somerset 100 weekend - saturday/sunday 18-19/5

this weekend sees the somerset 100.

the event starts at 8am on sunday from sweets, cost is £25. forecast is dry until 4pm so you guys should get around ok

in light of this and assuming a good number of us are intending to ride on sunday, saturday's ride will be a more muted affair with a probable eggs benedict intermission.

Yes I am going on Sunday. I have room for 4 with bikes if any of you would like a lift. Let me know. Cheers

Woops. I mean 3 the 4th being me.

I wonder if the boys from Team ALDI are coming with their New swanky kit They did give us a quick showing at Cannington last weekend with their boil in the bags tops. Nice weather I hope.

I'm hoping to ride for team Aldi tomorrow. I'll be wearing their socks and jacket.
Not sure how i'll perform as will probably have a few beers Saturday night.
I'd love a lift if you're offering - thanks.

I see you have been out stealing my Strava KoM - Wick circle - by almost half a minute!!!


Martin

LIDL paid me to do it, sorry

Sorry. yes I will pick you at your house. What time do you Think?

Will also be doing Somerset 100, all being well. Would very much like a lift to Sweets if Stubble07 still has room. Will be out all day Saturday so leave message on forum if okay for lift. If you need details, like where to pick me up, Martin and Ivan have my mobile number - get it from them and call/txt me.

Okay Richard will pick you up let you know what time. One place left for lift

I can be ready from 7am on Sunday if thats earlier enough?

Are you out tomorrow, if so we can arrange then.

Hey Lidl boys, I'll be doing the 100 miler too.

Be nice to me. Don't push me too hard, ok?

. . . . . oh yes, and it's 102 miles.

@Neil - change of plan. I will be driving down to Sweets in my car as I cant guarentee i'm going to be up in time tomorrow morning due to factors beyond my control (the demon alcohol)!
If all goes to plan and I can get to bed at a reasonable hour I'll see you on the start line.

Richard give me your address I will pick you up at just before 7

Neil - is your last message to Ivan?

Oh my life - what a ride that was!
I was trembling with excitement and breaking out into a cold sweat as soon as I got to Sweets. Once I'd got over the sight of Daisy Duke I calmed down and got on with the business of preparing for the off. That'll be the off that was 30 minutes later than we thought - so we went and got a coffee instead.
At 8:30 the first riders left the cafe and I was surprised at the polite and gentle way we negotiated our way across the levels towards Mark. I say gentle, the roll out in the neutralised zone was between 20 and 25mph. The only bit of argy bargy was couple of riders in WSM jerseys who were muscling their way to the front.
By the time we had reached Burtle there as a definite split in the bunch. A couple of riders had escaped off the front, then a group of about 20 were close behind and then the rest of the field.
Just across the A39 at Bawdrip, Burns the Baker popped another tub! Nick pulled over to wait for him to fix it while Ivan, Neil and myself carried on with the group.
The chase was now on to catch the breakaway. One of the ogranisers who was following in his car was giving us time gaps. The first one was 2 minutes. After a 26 mph slog for a few more miles we got another time gap - 2 minutes. After many more miles we got another time gap - 2 minutes. I was getting bored at this stage!
As the relentless pace continued riders began to get spat out the back. Finally we reached the feed station at 70 miles with Ivan, Neil and myself all still together (almost - if you ignore Ivan struggling up the final climb). We'd completed the first 70 miles at a beastly average of 21 mph.
We thought we'd do the decent thing and wait for Nick and Paul and tucked into some cake and bananas. We waitied a bit more and had more cake and bananas. About 45 minutes later Nick and Paul arrived - and we had some more cake and bananas.
Nick had blown a gasket somewhere on route and was decidedly knackered. After more rest and refreshments we set off over lumpy roads to Nunney and up onto the Mendips along the old Frome Road. By now Nick was struggling big time. Neil paused outside Nunney to consider whether or not to wait for Nick. After a considerable amount of time (about 2 seconds), we decided to carry on. After all , he did have Paul and Ivan with him still.
Neil had now turned into banana man. Superhuman powers kept him rolling across the Mendips with Jeannie and me on his wheel. After a blast down the Horringtons and a detour round Wells we arrived back at Sweets. Ride time was 5 hours 18 mins with an average of 19.4 mph for 102 miles.
Jeannie granted herself a wish in Wells and missed a left turn, thereby cutting a couple of miles off the course. Musn't grumble though, she did go off course earlier in the day which added a few miles.
Surprisingly, Paul, Ivan and Nick rolled in about 5 minutes later. A stunning comeback from Nick until Ivan pointed out the slight detour they had made on the way back! Say no more.
Jeannie then went for a run while the boys hit the pig buns and coffee.
Stuart had steadily made his way around the route and dispite averaging only 16 he still got back before the rest of us!
OJC - 6: Neil, Ivan, me, Stuart, Paul and Nick
Knacker Factor: 9/10
Rate the Cake: 0/10 (no tea cakes)!
Ride stats: 102 miles, f*****g fast!

Two bottle of Beer, glass of red wine, a roast dinner and still pissing razor blades later. Stewart finally arrives home. Well done Stew, you needed to show us all who is still the best
Great riding Rich I honestly thought you would flag at about 80 miles or so, well done for keeping up with me over the last few miles. As for the other 3 say no more. I am sure they will be out next Saturday with us hanging on to their wheels.
I can't now get Daisy Duke with her million dollar pins out of my mind. Thanks Rich.

Nice review Rich. Now something humble:

I was slightly concerned about entering the event because of the way I’ve been feeling over the last 3 weeks. Strength which is short lived and very limited energy and enthusiasm, but hey, what’s the worst that could happen?

From my point of view the initial 15 miles to Cossington and Bawdrip were easy. The lead peleton were carrying us along at an impressive pace which pleased me very much because I knew I wasn't firing on all cylinders. Then we negotiated the dirt track section, which was . . . . . interesting and equally as fast. This single track really strung out the field and being 6th in the line we had a significant lead over the main bunch. Ah, there's the road ahead, good . . . . but what was that bang behind me? Say goodbye to the peleton!

Paul was pretty quick with the puncture - faster than most people with clinchers, but it allowed us to review the entire field of riders as they emerged from the far distance and depressingly sailed past. Just before we set off a bunch of around 12 riders past us, so we proceeded to catch them and use their energy to our advantage. Unfortunately 21mph was just too slow, so after a few minutes we left them behind, but dragged one with us. We had no illusions of catching the lead group, knowing how far in front they must have been, but nevertheless we were still flying along at around 25mph. All was well until we got to around North Curry (35 miles), when my body was telling me something that my brain wasn't accepting - that it was dying and fast! Within 5 miles I am acknowleding that I should have either taken things a bit easier or just stayed at home and spent the £25 on sweets (that’s candy not Vicky sponge). At Somerton I should have eaten humble pie and found a direct route back to Sweets via Glastonbury. . . . . but I decided I wanted to kill myself for the second half.

Yes, I did make it to the feed station . . . and yes, I made it back to the finish (with help from Ivan and especially Paul) but there is a morale here. . . .

Don’t do a 100 mile sportive if you’ve been ill and can’t ride 40 miles without feeling knackered.

For Sale
White Pinarello Dogma. Clean except for some blobs of Zipvit energy gel on the crossbar.

I'd love to buy a dogma but I can't justify it, my carrera is perfectly fine and the technicians at Halford' s reckon their gel repelling qualities are far superior.

Oi Williams.

Shouldn't you be at work!

I am at work, but I thought I would take some time during my 'very busy schedule' to reflect upon yesterday's pain and suffering.

. . . . sacrificing my important career to impart my extensive knowledge about being a twat to you lot.