Author Topic: Revisited - Hellfire 600 Perm: 19th & 20th September  (Read 33564 times)

Treewheeler

Re: Hellfire 600 Perm: 4th & 5th July
« Reply #25 on: 05 July, 2009, 06:41:49 pm »
Actually, I assumed you were riding with Paul Whitebelly.
 I had a 'practical' interview on Saturday for a job I don't even want laying turf
 (I want to be a tree surgeon)
 I was on the edge of calling the interview off and coming along with you with or without brevet card just for the hell of it.
 I wished I had now just so I could have bullied you around the course.
 Perhaps next time...

Plodder

  • More of a lurker than a poster!
Re: Hellfire 600 Perm: 4th & 5th July
« Reply #26 on: 05 July, 2009, 08:37:16 pm »
Still, I am determined to have another go at this one before the season ends.

I'd like to join you if we can find a convenient date...

Quote
The Portsmouth Wednesday Night Pub Ride Group - "a drinking club with a cycling problem".

Hummers

  • It is all about the taste.
Re: Hellfire 600 Perm: 4th & 5th July
« Reply #27 on: 05 July, 2009, 08:38:39 pm »
I wished I had now just so I could have bullied you around the course.
 Perhaps next time...

Well, you were invited and would have been very welcome. No doubt your kindly words of encouragement would have helped me to either an early finish or an early grave somewhere between Taunton and Malmesbury.

That is of course assuming that you would have been able to keep up with me to Exmouth.  :-*


Plenty of time after LEL - or you could always ride the whole series again next year  ;D

This is something I am thinking of If there are no takers this season and soon... although:

I'd like to join you if we can find a convenient date...


...it looks like I might have another willing victim!

H

Re: Hellfire 600 Perm: 4th & 5th July
« Reply #28 on: 06 July, 2009, 09:47:51 am »
Still, I am determined to have another go at this one before the season ends.

I must still be light-headed after the Offa 600, but if you can wait until September I might be interested in joining in... :o As long as your mate Peter doesn't make an appearance in public. :hand:

Hummers

  • It is all about the taste.
Re: Hellfire 600 Perm: 4th & 5th July
« Reply #29 on: 06 July, 2009, 05:18:54 pm »
Still, I am determined to have another go at this one before the season ends.

I must still be light-headed after the Offa 600, but if you can wait until September I might be interested in joining in... :o As long as your mate Peter doesn't make an appearance in public. :hand:

That could be a goer too although it might mean bumping the YACF camping weekend for me.  :-[

H

Re: Hellfire 600 Perm: 4th & 5th July
« Reply #30 on: 07 July, 2009, 07:18:45 pm »
Oh dear.

I made good time to Exmouth (268k) with 4 hours in hand despite feeling off-form all day and a headwind from Codford to the coast. However, I was in a bit of a mess outside Exmouth Tescos and couldn't stop shivering and shaking even though it was 18 degrees. Despite being cooler than earlier in the week (almost ideal), I wasn't getting enough fluid in me and was constantly dehydrated although I was drinking loads between and at controls. Perhaps I was pushing the pace too hard early on when it was hotter- a danger of riding solo.



H


Well.
Remember on the Porkers when you mentioned that we were very close to the time limit? I said that it didn't matter because we all felt good, not tired and didn't need to worry.
That's what I meant. It's better to be on the time limit and feeling good than to have several hours in hand and feeling like you can't go on.
Remember that at the start of every ride you have all of the distance to do and no time in hand. So every minute you have in hand is an advantage you never had at the start and if you are not tiring yourself out to stay within time then you have a good chance of finishing.


Quote
Note to self: solo 600s are tough and maybe I am not as tough as I think I am. Still, I am determined to have another go at this one before the season ends.

You were gong very well on Porkers, the Brimstone should be pretty easy for you, even if you did it alone.


Anyway, which weekend in August are you thinking of?
The Hellfire would be a good weekend for me.

Hummers

  • It is all about the taste.
Re: Hellfire 600 Perm: 4th & 5th July
« Reply #31 on: 07 July, 2009, 10:49:50 pm »
Well, there's a lot of sense in there but like I said, I've still a lot to learn bout this Audax lark.

I know that I don't like doing solo 600 perms though and missed the camaraderie of the Porkers.

Since the weekend, I've calmed down a bit and have realised I need to stop obsessing about a ride that was never in my cycling objectives for 2009.

To this end, I won't be touching this before LEL or in August and I am happy to come to terms with the fact that perhaps this year, the Hellfire was not meant to be.




















A revisit in September is a definite goer though!  ;D

H

Hummers

  • It is all about the taste.
Re: Revisited - Hellfire 600 Perm: 19th & 20th September
« Reply #32 on: 09 July, 2009, 09:27:42 am »
I have received my Wessex Super Randonneurs certificate of non-achievement from Mr Shaw  ;D and this has spurred me to revisit this with company. To this end, I have managed to solicit the companionship of Sherpa Abrahams to join me on the 19th and 20th September.

This clashes with the YACF camping weekend, the Bournemouth Square and at least one ride in Wales but is the last throw of the dice this season for me so I'll have go for this date.

I think Plodder and Paul D could manage a date in September. Posite and Ian H have also expressed an interest.


vorsprung

  • Opposites Attract
    • Audaxing
Re: Revisited - Hellfire 600 Perm: 19th & 20th September
« Reply #33 on: 09 July, 2009, 09:57:46 am »
19th/20th of Sept. sounds good, subject to weather.  I can offer local knowledge around Taunton/Heymock and a vast supply of flapjack to the team.

Hummers

  • It is all about the taste.
Re: Revisited - Hellfire 600 Perm: 19th & 20th September
« Reply #34 on: 09 July, 2009, 10:33:58 am »
19th/20th of Sept. sounds good, subject to weather.  I can offer local knowledge around Taunton/Heymock and a vast supply of flapjack to the team.

Splendid  :thumbsup:

H

Re: Revisited - Hellfire 600 Perm: 19th & 20th September
« Reply #35 on: 09 July, 2009, 10:38:16 am »
19th/20th of Sept. sounds good, subject to weather.  I can offer local knowledge around Taunton/Heymock and a vast supply of flapjack to the team.

Splendid  :thumbsup:

H

Is that going to be a Tor Hole style secret control?

Hummers

  • It is all about the taste.
Re: Revisited - Hellfire 600 Perm: 19th & 20th September
« Reply #36 on: 09 July, 2009, 10:39:29 am »
19th/20th of Sept. sounds good, subject to weather.  I can offer local knowledge around Taunton/Heymock and a vast supply of flapjack to the team.

Splendid  :thumbsup:

H

It's not quite far enough for a sleep stop though...

H

Is that going to be a Tor Hole style secret control?

vorsprung

  • Opposites Attract
    • Audaxing
Re: Revisited - Hellfire 600 Perm: 19th & 20th September
« Reply #37 on: 09 July, 2009, 03:02:46 pm »
It's not quite far enough for a sleep stop though...

H

If you mean Heymock..I live approx 5 miles from Hemyock and we get there I guess at about 310km, or about 18/19 hours in.  If we started at 6am that would be just after midnight, which is a little early for a kip but acceptable.

Vorsprung towers is a 10 mile detour from the route but there are no especially large hills in the way, just normal Devon up and down.

Alternatively, my mother in law lives about 1/2 a mile off the route near Hemyock.  She is a cyclist of the CTC sort and so would if asked allow us to sleep in her front room/conservatory with the dogs.

Both venues would have an unlimited supply of tea and anything else you wanted, by prior arrangement

vorsprung

  • Opposites Attract
    • Audaxing
Re: Revisited - Hellfire 600 Perm: 19th & 20th September
« Reply #38 on: 09 July, 2009, 03:55:24 pm »
Incidentally, I will need to know what time/date you are starting apparently Mr Shaw wants this on the entry form

Hummers

  • It is all about the taste.
Re: Revisited - Hellfire 600 Perm: 19th & 20th September
« Reply #39 on: 11 July, 2009, 06:54:13 pm »
Splendid!

H

Hummers

  • It is all about the taste.
Re: Revisited - Hellfire 600 Perm: 19th & 20th September
« Reply #40 on: 13 July, 2009, 09:15:40 am »
Incidentally, I will need to know what time/date you are starting apparently Mr Shaw wants this on the entry form

He does, your entry will need to go in at least two weeks before the event.


We are looking at Saturday 19th September as the start date.

I started at 6am last weekend and that worked well with the controls on the first day but will confirm the exact time after we have a definitive list of riders.


H

Re: Revisited - Hellfire 600 Perm: 19th & 20th September
« Reply #41 on: 13 July, 2009, 01:12:50 pm »
Right, cards on table time - I'm not going to decide on this before LEL.

At the moment its likely I could get a pass from home and I promise you I'm keen. However, after PBP I did naff all for a few weeks. I'll need to guage my enthusiasm level for long distance riding during August before I commit (to being commited ::-)). No miles probably means no Hellfire.

Watch This Space.

Weirdy Biker

Re: Revisited - Hellfire 600 Perm: 19th & 20th September
« Reply #42 on: 13 July, 2009, 01:17:25 pm »
Pfft, madness.  Gone are the days when I would contemplate doing this particular 600 in anything other than high summer.

Re: Revisited - Hellfire 600 Perm: 19th & 20th September
« Reply #43 on: 13 July, 2009, 01:25:46 pm »
I'm always faster in September than May, and I do hilly 600's in May every year. Same amount of daylight in September as May as well. I thought we all had good lights by now?

Re: Revisited - Hellfire 600 Perm: 19th & 20th September
« Reply #44 on: 13 July, 2009, 01:55:18 pm »
I have received my Wessex Super Randonneurs certificate of non-achievement from Mr Shaw  ;
One of the pleasures of the Wessex series is the support from Shawn.  My two DNF are Porkers one year and Brimstone the next.  I still have those non-achievement certificates.

When I finally completed the series, riding the 200 as a permanent, I dropped the Wessex Series card through Shawn's door. He heard the letter flap drop and came out of the house  and invited me in for 'cakes that have just come out of the oven' (does his wife ever stop baking?).  He had no idea I was riding the permanent that day (as it was controlled by someone else) but he thought that the achievement of a Wessex SR series warranted recognition.  He also knew that I had been trying to complete the series for 5 years and was pleased that I had finally achieved it. 

Hummers - they are tough rides that need the right mental attitude.  It may take some time but they are achievable.  Great sense of achievement when it happens!

vorsprung

  • Opposites Attract
    • Audaxing
Re: Revisited - Hellfire 600 Perm: 19th & 20th September
« Reply #45 on: 13 July, 2009, 02:21:03 pm »
Pfft, madness.  Gone are the days when I would contemplate doing this particular 600 in anything other than high summer.

If the weather is bad I will be a DNS
It is frequently good in September though

Hummers

  • It is all about the taste.
Re: Revisited - Hellfire 600 Perm: 19th & 20th September
« Reply #46 on: 13 July, 2009, 02:43:20 pm »

Hummers - they are tough rides that need the right mental attitude.  It may take some time but they are achievable.  Great sense of achievement when it happens!

Yeah, I was on track for cracking the series off in one go but things went awry on the Hellfire. It wasn't that it was any tougher than the other three, it was just not going to happen that weekend. Hopefully September will be a different story.

Thanks for the encouragement though.  :-*

H

Weirdy Biker

Re: Revisited - Hellfire 600 Perm: 19th & 20th September
« Reply #47 on: 13 July, 2009, 08:24:21 pm »
I'm always faster in September than May, and I do hilly 600's in May every year. Same amount of daylight in September as May as well. I thought we all had good lights by now?

I believe the description of these routes is tortuous.  Steep, gravelly descents in the gloomy hours and fabled Shaw route sheets.  Neither make me think riding in September will be anything but challenging.

A finger of fudge for anyone who completes it.

Hummers

  • It is all about the taste.
Re: Revisited - Hellfire 600 Perm: 19th & 20th September
« Reply #48 on: 13 July, 2009, 11:11:41 pm »

I believe the description of these routes is tortuous. 

Based on my experience, I can't agree.

I have only completed 3.4 out of the 4 rides that make up the Wessex SR but can offer these observations on the routes comprising the series:

1. They pass through magnificent, breathtaking countryside,
2. They go out of the way to take in hills in stages that have become legends in their own right,
3. If it has been raining, roads lanes can be tricky, especially if you are following IanH,
4. Setting off without tracing the route on a map against the route sheet instructions is ill advised,
5. Setting off without a map (if you don't know the area or route) is very ill advised,
6. Commercial controls may not exist or be open when you roll up hoping for shelter,
7. The route is likely to take longer than you expected for similiar distanced hilly rides,
8. Anyone who says the Hellfire is easier than the Porkers is lying talking in relative terms ,
9. Expect long sections (>100k) with no shops or commercial controls open,
10. Shawn's unique take on Brevet cards and certificates sets these rides apart from any other ride I have done.

I am really looking to the return visit but this time, with company to share the Wessex SR Experience.

H

WyOwyvern

  • Trolling along on the crest . . . . . .
Re: Revisited - Hellfire 600 Perm: 19th & 20th September
« Reply #49 on: 14 July, 2009, 09:34:01 pm »
October isn't a bad time of year for this ride.  :) Even November has seen The Rook out on the leafless lanes of Wessex pushing fixed pedals to Hellfire glory.
Still, each to their own and seeing that not one new name has appeared on the list of the Wessex SR achievers for what, four seasons now?, the challenge seems to be as great as ever, whenever.  :o
How those who were there remember the Great Storm of 2000: blowing a hooleigh; sodden Gortex all around (perhaps I misheard that comment); the course strewn with heart beaten randonneurs; yes it was May Bank Holiday. And half the field abandoned.
Tortuous? that's a tad strong unless one is under prepared of course but then what isn't under such circumstances. Night time gives no quarter regards terrain or navigational skills needed it is true. Much is made of the brevety of the route sheets; again it is all in the preparation.  :smug: