Clifton CC

Respect to all you guys who did the Etape du Dales on Sunday. Have ridden it twice myself in 07 & 08 and that was in pretty good weather. However it is not as hard as the FW IMO even though have not officially done the route only some of the climbs. Maybe if they did the Etape du dales in reverse it would be harder, doing fleet moss and buttertubbs from the other side is definitely harder.

Sunday club run for me, a steady 70ish miles nothing spectacular but pleasant none the less despite the weather.

Has for you Greg you must be bonkers doing those qualifying rides for the PBP. 600km what were you thinking? As long as you enjoy it I guess that all that matters. Good luck when ever you do the PBP. You certainly get my respect

Jon

Ok, so there is a little debate on which ride may be the hardest - the EDD or FW. Perhaps we could ask the opinion of our very own Lisa (Lilly) who rode both this year!!!

Etape or Fred? I suppose it depends how you tackle them, I rode the EdD a few years ago when it was about a tenner to ride, I rode at quite a leisurely pace and I don't remember having too much hotwax residue in the legs after.
I did see guys rubbing legs with warming oil, sticking olbas oil fingers up their noses, and getting Zipp wheels out of the cars though. It might have been a bit grim if I'd gone round with them.

I think it's largely down to the conditions on the day. A commute to work can seem like a tough ride if you've got the wind and rain in your face.

I've ridden both several times in various conditions (I remember the wind was so strong coming off Tan Hill one year I was having to pedal quite hard to make any progress). On paper FW does have 20% more climbing and the hills are steeper (there's nothing like Honister and Hardknott on the EDD) but the EDD does somehow feel more exposed in the wind. The FW also feels more like a competition (nearly said race -oops!) whereas the EDD, the majority just seem to be out for a nice ride in the Dales.

Maybe it's like childbirth - women always think their latest is the most painful because it's fresh in the memory.

Heh heh, I've sparked a bit of a debate there - it's almost Harry Hill: well I like the Fred Whitton and I like the Etape Du Dales but which is harder, only one way to find out: fight!

For me it's probably to do with my physiology, climbing grinds me down, if there's enough climbs they grind me to destruction whereas the flat bits, even if I ride as hard as I can my body seems to recover. So whilst the Fred has some huge incredibly hard climbs it does seem to have quite long flat bits in between on which I recover. The Etape though, seems all up and all down with few areas of respite. I'll also throw in that the Fred has some long steady sheltered drags: Kirkstone, Matterdale & Whinlatter which get you to height without too much pain, whereas there seem to be no easy climbs on the EDD. I've ridden them back to back and I'm sure in identical conditions I could ride the Fred quicker than the Etape.

Next year we'll have to have a Clifton Sportivister award - a medal for doing the Pocklington Pedal, The Fred and the Etape Du Dales back to back - if only we all got a ride.

I did both the Fred and the EDD this year...over enthusiasm of a newbie roadie had me doing them a week apart...

I felt the Fred was very much harder than the Etape, with the climbing feeling relentless, and the 2 biggest hills cruelly at the end. The EDD seemed an altogether nicer, rolling ride, and overall the number of and % of 'up' gradients were much more achievable - stats evidence this was indeed the case - and there was a decent lunch stop at Tan Hill which is always a positive for me.

Mostly very cr*p weather on both rides so the conditions were pretty similar.

Having said the above, I did complete the Fred in a better time...

Having said the above, I did complete the Fred in a better time...

Ah ha! Case proved

Haha yes, but that may be more to do with the foolishness of just 6 days rest!!

Or because you kept having to stop to adjust your riding partner's Fancy Dress outfit

Are you referring to my very practical but maybe a little bit boil in the bag banana wrapper / cling film mittens and cup holder socks Tulio? They only required attention the once when I had to get them re-knotted

If anyone is ever suffering from near hyperthermia, I can recommend the use of plastic bags for a whole range of low cost, make as you require, diy clothing! I can even provide style ideas if anyone is interested

Etape Caledonia for me on Sunday 15th :-

I've been trying to build up to this for the last couple of months since on paper at least it appeared to be pretty hard (for me). I think they quote the same total ascent as the Pock Pedal - which nearly killed me. So it was with some trepidation that I drove up the day before to Pitlochry.

As it turned out I needn't have worried - maybe it was the excitement of participating in "the UK's largest closed road cycling event", maybe the "training" had actually paid off - or maybe the chances to draft shamelessly in a large pack were just too good to miss. Either way, by my standards at least (and I admit they are quite low) it went very well.

The route according to Mr Garmin:-
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/86126154

A total time of 4h:44m was recorded by the timing chip for the 81 miles - I finished in 1,947 position which means I was in the top half of the field for the first time in my life! So all in all - very pleased with that.

The event made the news for the right reasons but also for the wrong reasons. A foiled attempt at sabotage again was one - but also a serious crash which resulted in two riders being airlifted to hospital.

From my perspective, the atmosphere was fantastic, the scenery amazing, the organisation superb and even the weather was "dry". I would recommend it to anyone to try at least once.

From what I have read above - it's a little more "doable" than the Etape du Dales - but that will be my "ambition" for next year.

Was anyone else there? I didn't see any Clifton jerseys - but then again, in a crowd of 5000+ cyclists that's no surprise.

Regards to all

Pete