United Kingdom - Dartmoor classic bike ride

Just a quick post to say how much enjoyment i had from this years Dartmoor classic bike ride...One hundred miles of riding through stunning scenery..shame i found out about this event too late in the year though as i couldnt register as all the places were taken...Two thousand riders took part in this years race alone .At the start of the race I tagged along behind a pack of one hundred riders ...Wasnt to sure how well i was going to do to be honnest.I did feel a little guilty overtaking my first female rider though that changed when females started to overtake me though .When the next set of riders started to pass me then i put my racing head on and starting to gain a few places ..Later on in the race I Had a big confidence boost when a organiser told me for what i was riding i was doing very well i.Wasnt long before i left some drop handles including carbon bikes ,must of been the slower ones mind or they knew what was coming up a like the steep hills onto the moors further in the ride ...i did end up i finishing the one hundred miles in eight hours and eight mins .To finish the ride with no problems is one thing but to do it in a medal time was even better ...That would of got me a bronze medal too..not bad riding a heavy mountain bike...and it was my first time i ever rode this type of distance before

I do want to hold a gold medal in the next years event so i will be defintely be purchasing a reasonably road bike ...Oh and a bike which holds has two drink holders not just one..
I would highly recommend this ride to anyone to come down and try it .Stunning scenery al through the ride and It was brilliantly organised too :D

I Paid the price though with serious saddle burns ..still walking like John Wayne and im losing out on bike riding (not good) Thanks for reading and hopes someone will benefit from it.... Rhurbarb

Good post. Thanks for sharing. I love sportives because of the atmosphere and the sense of achievement against your own standards.

Gold medal next year, eh? Big challenge if the standard is anything like some of the recent ones I've done. If I really bust my ass on a ride I will get a silver usually but gold is well out of reach for me still. Maybe next year if I can get some big training effort in.

Good luck with your next one :thumb:

edit: just realised you weren't actually on the ride. I would really discourage this as 1) it's unfair on those who have paid and 2) it puts the organisers in a spot if the police count more than the allocated number of riders they were informed about. If you miss a ride, you suck it up and do the next one. :)

Thanks Matt .Back into training soon ...Defintely look forward to the next one ...I defintely wouldnt recommend tagging along for sure.I was very happy to pay at the time but that was out of the question...I was just unlucky that all the places were taken ...Point taken though

Thanks for your support and if you could make it on that ride next year let me know m8

...Rhurbarb:)

Thanks Matt .Back into training soon ...Defintely look forward to the next one ...I defintely wouldnt recommend tagging along for sure.I was very happy to pay at the time but that was out of the question...I was just unlucky that all the places were taken ...Point taken though

Thanks for your support and if you could make it on that ride next year let me know m8

...Rhurbarb:)

Funny, I saw a guy out on my training ride today with a Dartmoor Classic Sportive jersey on and thought about this thread. I might just give it a shot next year, it sounds like a good day.

Hi Matt...If you like a challenging ride im 100 percent sure your love this bike ride..Half way point in the race is next to the Dartmoor prison (Princetown)...dont hang around there too long though kinda weird
There are two step hills on the challenge that i remember ..The second ones a killer so if you like taking on hills your test yourself with that one...Thankfully the last 15 miles are flat so you get some time to recover for the finish line :thumb:
Makes a excellent day out with breathtaking scenery right across Devon and Cornwall.......

Rhurbarb.............