Steeplechase Sportive

After a week of the country being battered by strong winds (up to 40mph gusts ) it was with some trepidation that we lined up at the start of the Steeplechase for the "Epic" 90 mile route.  Unlike the 77 mile "Flatout in the Fens" event I did earlier in the year this one had hills, so the combination of a new bike with only 10 miles on it, an extra few miles, no significant training runs, hills and wind meant that it was going to be a challenge.

The run to the first feed station was uneventful and we made excellent time - plenty fast enough for the "gold" time but of course we had a strengthening headwind to come.  If anything the stop came too soon and we weren't really ready to stop.  Indeed many people seemed to pass it by, a decision that I wonder how many would come to regret.

The run to the second stop seemed to take much longer than the first, with some more substantially hills and a 20 mile slog into the ever stronger wind. The bike was working well and I spent a long time hunkered into the drops to get out of the wind.  The run up to the feed stop was a long uphill run, which hurt and had me making use of my 34-28 gear combination.  Oh how people scoffed when they saw the ratios on my cassette but by the end of the day I would rely on that gear on the larger hills.

By the time we set off on the third leg the wind was at full strength and at times the crosswind was sufficient to make staying on the bike hard work.  When we didn't have a crosswind we had a headwind.  Our pace had slowed dramatically and for about 5 miles we were convinced that the feed station and a few minutes respite was just around the next corner and each time groaned to find that we were mistaken.  The bike was still working well but I was beginning to get a little back ache, which wasn't surprising after 60 miles on a new bike.  If I'd had a couple of weeks extra to get some training rides in I think I'd have been fine but it's been 20 years since I last rode drop bars and my muscles just aren't used to it.

For the final "sprint" home we were told that we would have a tail-wind, maybe it was the fatigue but it really didn't feel like a tail wind to me.  With about 15 miles to go I started dropping off Mark's wheel and he gradually disappeared off into the distance.  He was feeling a lot more sprightly than me at this point and was on the cusp of hitting the "silver" time so had a great target to aim for (which he achieved with 90 seconds to spare).  I on the other hand had no way of hitting that mark and was just struggling to finish and lost huge amounts of time crawling up even the smallest of hills.  In the end I finished in 6:18, almost 10 minutes behind Mark.  Next time I shall make him carry a rucksack containing 50KG of bricks to nullify his weight advantage over me!

So, opinions on the bike.  It's nice, my choice of gearing works well, the setup is good and the saddle is comfy.  I'm a happy bunny.