Kent Invicta 100km Grimpeur/Hilly 50km 14th March 2010

[rob]

no it was Rob 

and he rubbed it in by saying I could go and buy a pint if I liked 

It was much nicer the one time it was held in Summer (June I think) and I sat out in the sun with a beer and chatting to riders on their way through.   I did ride there and back, though.

[Martin]

no it was Rob 

and he rubbed it in by saying I could go and buy a pint if I liked 

It was much nicer the one time it was held in Summer (June I think) and I sat out in the sun with a beer and chatting to riders on their way through.   I did ride there and back, though.

11 May 2003; apart from the Derby Canter 150 the only non-SR ride I did that year; would I really have finished PBP on that?

[rob]

no it was Rob 

and he rubbed it in by saying I could go and buy a pint if I liked 

It was much nicer the one time it was held in Summer (June I think) and I sat out in the sun with a beer and chatting to riders on their way through.   I did ride there and back, though.

11 May 2003; apart from the Derby Canter 150 the only non-SR ride I did that year; would I really have finished PBP on that?

That's the one.   'Twas a lovely day.   You'd have finished.   2003 was a lot more benign than 2007.

[Weirdy Biker]

Spring has sprung  

Great day for riding over the weald, what with clear skies and sun.  Rode the 2nd loop in shorts and minus a base layer. It'll be time for sunblock and shortsleeves before we know it.

In the sunshine the hills generally don't seem that bad.  Almost all were a delight, with a great payback of views across Kent.  Either at the top or by glancing over your shoulder.

Yorks Hill was a pretty shambolic affair.  I can get why it is is included but found it wholly unecessary.  The gradient is punishing but the real challenge on this climb is picking out a route in the narrow strip of "tarmac" between skog left and skog middle.  I gave up, and resorted to walking up as it was taking too much concentration rather than allowing me to relax into the twiddle.  Ide Hill would've been better to ascend, presumably for the same metres climb (albeit longer on road distance).

Going left from the control at the start was different from last year.  I personally didn't like it, as you were into some pretty stiff climbing without a warm up.  It also meant the more "sporting" riders (sporting as in racy, not sporting as in gentlemanly) managed to nark me in the first 2km with their shabby overtaking and cutting in on the climb.  It's a f**king audax, chaps, not the etape.

Usual sterling organisation from West Kent DA, with an abundance at each control (up to 3!).  Bundles of nosh and tea at the end - just right for topping up the tank before heading homeward.

[Cyklisten]

Thoroughly enjoyed this one  
As FY says, the weather was nigh on perfect. Can't say as I found Yorks Hill to be a huge problem, certainly not as bad as  the road surfaces (or lack of same) in the Bough Beech area which would pose a threat to car wheels, let alone my 23mm of rubber and it is the jewel in the crown.
Many thanks to the organisers and helpers.
I'll be helping on the Man Of Kent 200 in a couple of weeks if I survive next week's route check  
Look forward to seeing some of you on that one.

EDIT: And ... I weigh the same as when I set out, so I got my hydration right for a change. He he! ... anal or what?!

[citoyen]

Yep, absolutely splendid ride - well done to the organisers for laying on a beautiful spring day, as well as all the other effort they put into making this ride work.

I also had to remove a layer at the end of the first loop, and switched from full gloves to fingerless mitts - first time this year. Didn't risk removing the knee-warmers though.

I finished in probably my best ever time for this event - about 5 1/2 hours - largely through the expediency of having a much lighter bike this time round. Though I still felt I could have done with an extra gear at the bottom end a couple of times. And I expect it would have helped if I'd checked the indexing of my gears before the ride - the 7th-9th sprockets were practically unusable because the chain wouldn't stay on any of them for more than a second at a time. I expect this is the Cycling Gods' way of punishing me for not doing this on fixed. Lucky I had that tenth sprocket for the big climbs.

I managed to twiddle up all the climbs, including Yorks, by just relaxing and taking it steady. I am not a fast climber. Which only adds to the sense that the fecking hill is never going to end. But I always got there eventually.

Felt a bit nervous on some of the descents - probably a legacy of recent falls - but still managed to hit 67km/h on River Hill, which was quite satisfying.

And I had a big smile on my face at the finish, which isn't always the case.  

d.

[citoyen]

Cyklisten, I have trouble relating real-life cyclists to forum personas and often can't remember which name goes with which face, but I think I saw you at the finish today. I'll try to remember to say hello properly on the Man of Kent.

d.

[Cyklisten]

Me too. I did spot and say hello to FY at the start. Trouble is, I have tried that before and received some seriously blank looks, especially with the more outlandish forum names. "Are you Hugh Jarse?" for example  

Mr Smudge, I'm guessing black kit and a Felt bike plus sideburns?

I'll be floating on the MOK during the day, notably at the top of Hunton Hill with my camera and looking out for said sideburns on a fixer!

Also at the Arrivée

Andy

[citoyen]

Mr Smudge, I'm guessing black kit and a Felt bike plus sideburns?

Guilty as charged.

I'll be floating on the MOK during the day, notably at the top of Hunton Hill with my camera and looking out for said sideburns on a fixer!

Hmm, I might be on foot at that point.

FY, I think I might be one of the "sporty" people who passed you on Rowdow, though I always try to give ample room when overtaking other riders. I said hello but I think you were too busy railing against the injustices of the world to be sociable. 

d.

[Weirdy Biker]

FY, I think I might be one of the "sporty" people who passed you on Rowdow, though I always try to give ample room when overtaking other riders. I said hello but I think you were too busy railing against the injustices of the world to be sociable. 

Oh, it wasn't you.  Your crunching gear change announced your presence, iirc 

The particular rider I'm thinking of was on the first hill out of Otford.  He and his mate were overtaking riders into oncoming traffic and cutting in at the last moment.  I might have resorted to some strong saxon language, as I had to swerve to avoid his back wheel.

One of the things that strikes me about this ride is how strong (in both senses) the turnout is.  Presumably local riders use it as an early season test of fitness prior to the race season getting underway?

[loz]

a big thanks to the organisers - i was worried about my first audax but that was fun!

Smudge - i was the guy blocking a tractor while trying to change inner tube. Enjoyed the final ride in with you, sorry i didn't stick around at the end but had to shoot off

Looking forward to the Man of kent 200 now

[telstarbox]

Not sure if this has been posted before, but Strava have included the 100km route in their London Guide:

Kent Grimpeur
Based on one of Audax UK's classic rides, this is a tough loop around Sevenoaks in Kent. It's full of classic North Downs climbs like Exedown, Bayleys Hill and the infamous Yorks Hill, the site of the Catford Hill Climb which, it is claimed, is the oldest continuously run race in the world. There are plenty of tea-rooms and pubs on the way round, but you'll need to make sure you don't load up too much for the steep, steep climbs and technical descents of the Grimpeur. In the actual Audax events the real hard men do the loop from Otford both ways… feel free to take the train back to London afterwards if you decide to join them.

https://www.strava.com/local/uk/london/cycling/routes/119

[whosatthewheel]

Not sure if this has been posted before, but Strava have included the 100km route in their London Guide:

Kent Grimpeur
Based on one of Audax UK's classic rides, this is a tough loop around Sevenoaks in Kent. It's full of classic North Downs climbs like Exedown, Bayleys Hill and the infamous Yorks Hill, the site of the Catford Hill Climb which, it is claimed, is the oldest continuously run race in the world. There are plenty of tea-rooms and pubs on the way round, but you'll need to make sure you don't load up too much for the steep, steep climbs and technical descents of the Grimpeur. In the actual Audax events the real hard men do the loop from Otford both ways… feel free to take the train back to London afterwards if you decide to join them.

It's the 50 km route

https://www.strava.com/local/uk/london/cycling/routes/119

[rob]

The 100k is 2 laps of the 50k circuit.

[telstarbox]

So it is.

[whosatthewheel]

The 100 is 2 laps, but the second is the opposite way round, so it is the 50 loop, plus the bits to get there and back from London, making it into a 100 km ride.

Invicta Grimpeur is one of the best events out there IMO, bit far for me unfortunately