Polka Dot Challenge 105 miles
17th June 2007
by Paul Barnes
I often think that cyclists would make very good weather-men as we seem to spend most of our spare time consulting weather forecasts and watching for chinks of bright sunshine to appear in otherwise miserable skies... and that's in the summer-time. However, there are the rare occasions when we moaning cyclists are grateful of cooler conditions.
17th June proved to be one of those days.
The Polka Dot Challenge is run by the very experienced Manchester Velo and a very good job they do of it too (they're the same guys who run the Spud Riley event). This sportive takes in eight categorized climbs used in national road races and weaves a picturesque way through the stunning scenery of Derbyshire and the Peak District on excellent road surfaces.
The morning broke with rain falling quite heavily but as the morning progressed eased up until the sky was covered in a blanket of low cloud. I was doing this ride alone and my nerves were not any when one of the race marshals came running back to the HQ (where myself and 14 other riders were waiting to be waved off) informing us of one cyclist that had already been knokced off his bike at the first roundabout by a car. As we filed slowly through this roundabout (100 yards down the road) it was all to plain to see that the cyclist had suffered a broken lower leg and was in agony. We all thanked our lucky stars it wasn't us and tried to put the scene out of our minds.
The first 10 miles rise steadily through Macclesfield and lead on to the 7 mile slog up to the Cat and Fiddle. Today, I'd remembered to bring my best climbing legs and I was soon settled into a nice rhythm ripping up the miles of this demanding climb. It was quite easy to find a suitable group to suck a wheel of for several miles and the mood seemed quite chirpy given the remaining climbs to come. The first feed station was reached after ascending Long Hill (3 miles), Chinley Head (1 1/2 miles) and Chunal Head (1 mile) in relatively good condition.
The 3 miles up the Snake Pass saw a bit rain remind us that it was never far away and also made for a careful descent the other side. Again, I was spinning my way along really well and certainly overtaking more people than were overtaking me. If anything it may have been here that I should have eased the pace up a little, but when you're going well you don't want to stop the swing of things.
Isuppose most of these sportives possess a climb or particular section that sets it apart from all the rest. As for the Polka Dot Challenge that certain something is without doubt the 1 mile climb (at 25%) of Winnats Pass. There's no need for signage here, you know you're entering dangerous territory as all the riders around you fall silent and cast furtive glances over their shoulders at one-another as though it's the last time they'll ever see each other. From here on the only sound heard is of rear mechanisms searching for gears that don't exist and heart beats audibly beating to a frantic jungle rhythm. Instead of nice neat little groups working well together the whole field was now strung out in what seemed like a scene from Napoleon's 1812 retreat from the battle of Borodino. Some gave up, some walked, others were actually vomiting by the side of the road en-route. For those of us that forced our way up I seriously don't think that our max speed would have even registered on the most sensitive, modern, up to date speedo. With a hypoglycaemic attack imminent I struggled over the top vowing never to attempt that climb again as long as I breathe. A handful of gels were squeezed down and I continued on to the next feed zone, where several bananas and cakes were scoffed and bidons re-filled.
Only two more climbs stood in my way now but I could rest assured that nothing else today would compare to Winnats Pass. Axe edge (2 1/2 miles) was hard work but it was the final 1 1/2 mile climb up Gun Hill that required the last dregs of energy to heave my way to the top.As the climb tends to go up in steps you feel like their is no end to the pain. The last 10 miles back to HQ are certainly the longest 10 miles I think I've ever encountered and the race was on for me to get back in under 7 hrs. As the minutes and seconds dripped away so did my final reserves of steam and I crossed the line on empty just missing out on my target time. 7 hrs 3mins was my official time and although I failed to get under 7hrs I have to be pleased with how well I rode today. This ride is so much better than than the Spud Riley but I seriously warn and remind anyone that wants to tackle it that they should ensure they get Jerry to fix a bloody good compact chainring before-hand.
