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“Dunsfold Sportive ”
On a cold, damp, and misty Sunday morning during the month of October, and four weeks after the Southern Sportive event, I and two other fellow cyclists braved the weather conditions and rode the event known as Dunsfold held on 12 October, which is part of the Sunday Sportive series. My cycling companions (see pictures below) for this event were Harvey, one of the owners of Wiggle who is a very keen cyclist, and Greg – a friend of Harvey’s who also enjoys riding his bike whenever he can. |
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Soon after the Southern Sportive event, I mentioned this one to my work colleagues and thought about getting some of us together to ride it. I did warn all those that I had emailed about the severity of this event and the climbs you would have to tackle to complete the ride. The event uses many country lanes that take you through Surrey and over a rolling course, with plenty of tougher climbs thrown in to make things that much harder. |
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One of the climbs we all had to tackle was Leith Hill. Leith Hill is often used as a finishing climb for many Surrey League road and stage races. During a three day stage race, known as the Army CU stage race, I actually finished 12th on stage 3, which finished up this tough climb, giving me a FGC (Final General Classification) of 14th. |
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As our big day approached, Harvey, Greg and I decided that the best course of action was for us all to travel up together, meeting at Harvey’s house at 7.00 am start, and then leaving soon after. Travelling together made sense as its saved on petrol and also created some team bonding, plus Greg wasn’t too sure how to get to Dunsfold Park, which was the starting point for the 124km ride.
Once we left at about 7.15 am, we drove up the A3(M) heading for Hindhead. From there we headed across country, so to speak, to Haslemere, Plaistow, Dunsfold, Alford and onto the huge Dunsfold Park circuit, which is basically a huge flat area with parked-up aeroplanes, large hangers and a place where Top Gear stores all of their wacky car creations. During the Summer months you can also take part in the Dunsfold Park Circuit series which is a series of circuit races that the Surrey League promote. Racing is fast, tough and exciting, so coming here in a more social environment made a nice change. I’m sure we saw Stig driving around the circuit and a caravan being blown to bits, but as it was still quite foggy when we arrived I couldn’t be certain. When we left Harvey’s house it looked like the mist was going to clear, but we soon realised on the way up that the fog was not going to lift in this part of the world (Surrey) and when we eventually arrived at Dunsfold Park it was a lot colder and very foggy. Not a great start to our ride, but we were now here and the next task which lay before us was to get the bikes out of Greg’s van, get changed, sign on, join the queue for the loo and wait for our start time. Like the Southern Sportive event, all entrants (who sign on that is) are given an electronic tag which makes it easier for the organisation to keep track of us during the event. Once ready with our tags and with our pockets fully laden with food and rolled-up Gillets, we set off. |
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The group we started off with must have been around 40 strong, but within a few miles the group had split into smaller groups due to the fast pace at the start. Also we had to use the main A road linking Guildford to Alford which didn’t help matters as this caused riders to open gaps because of cars trying to pass us, but after 5 miles we turned right into a country lane and everything soon settled down. |
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It wasn’t long though before the first long drag reared its head causing the smaller groups to split even further. Greg, Harvey and I decided that we would stay together throughout the whole ride and enjoy the day’s outing on new roads. Now for the majority of the ride it was pretty much straight-forward. You kept on cycling, climbing those nasty hills out of the fog, had a rest and a bite to eat, then start descending back into the fog only to climb back out again soon after. It was like going on a roller coaster, but without that stomach churning feeling. The course did have some flat parts though which Harvey enjoyed as he just got on the front and powered along with Greg and myself sitting happily behind him. Apart from stopping at all the checkpoints to collect our food and drink, and to help Harvey ease his back, the only other time that I can recall stopping was when I punctured on the descent of Leith Hill. To be honest I was very surprised that knowone else had punctured as the road surface was rough and very gritty in places. |
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As we rode past the halfway mark, the fog decided to clear, exposing the sun which was a warm relief from the damp air. The sun didn’t help the legs though, but it made us feel an awful lot better as it’s far more pleasurable to cycle in the sunshine rather than damp misty and wet conditions. Towards the end of the route the course took us on flatter roads which was nice and also used many other Surrey League road race courses like Dunsfold and Alford. With around 15 miles to the finish Harvey was starting to feel his earlier power sessions in his legs so our pace slowed slightly as we wanted to finish together. As we turned into Dunsfold Park it was a nice feeling knowing that we had completed a tough ride having tackling some of Surrey’s finest and toughest climbs that the county can throw at you. |
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Knowing you have completed a challenge, which for a lot of entrants was very tough, is a good feeling and makes you feel proud of the achievement. For me it was just nice to get out on the bike and cycle on some familiar roads, as well as some new roads, whilst riding in good company. It seemed very strange to arrive back at Dunsfold Park in beautiful sunshine rather than damp and misty conditions. The finish was more rewarding thanks to the warm sunshine which was now bathing Dunsfold Park. |
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Many of the riders took time out relaxing on the grass with a cup of tea and a slice of cake, and if you really felt naughty, like the three of us, you could fill your face with a whopping great big burger (double with cheese of course). After we consumed our food and talked about the ride, work, and life in general, it was time to pack the bikes, get changed into some dry clothing, and set off back across country, down the A3(M) back to Harvey’s house. As we drew nearer to our final destination, Harvey, having spoken to his wife, said that more cake and a cup of tea was waiting for us in their kitchen. |
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As we drove into Harvey’s driveway, Andrea greeted us and invited us into their kitchen to offer Greg and I more cake, which went down very well indeed. After about half an hour later, Greg and I decided to make a move to return back home to our partners, who had not seen us for the majority of the day. Now comparing the Southern Sportive to this one, I would say that this event was harder, thanks to the relentless up and downs, plus the occasional steeper climb thrown in. The route was also quite technical in places and full concentration was required, as some of the descents were narrow and twisty. The road surfaces were also tougher and somehow pulled you back when you tried to go faster. Yes, this route is shorter than the Southern Sportive, but the toughness of this route made up for the shorter mileage.
This event used many routes that another Sportive event uses. That event is known as the Guildford challenge and starts South of Guildford and has three routes. This event is usually one week before the Southern Sportive ride and is a tough event to do, so if you fancy riding three tough and hilly events next year I would recommend that you think about these. Be warned though, climbing gears are essential if you want to finish these events, as well as a good maintained bike, as sometimes you are in the middle of nowhere with just the local animal life keeping you company. |
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This event was well signposted, it had a good atmosphere at the start/finish, had plenty of food at the feed stations, and is cheaper than the Southern Sportive. All in all this is a good event to ride soon after the Southern Sportive as you will have the miles in your legs and the fitness to complete it. |
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