Wiggle Cheshire Cat 2014

Rated Event: 76.667%

MarkShaffer wrote:

Seemed fairly well organised. Was able to ride straight into starting pen and sent off within 15 minutes. Signposting was good. Only stopped at first feed station and then only took water as had own food. Choice wasn't too exciting however. Potholes were very bad, even compared to Surrey. Mow Cop being closed was excellent.

Rated Event: 58.889%

Chadders x wrote:

No food at all at supposed well stocked feed stops, final finish time was 2 1/2 hours longer than my garmin time. Most of the event staff looked as though they were there under duress.
Food costs at end of event extortionate at least Dick Turpin wore a mask
Road surfaces for long periods were poor.
As a first sportive was a bit disappointed but surely can only get better after this experience.

Rated Event: 76.667%

Kev Sp wrote:

Nice route - some decent climbing in the medium (125km) course.

Some signage missing but likely to be disgruntled car drivers - couple of nasty junctions that could have done with being marshalled.

Rated Event: 73.333%

PhilWalker wrote:

I am bemused by some of the previous comments. Waiting for an hour in the cold? I was in the black zone. We 15 minutes before our zone opened, waited for perhaps 15 minutes before we were set off. Cold? At 8.30 on Sunday, it was at least 15 degrees!

FInishing, we rolled over the finish line with no queues at all, but then perhaps we were too slow.......

People saying they had no time? I clocked at least a dozen riders with their timing chips on the RIGHT of their helmet, when the event manual and letter that came with the said timing chip, rider number and seat flag clearly said place it on the LEFT! And they wonder why they had no time!!

Route was good, smashed Mow Cop this time after last years epic fail, but, people were still riding up the right and falling off, after being asked to ride on the left if they thought they might. Not easy I know, but........

Overall, loved the event, the route was good, if not spoiled by the amount of junctions, and the feed stations could have been better. But the absolute worst thing for me was people who have no concept of road etiquette. If you are passing a rider who isnt at the edgeof the road, for f**s sake CALL OUT and let them know!! It causes accidents. Equally, if you are slowing down on a descent and call it out! If theres no one behind you, it doesnt matter. If there is, they will appreciate you telling them and not slamming into the back of you at 35mph (I hope you are reading this - my mate is fine by the way, even though you just rode off without even asking!!! You should be banned from riding a sportive ever again!)

Will I do it again? Maybe.

Rated Event: 88.889%

wrote:

Dreadful potholed roads but excellent ride and well organised, I shall be back !

Rated Event: 93.333%

wrote:

Great ride! Good to have Mow Cop and the other hills early in the ride, but it meant the second half was a little lacklustre by comparison. Beautiful ride and well organised and signed, though.

Rated Event: 93.333%

PhilWalker wrote:

Excellent, well orgnised event, course good for novices and better riders alike :)

Rated Event: 92.222%

lanternerouge wrote:

Absolutely fantastic, well organised and excellent signage. One of my best experiences on a bike, which made up for slightly rude treatment at the check in desk! Overall a big well done to Kilo to Go - I will be back next year!

Rated Event: 92.222%

MartinSilk wrote:

I did the same event last year and it looks like the issues with queuing on departure and queuing on completion for timing/Mow Cop Medal have been improved. Especially in the phased start - a massive improvement. One quibble would be the last 3-5 miles coming back on the longer route through town made for a hair raising experience!! Nice touch with the brass band at the feed station!. All in all a great day out.

Rated Event: 73.333%

podilato wrote:

My first 'proper' sportive. Thought the course was great and challenging. The hills could have possibly been a bit more spaced out but the scenery was still great. I didn't wait that long to start (unlike a lot of other comments) but the finish was a bit of an anti-climax with seemingly disorganized queues.

I think some of the problems regarding poor surfaces, punctures etc are down to the riders themselves. Some people don't how to signal potholes when riding in a bunch. Towards the end was in a group of about 8 riders going down a gentle downhill and almost crashed with the guy next to me because the clowns in front didn't signal.

Noticed some comments on the route. Well here's a tip. If you don't like the route then don't enter. I was going to do the Etape-Cymru last year as it started practically down the road but once I saw the route I did not enter as I knew that some of the roads were not fit for MTB's let alone road bikes.

To sum up, a lot of positives and, I think, just as many negatives. I think you don't get that much for your money. I might need to do a few more to get a better comparison.

Rated Event: 91.111%

Sean.Lacey wrote:

Excellent event this year, I hope they maintain the standard they have set.

Rated Event: 78.889%

wrote:

Overall a good experience, made all the better by the fantastic weather on the day. Very little delay at the start. Mow Cop, what was all the fuss about! There are much harder climbs in the Fred Whitton and Ryedale Rumble. The only thing stopping most people getting up was the very dodgy surface.
For me there were too many main roads to cross and traffic lights, especially approaching the finish, to give a higher rating.

Rated Event: 87.778%

simonneve wrote:

Monumental improvement from last as far as the start and finish chaos. Well done to all those involved!! Any chance we can get the results posted sooner?

Rated Event: 82.222%

wrote:

could have been more signs for some of the hazard. seen quite a few punctures as a result of pot holes, other than that a very good sportive

Rated Event: 90.000%

wrote:

Well done Kilo to Go..... lessons have obviously been learnt from previous years. If this has gone wrong it could have signaled the end of the sportive scene..... at least for me ! The start was much better organised and the food stops had plentiful supplies of relevant stuff ! The weather was brill and the signage which can be a problem on other rides was perfect.
There seemed to be plenty of outriders and staff generally. In all I suspect most riders would feel that they had got value for money on this one. Well done again !

Rated Event: 71.111%

wrote:

A huge improvement on last years shambles.
And... a nice day to boot!
However, not sure what all the fuss over Mow Cop is? It's not fit to lace Hardknott's boots!

Rated Event: 90.000%

RawdonSherwood wrote:

Not sure why others notechaos at the start as my mate and I turned up as requested at the. Pen access time and went straight through to start ? Maybe earlier starts had been difficult. Did the medium route and. Again at the finish a bit of a queue to get time and. Medal but not excessive? reat day fantastic ride. And beautiful weather! Totally brillient!

Rated Event: 94.444%

stevejackson wrote:

fantastic event

Rated Event: 81.030%

wrote:

Brilliant route on unbelievably quiet roads. But the start and finish chaos had to be experienced to be believed. Whats the point in all that technology if you have people stood about for an hour before and an hour after the event? Got really cold at the start and left for home without any goodies. Still enjoyed the ride massively and could be tempted back, but only if there is a promise of vast improvements.

Rated Event: 72.150%

wrote:

Everything apart from the start and finish line organisation was fine and I was dissapointed such a famous sportive event failed so badly in this area. Simple measures need to be taken such as allowing those on the 100mile route to start at 8am, medium route at 9am and short route at 10am. Having certificates and medals being handled by more people, and a much slicker finish line with timing beams you dont have to queue to reach clocking up more official time wouldnt go amiss. Come on guys, you can do better than this - I was freezing by the time I eventually setoff and in total was out for 12 hours for a 6 hour ride! On the plus side, the route was great with challenges along the way and the Mavic TDF car was a nice touch.