Cycle Derby Sportive

Today the inaugural Cycle Derby Sportive from outside the brand new Pride Park Velodrome, which isn’t open yet. Which I’m sure must have been the original intention. So it's a rather large publicity own goal as the Velodrome isn't due to open until January, I’m not sure a January sportive would have been that much fun. 

Both L and I have opted for the 50 mile route and as it’s a mass start, we start effectively hand in hand. We are waved off by the compère who does Ironmans, Derby County’s Rammie who showed up late and my father who has come to document the event.

There are over a thousand cyclists and it’s turned out to be a really sunny day to take on the Derbyshire countryside.

It’s an interesting course and they take us through Derby on coned off roads. It isn’t quite the city centre route that was promised on the map but it’s not bad. The first challenge is a lap around Carsington Water and the climb up to Middleton, albeit from the gentle side.

I reach the first checkpoint just past Middleton, 21 miles done, in 1:20. The feed has the usual energy stuff but no cake, only haribos and bananas. L texts to say she’s lonely and quite possibly the Flame Rouge. I attempt to raise flagging spirits.

There is cake at the second stop at Coxbench, yay, 36 miles down in 2:22. The cake is appreciated as there’s been some interesting climbs around Crich and Heage which made Middleton Top look like a molehill. It’s also a nice touch to have Derby College students filling your drinks bottles for you. Apparently James Corden did the short route (the wimp) but didn’t stop at the feed station much to the students’ dismay.

L texts... shoot me now. I’m sure she’s enjoying it really.

After Coxbench, I finally get down on the aeros and blitz the last bit. Job done, 52 miles in 3:14.

Overall I thought it was a good route and well organised. The only criticism really was that the direction arrows were plentiful but a bit small. Quite a few folk took wrong turns and had to yelled back onto route by the rest of us.

L texts... go home I’ll be hours. Hmmm, bit of chivvying required. I pedal back to Locko Park which is on the route and only 3 miles as the crow flies from the finish. Then I ride the route with L, another 10 miles in all.

John 'Tommo' Thompson Memorial Ride

The conditions were a touch Autumnal for the John 'Tommo' Thompson Memorial Ride today. e.g. it was well chilly and it looked like it was going to bucket it down any moment. I think the aim by most people, us included, was to get up to the start at Carsington Water and get on with asap before the heavens opened.

As it happened they opened almost immediately after we had started but thankfully only lightly. It then fined up and stayed dry until we were safely in the car heading home afterwards. I hear some of the folk on the longest route weren't so lucky.

The route, around the Peak District and the Staffordshire Moorlands, consisted of hills, hills and more hills. Bloody hard it was. I got the distinct impression that the organisers did not attempt to avoid any climbs whatsoever and even went out of their way to find the most fearsome ones.

The route took us over part of the Ashbourne Half Marathon course that I did last year. I couldn't believe I managed to run up those hills.

I attempted the 76k route, L did the 45k. Both had a feed station at Thorpe but by differing routes. I beat L there by ten minutes over a slightly longer route but then her shorter route home beat me back to the finish.

In between I had an altercation with a wasp, that kindly embedded itself in my face by it's sting as I bombed downhill at something approaching 40mph. There it hung there laughing as I attempted to either shake it off or to slow down and stop. Eventually I managed the later putting my leg down on a verge resplendent in deep nettles in the process. Double ouch. I nearly hit the tarmac but managed to stay upright, just or else that would have been a triple ouch.

The sting wasn’t pleasant and started to swell up pretty quickly, I always get a reaction to stings but it didn’t get really bad until much later. After I had valiantly completed the course and got back to Carsington where there was plenty of very welcome tea and cake.