We were out today getting the mountain bike route signs out ready for tomorrow.
Like the road route it's pretty much the same as last year although this year the full route, including the long section, is sign posted so no self navigation or checkpoints to find.
The route isn't really technical but there are quite a lot of root sections, some deep mud to try and skirt around and a few slippy places to look out for.
Despite the recent wet weather the course has held up fairly well, in some places it's completely dry but in others (especially through the woods) it is quite muddy. Most bits you can ride through or round without too many problems, I was expecting much worse, I think I can maybe just about get away without washing the bike :-)
One thing to look out for, the route crosses the Ridgeway in a number of places and it seemed there were a lot of walkers out today so take care on the faster descents.
Route distances are -
- Short 17 miles
- Medium 26 miles
- Long 33 miles
9 comments:
Great ride - but I think "a bit muddy" is an understatement some parts of the long ride would have been suitable for bog snorkling!
Seems like the muddy bit on the long loop got worse througout the day as more people rode it. On Friday it really was all rideable if you picked your line carefully as you could get round the edges on most of the worst bits.
Mudfest! Glastonbury??? Great signposting helps on the long route. Think I brought half the Chilterns home with me...! Enjoyed it though, I think?!
I was relatively early through the long route and I'm not sure it was the impact of the riders that made it muddy! Have to go out this morning and remove the mountain from the bike.
Regardless, probably bit off a bit more than I could chew with the long route but had a great morning anyway.
This is the first RideIt event i've been on. Was a really good day. The GPX files weren't accurate though, and didn't actually represent the same route as the yellow arrows. Is this normal? Look at the start of the MTB route as an example.
It was also my first Ride it event. Did the short-route. I was cursing the mud and the thin trails as I went through it but was glad I managed to complete it.
It was an excellent day out and with the sign posting I did not have to waste too much time reading maps.
Thanks for organising it.
muddy ride - great fun - especially through the woods mid way through the ride. Im not sure the long loop was worth it - i heard a couple of people ended up doing the long loop twice as the signage was a bit confusing! The gpx file bore no resemblence to the marked route.
To say it bore no resembalance is a bit harsh, I think. Although, yes it could have been recorded to a higher level of granularity. I downloaded the route before hand and then used GPSies to refine it and on the day it worked well. Except the first section before the extremely steep first climb.
If anyone is interested, here is a link to my actual GPS recording of the ride (as I did it): http://www.gpsies.com/map.do?fileId=mqymvjitnfmefsnk
M
PS: Thanks Evans, it was a great day and the ride was very well organised. It's great to discover new riding territory and I met many really friendly fellow MTBers.
Hi All
Thanks for your comments.
We had about 266 riders out on Saturday which probably explains why the mud was much more in evidence as the day went on! Please spare a thought for Mike, our course stripper, who "lost" his back-pack some where on the course and spent a couple of hours riding around in the mud and, by then, pouring rain trying to find it as it contained his keys and wallet. By the time a ranger phoned him to say he'd found it it was 7pm before he got back to base, meaning he'd been out for about 8hrs! He then went on to strip 82miles of road route on Sunday and was still smiling at the end. And he's 60!
With regard to the GPX routes. Yep, hands up, the beginning of the route was different to the route on the trails. I found the cycle route that cut out riding through the town centre, but forgot to change the GPX files. As for accuracy, it's a bit of comprimise. Some GPS units only accept a small amount of waypoints so we keep them to a minimum. If there is a trail that is curved for instance, we'll put waypoints at points along the trail. The GPX will join these with straight lines meaning that the GPX route deviates away from the trail and then returns as you approach the next waypoint. The upshot of this is that the GPS will keep telling you that you are off route and should be going left or right when you are on a trail that there is no way off.
Hope that makes sense.
Ta
Dean
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