No wonder he won the Tour D'France

As close as you get!

First of all, if there is any doubt about Bradley Wiggins new found rock star status this event confirmed it. Thousands lined the route waiting for a glimpse of the man himself. Names were chalked on the road and the crowd cheered everyone as enthusiastically as if we were the man himself.

Back to the start of the day, this was a celebration of Wiggo's victories and both the 60 and 100 mile routes were part of his training courses.

So the event organised by Pennine events. Two quick could do betters:- only three registration points for nearly two thousand cyclists meant long queues and some frustration. Even worse only four toilets, for cyclists, well you know.



The start though had all the atmosphere of a celebration with stalls, children's activities and plenty of food. Bradley spoke at the start before disappearing returning later to ride the route. And what a route.... The Wirral mamils are not made to cycle up walls and there were plenty of them on this course.. Now it just so happens that beforeIi did this ride I bought 100 greatest cycling climbs by Simon Warren. After the ride I looked in the book and found we had ridden three of the hundred on this course.... Three  #@*?£  The Nick of Pendle, the trough of Bowland and jubillee tower, there were plenty of other climbs  not in the book to match thes  as we climbed 2.6km in total over the course.

Let me allow Simon Warren to describe the Nick of Pendle which he rates as a 6/10 climb.

This famous hill climb venue in the North West over Pendleton more has been used to test riders for generations. Leaving Sabden, the Clitheroe Road takes you up the challenging, varied gradient to the 'Nick of Pendle' and the remnants of old quarries. Climbing steeply straight away at 14% you pass houses on the right and cars on the left with the rough surface, deteriorating at the edge making it very hard going. Dead straight, cars and houses are soon replaced by grassy verges and gorse bushes and the gradient eases slightly as you approach a large car park. Passing this you hit the hardest stretch [yes I know it was 22%] rising steeper until you reach a cattle grid.
Length 1300m
Height gain 145m

My gears were a stupid 53/39 glad of the 27 at the rear. (Just found out you can get a 34 front 32 rear-note to Santa)

Hill after hill like this hit you as you rode around sapping your strength and the will to go on. 14 stone isn't meant to go over climbs like this.

Also in the words of Charles Beeching in his poem 'going down hill on a bicycle','he who climbs with toil wheresoe'er/shall find wings waiting there'. I only hit 47mph going downhill in the wet while the master, Ade dropped like a rock at just over 50mph in his protective Lycra.

So to be clear, this was a difficult ride. It should be it's used by the winner of the TDF to train. It is a must for cyclists of any climbing ability but I have to add that as part of encouraging new cyclists to the sport a easier loop would be welcome next year. However the crowds lifted you at all the difficult bits and the tunnel in to the finish was packed making this a unique experience. Also ... read this twice, we beat Brad home. Ok he started a few hours after us and stopped to sign autographs. But he must of been inspired when he passed his house with a banner outside saying 'ride faster Daddy' you can't keep your kids happy whoever you are.

So this was a superb, if difficult, event and something to aspire to. In keeping with his new status Bradley finished and sped into a compound while the outside was mobbed by paparazzi complete with step ladders trying to get a picture. My attempt is at the top of the blog . You could of course have booked a picture with the man for £20 going to his foundation but we missed the opportunity.

A nice touch though was meeting a very modest and pleasant Stephen Burke, gold medal winner and all round nice guy. He told us both it hadn't sunk in and he was in a daze after I joined the line of young children waiting to have their picture taken. I wasn't going to miss the opportunity and got to hold a very heavy Olympic gold medal. A great finish to the day that, once the pain went, was superb.

 

 

 

And, to finish it all off, I won a pair of shimano Ultegra pedals in the raffle worth £100....

Latest on the Armstrong saga

A Texas district court judge is getting set to rule on the lawsuit filed against the US Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) by Lance Armstrong's attorneys aimed at blocking the agency from pursuing anti-doping violation charges against the seven-time Tour de France champion.
Armstrong's attorneys have made their last arguments against the motion to dismiss filed by USADA in a letter dated August 17, 2012 from the office of Timothy J. Herman to judge Sam Sparks.
The case was filed originally in early July by Armstrong's attorneys ahead of a deadline set by USADA for Armstrong to respond to charges of doping and conspiracy during his time as a professional cyclist.
In the case, the lawyers argued that USADA's actions were unconstitutional, claims that appear to have been left out of the latest 12-page filing. It has now focused its efforts on challenging the jurisdiction of the agency.
USADA agreed to extend the deadline for Armstrong to either accept his lifetime ban for the alleged offenses or take the case to arbitration, where the full dossier of evidence would be presented to August 23 in order for the judge to consider the legal claims.
The dossier is said to include evidence based upon biological passport samples from Armstrong's comeback years showing a profile indicative of doping as well as witness testimony regarding widespread doping practices on Armstrong's former teams.
USADA has not released the names of the witnesses nor the evidence given, stating that itneeds to protect their identities in order to prevent witness intimidation.
Armstrong's attorneys contend that USADA does not have the jurisdiction to pursue anti-doping violations using samples taken by the UCI. The UCI itself has also claimed that it should be the one to examine the evidence in the case.
It also objects to having been given little evidence to examine that substantiates USADA's anti-doping violation claims.
However, the World Anti-Doping Agency stood by the USADA, while the UCI accused WADA of having a political agenda against cycling.
Judge Sparks heard arguments in the case last week, but delayed ruling on the case.
More as the story develops.