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A wet sportive…

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  • August 4, 2014 at 11:01 pm #22071
    Leviathan

    [Yes, this is another Ride London 100 thread] So the weather for this weekend is looking 50/50, which raises the prospect of doing a sportive event in the rain. Recently there has been a couple of threads of interest, one about a gent who hadn’t done enough training for the RL100, and another about fear of descending. I’ve clocked up many miles this year and even some hills and at least years event topped out at 73kph coming down off Leith Hill, a speed I have never got anywhere close on an open road (anything over 50 is a bit worrying).

    Believe me it rains in Manchester, like anywhere else, but commuting to work it totally flat. If I am out on a training run I don’t tend to set off in the wet and if it starts coming down I don’t need to push it downhill.

    The answer is obviously not to take any risks (it’s not a race right? I don’t want to be in hospital with a broken leg, I have a train the catch.) The problem is if I am going up hill slowly and then downhill slowly too I have no chance of bettering last years time. I need the fast downhills to average my pace out. But if it is sketchy I am going to be on the brakes all the way down. I don’t want to be hit from behind by someone with a bike that makes swooshy noises as it goes by. How to maintain a reasonable pace in the wet or just recalibrate my expectations?

    yours Sincerely, Thor Hushovd.

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  • August 6, 2014 at 8:19 am #807659
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    glynr36

    andyp wrote:’Anyone

    andyp wrote:
    ’Anyone descending on the brakes i.e with their brakes on all the way down is just causing trouble for everyone else. ‘

    Agreed it’s not the wisest of strategies – but everyone else can go f*ck themselves. It’s not up to them how someone wants to ride. IT’S NOT A RACE.

    This, far too many people treat sportives like a race.

    If people are causing you trouble go pin a number in your back and ride with people who want to race.

    August 6, 2014 at 8:09 am #807657
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    Maggers

    The road surface on the way
    The road surface on the way down Leith hill is terrible in places. There’s no way I’d want to do 74km/hr in the dry let alone the wet down there. If it is wet I’d be pretty annoyed with someone thumping into me if they lost control on a decent.

    This year I’m looking to up my pace by making the most of the flatish long stretches:

    Stratford to Richmond.
    The section along to Newlands corner.
    The section from Newlands corner to Arb Hammer
    The section along the Thames towards Wimbledon.
    The last stretch up the embankment.

    The forcast is for rain after Late morning with a bit of luck on a 6.22 start I’ll miss it. Bet the forcast changes though.

    August 6, 2014 at 7:44 am #807655
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    andyp

    ‘Anyone descending on the
    ‘Anyone descending on the brakes i.e with their brakes on all the way down is just causing trouble for everyone else. ‘

    Agreed it’s not the wisest of strategies – but everyone else can go f*ck themselves. It’s not up to them how someone wants to ride. IT’S NOT A RACE.

    August 6, 2014 at 6:19 am #807653
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    CXR94Di2

    Unless you use disc brakes,
    Unless you use disc brakes, far more immune to picking up grit. Work straight away in any condition. 🙂

    August 5, 2014 at 10:47 pm #807651
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    Must be Mad

    riding in the wet tends to
    riding in the wet tends to chew up break pads nice quick – all the grit on the roads will stick to the wheels, which will ‘sandpaper’ the pads down when you hit the breaks.

    If its going to be doing 100miles wet – I would definitely fit new pads beforehand.

    (Downhill? I thought it was a flat course?)

    August 5, 2014 at 10:06 pm #807649
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    Leviathan

    Thanks for all the replies, I
    Thanks for all the replies, I am surprised this thread has got so much traction. 😀

    I already have an Ass-saver. I see there is no patent on little bits of black plastic, maybe I should make my own brand version. I don’t have any mud-guards (garlic-bread?.)

    I hope not to have to set a wet time like Top Gear (2012 Wiggins should have TTd it.) I hope too if it is wet that Neil is right with his calculations I will have to concentrate on the flat. Needless to say I am not a 3:30 man. I am trying to beat 6:02. I was off my bike 35mins last year in total so I know what my ride speed and rest time targets are, I hoped just experience would make a big difference but not if the conditions are all different.

    Some of these downhills will just accelerate you up to Pro-speed-when-you-are-not-a-pro. Braking, turning, and dodging potholes in the slick could be awful. Will just have to keep my fingers crossed.

    August 5, 2014 at 6:15 pm #807647
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    Crosshair

    The thing to remember about
    The thing to remember about annual events is that the weather often is different. It will clear your mind to imagine yourself setting a ‘wet’ time (like Top Gear I guess) rather than trying to beat a dry one. Ride smoothly, safely and leave every last ounce of fitness you’ve got on the hills and you might still be surprised.

    Oh and I’d have loved a place so be grateful 😉

    August 5, 2014 at 5:33 pm #807645
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    FatAndFurious

    If you’re looking to improve
    If you’re looking to improve on your 3h30 record, then yes, the rain will spoil your day 🙂

    However, if you’re like me, you’ll looking at 6h30 hours for a reasonably solo 100 miler. With some training under my belt, I’d be after a 5h30 time, so even if it was chucking it down, I still feel I would have 40-45 minutes in my pocket to improve on my time by being quicker on the flat and uphill sections, which is where you spend most of your time.

    If you’ve got a track of last year’s ride, see if you can work out your averages on the downhill bits and then imagine how much you might trim that for the conditions. It won’t be as much as you fear, I reckon.

    A simple example:

    Disclaimer – never ridden the route, don’t know the roads, and just reviewed the profile of the route on someone’s upload at RideWithGps. From a really simple mouse-over of the profile, I reckon there’s about 30km of downhill section spread across the route. Feel free to correct.

    You say you topped out at 73kmh, and are concerned about that sort of speed in the wet, so let’s say you limit your top speed to 40kmh. For that one hill, at maybe 4km in length, that is a time difference of a whole 2’43” if you compare doing 73km to 40kmh ALL THE WAY DOWN.

    Now you’re not going to be doing that speed down all 30km. Let’s compare averages of 55kmh to 35kmh. That’s only 18’40” slower for the downhill bits over the whole 100miles.

    At my level, it’s a fun day out. I’ve seen the skidmarks and enough ripped lycra on sportives to know that some folk have more enthusiasm than talent. Don’t risk your day out trying to stay ahead of such people.

    August 5, 2014 at 12:46 pm #807643
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    realdeal

    Yes of course to braking for
    Yes of course to braking for a corner or a slower rider, personally I tend to try and hop over potholes if I can, however, I’m prepared to accept your technique may work for you.

    If you read it my comment talks of descending on the brakes and I stand by it. Anyone descending on the brakes i.e with their brakes on all the way down is just causing trouble for everyone else.

    As for being the real deal.. well that was a harmless stab at irony nothing more!

    August 5, 2014 at 11:57 am #807641
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    arrieredupeleton

    realdeal wrote:There’s no

    realdeal wrote:
    There’s no point paying for a closed road event then having to descend on the brakes… no point at all.

    ..unless there is a corner ahead, a slower rider braking or potholes…..

    You must be the real deal eh?

    To the OP: Accept you’ll be slower than last year now and enjoy it. Your time won’t be important to anyone but you. Good luck.

    August 5, 2014 at 11:43 am #807639
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    Anthony.C

    It is only Tuesday, nobody
    It is only Tuesday, nobody really knows what the weather will be like in London on Sunday. My guess is that it will be lovely and sunny with a strong tailwind back to London.

    August 5, 2014 at 11:38 am #807637
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    S13SFC

    realdeal wrote:There’s no

    realdeal wrote:
    There’s no point paying for a closed road event then having to descend on the brakes… no point at all.

    Guess that depends on how confident you are descending in the wet.

    August 5, 2014 at 11:30 am #807635
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    realdeal

    There’s no point paying for a
    There’s no point paying for a closed road event then having to descend on the brakes… no point at all.

    August 5, 2014 at 11:29 am #807633
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    usedtobefaster

    I did the Etape du Tour in
    I did the Etape du Tour in brutal conditions this year and bought an ArseSaver under saddle plastic stuby mudguard the day before which is the best 10 euros I’ve ever spent. Best part is it stopped that wet strip feeling when you’re behind is getting a soaking from the rear wheel spray.

    August 5, 2014 at 11:07 am #807631
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    PaulBox

    Consider a mucky nutz butt
    Consider a mucky nutz butt fender, not sure how much help it will offer to riders in your wake, but it will help keep your back-side drier than it otherwise would be.

    Grips/clips itself on to your seat rails, weighs next to nothing and can slip in to your back pocket if you’re worried about how it looks when it’s not raining. Mine is white, I think you can get clear also.

    http://www.velodromeshop.net/index.php?p=product&id=2222&gclid=CjwKEAjwgYKfBRDvgJeylem9xDUSJACjeQ7AtcEfHLdCjz0av1RL4qD1PFZkL9r9X-Q7kaPVd_Rz5xoC84nw_wcB

    Other sources are available…

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