Virgin Money Cyclone

tomscott

tomscott

Elite
 Manchester
Hey Guys!

Seen as tho were a forum full of cyclists and quite a few in the NE I was wondering if anyone was doing the Virgin Money Cyclone?

Me and 3 of my mates are doing it next Saturday, 104 miles for Prostate Cancer. My Gpa had prostate cancer so quite proud to do it for him. Hoping to do it in under 5 hours but looks pretty hilly!! We shall see.

Anyway be great to put some forum names to faces.. although im sure sweaty! lol!!
 
tomscott said:
Hey Guys!

Seen as tho were a forum full of cyclists and quite a few in the NE I was wondering if anyone was doing the Virgin Money Cyclone?

Me and 3 of my mates are doing it next Saturday.....

Hoping to do it in under 5 hours but looks pretty hilly!! We shall see.
Click to expand...

Well Tom, if you manage to average over 20mph on that course in under 5 hours then I'll tip my hat to you and think you ought to be riding the Tour de France in July. Best of luck. My son cycles those roads on a regular basis and has ridden the Fred Whitton Challenge and he reckons the roads in that area are very tough and he's a very experienced cyclist. :wink:

'Ride C – 104 miles - Black Route
A serious challenge for the more experienced cyclists or those who are very fit. The route is very hilly with 2374m (7789ft) of climbing. The route is very choppy with 8 significant climbs and the highest point is Troughend Common (340m), west of Otterburn in the Cheviot Hills. There are 4 feed stations on this route at Forestburngate, Elsdon, Wark and Stamfordham.'
 
The aim doesnt mean it will be accomplished! If we can do it below 6hrs 30mins we will be quite happy! Lol But we are all fairly hard core cyclists and on most of our 100+ mile runs average about 18mph on the racers. Were all from Cumbria, it is one giant hill so im not worried everywhere we go here is a hill ride so were quite used to it. One of the lads rides for nationals and is competing in the race on the Friday night. So we will see!

Weve been doing about 300 miles a week training for the last 6 weeks so should get on ok :thumbsup:

If the highest point is 340m then thats fairly average for climbs round here. I did a 90 mile ride weekend before last which is pretty much the reverse of what we did on the Cumbria national meet going over from Penrith to Ullswater over Kirkston Pass which is 1,489 feet (454 m) then Honister 1,167 feet (356 m) coming back round Winlatter which at its highest point isnt far off the other two then into keswick and back to Penrith.

Anyway without getting too carried away with timing etc thats not really what its about just a fairly unachievable goal we set to keep us motivated. Its more that we feel pretty strongly for the charity and hopefully will raise some good money to help them do more for people with Prostate Cancer :thumbsup:
 
300 miles a week for the last 6 weeks, b****y hell I didn't realise you were a Pro. Anyway best of luck mate on that course. I think a target of 6 hours 30 minutes is more realistic looking at the course route and the heavy roads in that area. :wink:

https://virginmoneycyclone.co.uk/downloads/Route_CycloneChallengeRideC.jpg
 
Few beers and half a cheese board later... Alarms set for 6:30am will let you guys know how we get on!
 
Well we did it in 6hrs 45mins was awesome but hit the wall at about 80 we had a head wind for 40 miles and it just killed it. But never the less was great my mate Olly came 7th in the Leazes Criteriums on friday night which is a great achievement and we raised £1000 really chuffed :thumbsup:
 
tomscott said:
Well we did it in 6hrs 45mins was awesome but hit the wall at about 80 we had a head wind for 40 miles and it just killed it.
Click to expand...

Well done, mate I knew that it would be tough. Couldn't quite manage the 'Silver standard' but nevertheless you did very well.
Only 9 riders got the 'Gold standard' last year and the quickest rider was around the 5 hour 30 minutes mark so I knew that your 'under 5 hour target' would be impossible.
You'll have to have a bash at your local 'Fred Whitton Challenge' next May, 115 miles in total, and classed as the hardest sportive in the UK. Wrynose and Hardknott climbs in the last 15-20 miles!!

You'll enjoy your beer tonight! :wink:
 
Cheers guys, ye in hindsight def underestimated the route. In all we climbed 10,000ft it was relentless especially into the headwind, and def more training was needed although I did a lot in a small period of time it def wasnt enough. Anyway heres a few pics!

at the second fuel stop
1009902_608403924353_887885619_n.jpg


at the end

1003664_608403929343_1188338832_n.jpg


1011716_608403904393_2050208090_n.jpg
 
Lad I sit next to at work did it in 5:40:55... 55 seconds off gold standard gutted! Still came 25th I think though. Winner was a pro and did it in 5:13...

Still a great time Tom and money raised for a good cause... good on ya mate :thumbsup:
 
Ali_Z4C said:
Winner was a pro and did it in 5:13...
Click to expand...

That fastest time was exceptional, 15-20 minutes quicker than previous two year's fastest times. Less than 10 people in these events got the 'Gold Standard'.

Tough event.
 
That's pretty awesome. Bet he would have done it a bit quicker if it wasn't for the wind was relentless. Was the biggest mental battles I've ever done. Wasn't so much the mileage made some of the passes round here look like child's play.
 
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