CotC
The Mid Oxon guys all met at the start for 07:45.  It was somewhat  of a melee, with many riders trying to register in one mad rush.  After leaving Ian as temporary policeman for most of the clubs cycling hardware, we all safely signed in and registered.  I briefly saw Bob, but for some reason never saw him again.  After queuing at the start for a few mins we finally set off NW.  Some of us appeared to be stronger than others, so we quickly became separated.  Not before DT was able to catch us in action at the bottom of the hill out of North Leigh.  I for one completely missed him. 

From here it was on familiar roads to Charlbury and Chipping Norton, and over the relentless rolling countryside that was to have its say.  A far as I was concerned I needed to make a route decision, but wanted to wait until later to make it.  It was not until after Great Rollright that Ian and I agreed that it was to be a 100 miler for us both, and boy were we to rue that decision.

Though a little lumpy, we made our way safely to Cherington (and checkpoint 1), and clearly Andy and Dave R were in form, and were showing most of us the way.  It was here that the two routes separated.  We headed down "LONG ROUTE" road!  The next significant point was Lark Stoke Hill, but it was not the incline that was memorable, but the very poor surface, especially as once on the other side it got no better, and with trains of riders in front hiding big potholes, it was difficult to avoid having your bum slammed into the seat.  The route then meandered through some of the quaintest villages that the Cotswolds has to display, but we were now heading to Broadway, and we all know what's there.  Some two weeks after I should have attempted this climb, I was actually at the foot of Snowshill with about 20 i-Team riders.  We just went up at our own pace (dead slow), & did our best to make our slow ascent to the summit.  Having never been on this hill before, I made the mistake of not realising that once on the flat there was still some way to go of this punishing ascent.  The legs had already been severely battered by incessant rolling countryside, and the impact was beginning to show.  The worst however was yet to come!..... especially as Sudeley Hill was next on the menu.  At least there was the opportunity of dining on more of the finest flapjack at the top.

The downside of this  feed stop was that one of the more wise riders was discussing Cleeve Hill, & it's ability to munch the unwary.  I was in this category, as it was not on my "ticked" list.  The name alone gives a clue to its severity.  Anyway, before all that we had to get from the summit of Sudeley Hill, which is easier said than done, not only was it dangerous, but there were some very nasty junctions to be negotiated.  Having re-read the route notes, I see that it states EXTREME CARE, so it's a shame that I only know this now!

Now on the flat, the signposts were pointing to Bishops Cleeve, and a mass of rock that was looming large on the horizon.  Two riders were sucked onto our wheels, and were discussing the next "obstacle".  Apparently it was bad, and was 60 miles in. 

Thus the next hill gets it's own paragraph!  I've never seen the like before.  1 in 4 for much of it's length, & a real leg/lung buster.  It seemed to me that everyone was walking up, and those that weren't were cycling no faster than those that were walking.  HR was maxed, but I was only going 2 miles an hour.  Just pushing the pedal down, was all that I was focused on.  I had to stop and stop soon if I was going to have any chance of remaining lucid.  The 34 inch gear was the only thing keeping me going, but this was clearly not small enough, so I pulled up to my saving grace, a flat driveway.  Ian and I surveyed the road, not daring to look too far up.  We had a pact though.  No walking!  There were no other riders by now, just walkers, & those discussing whether they should walk.  It was agreed.  Succumb, we would not!  We now had two difficulties (excepting getting going again), trying to exert enough force on the pedals, and negotiating those that were pushing their steeds.  Worse still, there was no sight of the summit.  For this period, I never once looked at the HRM or computer.  I was more aware of how much my hands were hurting, as the immense grip on the STI's meant that every uneven surface of the levers bit into my clenched hands.  The wheels were barely rotating, & to be honest, at such a slow pace, just keeping the bike upright is a task in itself.  I'd been out of the saddle for the entire incline, and strength was waning, but now I could see riders at a flatter section.  This torture was soon at an end, & a rest possible.  I had to sink a gel pack at this stage, but I recollect at the time that I thought I needed much more.  A long rest maybe.  Worse than that, we were not actually at the top, but at least the remainder (though still very severe) was not of the ilk of the 1st half mile.  That's probably all it was, just a few hundred metres, but by far the hardest ascent I've ever ridden.

After regaining composure, we took a leisurely route to the bottom of Corndean Lane.  This was now disheartening.  We seemed to be lunging from one precipice to another, and I'm now pretty sure that I spent much of the ride in my smallest gear.  Tiredness was now a real issue, and was definitely causing me concern.  The lane is a long 6-8%ascent, but was too soon after Cleeve hill to be enjoyed.  This is then followed by the climb to Brockhampton, which is another long drag for tired legs, but at least the worst was behind, and the terrain was now getting less undulatory.

Both Ian and I were wondering where the next feed station was, & after another ascent made it to North Leach for some much needed food.  We then headed East for the final fling of this circuit, with the knowledge that we were now on the "fast" section.  Well, more flat than fast, especially as I was now tucked onto Ian's wheel, whilst he did all the work.  On the run into Burford  we were passed by a stronger rider from Ful-On Tri.  He was OK with us latching on, and the pace suddenly increased.  He did all the work for the next 10 miles, and I was recovering.  So much so, that on the flat I was able to maintain the pace at the front.  We were now sharing the effort, & maintaining a reasonable speed.  In fact it was a creditable 24 on the flat run in to Witney. 

Ian and I carded exactly 7 hours, at an average of 15.2 miles an hour.  The slow pace highlights why this event is called the David Ryan Challenge.  That's exactly what it is.  Definitely only for the very fit, or those that are unaware of what lays ahead.  Unfortunately I was in the latter category!

For the day I recorded 125 miles (including the ride to and from home), approximately burnt 5500 calories (if you can trust such calculations), which all culminated in a very long hot bath, and many hours of subsequent sleep!

The profiles of both routes of the Dave Ryan challenge (CotC) can be seen here.
 http://www.circuitofthecotswolds.org/route-profiles.php

DM subsequently noted that those Mid Oxoners on the short route were all in the top 20, so not at all shoddy.  Ian and I were probably much lower down the long route field, but there were still some riders coming in two hours later.

Dragon
The route was known to us, so we knew what to expect.  The start was in clear blue skies, & as a small deviation from last year's ride, we (Richard, Andy Wallis, Ian, Martyn and myself) were taken to the coastline at Pawthcawl.  For us, though very scenic, it just meant more climbing, and so it was.  We had a long drag back up to the M4, & then rejoined the roads from last year.  It's fair to say that we were more able to stay together, as general fitness in the 5 of us was much better than last year.  This meant that we could work together and for much of the ride were single file.  The notable sections were the same as for 12 months ago, but the key difference was temperature and rain.  The sun soon disappeared, and was replaced by some ominous looking cloud strata.  Of course this was made to look worse by the fact that I was wearing dark lenses on the glasses.

We knew what faced us, so took it easy on the way out, letting all the faster trains pass us by.  Pacing was to be our ally and this was the case.  At the junction for the long route, we had clear consensus that the weather was to be kind to us, & that there was only one way to go.  Thus the 100 miler was our path.  Those that have been on this route will note that the climbs start immediately.  Long drags of open climb, leaping from valley to valley.  It was noticeable that the Mid Oxon boys were amongst the fittest of those around us (having let all the fast boys through earlier).  We were passing many on these early climbs.  Knowing that the worst was to come we took it easy as a group, picking up with other riders where we could.

The very short 18% climb, seemed to be just that, and this year presented less of a battle for me.  Clearly I was much fitter.

The Shepherd's track was the notable effort in last years report, and thus it gets column inches in this year's.  The heat though was less of an issue, and as we were to find, there was a little bit of very fine rain to keep us cool.  So much so, that I wore my arm warmers for most of the ride.  The surface is not good, and it goes inexorably skyward.  One local rider from "Cardiff 100" pointed to the top of the valley stating that the top was "way up there".  I'm not sure that this was helpful, but at least we knew what to expect.  This incline was the one that separated us most.  Gearing is critical for this un-named pass, and reduced many to dismounting.  There was to be none of that for the Mid Oxon braves, and though cadence sunk to very low levels, we all pumped our way to the top.  After regrouping, we had the meandering descent on very narrow roads.  Made more dangerous because the high hedges hid ascending cars.  There were loud shouts on many corners to be careful, and once or twice there were slow moving vehicles to be avoided.  Of course, once past this major climb, there is still the prospect of the Rhigos and Bwlch ascents, and thus it was that we headed in their direction & the Rhondda valley.  The Rhigos is a long grinding affair, & it was not long before Ian and I had left all those other riders that had tried to use the Mid Oxon efforts on the previous ascent.  Ian was also a good 50m in front of me, but at least was not going any further away.  As the climb progressed, we overtook all in our path, and were getting admiring (or was it envious) glances from those that were cooked.  I managed to catch up with Ian, and we finally summited together after a further 1/4 mile of punishing slope.  At least we had the opportunity of a feed stop.  After the drop to the bottom of the valley, Treorchy proved to be a problem.  Not only were we held for ages at the lights, but we also lost Martyn when they went to red again just a few seconds later.  There must have been 50 riders at those lights, and only half got through.  I'm not so sure that the car drivers were so happy with some antics, when a few riders shot through the red.

After getting together again, we set our sights to for the summit of the Bwlch (pronounced Bulk I believe).  Very similar to the Rhigos pass, a long drag, but the last of those that we'd encounter.  Again, Ian was setting the pace, but I was having to work much harder not to let the "elastic" break.  I just about caught up with him at the top, where we surveyed the descent into Price Town and Lewistown.

Knowing that we were about 10-15 miles from the finish we started to work hard, and pace clearly increased.  So much so that I counselled that we cool it a little.  We still had some undulations to battle, and one was of particular note.  None the less we still kept a decent speed, and lost any hangers on that wanted to profit from the Mid Oxon effort.  The last little climb is of course not so little (when you're 100 miles into a ride), and again we overtook a few.  We even safely avoided the cattle that seemed intent to ignore our path clash (stood in the middle of the road!).  As a last gasp effort I pushed as hard as I could up this last climb, meaning that Ian and I were now alone, and progressing to the M4 crossing, and the drop to the finish.  We were unfortunately caught out by traffic where the B road meets the arterial route into Bridgend, & thus a number of riders dropped onto our tails.  I was determined not to get overtaken, and pushed as hard as I could for the last 2.5 miles to the finish.  It was all down hill and pace was high.  No-one was overtaking though, and we seemed to get the luck of the roundabouts, if not the lights, which all seemed to be red. 

We finally made it to the finish, with a time of just over 6:32.  A considerable improvement over last year, even though winds were more noticeable, and distance was an additional 10 miles.  I had a total mileage of 104, and an average of 16.2mph.

Anyone whom wants to check out times can do this via the following link, but please bear in mind that you'll need to deduct 2 mins from my Mid Ox compatriots efforts, as I got held up by that period at the start gate.  The guys waited for me.  Bless their hearts.

http://www.raceahead.net/SearchResults.aspx