Hi All,
Wow, what a weekend, the weather held, the MTB trails were mainly dry and we had great numbers of riders turning up. I know the site was quite small for the amount of people milling around and I'd like to say thanks for your patience and understanding, there wasn't (as far as I'm aware) any problems.
I'm working on the MTB times now, but here's the Road ones to be going on with.
Reading Road Sportive Rider Times
Any changes, please mail me and I'll get them done asap.
Ta
Dean
Monday 10 May 2010
Reading Times
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9 comments:
Only problem was the very poor quality of the roads and route choice. I have never seen so many people mending punctures along the roadside. The first 20 miles were really really bad.
I understand the reason for quiet country lanes, but please check the quality of them first before deciding to use them.
I think the problem with the punctures was unfortunate. We did change the route from the last time we were at this venue to try and avoid some of the worse roads but it didn't seem to have helped.
I rode that section of the course on Thursday after we'd had several days of dry weather and didn't have any problems with punctures, I think the rain on Saturday and Sunday probably washed grit onto the roads and caused many of the problems.
We are going to look to change the route again for the next visit to this venue to try and avoid the area that seemed to be causing most of the puncture problems.
An unbelievable number of people got punctures. Round every corner for the first 20 miles were lines of people fixing bikes - sometimes 10+ in a single stretch! It's a shame as it was a challenging and varied route on some quiet roads, so made a good ride. Having said that none of my group punctured so we probably enjoyed it more! Those heavier weight tyres were obviously a good investment then...
Talking to riders I think the general rule was that groups got more puntures than single riders. I have a theory. The roads in that stretch weren't in good shape and, hindsight being a wonderful thing, I should have changed the route. Cars driving down the road would have cleared a clean line with their tyres that a single rider could ride in. Groups however would be riding slightly wider, being more social and so the following riders could see the road. This would mean that they were riding in the "dirty" part of the road not cleaned by the cars and therefor picking up tiny bits of flint and thus punctures. Just a theory, but seams to make sense.
As soon as we were informed that there were problems, we sent out all our tubes to the drink station and had two vehicles helping riders on that section, handing out tubes to the most needy.
As an oraniser I had a sinking feeling as the reports came in. I realy do like you all to have a good time and knowing that so many were in trouble was not a good feeling.
I'm also glad that after the first section the general consensus was that the ride was a good one, through pretty countryside with some stunning views. And all only a 5 minute drive from Reading!
Next year we will be staying well away from the flint road!
Ta
Dean
You clearly found my blog entry - I don't think I've ever been tweeted to before so thanks! :)
Can you recommend a decent puncture resistant tyre 700x25 please?
I guess no tyre is completely puncture resistant but here's a few suggestions. I can't post links in the comments posts but I've included the Evans Cycle product codes which you can use to find them on our main website.
119337-25-BLK Continental Grand Prix 4 Season
119293-25-NA Continental Ultra Gator Skins
119290-25-NA Specialized All Condition Armadillo
Personally, I had Specialized Specialized Roubaix tyres on when marking the "puncture section" and had no problems. I don't think they're available in 25mm though.
I used Specialized All Condition Armadillo for this ride and the one in November. I was lucky and did not get a puncture on either day, however I am one of the unsocial solo riders.
The Armadillo is a heavy and will probably be slower than the tyres you are used to.
The narrow country lanes with the glorious views were wonderful, I for one, really enjoyed that part of the ride and that is one of the reasons I cycle.
Thanks
Richard
I usually swear by Continental Grand Prix 4 Seasons - I've had many sets of them and rarely punctured - and my Dad is having a lot of success with the Gatorskins. I was on Ultremo R1s and had no problems - but I'm mostly an unsociable rider...
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