Like groundhogs and daffodils, a key indicator of the changing of the seasons is the end of the Performance Cycles Winter Mini-Sportive series, which this year fell on Sunday 13 March. Like most good ideas the template for the series is simple in concept. From October to March an event is run each month, with the aim of keeping you cycling through the coldest months of the year.
Entry for each sportive is limited to 150 riders, and the price is right as well at £8.50 per event, or a slightly reduced price for signing up for all six. For your money you get the choice of a 45 or 65 mile marked route but no feed stations. You do get mechanical support on the ride in the form of an emergency number, along with parking, changing facilities and post-ride refreshments.
The base for all of the events is Lake 32 of the Cotswold Water Park. Sign-up for each ride is online via www.performancecycles.co.uk. Lots of the rides appear to have been a sell out, including the last one in March. However, there were some people registering on the day for £10 so contact with the organisers may be worthwhile if there appear to be no places available. The base at the Water Park has a changing room and toilets along with plenty of car parking in an adjacent field with marshals to ensure the best of order. The short walk from the field to registration can be a bit muddy so I've learnt to wear my wellies on sign up.
I arrived bang on 8.30am. There was no queue at registration, which involved a quick squiggle of my John Hancock before being handed a map of the route and a post-ride refreshment voucher. All of the riders then reconvened at 9.00am for a short briefing, before setting off in three groups a few minutes apart.
The routes for all the rides I have participated in during this series over the last two years have been flat and fast (although that's a relative term for me). The last one in the series usually has an extra hill or two as a gentle build up to bigger challenges in the summer, and this course stuck to that script. Having been off the bike for a month due to a minor operation I encountered what felt like short but significant slopes in about three places during the ride, but nothing that was insurmountable.
The weather was initially fantastic for mid-March: a bright sunny day with no wind, although I still opted for my warmest gear. I was thankful of this later in the ride when it clouded over considerably and the temperature went down instead of up.
The route was billed as a brand new one at the briefing and it headed west through the Wiltshire countryside through Kemble and on to Frampton Mansell before heading north. There was no GPS download that I was aware of, but the directional markers of white arrows on a red background were clear throughout the course. It was mainly a diet of country lanes and small Cotswold villages which made for great cycling.
The road turned south and east again after about 20 miles. There was an extended section through a forest where I had to keep my wits about me because my bike handling skills are not always the best. That section of road had a lot of gravel and mud down the middle which meant there was only a narrower strip to cycle on along either side.
I'd felt better than expected to start with on the ride and managed to sit at the back of a group of three or four riders for a long time until I felt the energy drain away just over 30 miles in. I'd been religiously taking gels and energy bars so I think it was just a lack of stamina that found me out.
The route headed back home through Barnsley and directly past the Performance Cycles HQ in Ampney. This was one of the feed stations for their Cotswold Spring Classic Sportive last year and this year's renewal is on 28 March, Easter Monday, with a few spaces still available when I last looked.
As usual with the Winter Mini-Series the route split was towards the end of the ride so you can get a really good idea for how you feel before making the big decision on whether to go short or long. It was a no-brainer for me on this occasion and I went short. I missed out on an additional route via Fairford and instead headed back through the Water Park to the finish.
At the end I hooked my bike on one of the racks and exchanged my refreshment vouchers for a coffee, bacon bap and a slice of cake and some biscuits. Pretty good value for £8.50, and I hope the series will continue again from October 2016. In the mean time there's the Spring and Autumn Classics from the same organisers to keep me busy.
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