Oh No It’s the Fred….
May 6th, 2009 by Andy NicollThis weekend it’s the Fred Whitton Bike Sportive event which I’m doing for the first time.
To be honest I’m a tad nervous about it as I’ve never done anything like this before and it’s a bit of beast.
The Fred, as it’s affectionately known, is 112 miles of hill climbing torture around the lake district taking in all the famous road passes and including the two steepest ones, Hard Knott and Wrynose, which are both graded at 30% in the last 20 miles….. aaaarrrggghhhh!
I don’t think I’ve got enough bike miles in my legs to really do it justice but I’ll get my old dogged determined race head on and tough it out.
There’s 6 of us going to do it and we’re meeting another 6 or 7 chaps up there so we should have a peleton of around 12-13 riders minimum which certainly makes riding easier.
I’m going to use my cyclocross bike as I think I’ll be needing my softies gears (36-32) by the end and I really don’t want to walk - apparently only around 5% of entrants manage to ride the whole course!!
Just to add to my woes it now looks like it might chuck it down with rain this weekend which I’m sure will make 112 miles in the saddle a real pleasure….
May 7th, 2009 at 7:56 am
Good Luck Old Pal
I will be thinking about you.
When the going gets really tough, your legs are feeling like the are about to drop off and your lungs feel as though they are coming out of your ears, it could be worse, this could have been day two of your Duathlon!!!
All the best
Steve