Author Topic: Eroica 2017: the year it all went wrong  (Read 12279 times)

Paul

  • L'enfer, c'est les autos.
Eroica 2017: the year it all went wrong
« on: 30 May, 2017, 08:16:43 pm »
Yes indeedy: I'm a marshal for this year's ride! Make sure you have your maps, compasses, first aid kits and distress flares at hand because if you're counting on me then you're already dead!

Not really. I've organised and marshalled rides before, have recent (though lapsed) first aid qualifications and experience. Plus, I'm reasonably level-headed.

So, is anyone from here doing either the short or medium route this year?
What's so funny about peace, love and understanding?

Re: Eroica 2017: the year it all went wrong
« Reply #1 on: 04 June, 2017, 08:14:30 pm »
it was actually last year in the mud that it all went wrong ,but they do seem to be having a go to improve in the new  centre. Not sure if the medium route or the short ( and quick return to the beer) but either way the wonders of dodgy 70s brakes will keep me concentrated. Please let it be sunny!!!

Paul

  • L'enfer, c'est les autos.
Re: Eroica 2017: the year it all went wrong
« Reply #2 on: 05 June, 2017, 01:47:08 pm »
I didn't do it last year but I did the medium ride in 2015.

"Medium" - hah! It was the hardest 55 miles I've ever done (but at least I had 80s gears and brakes).

Please let it be sunny!!!

Amen.

What's so funny about peace, love and understanding?

Re: Eroica 2017: the year it all went wrong
« Reply #3 on: 05 June, 2017, 07:06:08 pm »
I did the short ride in 2015 - short does not equal easy. Although the festival was good fun, I was a bit concerned about some of the (non) arrangements on the ride : I assisted a rider who had to be ambulanced off the route (possible heart attack, possible severe dehydration), there was zero interest from the organisers during and after the event. Some of the rider behaviour was a bit suspect (ie verging on dangerous) , but you can't blame that on the organisers.
If it wasn't so expensive to ride I'd be back for more.


Tapatalk puts this signature here, not me!
Too many angry people - breathe & relax.

rogerzilla

  • When n+1 gets out of hand
Re: Eroica 2017: the year it all went wrong
« Reply #4 on: 05 June, 2017, 08:16:42 pm »
Is this the real one or the Britannica one?

No-one's getting me into toeclips - I learned to use them as an intellectual exercise but properly-tightened toeclips and proper cleats* pretty much guarantee a crash if you have to make an unanticipated stop, since the straps have to be loosened by hand before you can pull your foot out.

70s brakes are ok, though - Mafac Racers work well if you can be bothered to spend a day setting them up and can put up with the usual squeal.  I have genuine Scott-Mathauser salmon pads (later licensed to Kool-Stop) for mine.

*if they're still made
Hard work sometimes pays off in the end, but laziness ALWAYS pays off NOW.

Paul

  • L'enfer, c'est les autos.
Re: Eroica 2017: the year it all went wrong
« Reply #5 on: 05 June, 2017, 09:06:20 pm »
This is the one in Derbyshire. If they covered my expenses I would consider marshaling the Italian ride, though.
What's so funny about peace, love and understanding?

Paul

  • L'enfer, c'est les autos.
Re: Eroica 2017: the year it all went wrong
« Reply #6 on: 05 June, 2017, 09:08:33 pm »
If it wasn't so expensive to ride I'd be back for more.
Likewise.
What's so funny about peace, love and understanding?

Re: Eroica 2017: the year it all went wrong
« Reply #7 on: 16 June, 2017, 07:18:42 pm »
after first day today, arrival and organisation hugely better. they seem to have lost a few exhibitors and the music wasnt great- but Friday pm is never going to be the best. Lets hope the rest is as good and the standards of the first two are back

Paul

  • L'enfer, c'est les autos.
Re: Eroica 2017: the year it all went wrong
« Reply #8 on: 16 June, 2017, 08:25:24 pm »
ian.r.mcdonald

I'll be arriving tomorrow around 11am, free from 12:15 or so if you fancy meeting up? I'm hoping to meet Luke otp too. Is there a landmark we can meet up at? I have no mobile, so have to make Eroica-compatible (ie: pre-1987) arrangements if I'm going to meet someone.

P.
What's so funny about peace, love and understanding?

Paul

  • L'enfer, c'est les autos.
Re: Eroica 2017: the year it all went wrong
« Reply #9 on: 16 June, 2017, 09:24:45 pm »
ian.r.mcdonald

I'll be arriving tomorrow around 11am, free from 12:15 or so if you fancy meeting up? I'm hoping to meet Luke otp too. Is there a landmark we can meet up at? I have no mobile, so have to make Eroica-compatible (ie: pre-1987) arrangements if I'm going to meet someone.

P.

Okay. The plan is to meet by the beer tent asap after 12:15.

I may have a green and white Mercian and an ACF bottle in one hand and a YACF bottle in the other.
What's so funny about peace, love and understanding?

Re: Eroica 2017: the year it all went wrong
« Reply #10 on: 17 June, 2017, 08:43:52 am »
sailng today but hope you can stay in the wheel of the gaspipe red Raleigh tomorrow!

Paul

  • L'enfer, c'est les autos.
Re: Eroica 2017: the year it all went wrong
« Reply #11 on: 19 June, 2017, 06:55:01 am »
What a cracking weekend.

My bike was a little twitchy at the front but that might be because I'd put all the luggage on the rack. Otherwise, the additional weight didn't bother it at all. I will pack lighter next time. Maybe just take one book, and not bother with the candelabra.

Neither did the weight make as much difference to me as I'd anticipated. I was (even) slower up hills, but only a bit. Likewise down (faster, that is). Broadly speaking, I took the A6 to Wirksworth, then the high peak trail to Friden/Newhaven.

Braking was noticeably harder, but I was able to control it even on the drop from Middleton Top Cycle Hire to Wirksworth (taking the B5035 and the B5023, for anyone who knows), which is a thrilling descent that might make the roll call for a Pie Run...

On Sunday I marshaled the point where the high peak trail crosses the A5102. The traffic had been directed to slow to 30mph and - in the main - did so. One or two thoughtless morons not spoiling the party for anyone.

My co-marshal (Steve from Zimbabwe) was good company. His bike was a lugged steel Fondriest left to him by a good friend. He'd had it renovated and sprayed white with just the first few inches of the top tube in red, and the same amount of the down tube in green, to signal its country of origin (I'd always thought they were French), and his mate's initials on the top tube. I was stunned, then, when Steve offered a rider (who had blown his tyre and was walking back to base) the use of his bike for the day. He wasn't taken up on it, but it was an amazing gesture.

Another highlight was spotting a lovely Longstaff and saying so as my gaze moved up to the rider's face, finishing my sentence with "...Chris Boardman". I'd spotted him and Ned Boulting in the beer tent the previous afternoon). He checked I was wearing sunscreen, joked about the fact that he'd taken a typical 'burn-first-then-apply-protection approach, and then wondered what his knee-high woolen socks would do to his tan lines. Nice guy.

I found Luke as planned and we spent a glorious afternoon looking around the festival stalls, where we also bagged Jethro otp.

There was a lot to see, do and eat. The weather made the whole thing spectacular. As a marshal, my entry and camping (and car parking, had I wanted it) were free, and I got lunch and a goodie bag. I think it is quite expensive to ride, but there seems to be quite a lot of value to it. However, I may have preferred my own cycling.   
What's so funny about peace, love and understanding?

Re: Eroica 2017: the year it all went wrong
« Reply #12 on: 19 June, 2017, 11:12:18 am »
My first time at Eroica and was (mostly) impressed with the scale of the whole thing.  We were lucky with the weather though and had it been a week earlier with all the wind and rain then I think it might well have been completely different.  I still dont know why the organisers moved it from Bakewell to the top of a hill at over 300m up.  Having said that it was probably the best cycling festival I have ever been to.

Last year I made a mistake and decided to go to the York Rally which was the same weekend.