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Report: Forest of Dean Spring Sportive
Event: 2nd May 2010 | Report: Eddie Allen | Finishing Times
Beautiful but brutal. If I were asked to sum up the Forest of Dean Spring Classic in three words, with a little alliteration thrown in, then that would do nicely. My attempt at Wheels in Wheels' second event of 2010 left me with a real appreciation of the Wye Valley and Forest of Dean's natural delights, one pair of very tired legs and much respect for the event organisers who put on a superbly-organised event over a challenging, pretty and very clever route.
Above: Riders make their way to the start line.
The day dawned ominously. 6:30am and the alarm disturbed my slumber in the most inappropriately chirpy fashion, paying little heed to the accompanying symphony of wind and rain battering the windows of our accommodation. Wagner's Ride of the Valkyries would have been more appropriate than Samsung's wake-up music.
Above: The grim weather of the early morning soon cleared up. However the sumptuous event HQ was a cosy place to start, with free porridge on offer.
I dragged myself out of bed and into the shower, followed by breakfast - a pile of toast, some cereal and a mug of tea. With bike and gear readied in advance, in less than an hour I was out in the elements, which had thankfully decided to quieten down a little, as I rode the two miles downhill into the historic town of Monmouth and the event HQ. Despite nature's best attempts at wreaking havoc, the event village was intact and in full swing.
Above: Riders ready themselves for the start.
Apparently, I was not the only cyclist daft enough to decide to get out of bed this morning - the HQ was thronged with eager sportivers. I parked my bike and went into the large marquee to sign on (a swift, well-organised and cheery affair) and collect my rider number and transponder chip. The nice lady behind the desk pointed me in the direction of the free pre-event porridge. I declined, having eaten well only a few minutes before - but porridge was a nice touch - ideal to warm up chilled riders and give them much needed slow-release carbs to last them until the first feed at Coleford.
Above: Number one is a hard number to live up to...
Instead I decided to strike while the iron was luke-warm, tied my number to my handlebars and headed for the start. My rider number? Number One!! Special privilege or albatross around the neck, I wasn't entirely sure, but undaunted I rumbled over the timing mat and out onto the course.
The route left Monmouth, crossed the A40 and the river toward the imposing hills beyond. Pretty soon we branched left onto an unclassified road and the first of the 14 numbered climbs of the day - Trellech. And what a beauty it was - one of those climbs that affords you the priviledge of seeing the task-in-hand from the very bottom - a steep ribbon of tarmac which zig-zagged up the open farmland toward the wooded hilltop. The chill of the early morning was soon forgetten - Trellech was the perfect way to warm up and test the legs.
Above: Enchanting woodland scenery took your mind off the climbs.
At the top of the climb, the route took riders into the first of the Spring Classic's many wooded sections, an enchanting section through the trees bearing the pale green strident leaves of springtime. The route wiggled on through the quiet back lanes constantly dipping and rising, as far south as Barbadoes before heading west towards the looming, forested, fortress-like hills surrounding the Wye Valley where a stiff climb through Botany Bay was followed by a narrow screaming descent into the Wye Valley itself, a few miles above Tintern and its famous ruined abbey (Wordsworth would have been proud). On the main valley road I met a stranded fellow-sportiver from Gloucester who'd had his fair share of problems in the opening quart of the ride, puncturing twice before snapping his chain. I stopped and lent him a multitool and, after some fettling and cussing, he was on his way again, much obliged.
Above: Even with nearly 1000 riders on the road, the field quickly spread out.
We rode north up the sylvan course of the Wye before crossing the river on the pretty iron bridge, leaving the main road and facing the inevitability of a stiff climb out of the seemingly impenetrable valley, heading first for Clearwell then Newland before branching east just a few miles shy of Monmouth.
It was here that I noted how the beauty of the route was not just skin deep. The route design resembles a clover leaf, rather than the usual big loop, which gave riders the opportunity to bail out if they wished at various points. Some of these points, like here, just west of Coleford, were only a few miles from the HQ, while even the furthest point on the route was less than 20 miles from home.
Above: Photo taken a few miles above Tintern Abbey.
However, I was ready for more and the promise of the feedstation at Coleford drew me in like a tractor beam. Two pieces of cake, an energy bar, gel and a bottle refill and I was back out on the course heading south towards Bream, before the route once again changed direction and headed into arguably the prettiest section, through the magical, fabled Forest of Dean. The beauty of the bluebell woods, stretching out on either side of the road, more than made up for the brutality of the incessant climbing, with Yorkley and Soudley climbs sticking in my memory as particularly tough.
The solitude, climbing and scenery had the effect of allowing the mind to wander. It was a week before the General Election and the roadsides around the route were festooned with campaign placards for Labour, Conservative and Liberal. On one long climb, in my slightly dehydrated, trance-like state I wondered if the placards were event-specific. 'Labour' was certainly evident in spadefuls, with plenty of toil on every climb. Descents were 'liberally' scattered throughout the route. However, the amount of flat mileage was 'conservative' in the extreme with the route either heading up, up, up or down, down, down - in short the FoD Spring Classic's manifesto was all about challenging climbs and scintillating descents. It certainly got my vote.
Above: The spring green of the leaves and quiet roads is what the FoD Spring Classic is all about.
Eventually and after much of the aforementioned up and down, we reached the most easterly point on the route at Littledean before traversing the full width of the Forest of Dean, which once more impressed with its beauty, quiet roads and tranquillity. We rode through Speech House toward Broadwell and another punishing, seemingly endless climb past the mining museum before emerging from the trees at Mile End.
Above: The FoD Spring Classic's clever clover leaf design
By this time, the relentless climbing and descending had taken its toll on my ill-prepared body and at around 45-50 miles, I decided my sportive itch was well and truly scratched, at least for the day. So I took advantage of the fact that I was at the inner end of one of the ride's three clover 'leaves' and took a shortcut back to Monmouth, with enough energy and joie-de-vivre left to enjoy the magnificent descent back into the town and the event HQ.
There to greet me on the line was event organiser Graham Temple, who welcomed me with a handshake and the promise of piping hot post-event goulash. Goulash! Does post-event food get any better than that?! I wolfed down my food, polished off with complimentary tea, before bidding goodbye to the event village and cycling the two uphill miles back to my accommodation, suitably refreshed, thinking back on what had been an enchanting, superbly organised ride.
Wheels in Wheels have three further sportives on their 2010 menu, the Midland Monster on 16th May, Ride the Horns (Date TBC) and the Tour of Worcestershire on 12th September. For full details go to www.wheelsinwheels.com
