James

Very enjoyable indeed. Good craic and good to see well ken't faces again and meet new (James) too. Got my arse kicked on Brisbane Glen. Thanks for waiting
Andy

Thanks for the words of encouragement chaps, appreciated. A strange beast indeed is the 3 peaks but one I would definitely do again.
 
Standing on the start line I got talking to a bunch of fellow first timers and we basically surmised that we had no idea what to expect. Anyways the race started and the first road section was predictably rapid, I started pretty near the back as I wanted to avoid the macho nonsense and just drifted forward from one group to the next without really extending myself and felt not too bad at all. After 5 miles the off-road started with the first sections being rideable if you attacked some of the boggier sections but finding a line did prove difficult at times. I should have heeded a lesson here which I never learned 'till far too late in the day, that being at all times remount if possible even if it is for 50 yards it is quicker than carrying and would have taken minutes of my time. The first real portage is reached at Simon's fell and I felt surprising good on the climb, again finding clear space was a wee bit difficult but I did move further up the field on the ascent, which tops out with a very step section where you are pretty much on all fours. The bad news when you reach the top is this is not one of the "peaks" merely a precursor to the Whernisde ascent via some riding/portage over the moors. Whernside itself is again steep and rocky towards the top, the descent is not too bad but encountered first downhill issue of the day as my hands kept sliding on the hoods (as usual for summer riding I don't wear gloves or mitts - more on this later!) which was a bit disconcerting!
 
On to the Ingleborough climb and again felt surprisingly decent on the portaged ascent, my main tactic for the walking parts was to never stop no matter how slow the pace got, it later on got very slow but I figured if I stopped on the climbing sections I would  never get started again. Ingleborough was steep at the top with flagstone steps laid into the hill, I actually took the time to look around going up and the view was absolutely stunning in the sunshine. The descent took in moors, bogs and flagstone sections and is where I hit my second problem of the day when my front brake pad locked on - couldn't quite figure it out but kind of freed it up by brute force and pushing the lever open only for it to happen again, had to stop and adjust the pads probably costing me 10 minutes and as I was still unsure as to the root cause I was very wary of using front brakes from that point on which came back to haunt me later on.
 
Off the 2nd of the peaks there is a road transition where I discovered sucking on my camelback was producing no effect so second enforced stop of the day was at Horton-on-Ribblesdale where the lady at a wee coffee shop was good enough to give me a refill, a mile down the road the police stopped us after a road crash - probably another 8 or so  minutes down between these two stoppages. Felt not too bad on the road sections pushing a decent gear at decent speed and onto Penyghent - which is a complete and utter sod! The climb is straight up and straight back down and when you turn onto it the faster guys are coming down at absolutely suicidal pace...crazy stuff!
 
The first part is rideable and the last part is just long and a real grind with bike on shoulder, again I just kept plodding up, never stopping and was still passing people. At the top you turn and go back down, descent is very steep and a mix of gravel, rocks, and moor land, I had a 'mare on the way down as didn't trust my front brakes and my hands were really getting sore (no gloves!) making control difficult, people were passing me all the time which was demoralising as this was supposed to be the easy bit. Anyway got to the bottom in one piece which by that stage was the only priority and the last 2 miles or so is a road section back to the start point.
 
Again felt (surprisingly) good and was making good pace catching a few on the road, looked down at my hoods and noticed a big gap in the bar tape and hoods in funny position and it finally dawned on me why my front brakes had been jammed on - with the rough terrain the hoods had been shoved down the drops, tightening the cables and clamping the brakes on ....doh! Anyways powered onto the end and crossed the line in just over 5 hours feeling not too bad tbh.
 
I don't really obsess too much about times but it would have been good to break the 5 hour barrier which is a kind of cut-off point between OK and an also-ran in the official timings. I reckon with a fair wind and no mechanicals / descending demons I think a 4:45 would have been achievable - something to aim for next year.
 
Cheers,
Davie

managed to get a couple of the APR      

Thanks to Richard and Paul for the timekeeping. Much better than last week, but still a long way short of where I should be. Well done to everyone on their introductory runs.

Thanks to Richard and Paul for time keeping and starting. Enjoyed the chocolate cake, certainly made the effort work it.
 
Don't know if you can say that you can enjoy that sort of pain....... however pain is short lived!!!

Weather was a bit dreich to start with ,was in group 2, so a step up, started quite fast and didn't think I was going to stay with it ,however managed to hang in and finished in the bunch of 5 that got ahead in my bunch, never got passed and didn't get dropped, so great day for me.
 
Iain

Well done guys, and especially Alan, as I know exactly the handicap he was carrying

Tough day. Started off fast in group 3 and i was hanging on a bit going over Mount Stuart - i dont think i had gone hard enough in the warm up so it was a shock to the system. Conditions were quite difficult after that with the wind but there was an EKRC rider organising things so it was pretty full on and working together (in my case mostly to avoid being shouted at!) After about half way he started attacking on his own we would just leave him out ahead, then we'd catch him and he'd start moaning at us that we were only working together to catch him. Then he'd go again and repeat. I thought we had been working pretty well it was the attacking that had disrupted things. Anyway got a timecheck with about 10 miles to go - 6 minutes to group 1, so realised then it was over and things calmed down - Hard to keep giving yourself a kicking when there is no chance of a catch. Scratch group caught up a bit before the return to Mount Stuart, i was expecting to be out the back here going up the climb but strangely managed to get over near the front, must have been the tailwind. Alan wasnt feeling great (although his not feeling great is still better than most doing the race) so offered to lead me out - it was going pretty well until near the end when he got boxed in to the kerb due to some idiot drifting over, so i went back and around the outside - rather than my usual going too early i left it too late and finished a few back.

It was an enjoyable day, good to see so many wheelers out. For those doing the novice race, it looked like a tough one - some of the kids you were up against are young but they are not novices - if the rules allowed they would have been in the APR and capable of giving most there a tough day too.

Really tough day, sorry i couldn't offer a better lead out but Friday night hit hard in the end. Happy to finish with the scratch group considering how I was feeling. Well done to all wheelers involved, especially those with a two day hangover 😉

Thanks to everyone for coming tonight.

Great day, always feel at this time of year you have make the most of decent days like this if you can and we certainly made the most of it. Although the haul road was tougher than i was expecting!
 
Here is my crappy attempt at a Rouleur style photo than Alan requested someone to take

Big Thanks to everyone involved, great event made hard by a strong head wind, Going into it on the 2nd lap I thought I was going to pop, heading back however was fun.

Echoing the comments above. Thanks to all who helped out this morning
 
It certainly got tougher as the morning went on as there want a breath of wind when the signs were being put out this morning
 
Congratulations to Alan McBride on taking the Club 25 TT title
 
Full results to follow. Just waiting on one time being checked / confirmed by the Timekeepers
 
Thanks again
 
KennyS

Recovering from a bit of flu so was touch and go for the race. However started ok and put in a few digs to see if the legs were ok. Realised that I wasn't quite getting the response from them that I normally do so realised it could be a bit tough. There were quite a few riders who I've not raced with this season and some strange tactics to say the least (there was a crash in the neutralised zone !)Probably the mash up with the lades a few of whom were elite was the reason for this. Spent quite a bit of time at the front but it was to cost me later or maybe the legs just weren't there today. The pace up the mini braes was fine and felt ok. However the bunch split on the ascent back towards Port of Mentieth and A group got away. A number of other riders caught me up and I decided to sit in with them and for a while the group worked well and got us withinm touching distance of the lead group. However it was at this juncture that some members of the group didn't seem to work and the pace dropped when a small increase may have seen us rejoin ! Anyhow some through and off and people telling me to slow it on the front when I could tell that the pace was dropping and the rest of the race was like a club run for all in the group. Didn't catch sight of Charlie again after our brief chat at the start but chapeau anyway. The course was definitely harder with the two climbs. good fun anyeay !

Well done Colin. I was at front for a while and even saw You lead the bunch I remembered from past years that when u turn left to thorn hill there is a crosswind and bunch can split so I moved up nearer the front. I noticed a group of 3 had broken away just before thorn hill and I was intent ion staying with bunch to top of climb as I knew it tailed off after that. I was still in bunch at top but instead of turning left as in previous years we went straight on ( road works. ) & there was considerably more climbing ahead . My heart rate hit 177 and then had system shut down. Other riders cruised past me and I was later joined by David Lang of Glasgow Wheelers. I gave the shorter lap a bye as I was well scunnered.
If I had checked the revised route I would have given this race a miss as the climbs are just too tough for fat boys
Now in my bed shivering so McPhee u better not have given me your flu.
Better get my training programme sorted for next year as I am running out of years or I thought I was till I spoke to Billy McMillan (who is 68)also cut his race short. He told me he just didn't have the legs today.
No excuses need to be more focused

Very well organised event and big thanks to everyone involved that allowed me to race, would of been great to see more jwcc out on the road but duties have to be filled and I'm grateful for the chance to ride. I Had hoped for the sprint finish but the break put paid to that.

failed today!
 
Ferry was 10 min late disembarking and it took me 10 min longer to get round than it should, so ferry was just pulling out when I got to the top of the town.2 hrs 50min. should manage 2.40 in a few weeks. nice day though.
 
iain

Felt comfortable for most of this one and was feeling fresh going into the last 5 k. Made up a fair bit of ground but someone pulled on a handful of brake and had to slow to avoid collision so dropped back about 5 reasonably happy with bunch finish

Cheers guys, Legs and mind are shattered at the moment and i was touch and go whether I was going to turn up but did. The start felt not to fast and to be honest the race as a hole wasn't eye balls out at any stage, apart from the build up for the sprint which was a bit hairy with rider's all over both sides of the road, managed to get through some of the craziness and get 6th. Alot better than expected after recent form. Well done to jan and Colin also...

Congrats to Alan with his 6th, the weekend party training plan obviously works

As for me...well, things started off badly - soon as the neutralised section was over the pace picked up then slowed and had to ride into the verge to avoid someone who locked  up. Chain came off but got it back on pretty fast and made it to the back of the group by the top of the climb - hardest bit of the race! After that felt pretty comfortable and just sat on feeling alright but after getting onto the A77 for the second time i was a bit concerned with my position. When it opened up a bit going past Whitelees i made a stupid move from back to front and ended up leading things with a lone rider out in front, we caught him and i started to get swamped a bit but that was ok as i obviously wasnt wanting to lead it out - got about 4th or 5th wheel and feeling good, however started getting swamped again and was now blocked in and couldnt do much, just tried to be patient and hoped it would open up. Going into the last bit just before the house it was getting chaotic (the guy sitting about 3rd at this point just sat up and stopping riding!) then under the bridge someone accidentally unclipped - there was quite a bump as he veered to the side but fortunately the two involved didnt panic and stayed upright, however had to brake hard and lost all momentum which for this finish is so important. Colin was caught behind this too.

So to sum up 99% of the race was uneventful, got over the hills with the bunch and was looking forward to the sprint because of how fresh i was feeling. However i never ended up sprinting (i think i was 22nd) so it turned into a frustrating night. Frankly i wish i'd gone for a daft attack off the front and got caught and finished last than how it panned out in the end.

Al, just my thought
I felt like the luckiest guy in Liege as I was there about 3pm Thursday and had a 30 mile jolly down to la Redoute. Soaked up the atmosphere of camper vans arriving and people making their pitch.
Then did similar run on Friday, a bit longer, met a few random people along the way, and rode la Redoute again whe there were dozens of photographers etc out trying to snap the pro's. Lots of banter and encouragement from the barbecue and afternoon vino team on the climb.
Then sportive Saturday.
 
The only thing I think could have made it better would be sportive Sunday so easy run Saturday, longer run Friday. You can pack a lot into 5 days if you put your mind to it. So my tuppence worth is,
Thus - easy late afternoon run loosen legs.
Fri - longish run, acclimatise, get the feel for the area and explore
Saturday - maybe 40 miles with at least 2 cafe and cake stops ( Alan and I did 60 miles day before NC and had 3 cake stops but that was only because the poor guy didn't get his bike till the day before! )
Sunday - sportive
Monday travel home, might as well be travelling when your exhausted and not capable of any more riding.
 

Thanks guys. Enjoyed that tonight. It's got to give some benefit soon!!

He didn't deny the motor though