First attempt at 2 laps back to back on the new IMUK bike circuit (circa 100 mile)
Areet?
So it was time for me first attempt at 2 laps back to back on the new IMUK bike circuit (circa 100 mile) with the goal being 8 hours to meet the cut offs….
Here is how it went…..
47 Mile IMUK bike circuit lap 1 : 3:50
Upon arrival at the bee-hive I noticed a couple of girls ‘saddling up’.
“You doin a loop?” I asked?
“Yeah” came the reply….
We got chatting and it turned out they were from Milton Keynes and had come to do a Recce..
“Know the route?” I asked….
“No, but we’ve got this……”
They then showed me an A3 map of the bike course….
“Not being funny love but you’ve got no-chance with that”
They seemed a bit put out at my comment….
Offered to show them round and off we went….
However, before we even got to Bolton town centre 4 mile down the road, they were nowhere to be seen behind me….
“This aint gonna work” I thought to myself and off I trots as a lone wolf….
I kept thinking that the key here is to ride lap 1 as if it is lap 2….
Take full advantage of the free gifts like….
In the places where I would usually put my foot down, I was far more gentle as I knew what was coming….
Dont get me wrong, it was hard to do this at times, a lad came stomping past on the fast section before Rammy and for a split second I wanted go after him…
Don’t you dare Rookie….
So glad I didn’t…..
I did get down onto the bars to ‘smoke’ a lad on a mountain bike but I was clearly a bit too close for his liking as I could still hear him shouting a volley of expletives at me when I was half a mile in front….
I jumped the lights at the bottom because I couldn’t be arsed waiting so a youngster hung out of the car window and yelled……… ‘RED YER SPAZ’….
Aggressive reactions from the locals continued half way up Holcombe Hill when an older hottie started whooping at me and clapping and shouted ‘keep going’
‘Cheers babe….You would keep me going’ I replied…..
This didn’t go down too well with the fella she was with though as he looked at me as if to say ‘it’s gonna go off in a minute son’…..
Jesus…..
Do they put something in the water round here or somert?
Anyhow, me strategy to take it easy was working a treat and I felt strong over Holcombe, Grane, Roman and even the forest of doom.
SHL in reverse was a piece of cake and it was a surreal feeling to be full of beans at all the various points when I would usually feel fatigued….
Returned to the Bee-hive in 3:50 which I was pleased with as it was perfectly within plan…
47 Mile IMUK loop lap 2 : 4:15
After a 10 minute stop to replenish fuel it was off for a second loop.
I wasn’t feeling great when I first got going – ‘what am I doing?’ I thought to myself and I struggled on the hills out of Breightment.
But the more the second lap went on the more I got into it and I was pleasantly surprised at how strong I felt for large periods second time round.
This unnerved me to be honest and I couldn’t understand it.
I kept saying to myself an hour is 25% done, 2 hours and we are half way there, 3 and we are 75% the way round and I was surprised at how much i still had in the tank at each of those points.
There are 8 key areas of note on this circuit…..
Here is how each one felt second time round…(See strava for elevation)
- Hills of Breightmet 6 mile in
There are 2 stonking hills in and out of breightmet 6 miles in and these are a darn sight more difficult on lap 2 than lap 1
2) Lowercroft dip 8 mile in
Think ‘big dipper’ – a fast decent on a nice wide road which is a lot of fun and this takes you half way up the other side – I dont find this a big deal even 2nd time round but I know a few lads that dont like it
3) Turton road 10 mile in
This may only be a 2 mile stretch but I hate it – its 2 mile of slow constant gradual climb – horrid on the 2nd lap
4) Holcombe Hill climb 15 mile in
Holcombe hill is a very famous ‘mountain’ in Rammy that people come from all over to walk up and we have cycle up the bastard twice.
This was alright you know – nowhere near as bad as I was expecting – felt the same as lap 1
5) Grane Road 20 mile in
The Grane Road will need no introduction….
3 mile grind with the biggest elevation on the circuit….
Again, was surprised how OK this was – dont get me wrong, its a grind, but not as bad as I was expecting
6) Roman Road 25 mile in
Someone needs to spray ‘welcome to hell’ on roman Road as make no mistake about this, you are in hell here on lap 2 – the relentless climb, steep in parts, subtle in others, feels like it goes on forever on already energy depleted legs
Watch you dont get caught out on the hill after the fast descent just before we turnoff onto moorside lane – make sure you switch your gears right down before you descend otherwise you will end up walking up the other side just like I dd on lap 2….
7) Forest of doom 32 mile in
Another 3 mile relentless grind 3/4 the way round when there is not much left in the legs as it is….Tough, but i’ve felt worse at this point on 1 lap than i did today here on lap 2
8) SHL in reverse 38 mile in
The worst part of this is the bit outside the black dog but once that is out of the way I felt surprisingly strong over the belmont climb – let’s have it right though – putting this bitch of a climb at the end of the loop is bang out of order…
Ended lap 2 on 4:15.
3:50 + 4:15 = 8:05 for the two.
1:30 swim + 15 minutes in T1 + 45 minute to get to the main loop + 8 hours for the 2 loops = 10:30…..
Bang on cut offs….
Tight…..
Too tight really….
But just like the premier league….
For some, the battle for survival is just as exciting as the battle for the title…..
Next update Sat 8th….
www.strava.com/activities/2416338597
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