Author Topic: Heart of England 300, Sat 23rd April  (Read 15725 times)

Heart of England 300, Sat 23rd April
« on: 09 April, 2018, 04:54:11 pm »
Well, after searching for and reading the thread on last year's event it seems Peter had a change of heart ( ;)) and is the man in charge yet again.

This will be my 2nd 300 and will attempt to ride it at a pace at which I think I need to ride the LWL 400 in May, i.e. a bit slower than I'd usually ride.

Looking forward to it.....sort of

whosatthewheel

Re: Heart of England 300, Sat 21st April
« Reply #1 on: 09 April, 2018, 06:59:25 pm »
See you there (and at LWL too)... aiming to average around 25-26 km/h moving speed... would be good to have some company along the way

Bianchi Boy

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Re: Heart of England 300, Sat 21st April
« Reply #2 on: 09 April, 2018, 07:09:23 pm »
Try to get round without using your lights  :thumbsup: The only year I had to use them was the year of the snow storm in 2016. Coldest I have been for years.

BB
Set a fire for a man and he will be warm for a day, set a man on fire and he is warm for the rest of his life.

whosatthewheel

Re: Heart of England 300, Sat 21st April
« Reply #3 on: 09 April, 2018, 07:33:39 pm »
That was the idea for me... to finish before 8 PM... then on the day who knows...

the first half, up to Atherstone are all roads I know very well, the second half less so

Re: Heart of England 300, Sat 21st April
« Reply #4 on: 09 April, 2018, 07:45:26 pm »
See you there (and at LWL too)... aiming to average around 25-26 km/h moving speed... would be good to have some company along the way

I finished Rough Diamond 2 years ago at 15.7mph average but I doubt I'd be that fast in this. My 200s always seem to be 14 to 14.5mph as I'm a terrible climber (aka overweight).

Re: Heart of England 300, Sat 21st April
« Reply #5 on: 09 April, 2018, 08:03:04 pm »
Try to get round without using your lights  :thumbsup: The only year I had to use them was the year of the snow storm in 2016. Coldest I have been for years.

BB

Sunrise in 0559 on the day so I guess that's possible and a 2014 sunset - I'd better take mine if I'm going to be plodding it out. LWL will be my first 400 so I need to try to ride at the pace i think I can sustain for that amount of time.

Bianchi Boy

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Re: Heart of England 300, Sat 21st April
« Reply #6 on: 10 April, 2018, 06:51:19 am »
Sunrise in 0559 on the day so I guess that's possible and a 2014 sunset - I'd better take mine if I'm going to be plodding it out. LWL will be my first 400 so I need to try to ride at the pace i think I can sustain for that amount of time.

Why do you need to do a shorter ride at the speed you will do a longer ride? You will gain more fitness by riding faster and will feel a greater sense of achievement at the end. So ride each ride at a pace that suites the ride.

BB
Set a fire for a man and he will be warm for a day, set a man on fire and he is warm for the rest of his life.

whosatthewheel

Re: Heart of England 300, Sat 21st April
« Reply #7 on: 10 April, 2018, 07:36:35 am »
Try to get round without using your lights  :thumbsup: The only year I had to use them was the year of the snow storm in 2016. Coldest I have been for years.

BB

Sunrise in 0559 on the day so I guess that's possible and a 2014 sunset - I'd better take mine if I'm going to be plodding it out. LWL will be my first 400 so I need to try to ride at the pace i think I can sustain for that amount of time.

The only 400 I did I finished stronger than I started... 400 is a long day and you go through periods when you feel tired and periods when you feel great in no particular order. As long as your pace is fully aerobic, there is no reason why your moving 200 pace should be quicker than a 300 or 400. It is of course different to a 25 or 50 km pace, where you can invest non aerobic energy in spades and pay very little if any price for that.

Re: Heart of England 300, Sat 21st April
« Reply #8 on: 10 April, 2018, 08:51:43 am »
I have this one penciled in, Paolo.  I have to factor in the early start for me so figure taking a light will be useful at either end of the ride.  Happy to aim for something sensible like a 7pm finish at Cirencester before the ride home, with the odd cafe stop thrown in to help keep onboard fueling down.  I will have one eye on the weather though as spending 9 hours in the wet the other day dampened my spirits (and boots) a little.  Might have an added complication of exchange/completion dates but should know that closer to date.

Re: Heart of England 300, Sat 21st April
« Reply #9 on: 10 April, 2018, 09:08:52 am »
If anyone is getting worried about all this talk of 24kph average and getting round in daylight, I had a very enjoyable ride last year averaging 20kph with a couple of hours stopping to eat/rest and still finished well within the time limit. One of my favourite rides from last year.

Ben T

Re: Heart of England 300, Sat 21st April
« Reply #10 on: 10 April, 2018, 09:11:41 am »
I'm hopefully riding it.

whosatthewheel

Re: Heart of England 300, Sat 21st April
« Reply #11 on: 10 April, 2018, 10:34:58 am »
I have this one penciled in, Paolo.  I have to factor in the early start for me so figure taking a light will be useful at either end of the ride.  Happy to aim for something sensible like a 7pm finish at Cirencester before the ride home, with the odd cafe stop thrown in to help keep onboard fueling down.  I will have one eye on the weather though as spending 9 hours in the wet the other day dampened my spirits (and boots) a little.  Might have an added complication of exchange/completion dates but should know that closer to date.

Oh perfect...
So the usual... we average 28 km/h for the first hour, before you say that you would like to "press on" and disappear in the distance on your own at 30 km/h for the rest of the ride.  :thumbsup: ;D

So in all it looks like a 400 for you?  :P

whosatthewheel

Re: Heart of England 300, Sat 21st April
« Reply #12 on: 10 April, 2018, 10:58:10 am »
BTW, the organiser provides 6 GPX files, but I prefer to have my GPX as a single file so I can save the ride in its integrity for Strava Vanity and stuff.
If anyone wants a copy of the entire 306 km route as a single GPX track file, drop me a message with your email and I'll send you one

Re: Heart of England 300, Sat 21st April
« Reply #13 on: 10 April, 2018, 12:28:15 pm »
Sunrise in 0559 on the day so I guess that's possible and a 2014 sunset - I'd better take mine if I'm going to be plodding it out. LWL will be my first 400 so I need to try to ride at the pace i think I can sustain for that amount of time.

Why do you need to do a shorter ride at the speed you will do a longer ride? You will gain more fitness by riding faster and will feel a greater sense of achievement at the end. So ride each ride at a pace that suites the ride.

BB

Because I know that trying to do one 300km ride at a "high" speed is not going to improve my fitness at all for a 400km ride which is just 2 weeks after it.
I'd much rather ride it at a pace I think I'm going to do the 400 at and then see how I feel at the end of the 300.

The last 300 I did my average speed was at its highest during the final 2 hours so that pacing seemed to be OK.

Re: Heart of England 300, Sat 21st April
« Reply #14 on: 18 April, 2018, 10:55:37 am »
Don't shortcut in Meriden (104k) or you'll miss the National Cyclists' Memorial
https://www.ourwarwickshire.org.uk/content/article/meridens-cycling-memorial
"Meriden - at the very heart of England"

Re: Heart of England 300, Sat 21st April
« Reply #15 on: 18 April, 2018, 12:54:23 pm »
If the weather is fine I may well spend a little longer basking at the controls and making the most of the sun. With a 2am cut-off there's plenty of time to do that and still complete at a nice leisurely pace. Once again looking forward to this hearty ride.

Re: Heart of England 300, Sat 21st April
« Reply #16 on: 18 April, 2018, 01:14:09 pm »
I'm in. It will be my first 300 since July last year and like many others I am on LWL 2 weeks after. With a good forecast, a 2am finish and one eye on 400Km pace, it will be a more leisurely ride for me.

Re: Heart of England 300, Sat 21st April
« Reply #17 on: 18 April, 2018, 03:18:17 pm »
Last 300 was in early September and done a 200 every month (2 in Feb) since apart from October. My main goal is to finish and have a fun day out!  :) 

Re: Heart of England 300, Sat 21st April
« Reply #18 on: 18 April, 2018, 06:01:00 pm »
I have ridden the Heart of England several times and my highest average speed back in 2008 was a feeble 21 km/hr. The others were around 20 km/hr. I dodged a bullet in 2016 because my bike was off the road and I only have one. Midnight is the latest time I have finished so there definitely is plenty of time to go round at a relaxed pace, I am incapable of doing any better. I can't ride on Saturday because I will be heading up to London with my better half to cheer our daughter on in the marathon on Sunday. So I decided to set off from home in Stroud last Saturday at 5.15 am to do the trip as a training ride for the Brevet Cymru. All went well, the weather was benign, I can report that the road to the ford had a no entry sign but that was just for vehicles, the river had flooded but cyclists could cross using the footbridge. By Saturday I imagine that it will be back to normal. I managed to get off route after Sturdy's Castle but got into Woodstock by the main road, with 285 km under my belt. However I felt very weary and decided to  stay overnight and complete the ride next day. Now I know that I should have found a bus stop, phone box or church porch but I ended up in a rather nice hotelhttps://yacf.co.uk/forum/Smileys/classic/facepalm.gif and must have presented an interesting if smelly spectacle at breakfast on Sunday morning, hair dishevelled, teeth unbrushed, unshaven and kitted out in less than fragrant Lycra. But the Full English was excellent and I imitated a gannet with several other items on offer in the breakfast buffet. It took me three and a quarter hours to get home and my average speed was yet again just over 20 km/hr. What I did confirm is that the final section in daylight looks completely different than it is in the dark, however the Coneygar Road remains almost endless, both in the light and the dark! Good luck to you all on Saturday.https://yacf.co.uk/forum/Smileys/classic/thumbsup.gif

Lee Killestein

Re: Heart of England 300, Sat 21st April
« Reply #19 on: 18 April, 2018, 08:21:47 pm »
I’m in. Not so worried about a high average speed, I’ll definitely be needing my lights. I’m more concerned about how much climbing there is for me and the Pompino! Could be long day  :)

whosatthewheel

Re: Heart of England 300, Sat 21st April
« Reply #20 on: 18 April, 2018, 09:51:42 pm »
I’m in. Not so worried about a high average speed, I’ll definitely be needing my lights. I’m more concerned about how much climbing there is for me and the Pompino! Could be long day  :)

Couple of sharp climbs early on... then you should be fine

Lee Killestein

Re: Heart of England 300, Sat 21st April
« Reply #21 on: 18 April, 2018, 10:13:27 pm »
I’m in. Not so worried about a high average speed, I’ll definitely be needing my lights. I’m more concerned about how much climbing there is for me and the Pompino! Could be long day  :)

Couple of sharp climbs early on... then you should be fine

The middle section Alcester to Daventry is pretty much home turf for me. It’s the first and final sections that I’m not too familiar with. Should be a good day out.

CrazyEnglishTriathlete

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Re: Heart of England 300, Sat 21st April
« Reply #22 on: 19 April, 2018, 09:04:40 am »
I'm in.  Am going like a train at the moment.  But all my rides this year bar a couple have been based from The Hague where the biggest hill rises a hefty 10m.  So have no idea how I will go on Saturday.  However, if there is a headwind, then I've had plenty of practice climbing Dutch Mountains so mine will be the wheel to follow.   :smug:

Have no idea whether I will need lights or not, should be able to get back about sunset, but will take my commuter lights just in case.  They only take 30 seconds to clip on and weigh next to nothing.
Eddington Numbers 130 (imperial), 182 (metric) 571 (furlongs)  114 (nautical miles)

Re: Heart of England 300, Sat 21st April
« Reply #23 on: 19 April, 2018, 01:29:40 pm »
On the climbing the first leg has typical Cotswold hills, sharp up and down, there is the Compton Abdale 'Alp' to climb after you leave the village but once you get to the Broadway Monument you're on to flatter stuff. I've always found the second leg to Daventry rather undulating, no big hills but up and down. Leaving Daventry there is a steep climb to do but there is little of note after that, just the usual terrain.

whosatthewheel

Re: Heart of England 300, Sat 21st April
« Reply #24 on: 19 April, 2018, 03:00:51 pm »
there is the Compton Abdale 'Alp' to climb after you leave the village

One before and one after the village... in fact I seem to recall the one before is longer... but maybe memory is tricking me