Pendle Sportif

Prior to this event my "B" sample is due back from the lab. The "A" sample that was taken following my last Club run in July showed elevated signs of mediocre cycling ability to effort. I have no reason to believe the "B" sample will be any different. I plan to fight this, and show the world I can be just slightly better than mediocre at best. I swear to you I have no idea how the mediocre talent got in my blood. I think I naturally produce an abnormally high amount of slack and can provide a lifetime of proof that will support it.

As I drove the ¾ hr journey to the start my mind was preoccupied by the days riding ahead. All the other sportive events I have completed were a ride into the unknown. This one is different because I know what lies ahead and it does not make good reading. 100 miles with 9 official climbs and a total of 3200 metres of climbing to be negotiated. This year (with the birth of our daughter) has been more difficult to train and get some miles in my legs. On recent club runs my form has not been great at all so this ride is looking all the more daunting.

I unpack my gear in the car park and it becomes evident straight away that I have a choice to make. I wanted to take my digital camera to take some pictures for this report but if I take it then I have no room for my rain cape. Rain is forecast later in the day so I feel the cape is the correct choice under the circumstances. My club mate Alan Taylor appears quickly and Lee Hunt arrives in his car shortly afterwards. We are now just waiting for Lindsay to turn up but after getting no confirmation from him midweek we decide to give him a ring where he confirms he has chickened out with a lame excuse.

The 3 of us ride a short distance to the start where we meet Bill Dean from our club, so we have our 4 riders after all. After about 20 minutes we are off in a little group of 15 riders and the first 2 or 3 miles are all downhill. Straight away I'm thinking do we have to climb back up here at the end of the ride. We soon take a sharp right turn onto a narrow lane and chug up a really stiff little climb which is not even mentioned on the route card. There is plenty of talking which subsides as we start our first proper climb of the day Barley Fell. Lee and Alan pull away slightly as I spin my way up with Bill. I know that we will not see Lee & Alan for to much longer as they are good climbers and Lee in particular has good form this year. We all get over the fell with no problems with fresh legs and ride through Downham and Chatburn on our way to Waddington Fell. The four of us are all still together as we start to climb but then my cape falls out of my back pocket. By the time I have retrieved it my club mates have disappeared. I won't see Lee or Alan again for the rest of the day. A guy comes up along side me and we start chatting. He seems to have a southern accent and he is blissfully unaware of what horrors await him for the rest of the day. As we crest Waddington Fell together he comments on what a tough climb that was. I decide to just inform him of the impending Tatham Fell which is just horrible and not any of the other 18 certificate fells to come. The descent off Waddington Fell is just fantastic, I know it well and hit 42mph as I scream towards our next challenge.

After riding through Newton and Slaidburn we start climbing Lamb Fell which we have to get over to start Tatham Fell. Just before Lamb Fell I catch up with Bill and I'm feeling really good so far but we have only done 22 miles. Lamb Fell is a bit of a grind but in the context of this day, a mere pimple of a climb. At the top we stop briefly to eat some energy bar and have a drink before setting off for Tatham. As you descend Lamb Fell you can see Tatham ahead of you as it stretches off into the stratosphere. As we cross the cattle grid it's straight onto the triple for the both of us. Tatham Fell is more mental than anything else. The gradient is not that bad till the very end but it is very long and you can see it all set out in front of you. As I grind up with Bill we are staying in a comfort zone as we talk all the way up the climb. Every time you look up there are what seems like hundreds of little dots strewn on the road as cyclists toil to the top. As we amble our way up we pass many riders who are really struggling and some actually walking. Do these people know what they have signed up for; there are still 75 miles to go. Tatham Fell has a kick right at the end with the gradient rising to 15-20% for the last ½ mile. Over this section Bill just goes over the summit in front of me by about 20 yards. The descent is fast and twisty so you have to be careful. Ever since breaking my collarbone last year in a bad crash while descending, my nerve has completely gone when going down technical descents. After about only 5 minutes of going downhill I notice Bill way off in the distance. Now Bill is no Paulo Savodelli so it is fair to say I'm going downhill embarrassingly slowly again.

As I turn to head towards Wray, 37 miles have been covered and 3 climbs have been chalked off. I'm feeling really good, legs are fine but I am still just riding in my own comfort zone constantly resisting jumping on the wheel of faster riders who are coming past me. Shortly after riding trough Wray I am joined by Eric from the Preston wheelers who I briefly met on the Lakes weekend before breaking my collarbone and a club mate of his. We discuss the severity of this event and he is not sure whether he is going to make it round. They are going at my pace so we ride together till we arrive at the first feed station at the 44 mile point. The feed station is well stocked with energy mixed water and biscuits. As I tuck in Bill appears and after stopping for about 15 minutes we decide to press on. I look round for Eric but I can't see him so we headed off.

This event is really well organised with signs very clearly situated at every turn so it's very difficult to get lost. As we head towards the village of Quernmore which is at the foot of the climb up to Jubilee Tower I notice Bill has just dropped 10 yards off my back wheel. The 1^st half of this climb is really steep and tough so back on the triple chainring. I am finding this part hard going and I'm doing some serious sweating in the humid conditions. It's a real grind and my legs really feel the effort for the 1 ^st time. I look behind me to see Bill is rocking all over his bike and is now about 150yards down the road. Luckily the 2^nd half is very gradual and relatively easy going. As I approach the Tower at the summit I look behind and see plenty of cyclists but no sign of Bill at all. I decide to carry on thinking I will see him at the next feed station or he may catch me on the descent. I'm now on the main Trough of Bowland road and making good progress towards Boundary Hill. In no time at all I arrive at the bottom of the climb and find a good rhythm on the triple again. Riders are coming past me but they are blowing big time, I may be going relatively easy but could have had a conversation no problem at all. Boundary Hill goes a lot better than I was expecting and the legs feel better than they did on Jubilee. Everyone who rides through the Trough knows that the descent has a couple of tricky corners at the bottom. A lady rider in Dolan gear comes screaming past me, I shout to slow down. Not sure whether she heard me or knows the road herself but she makes it round through the corners. As I amble through there are a group of worried cyclists tending to a rider who has come off. He looked a little shook up and holding his back but in one piece, I'm sure he wont be the only one as its so easy to gain speed on the steep part and then your deep in the first corner and its all she wrote I'm afraid. On the stretch to Dunsop Bridge I'm flying on a road which is mainly slightly downhill. Dunsop Bridge signifies the 65 mile point and 6 climbs chalked off.

Next up is Little Bowland which is a road I hate, its steep at the start but after that it just rolls up and down which just seems to sap your legs more than you feel it should. On Little Bowland there are a few riders sitting on the verge, having a breather and obviously starting to feel the strain. As I ride through Chipping I start to feel it a little myself. I eat some more energy bar to make sure I don't take the knock which would be catastrophic at this point. I am now stuck in a rhythm that I just can't change no matter what. I don't feel really bad but there is absolutely no chance I can up my speed by 1 mph. Next is Longridge fell and that is a climb I know really well and although I'm not feeling great it is not causing me any great concern. Half way across it however I am now concerned, it was a real struggle. Eric and friend catch me and swiftly leave me for dead. No one was happier than me to reach the 2^nd feedstation at the end of the fell. I lean my bike against the wall and walk over to the mass of food and water on the table. As I stuff my face I joke to the marshall that I'm banking on these biscuits getting me over Pendle Hill. He then tells me that I should be worrying about the climb out of Sadden which is worse. Hold on a minute I thought Pendle was the last climb, this is not good news. I have a chat to Eric who for someone who was not sure whether he would finish is looking pretty fresh. He also says he past Bill really struggling on Boundary Hill. On hearing that news I realise Bill is in for a tough finish and it's going to be a while till he arrives here. As I climb back on my bike I only have 20 miles to go with Pendle hill the only official climb left. It turns out to be the most brutal 20 miles I have ever ridden.

I immediately descend past Stoneyhurst College then head towards Clitheroe. My legs now feel totally dead and Pendle Hill is looming large in the distance. I always knew that Pendle was going to be horrible coming near the end of the ride. The road surface is not great and the start of it just grinds on a constant gradient. There are riders stopping all the time and we have not crossed the cattle grid yet where the pain really starts. As I cross it I'm on empty, I look up and I can see cars way off up in the distance which is so demoralising.

How am I going to get up there?

I am really digging deep now just concentrating on the peak of the next steep section and then the next one. Once I get to the pub half way up it changes to a constant gradient which is easier to just spin my highest gear. I cross the summit with two riders who are celebrating getting over the last climb. I quickly inform them that I've been told the worse is still to come. I'm really hoping that the guy at the feedstation was exaggerating. I don't have long to find out as Sabden is right at the bottom of Pendle Hill, we ride through the town then a marshall directs us left and then the real torture begins. Nothing could prepare you for this climb. The gradient according to my computer stayed between 25-30% all the way up. Riders were climbing off there bikes left right and centre. Others were weaving left and right to try to reduce the gradient. My legs had very little in them and they were screaming at me to get off. At the ¾ mark I start to weave from left to right which makes things a little better. At the top I am completely spent, as I ride up and down the rolling road there is just no power at all. I eventually arrive at a crossroads and recognise where I am. I take a left and then realise we are going to approach Newchurch in Pendle from the road on the left. Arthur had gone that way on a recent club run and said afterwards he remembered why we didn't go that way anymore because it was so steep. My Morale plummets as the prospect of another tough climb is just around the next corner. Again there are riders who are only equipped with double chainrings that are walking up. They would probably normally get up there but we have now done 95 miles and climbed 9000ft. I have to dig really deep one more time and crest the top thinking that's it; thank god the climbing is over. Unfortunately to my horror just 2 miles further down the road we have to climb up to Blacko. It's not as bad as the last two but still a massive struggle to get to the turn at the top. This time I know where I am and it is all downhill to the finish. There is a very slight uphill just before the end but finally after 7.38.40 in the saddle it is finally over. This time did actually include the ride from the car park to the start and the ride from the finish to my car so my actual race ride time would be nearer to 7.30.00.

IN SUMMARY

This was a great route and a superbly organised event. The weather was humid and overcast all day but with very little wind almost perfect, some of the later finishers would have got a little wet. Make no mistake it is an extremely challenging ride and far harder than the Grandfondo Polkadot challenge in the Peak District. The route is very quiet with not much traffic to worry about and very scenic as well. The feedstations are well stocked and organised. Considering my form I am very pleased to have completed the event with only stopping at the feedstations briefly and never putting my foot down at any other time. A triple or compact is a distinct advantage especially for the last 20 miles. I will definitely be back next year hopefully with better legs and a faster time.

SELECTED OFFICIAL RESULTS

171 Finishers DNF Unknown

1 .Dave Lloyd Dave Lloyd Coaching 5.40.47

42. Lee Hunt Southport CC 6.47.05

49. Allan Taylor Southport CC 6.54.36

102. Eric Maymon Preston Wheelers 7.39.41

121. Craig Middleton Southport CC 8.00.00

131. Bill Dean Southport CC 8.06.47

171. Ruth Thomas 9.55.19

1st-8^th 6hrs or lower, 8^th-52^nd 6-7 hrs, 52^nd-121^st 7-8hrs, 121^st-155^th 8-9hrs, 155^th-171^st 9hrs+

PROFILE FROM MY COMPUTER