Yes guys sorry about the pained silence !,i was in bits as Neil did the decent thing and stuffed it into me leaving prince town ,in fact the pork hill climb as he cralled away from me,and i was trying not to cramp up and keep him in sight.

The last 30 miles was a choice of wait for chris Turvey who was in trouble,or try to limit my losses on the langdon express (and limit the stick i would get for being dropped).

I chose to put my self through the mill and timetrialled myself into a frenzied state to finish 8 minutes down on neil for the 30 miles to the finish.I dont think this was to bad as neil has been doing pro riding lately and i have been playing catch up from being ill and off the the bike.

It would have been nice to have broken the 7 hour 5 minute cut off had we not waited for chris turvey to have a number two in a field after 30 mile point,or i could have ridden harder !!! which would have given me a silver medal,not a shameful,shameful bronze !!!

still hard as nails ride and well done to all .

Captian B.

Here's the report on our Boy's weekend jolly.

Andrew and Chris picked me up at about 11.15am on Saturday morning and off we went down south, it was certainly a hot old journey. First port of call was to go to the Event HQ to sign on, we arrived there about 3pm and at the Event Village the sun was scorching down, dam hot !. After signing on we spent about an hour there having a look round plus Andrew bumped into some friends and then it was the 3/4 hour drive to Andrew's mums place at Bridstowe.

We arrived to be greeted by Trish (mummy) where we were treated to tea and cakes in the garden, this was very gratefully recieved. The next ritual was the Ludlow fat boy's bike cleaning demo, prepared as usual I thought. Following this it was the three fat blokes in the blazing heat faffing about attaching the event numbers to their bikes, this was exhausting enough let alone what the following day had in store for us. The next move was all in the shower (not all together !) and then we went off to a lovely country pub in Bratton Clovelly for the evening scoff and the Chris W drinking session followed by the fat boy "I've eaten too much" stroll round the village at Bridstowe before bed.

We had a text from Clive to say that Niel and himself were staying at Torquay and they'd see us the next day.

Up early Sunday morning 5am (my once a year horrific shock) showered and down for breakfast for 5.30am, Trish bless her really does spoils us and she had cooked us a full english breakfast etc etc. Then all kitted up it was the 3/4 hr drive to the event HQ and we were in the starting pens (no sign of Captain B and Neil) where ours was released at 7.30pm. Even at this time of day it was already heating up but the first 1/3 of the ride you seem to get some shade from the wooded area's apart from you get one hell of a steep climb up from Watersmeet (it's a beast and certainly on 39 ring). Princetown is the first check point and I arrived here first over the timing mat shortly followed by Chris, a quick pit stop and straight out again for the next third where it was now some bit hot around the 28 degrees. It's a nice run from here to Tavistock and then it starts to get lumpy and later on you get the fearsome long steep climb Pork Hill which continues into Merryvale Hill up to Princetown from the opposite direction, this lot is about 4 miles long and in this heat it was torture and some bit tough. Chris on his compact 34 ring reached Princetown a minute or so before me this time and that lot for me in that heat with the 39 ring was a real sod and pushes you to near mental breaking point. So into the Princetown check point again and a quick out again and just as we were existing Niel was comming in and we gave each other a shout. Right I thought it's all out hammer time for the last third as Langdons going to be on a mission to chase us down and hammer I did as a lot of this big gear fast rolling stuff suits me however there's also a lot of uphill drags in it as well. The last 10 miles or so is the best finish you could ever wish for i.e. a slight down hill rolling river valley run for about 8 miles where you never drop below about 24 mph and then the last two miles has a few ramps in it to sting those tired legs to the finish.

I crossed the line with a small pack of about 8 riders where we had been working the last five miles together (and no Neil did'nt catch me), we recieved a big cheer from the crowd as we went into the arena and over the timing mat plus a well done and congratulation over the tannoy.

Bloody hell that was a tough 170km (106 miles), handed my timing chip in and I'd cracked a 7hrs 25 mins 10 sec and got a bronze medal and a Dartmoor rock trophy (quite happy with that considering being an old fart suffering with a bad chest problem so far all this year). Chris came in a few minutes later and he had clocked an overall time of 7hrs 25 mins 34 sec and also recieved a bronze (hard luck mate 24 seconds loss !, only joking).

A bit later on we spotted Captain B crossing the arena after just comming in, blooming heck he looked in a mess and could hardly speak for about 5 minutes which was nice for us !. When we did get some sense out of him apparently he'd absolutely flogged himself flat out on the last third, 7hrs 6 mins 21 sec and got a bronze, I'd say that's impressive and a big well done to him.

The Bristol lout Mr Langdon took the honors amoungst us lot with a time of 6hrs 58 mins 39 sec and got a silver, now that was some feat and well done to him.

Andrew has'nt been doing as much riding lately as the rest of us (due to all work and no play) and wisely decided to branch off onto the shorter 64 mile route. So obviously also a well done to him as irrespective of distance all of this was tough and an achievement.

Clive, Neil and Chris then headed back homeward bound in the Langmobile whilst Andrew and myself had another evening being spoilt by Trish plus another pub evening scoffing session followed by a couple of drinks. Then after breakfast we loaded up and headed home.

Well that was a brilliant weekend.

If you want a real tough challenge have a go at this next year, also the scenery is absolutely breath taking. For the second year running I have to say it's one of the best organised events I've done.

Bye for now,

Big Ring.

This next weekend is Dartmoor Classic time, it's a brilliant ride but also it's a 106 mile beast and quite a challenge mentally and physically.

The Ludlow fat boys Andrew Alston and Chris Williams are picking me up mid Saturday morning and we're heading down to Dartmoor and staying with Andrew's mum for the weekend and coming back on Monday morning. So it'll be straight down on route to the Event HQ for signing on and then off to Mrs A's for afternoon tea and later we are all off to a lovely little country pub for an evening meal and a few glasses of wine or about four pints of beer if you are Chris W. We hope to repeat this evening ritual on the Sunday night as well but with a bit more wine and beer thrown in.

Captain Clive Beacon is travelling down after work and he's staying with the Somerset yocal Neil Langdon and I believe they are going to pop down to join us for some tucker at the pub.

Then it'll be up early Sunday morning and off to do the event to meet up with Clive and Neil, we'll reveal all later on how it all goes.

Bye for now,

Big Ring

Hi Everyone,

Well it's now sold out, 2200 riders.

So it's Captain B, Chris E and myself flying the Climb-On-Bikes CC flag and we are joined by the Ludlow motley crew of Chris Williams and Andrew Alston plus Neil Langdon from the Giant mob.

If it's anything like last year this whole weekend will be cracking.

Bye for now,

Big Ring

Hi Guys,as i am going to come back on the sunday and have a late depart on saturday,i have taken up Neil langdons offer to travel and stay with him,this suits the two hard working men of the group,and we will meet the slack alice brigade at the start.(or perhaps for the evening grub feast ?).

All for now,Clive.

Hi Everyone,

A further update that there are now only 200 places remaining and it's anticipated that by the end of February these will be all gone.

So if anybody else fancies joining us on this one you'll need to make your mind up rather quickly.

Bye for now,

Robin

That's a shame Dave that you wont be with us, never mind nodoubt you'll have a good time in France.

C'mon all those still in hibenation, wake up !, get your entry in before it sells out.

Still at the moment it's Andrew Alston, Chris Williams,Captain Beaky, Chris Egan and myself who are up for this weekend away.

Bye for now,

Robin

Just about to sign up ,but realised I,m going to France to have my legs beaten with sledge hammers ........ again.

Dave

Good man Chris, you'll really enjoy this ride but not only that the whole weekend is a real buzz.

So at the moment it's Andrew Alston, Chris Williams, Captain Beaky, Chris Egan and myself who are up for this weekend away.

So again does anybody else fancy joining us ?, C'mon you miserable lot .

Bye for now,

Robin

just got an entry off on line, so will be joining you on this one.

Cheers.

Hi Everyone,

The entry list is now running at 1550 places taken, so it wont be long before it's sold out.

At the moment it's Andrew Alston, Chris Williams,Captain Beaky and myself who are up for this weekend away.

So does anybody else fancy joining us ?, C'mon guys.

Bye for now,

Robin

Hi Everyone,

Last year I did this event with Andrew Alston and Chris Williams of the Ludlow CC, it was basically a great boys weekend away. As far as I'm concerned it was the best Sportive of the year along with a brilliant weekend of fun and banter.

I've just entered it again for 2010 (170 km distance) along with Andrew and Chris plus Captain Clive Beacon. The idea is to travel down on the Saturday afternoon with an overnight stay taking in a country pub evening meal and a few drinks. On the Sunday do the event and then there's a choice of either staying the night with another country pub evening out or heading straight home.

The event is on Sunday 27th June, two distances on offer 170km (106 miles) or 100km (62 miles). All details can be found on the cyclosport.org website, 2200 entry limit and nearly 1400 places have been snapped up all ready.

So does anybody else fancy coming along ?, if so firstly get your entry in quick before it sells out. Then get in touch with us concerning what you fancy doing so we can make arrangements well in advance for that weekend.

Bye for now,

Robin