The ‘race’
Firstly the ‘Dash’ was not a race ... lets make that clear, though it was however ridden as quickly as possible by all that rode it. 97 ish miles in distance , the course covered a lot of bridleway gravel, some road , some trail and the occasional push up some seriously steep climbs. There was a diverse selection of bikes lined up at the start … thin, fat, geared, singlespeed and John R on his converted road bike.
Firstly the ‘Dash’ was not a race ... lets make that clear, though it was however ridden as quickly as possible by all that rode it. 97 ish miles in distance , the course covered a lot of bridleway gravel, some road , some trail and the occasional push up some seriously steep climbs. There was a diverse selection of bikes lined up at the start … thin, fat, geared, singlespeed and John R on his converted road bike.
No marshals, feed stations or directions on this ride so a Garmin and plenty of food were important, before we left we scoffed down a couple of bacon sarnies and a cup of coffee for good measure.
The first climb out of Swanage certainly spread the 70 starters out early and we were soon grouped loosely with 6 or 7 riders, passing each other on either the ups or downs. This continued for most of the ride and we quickly made new friends from as far a field as Cannock Chase and Plymouth. A short stop for lunch at Shillingstone Railway Project 50 miles in was welcome before a wicked climb up to Hambledon Hill Fort which only George Budd was able to climb followed by some great gravel, railway, river and forest tracks for 20 miles. At the top of the final climb we came across Rich and Conrad , descending a pretty tricky trail into Swanage and back to the Red Lion. Job done and what a great day, time for a beer.
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