Cycling Weekly - Moors and Shores Adventure X Massif – The Ride

Sometime it’s difficult to predict how a ride will go or what to expect, but this ride had the mark of slightly easy on it. Is there such thing as an easy ride? No, there isn’t! The lack of terrain difficulty was compensated by a brisk pace right from the start. At 7:30 in the morning a fast pace is all I need…not. I’m a diesel. I need to warm up an hour or so. To get my heart started. The start of this timed event is made in small groups. 10, 15 riders at the most in one go, who get briefed before they take off. The CX bikes in my group are a minority. Just the four of us. One of them I met on the parking lot. His name is Phil and he looks the capable rider, he turns out to be. He drops me on nearly every climb. Most of the climbs I manage to do on the big ring, 46x26/28, more of a push then a spin really, but the crit racing pays off. More power in the legs then before. It keeps the heart rate in check and the legs pumping.  

The first stretch of the ride is the easy bit. Until the Mini Massif takes a turn to the right and we are off on the Moors to Whitby. It’s rock ‘n roll on the Moors. Rocks, bogs and holes. Sheep too. Lots of them. There is a freakish building of the RAF. What do they do or hide in there? Perhaps an UFO? With the splash station behind us, it’s a long run to the first of two feeding stations. Hence the Camelback (2L) packed with bars and gels, tools, rain jacket and spare tubes. Just the odd 3 kilo’s extra strapped to my back to make it a little more difficult up the hills. I opted for semi slicks today, praying for a mostly dry course, they will give me the advantage on the hard pack surfaces. Better rolling, less resistance. 4 bar pressure, which will do the trick nicely today.

The sky is a grey one and as soon as Whitby comes into view, so is the drizzle. The sun was trying on the Moors, but to no avail. The first feeding station is a rainy affair. Lucky there is room under the tent for a dry bite of the very good stocked food on the table. Matthew checks his damage of his earlier tumble. I missed that one. He seems to be okay. All in one piece, everything in function. I had only one near miss myself. As we go on, the route follows the old abandon train track. It’s like a rollercoaster, more up then down, but never the less, FUN! Before I know it, we hit the second feeding station and Phil. He is in good form. Next is a section with the steepest climb of the day. Called Lang Gate road or something. As I zigzag up this road, huffing and puffing, a lady walking her dog tells me: “If you think this is heavy, wait until you round the next corner.” Boy was she right! 33,8% is the highest incline my Garmin registrated. This one hits us at about 70km into the ride. 34x28 was the recommendation as smallest option. I didn’t take notice on that one and suffered for it. 38x28 is my last resort for the day. With just 100 metres or so before the summit I have no more power in the legs and have to get of the bike and start crawling the last bit on foot. I don’t think the 34/28 gear would be any help today on this climb. Besides a little part of woodland uphill, there’s no more walking today. At 5 km before the finish line we overtake Phil. He is walking. Bike and chain in hand. He did not bring a chain tool or power link to repair his broken chain. Matthew and I help him out and we are swiftly on our way to the finish. 

 

 

Was it all worth the trouble? Yep, nothing of the kind does come close in Holland. Was it hard? Well, I didn’t much endurance stuff this year, mostly short, fast crits. That made it hard after the first three hours, but I kept it nicely together, didn’t overdo it. I had good company and well organised support. And the landscapes…pfff. Fanfreekingtastic!!!

Next stop Wales or Scotland? Maybe next year…

My thanks to Rather Be Cycling, Phil Cook and Matthew Bennett. A special chapeau to Manuel Pina. He did the ride on his heavy MTB on floppy trainers!

 

The Stats: 95.7km Distance4:42:41 Moving Time

1,270m Elevation

162W    Estimated Avg Power

2,753kJ Energy Output

	Avg	Max
Speed	20.3km/h	66.6km/h
Heartrate	140bpm	162bpm
Calories	3,070
Temperature	15℃
Elapsed Time	5:07:12

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