Velo South - West Sussex 23/09/2018 (Closed Road 100)

[sussexrider]

You didn’t go the right way, end of.

My original post was intended to inform anyone not familiar with the area that the strava segment Thicket Ln Climb contains corrupt data and isn't infact a 23% climb. So I've created a new strava segment in order to put minds at rest.

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[Racing roadkill]

My original post was intended to inform anyone not familiar with the area that the strava segment Thicket Ln Climb contains corrupt data and isn't infact a 23% climb. So I've created a new strava segment in order to put minds at rest. View attachment 398697 .

That’s wrong though, the route turns right into Thicket Lane, then immediately left, for a good reason.

 

[kingrollo]

Having gone through Kinver on VB - Short and not much above 10% - I can not believe they will send us up a 22% hill a few miles in - Other than the fastracks everyone else will have to walk up - there just won't be room to pedal - you are are going to behind people (lots of) going at 3mph - and once you stop you will not start again - well not on cleats anyway....

 

[smutchin]

More emails coming in saying there are still spaces

Just had a press release to say it's now sold out.

 

[Racing roadkill]

https://www.relive.cc/view/1493205581

Here is the route ( as it stands at present). The first 6 miles is harsh, the last 10 miles is very harsh, and the bit in between is very lumpy, but very scenic. The condition of the road surface is terrible at present, I can’t see it being addressed any time soon, given the years of neglect necessary to get it into that state. I hope the organisers do get the full permission to close the necessary roads, to keep the route as it is at the moment.

 

[Shadow]

Bit late to this, not a sub-forum I regularly visit.

Location grabbed my attention as from about Mile 5 to Mile 60 are roads I know well and regularly ride. Prospect of closed roads appealed but dithered due to cost.

It will be interesting to see if the route is altered, but as the local council is a 'sponsor', they should know what they are letting themselves in for. I notice one major difficult area, the A29 heading north thru Pulborough. In the space of less than a mile, the A29 provides access to 2 churches and 2 supermarkets. I wonder how 'customers' for these services are supposed to access these while the road is closed.

There is also a small stretch of A road to the west of Horsham which appears to require diversion. This should be easier as only a handful of local residents would be inconvenienced.

Presumably, the road closures are monitored by police on motor bikes? If there are 15,000 cyclists, I would imagine it does not take long for the peloton to fragment into many parts. In which case, this must require a huge police presence to keep roads traffic-free, from the front to the rear. Would there be a broom wagon?

For those who are signed up and do not know the roads, one of the pleasures you will miss is climbing Duncton Hill from the north. The downside of this, is errrr, the downside. I would imagine it would be easy to reach speeds of 70kph+. Especially knowing there is no traffic coming towards you. But there is a lovely 270° bend at the bottom. If you are in a bunch and do not know the riders around you, I would advise extreme caution!

 

[kingrollo]

Bit late to this, not a sub-forum I regularly visit.

Location grabbed my attention as from about Mile 5 to Mile 60 are roads I know well and regularly ride. Prospect of closed roads appealed but dithered due to cost.

It will be interesting to see if the route is altered, but as the local council is a 'sponsor', they should know what they are letting themselves in for. I notice one major difficult area, the A29 heading north thru Pulborough. In the space of less than a mile, the A29 provides access to 2 churches and 2 supermarkets. I wonder how 'customers' for these services are supposed to access these while the road is closed.

There is also a small stretch of A road to the west of Horsham which appears to require diversion. This should be easier as only a handful of local residents would be inconvenienced.

Presumably, the road closures are monitored by police on motor bikes? If there are 15,000 cyclists, I would imagine it does not take long for the peloton to fragment into many parts. In which case, this must require a huge police presence to keep roads traffic-free, from the front to the rear. Would there be a broom wagon?

For those who are signed up and do not know the roads, one of the pleasures you will miss is climbing Duncton Hill from the north. The downside of this, is errrr, the downside. I would imagine it would be easy to reach speeds of 70kph+. Especially knowing there is no traffic coming towards you. But there is a lovely 270° bend at the bottom. If you are in a bunch and do not know the riders around you, I would advise extreme caution!

I did the Birmingham Velo - run by the same company a few answers to your queries:-

1.There will be and people are forewarned of disruption. I think the problem in the Birmingham velo was that many people (me included) thought 'nah car mad Birmingham - they won't close 100 of miles of roads' - People were advised to plan accordingly - they didn't , and woke up to utter surprise as they couldn't get through to some destinations AT ALL !

2.Road closures were monitored by CSM and council staff and police - the police being in the minority.

3.Reportedly there was a Broom wagon - I only heard of 1 person being swept up - and from what I hear he was glad to be swept up ! - I heard no reports of people being forced to discontinue their rides - Indeed daylight was fading and many riders were still coming in.

4. Personally I think the route will avoid majorly steep climbs and descents - the cycle traffic just clogs it up - one minor climb outside kinver, inexperienced cyclists were just dismounting in the middle of the road - being clipped in you can't just stop on a climb - it was very scary climbing with cyclists to left and right, in front behind, it was all grinding to a halt - thankfully I stayed up right !

If you don't have a place - you will probably be able to pick one up for next to nothing closer to the date - many people sign up intending to train all summer - don't - and then don't fancy looking a total newb on the day., There were plenty of offers of velo places appearing on Facebook (Some FOC).....I am travelling down from Birmingham to do Velo south - If you're local I think you would be foolish to miss it for the sake of £80 - sure its a lot of cash - but you're buying an experience - sometimes you just have to pay !

 

[Racing roadkill]

4. Personally I think the route will avoid majorly steep climbs and descents

You’d be wrong. There are some total pigs of climbs, and a very ‘interesting’ descent at about 6 miles.

 

[kingrollo]

You’d be wrong. There are some total pigs of climbs, and a very ‘interesting’ descent at about 6 miles.

how do you know what the final route will be ?
the birmingham route changed significantly after most people thought it was settled.
from the organisers pov they put enough hills to keep it interesting - but perhaps more importantly they want to get 15,000 riders around safely...

 

[Racing roadkill]

how do you know what the final route will be ?
the birmingham route changed significantly after most people thought it was settled.
from the organisers pov they put enough hills to keep it interesting - but perhaps more importantly they want to get 15,000 riders around safely...

I was using the ‘poster’ route ( as it stands at present) The final route is subject to change, but I don’t think they’ll take the meaty climb out of South Harting out, as that’s not on a contentious part of the route.

 

[kingrollo]

I was using the ‘poster’ route ( as it stands at present) The final route is subject to change, but I don’t think they’ll take the meaty climb out of South Harting out, as that’s not on a contentious part of the route.

You know the roads better than I - FWIW i sometimes think gradients can be misleading - for example and 8% climb that ramps up to 23% for a few metres is still an 8% climb in my book !
I live in quite a hilly area - so more practice needed .....

 

[Racing roadkill]

You know the roads better than I - FWIW i sometimes think gradients can be misleading - for example and 8% climb that ramps up to 23% for a few metres is still an 8% climb in my book !
I live in quite a hilly area - so more practice needed .....

That’s the issue, with the South Harting climb. It comes at the 90 mile mark, so your legs have had it anyway, then it suddenly ramps from a steady 6% to something eye watering at the end. The first climb up to Upwaltham has a nasty step at the end as well, but that’s only 6 miles in, so it’s not too bad, and more than made up for by the following decent into Duncton.

 

[The Jogger]

That’s the issue, with the South Harting climb. It comes at the 90 mile mark, so your legs have had it anyway, then it suddenly ramps from a steady 6% to something eye watering at the end. The first climb up to Upwaltham has a nasty step at the end as well, but that’s only 6 miles in, so it’s not too bad, and more than made up for by the following decent into Duncton.

Plenty of braking at the bottom of Duncton otherwise it's straight across onto a new route. South Harting is a bitch of a climb......

 

[Racing roadkill]

Plenty of braking at the bottom of Duncton otherwise it's straight across onto a new route. South Harting is a bitch of a climb......

The left hander on the descent at Duncton is going to be like a missile range, on the day

 

[Shadow]

1.There will be and people are forewarned of disruption. I think the problem in the Birmingham velo was that many people (me included) thought 'nah car mad Birmingham - they won't close 100 of miles of roads' - People were advised to plan accordingly - they didn't , and woke up to utter surprise as they couldn't get through to some destinations AT ALL !

Thanks for taking the time to address my post. I accept what you say, and from what I understand, the same thing happened on the London/Surrey 100 ride. If the route does not change, there are gong to be some very upset parishioners. I was chatting to someone connected to one of the churches yesterday who wanted to know if I could confirm the closures, which I did, assuming the course remains as is. Since my last post, I have realised the closure also affects the only access to the rail station. We shall see what happens and if Horsham District Council (HDC) change their minds!

Personally I think the route will avoid majorly steep climbs and descents - the cycle traffic just clogs it up - one minor climb outside kinver, inexperienced cyclists were just dismounting in the middle of the road - being clipped in you can't just stop on a climb - it was very scary climbing with cyclists to left and right, in front behind, it was all grinding to a halt - thankfully I stayed up right !

As others have noted, there will be climbs. For reasonably fit experienced cyclists they will not pose major problems but equally, they are challenging, especially after some miles in the legs!


Another query: how does the start work? I cannot envisage 15,000 eager sportivistes all being let off the leash at once!