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Forest of Dean Sportive - 4th May
The event took place on Sunday the 4th
of May and started in Monmouth, Wales. It is
comparatively short at 85 miles, but with over 8,000m of
classified climbing, including long continental style 3
milers and 25% walls, was certainly a challenge.
I had originally set myself a target of
below 5 hours for the ride. However due to torrential
rain the night before, along with two major down pours
during the ride, this made descending potentially very
hazardous. Many of the roads where covered with grit and
standing water. So I made the decision to take it easy
on the descents (some of which are 15 – 20% with
hairpins). This of course cost me time (and brake
blocks) but meant I am here in one piece.
The ride is essentially 85 miles of
climbing up the valley (there are 14 classified climbs),
and then descending back into the valley before climbing
again in a different place. While it is not as long or
has the same feature climbs (Mow Cow etc) as other rides
it soon becomes a total war of attrition. Imagine doing
85 miles and climbing a longer, or steeper North Hill
Little Baddow 14 times, and this will give you some idea
of the pain involved, at no point does the course appear
to be flat. My final time was 5hr: 20, which initially I
was disappointed with. However it is a gold time for my
age group, and looking at other times in hindsight seems
respectable.
This is a challenging but enjoyable ride
in a beautiful part of the country. It is excellent
preparation for the Dragon ride, or even as a taster for
a major continental event.
Darren Frostick
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