The tail of the Cheshire Cat....

The weather forecast early in the week was grim for Sunday but remarkably it improved, it was going to be blue sky with max 7 degrees. So we agreed to meet at 07:00 (06:00 in real time having lost an hours sleep due to the clock adjustment).

So it was up at 05:45 and straight into the tin of rice pudding. Well it went down.... eventually aided by a cup of coffee and Thomo and Gaz turned up and we were off. We got to Knutsford in good time, sun still shining, signed-on, fitted the number, the timing chip, kitted up and joined the start queue.

Pete Starkey had been ill all week previous but was still intending to do the 60m route option, we met him at the start but didn't see him again.

At 08:15 the fog dropped and we were all freezing, troubled by those nagging doubts, had we too many layers or too few ? Anyway, it was about 08:45 when our wave started heading out to the west for 50 miles of flat, fast-paced riding. It remained freezing for the first hour, fingers numb and painful but soon after the fog burned-off it warmed-up and sensation returned. Met Karen (http://giantonabike.blogspot.com/) just after the start suffering from the same problems, but lost touch after the first feed station. This first section was relatively fast at about 19mph and I'd lost touch with Thomo and Gaz by the first feed station (28 miles) having stopped to use the bushes I was unsure if they had continued on. So another 25 miles to the next feed station, all very pleasant, the terrain starting to undulate a little by now. The first 50 was in the bag at 5 minutes under 3 hours.
Pulled out of the second checkpoint, got chatting to a bloke about cycling in Australia, Hong Kong and Singapore (he was from London Dynamo) and then suddenly the road kicked-up, yes it was the Mow Cop killer mile. The first pitch was steep but then it allowed you to re-gather yourself before the ridiculous 25% pitch at the top. I got up with my triple crank alongside a chap on a compact 36 / 27, I seriously doubt I'd have made it on a 34 / 27 but maybe I'm doing myself an injustice. Lots of support on the hill, it was good to get to the top ! Here's a couple of pics on the steep bit..... http://www.robcrayton.fotopic.net/p57194281.html and http://www.robcrayton.fotopic.net/p57194501.html

Last time I did this event was the first time it had been ran, in 2007. I recall 100 miles of flat riding with one killer climb. I knew this year's was going to be tougher but I hadn't paid too much attention to just how much ! If I'd paid attention I'd have noticed the total ascent at nearly 2,000m, in 2007 it was half of this !

We descended off Mow Cop and soon kicked back up onto Biddulph Moor, then Barlow Hill before the 3rd checkpoint. A quick check of the route profile with a fellow rider and this confirmed we still had Macclesfield Forest and Lamaload Reservoir to encounter. All the time wondering how close to 6h I could complete the event. The average speed had dropped to 17 mph with the advent of the hills. A sobering thought.... it is at this stage with about the same ascent in your legs that the Ventoux climb starts in July... oh dear !!

Macclesfield Forest was tough, the road was congested with Sunday cars paying no attention to the hundreds of cyclists toiling up the 17% gradient. If you got stopped on the up slope there was nowhere to restart... other than the top ! I was lucky I got through, again the triple came in useful. It was longer and tougher than Mow Cop without a doubt, reminiscent of 8 very similar climbs on the Etape du Dales. After the summit there were 2 further tops which were taking their toll at this stage and the average speed had dropped to 16.1 mph, but it was almost all downhill from here to coin the phrase.

Got into a reasonably sized group on the pull through from Adlington to Alderley Edge and then Swiss Hill. Nearly everyone I was with gave it a miss but I fancied a shot at the cobbles. The first pitch was OK, slipping a bit, the surface was very rough, it levelled-off some then half way up the second pitch I felt like I was going to fall off so I stopped and walked about 80m. Disappointing, but at least I completed the full route. The final haul into Knutsford was fast again, passing many of the riders on the shorter 60m route.

The GPS reached the published distance of 102m at the same time as passing a road sign saying Knutsford 3m ! It was just short of 106m on the Garmin 705 by the time I crossed the line at 6h 49m elapsed time, with a ride time average speed of 16.1 mph. See the detail of the ride at http://connect.garmin.com/activity/2836352

I didn't 'bonk', drank too little during the event, probably only 2.5 litres, survived on 2 bananas, 1 jam doughnut, 1 small swiss roll, but I was looking forward to a good feed, putting some of the 7,000+ calories back in the system !!

I handed-in the chip etc, looked around for Thomo and Gaz but they weren't back. Thomo came in 20 min later at 7h 09m with a ride time average of 15 mph and Gaz about 30 minutes later cursing the hills. Excellent performances all round considering various colds and flu bugs that we've each been suffering with.

All things considered it was a good benchmark ride early in the season, much tougher than my previous Cheshire Cat memories, this one had a real sting in the tail ! A big field, excellent weather and the right hip held up, in fact I think the left leg suffered in compensation and that's something I need to look at.

Well done to the Kilotogo organisers, they've certainly come a long way since 2007, just sort the brew making kit out for the end and you've cracked it !

So back to everyday matters, routine training, better weather, more soon....... although the spin class booked for Monday night is looking doubtful, maybe a day off is on the cards ?