Polocini do it again...

Anyone who has ever completed a Polocini sportive will know they are famous for (at least) four things. High levels of organisation, the best food in the business (today's chef was a master chef finalist), fair prices, and guaranteed bad weather.

As you can see from the picture something went wrong (I'm in the middle at the top). I set off at seven in the morning in thick fog and 4oC. As I turned into Rivington I noticed a convoy of cars behind with bikes and the sun appearing in front. Breakfast was coffee and porridge with fruit and 40 minutes catching up with friends.

I chose to take my winter bike assuming the weather would be awful but to be fair there is little difference between the bikes and I wanted to test this one...

 

 

 



I stripped down at the start to a long sleeve base layer and short sleeve top and was just right for the entire ride. I had elected to ride the 44 mile route to fit with my training though at the split I was tempted to ride on and do the 75. This was a hard ride 3602 feet of climbing over 44 miles with 6% climbs feeling like a downhill sprint after the 17 to 20% climbs. The route went from Rivington around the Blackburn to Bolton area. At one point I could see Jubilee Tower slightly above me. For those that don't know this is named as one of the hardest climbs in the UK. It was a stunning ride with open spaces, idyllic villages and lanes that had changed little in hundreds of years. A slight problem was the slippy roads and the amount of leaves making the downhill sections tricky not to mention the steep sections seeing me reach for the leavers with three fingers instead of the usual two.  I still managed to hit 42mph down one stretch. Also while freewheeling downhill alongside three others the foil shot ahead leaving the others in my wake. The foil is supposed to be the most aero bike out there so this led to a debate for several miles on 'was it the bikes engineering or my weight that gave the extra speed'. the other strange thing about the ride...history lesson coming...is it went through the birth place of Lord Leverhulme. He had one of the countries first safari parks at the top of a hill and a large home until a suffragette burnt it down. Many of the roads and buildings have the same or similar names to those in Port Sunlight and Thornton Hough, both on my local routes.

The one stop at twenty one miles was indulged in if only for a piece of cake. In reality I wasn't feeling all that well and was glad of a ten minute stop. Within 200metres of leaving the cake stop it was another long steep climb that nearly saw the return of the cake. The ride continued to mostly climb draining the legs and playing with the mind. Then cresting a hill in the moors a very long descent opened up before me. The last four miles were a well deserved downhill to the finish for a hot meal, coffee and coke .... It was over and despite not feeling 100% it was a superb and at the same time bastard of a  ride....

It's worth mentioning this was all run for a children's charity with polcini giving every penny (except fuel for volunteers) to the fund. Not all charities do this. they are an exceptional bunch, organising a number of sportives, tours around Europe and are soon to open a cycling cafe not to mention being best mates with Phillipe Gilbert. They are worth a google. And having thought about it, their reputation is intact, this was a charity ride, their own are yet to have a perfect day like today...
All that's left is to post some images I snapped of the route.... See you there next year?