Mamil Cycling
  • Home
  • Winter race series 2020
    • Rd 1 Results & pictures
    • Rd 2 Results & pictures
    • Rd 3 Results & pictures
    • Rd 4 Results & pictures
  • Coaching
  • About Us
    • John Ireson
    • Richard Smith
    • Barry Goodyear
    • Contact Us
  • Blog
  • Friends
  • Gallery

Fifty shades of Shropshire 

7/14/2012

4 Comments

 
So, the dust has settled after the Shropshire Hills Sportive on July 1st. 300 riders turned up and supported our event and frankly we are stoked they did. We (John, Andy and I) started the planning of the event shortly after the 1st Shropshire Hills on 3rd July 2011 but the last couple of weeks are always a logistical rush. You can plan buying 10 litres of milk for tea and coffee but you can’t actually do it until the Friday before and 35kgs bananas don’t respond well to being in a garage for a week!

My great mate, Barry Goodyear, sacrificed his day to help me sign the 100 mile route. It was a long wet Saturday but we spent most of it laughing like drains. We worked hard and by the end of it we were very wet and really hungry. Properly hungry. My other half Helen was cooking for us that evening and his comment ‘I really hope it’s salad’ had me doubled over for 10 minutes.

It dawned on me a lot the of stress was down to knowing you guys, the riders, where paying hard earned money to ride and our responsibility was to make sure you got value for money on the day. Your feedback tells us you had a good day and we got most things right. But (there’s always a ‘but’ isn’t there?) there are things we can do to improve and we’ll work on those for next year.

2013 will be the 3rd year for the Shropshire Hills and we are determined the first Sunday in July will become an established date in the cycling calendar. We’re so lucky with the canvass we get to work with: Bridgnorth High Street is a great place to start and finish and then the Clee, Long Mynd, Corvedale … the list goes on. Just paint a few hundred cyclist on and you've got a masterpiece. Now, not having a big bike ride from Bridgnorth in the summer now seems unimaginable to be honest.

Ok, so, stick the 7th July 2013 in your calendars and, unless you hear differently, we’ll see you in the High Street for 9ish. 

4 Comments

Easter - excellent weather & cycle fest

4/27/2011

0 Comments

 
Sorry its been a long time blogettes, but what with the recent excellent weather and the easter break, more time was spent cycling than sitting at the PC reporting for the MC blog. Yes I know, and I am sorry, but I will try to get my priorities right for the next fine weather spell haha.
Good Friday
The easter cycle fest was launched with the WWCC bank holiday youth club run, which gives the youth riders from the wheelers a chance to have their own club run out on the public roads. As is usual with this event there were more adults than youth haha, I think the older riders like to test themselves against the youth riders and vice-versa. It was an excellent day played out in beautiful weather. Pictures from the ride can be viewed via the link below.
Facebook pictures Good Friday Youth Club Run
Saturday 24th - Shropshire Hills 50 route recce
It had been a long time coming I guess, but there was no more putting it off, and it was something that we had to perform to ourseleves. So it was with a sadistic curiosity that we rolled out of Bridgnorth High Street and onto the 50 mile course under the near baking midday sun. The B4363 is an interesting road and to be honest it is one of the only roads I know where for every uphill you are served with a downhil, nearly instantly I may add. The route then turns right onto the A4117 and the road starts to climb almost straight away through the town of Cleobury Mortimer, I like to reffer to this as the 'lower slopes' of Clee Hill as it kind of mentally prepares me for the climb of Clee Hill proper haha. As we descended the 11% ramp into Hopton Wafers Pez was off the front, but not for long, he was treated to a car overtaking him and then stopping dead to turn into the pub car park - what a way to loose all of your momentum ! Me and Ash pushed onto the climb of Clee Hill, but as we got to Doddington Ash hit the wall and pulled over to rest for a while, to be honest I think he was totally taken aback by the size of the climb - he hadn't ridden anything like it in his 14 years. I pushed on and was rewarded with awesome views and near empty roads - was this really Saturday afternoon ?. The route then takes a left to Caynham thro' Knowbury, and you are treated to a wide straight descent of some distance, I was treated to 42mph on the descent, nice after the slog up. Thro' Caynham, over the river bridge and turn right towards Ludlow, thro' The Sheet and cross the A49 with care at the roundabout, onto Sheet Road, turn left into Weeping Cross Lane, bear right onto Temeside and Bang - Pez gets a flat ! atleast the sun was out and we could put the world to rights and enjoy the beautiful view of Ludlow. In next to no time we were off again, turn right onto the B4361 and follow all the way to merge with the A49, 2nd turn on the right the B4365 would see us across the race course and upto Pedlars Rest at the junction of the B4368. The 50 mile route turns right here and you ride back down the Corvedale and back into Bridgnorth, while the 100 mile route turns left and enters far more interesting blogging territory for a later update, when some sick, twisted cyclist takes to the road, watch this space ....
Pictures from the ride can be viewed via the link below
Facebook pictures Shropshire Hills 50 route recce
0 Comments

    Author

    Regular Mamil Cycling updates and directors daily diaries Mondays through Fridays.
    Unlocking the secrets of cycling - The Mamil Blog.

    Archives

    December 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    February 2016
    January 2015
    February 2014
    January 2014
    September 2013
    July 2013
    June 2013
    May 2013
    April 2013
    March 2013
    February 2013
    January 2013
    December 2012
    November 2012
    September 2012
    August 2012
    July 2012
    June 2012
    May 2012
    April 2012
    February 2012
    January 2012
    October 2011
    September 2011
    August 2011
    July 2011
    June 2011
    May 2011
    April 2011

    Categories

    All
    5ktt
    5k Tt
    Alv
    Bridgnorth Journal
    Campagnolo
    Cdwm
    Clee Hill
    Comtat
    Cycling Weekly
    Easter
    Express And Star
    General
    James
    John
    Level 3
    Ludlow
    Magazines
    Manchester Velodrome
    Press Release
    Rich
    Riding
    Rouleur
    Shropshire Hills
    Shropshire Hills 100
    Sundorne
    Tt
    Youth National Circuit Series

    RSS Feed