Scottish former pro cyclist-turned-commentator Brian Smith is standing on the start line at the Hell of the Ashdown sportive, trying to gee up the group of 30 riders I find myself among in the start pen.
Glancing down at the sticker of climbs and their profiles I've attached to my top-tube, I can see he might have a point. The first major ascent of the day - Toys Hill - is just 2.3km in, and its 7.3% average gradient for just shy of 3km will have to be tackled with cold legs. Not for the last time, I wonder what I've signed up for.
Last-minute entry
Less than 24 hours earlier, my weekend plans were looking completely different. I had 80km left of riding to do of the 150km per week target I'd set myself at the start of the year. A gentle loop from my home in north London to the lanes of Essex was on the cards for Sunday.
Sitting down to breakfast on Saturday, my phone lit up with a text from Cycling Plus deputy editor John Whitney. "Very short notice but was hoping you'd be up for riding the Hell of the Ashdown sportive in Kent tomorrow? I was supposed to do it but I'm sick. Please let me know ASAP." I head to the website and am confronted with a photo of Satan and a list of 10 climbs and cols, half of which are classed as 'hors categorie' (a similar difficulty to the ascents of the Alps and Pyrenees) and none below category two.
Originally started by Catford CC as a reliability ride in the 1920s, the Hell of the Ashdown (or HOTA to old hands) transformed into a fully fledged event open to 1,500 entrants. Its USP is that it's the first in the UK sportive season. The Devil's trident was passed to neighbouring club Westerham CC in 2022, but its ethos remains the same - a fun, if hard, day on the bike to test how well you're shaping up ahead of the spring.
Bu hikaye Cycling Plus UK dergisinin June 2023 sayısından alınmıştır.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Giriş Yap
Bu hikaye Cycling Plus UK dergisinin June 2023 sayısından alınmıştır.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Giriş Yap
Air Apparent - Pollution hasn't gone away. It's still there in every lungful, even if we can't see it in the air or on the news. But there are reasons to breathe easier, thanks to pioneering projects using cycling 'citizen scientists'. Rob Ainsley took part in one...
The toxic effects of pollution have been known about for years. 'Just two things of which you must beware: Don't drink the water and don't breathe the air!' sang 1960s satirist Tom Lehrer.Over recent decades, though, pollution has dropped down our list of things to worry about, thanks to ominously capitalised concerns such as Climate Change, AI, Global Conflict, Species Collapse, etc. That doesn't, unfortunately, mean the problem has expired. Air quality often exceeds safe limits, with far-reaching and crippling effects on our health.
No limits
Not every adventure needs to be that epic, says bikepacking Scotland founder Markus Stitz
UNBOUND UNLEASHED
Josh Patterson was one of 34 starters for the inaugural edition of Unbound in 2006. Now, with more than 5,000 riders taking part in today's event, he charts the rise of the most important race in gravel
FOREST COMMISSION
Looking for a goal race in 2025 that'll stimulate the synapses and live long in the memory? You'd struggle to do better than ENID CRV in Finland
15 OF THE BEST ADVENTURES
Featuring Yorkshire, the USA, Sri Lanka and more, here are our picks of the world's greatest gravel races and routes
The stuff of dreams
Ned sings the praises of the Paris Olympics road-race course
"I rode 3,000 miles around Britain on a bamboo bike to highlight our climate crisis"
Recordbreaking cyclist and triathlete Kate Strong, 45, took to the road to raise awareness of environmental issues
FORTRESS OF SOLITUDE
We venture into the hidden gem of the glorious Creuse, one of France's least populated regions
STAR TREK
New tube shapes and carbon lay-up makes the eighth generation of Trek's legendary Madone an aero and climbing bike all rolled into one
GOLD RUSH
With conflict around the world, Paris 2024 was a ray of light. Here are our highs of a mighty Olympics
