There doesn’t seem to be an emoji for a man throwing a hand grenade into a crowd.

[rjfrussell]

dave atkinson wrote:

snappy: how fit are you? how much do you weigh?

Hardknott and Wrynose (and Honister, to a lesser extent) are pretty brutal. When I rode the FW I was reasonably fit but overweight (98kg) – I got up Hardknott on a 34×32 but I reckon I’d have been walking on anything bigger.

It’s a good idea to practice the technical skill of riding stuff that’s 25% plus. A lot of people are walking not because they’re not fit enough to climb it, but because they’ve stopped because they’ve spun out the rear wheel and it’s impossible to get going again. Fit grippy tyres 🙂

 

what grippy tyres do you recommend-  doing RVV in April and have similar worries about spinning on the cobbles.

[KnowThyInnerTube]

I did the route a couple of

I did the route a couple of years ago. Fitted a triple (30-40-50) and 28 tooth on the cassette. This was small enough to get a big bloke like me up ( I was 110 kg at that time). I also used mtb shoes and pedals; I didn’t walk but my riding partner did, in his keo’s, and we ended up the next day having to drive over the Wrynose etc to Ambleside to buy new cleats as he wore his out. One other problem is if you have to stop for any reason (e.g. oncoming traffic), then starting again can be an issue, learning to navigate between wheelspins and wheelies takes some concentration (keep your weight low). Definitely need good brakes, the descent was bad enough; I was able to slow down but I probably wouldn’t have been able to stop. Alternate braking and use cadence braking as it is supposed to allow your rims to cool down a bit. If you can, go up a size on your tyres and run them at a slightly lower pressure, if only for the extra confidence. For accurate and scientific advice on tyre pressures, try http://www.bikequarterly.com/images/TireDrop.pdf. Good luck.

[Batchy]

Duncann wrote:

I swapped my regular rings for two MTB ones and ground (grinded?) my way up in 32×25. It was tough but not as tough as I’d dreaded. I wouldn’t have managed in 39×25 though! 

As mentioned earlier, the descent is less fun :/

On a different note, make sure to reserve your bike on the trains if possible. There’s limited space and it’s likely there will be more demand than supply. If you can’t get on the local train from Oxenholme to Windermere and have to ride it, there’s a pretty, quiet route to the North of the (pretty horrible) main road.

Yes . You need to take the Burneside road out of Kendal then through Cowan Head to Staveley ( of Wheelbase and Wilf’s fame ). From there use the cycle path to Windermere which runs alongside the main road.

[CXR94Di2]

jamesofyorkshire wrote:

jamesofyorkshire wrote:

“I have done a simulated ride over the hardknott pass and Wynrose. Two very stiff climbs. I had 34×40 setup so could spin up. But to do those types of hills again and again over 100 miles . All the best, lucky lottery winner – See more at: http://road.cc/content/forum/175626-fred-whitton-advice#comment-form”

 

You can’t ‘simulate’ Hardknott….especially the last hairpin with the broken road.

Not sure about you ‘spinning up’ either……

Not to mention weather conditions, which are unlikely to be ideal.

 

I’m also doing the Fred this year. I’ll try anyway. I’ve done all the passes individually but doing them all on the same day? I’m dreading it!

 

Yes you’re right but having a video of the hill and resistance on the turbo from the simulator, you can get a real sensation of how stiff it would be in real life. I’d cycled on a setup up 34×40 @ 75 rpm approx 250w The profile on the simulator has a few small less steep sections which allow you to get a little recovery. I can’t remember how long it took but it was more than 20 mins of hard work. Hills are not my forte I prefer much less steep terrain, but I do like a challenge sometimes.

I did a session a few weeks back where some 60 other riders were involved I was 10th at the bottom of a 6 mile hill, which I was pleased with. By the top of the hill I was 40th position. It was rather depressing watch riders ease by 🙁 I made up for it on the down hill but not enough to recovery the lost distance on the climb , finishing more than 10 minutes behind the winners. Hill climbers will make big riders look ridiculously slow

[jamesofyorkshire]

“I have done a simulated ride

“I have done a simulated ride over the hardknott pass and Wynrose. Two very stiff climbs. I had 34×40 setup so could spin up. But to do those types of hills again and again over 100 miles . All the best, lucky lottery winner – See more at: http://road.cc/content/forum/175626-fred-whitton-advice#comment-form”

 

You can’t ‘simulate’ Hardknott….especially the last hairpin with the broken road.

Not sure about you ‘spinning up’ either……

Not to mention weather conditions, which are unlikely to be ideal.

 

I’m also doing the Fred this year. I’ll try anyway. I’ve done all the passes individually but doing them all on the same day? I’m dreading it!

 

[Dnnnnnn]

Simon E wrote:

From what seen and heard, it’s how your body copes towards the end of the ride that’s the issue. Which means long, hilly rides are what is needed.

But also training your brain (a hot topic the moment) can apparently make a big difference, possibly between whether you get round or climb off.

The “end of the ride” point is a good one – it’s a different beast after the best part of 100 non-stop (and doubtless a little competitive) miles than – say – halfway around an afternoon pootle.

Make sure to take on board some nutrients in advance (alternatively, a proton pill would help!), and take it easy on the few flat miles from Eskdale Green to the foot of the madness!

[Jharrison5]

For those that missed out:
For those that missed out: the roads are still there on the other 364/5 days of the year. There are large parts of Cumbria that could probably do with your custom at the moment and it’s fabulous off season when it’s much less busy.

[Author]

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