As residents in the South of England prepared themselves for the fiercest storm in over a decade, almost a thousand cyclists took to the roads of Northamptonshire intent on completing the Wiggle Circuit Breaker Sportive regardless of weather forecasters' warnings.
The event was based at the Silverstone Circuit: a venue that is more accustomed to 200mph MotoGP bikes than the pedal-powered variety, but which boasts impressive facilities. Silverstone is also ideally located to offer some challenging circular routes taking in both Northamptonshire and Warwickshire, and the 144km Epic route wound a path through some wonderful countryside.
My riding partner for the day was Steve, a friend I met on a motoring website which has a good number of cyclists among its regular forum members. We were also joined by "virtual man", the virtual riding partner who was just one of the many features built into the Garmin 510 Steve hired from the GPS Company for the day. "Virtual man" would ride at a pace of 25 km/h throughout the day and had the advantage of not needing to stop for emergencies or calls of nature, so to beat him would require a good consistent pace and some discipline at the ever-reliable and highly commendable Wiggle feed stations.
Along with "virtual man" the other ever-present would be the wind. Be it a headwind or a well-received tailwind, as few as there were, the weather forecast had made it clear that this would be a tough day in the saddle. Most noticeable were the side winds which made their appearance through the gaps in the hedges during the first 30km or so of the ride as the route took us north away from Silverstone to Weedon Bec through some pleasant country lanes. This was not a day for your deep carbon rims.
At 40km we were comfortably ahead of "virtual man" and mocking his stately speed. We reached the first feed station and remained true to our intention of spending as little time as possible off the bike. The tempting flapjack proved too much however, and with a handful of jelly beans in the jersey pocket we were back on the road.
Clothing on a dry but windy day is a difficult decision, but I was delighted with the level of comfort afforded by my Castelli bib tights, and I am a big fan of the Kiss3 pad. On top I had a long sleeve thermal base layer, a long sleeve jersey and our forum cycling jersey. Both jerseys have full zips which meant I could control my body temperature to maintain my comfort. Although the rain did eventually arrive later in the ride, it was not enough to warrant unpacking the shower jacket I had rolled up in a jersey pocket.
From the first feed station it would be 20km before the course split and the Epic route turned west, adding an additional 52km and the only categorised hill on the route. The terrain at this point was undulating and "Virtual man" was making good progress, but we still maintained a slender advantage. However, any thoughts we might have had that this would be a easy victory were soon forgotten. The course rose steadily towards a reservoir and as the gradient increased our average speed began to fall.
Thankfully, as we crested the summit and dropped down the other side my speed hit 59.5 km/h, and I began to feel that such descents could be our opportunity to build on a slender lead which we would maintain through more open countryside to the second feed station. Caution was required throughout the ride however, as overnight winds had brought branches down onto the roads and wet leaves were strewn across most of the route. Although not as busy as the summer sportives, there were a good number of people riding the Epic route and it was hard to resist occasionally sheltering from the wind as we bridged the gap to catch one small group after another, shamelessly riding in their slipstream until we were noticed.
The second feed stop, again laden with flapjack, bananas and jelly babies would be a brief halt, but one where we would meet another forum member. We were keen to get away quickly and with pleasantries exchanged, conscious that "virtual man" has no friends, we were back on our way - now heading towards the sound of the M40.
The only categorised hill on the route turned out to be the superbly enjoyable climb through the open expanse of Burton Dassett Country Park. Topping out at just 200m, the summit afforded wonderful views towards Gloucestershire. At just over 1.6km long and with an average gradient of 5.5%, everyone was soon aware that they had just reached the 100km point of the ride; as the climb began to sap energy from weary legs, the second feed stop seemed like a long time ago. The ever-present wind was noticeable at the summit and would catch out the unwary, so a rapid descent back into the country lanes north of Banbury offered a welcome refuge.
At this point I began to tire but Steve was still strong and I took up position on his rear wheel for a while to take on some food and drink. Burton Dassett had put a dent in our average speed and together with the brief conversation at the second feed station, we were now in deficit against "virtual man" - but only by a few minutes. Steve put in a turn in front which would have made Richie Porte proud and now slightly restored, I allowed Steve some respite and did a spot of pacemaking myself, even occasionally dropping Steve on the short, punchy climbs that littered the route back to the circuit. Aware that the gold standard finishing time was now beyond us, and a big congratulations to those who left Silverstone with such a result, we pushed on in pursuit of a silver standard time of sub six hours.
With a tailwind behind us we attacked the final 20km and a short hill outside Wappenham would split Steve and I for the next ten minutes or so as I set off in pursuit of a rider using tri-bar extensions who had recently overtaken us. I kept the gap between us pegged to about ten seconds, but was also conscious that I was bringing down the gap to "virtual man", monitoring his progress on my own Garmin bike computer. At one point the gap was a little over 40 seconds, but I was beginning to feel the effects of such a pace so long into the ride. A glance over my shoulder and Steve was some hundred or so metres behind: obviously, keeping me in sight was the motivation he needed too! A final climb through the village of Abthorpe and the 5km to go sign was in sight.
Silverstone village really is one for the motorsport enthusiast, with roads named after the great British racing drivers of the past. We rode through the village gladly acknowledging Graham Hill and Hawthorn Drive - we are from a motoring forum after all! - but sadly it would be the final 3km that would be our downfall. A gentle incline on the approach to the circuit and a brutal headwind combined to keep our speed below 20 km/h and we knew we were out of the race. We rode the final kilometre together, Steve having caught up as we entered the circuit, and a racing driver experience event taking place on the circuit reminded us that we had arrived back at the start. Although beaten by "virtual man", that final push in the closing 20km had earned us a silver finishing standard with barely half a minute to spare.
The Wiggle Circuit Breaker sportive was a great way to finish our sportive season, and although the autumnal wind will long be the talking point of the event for those who were there, the route was neatly crafted through the countryside to provide a stern challenge in an area short on noticeable climbs but rich in undulating countryside. With the exemplary Wiggle signage and feed stations, even the timing of the event long after summer has passed should not deter you from entering in 2014. We will be back - and "virtual man" had better spend the winter training.
0 Comments