The Cheshire Cat 2015

Rated Event: 25.556%

TashaScott wrote:

Poorly organised event. Route was either super busy with fast, unforgiving traffic, or covered in potholes and loose gravel. Signage missing made for detours. Temporary traffic control stuck on red. Big climbs into gale-force wind and torrential rain.

Start system was in "Pens" and was told could not start earlier or with friends. Turned up to find no such pens existed and people could just go off as and when - why bother with such a start system? Start was very deserted too.

HQ area was muddy, parking on boggy field pretty far from start. Staff didn't know much (made enquiry about free High5 packs if entered 8 weeks before - no one knew what I was talking about even though this was advertised on website). Expected MowCop climb to be a hub on the route, turned up and it was completely deserted with a pretty dodgy descent the other side including a "Ford" that was a gushing river!

Generally very disappointed in this event - KiloToGo was recommended to me by friends and I just can't see why.

Rated Event: 87.778%

Stuart Wilkinson wrote:

Despite the bad conditions, well done to KTG for pressing ahead and organising a very professional event.

Rated Event: 85.556%

NeilDobson wrote:

Perhaps need more distance markers, e.g. miles to finish

Rated Event: 85.556%

graham balshaw wrote:

My time was accurate but I would have liked to have seen how I compared with the other 900 riders in the 105 mile ride. The information was well presented and a good filter but unfortunately the data is of very poor quality. One of my friends Marcus Hayes entered the 105 mile but cut this short on the day to 80 miles but still got the gold at 5.56 for the 105 mile ride. It would be interesting to know how many riders actually achieved the gold standard in those difficult weather conditions, I am sure it was no were near the 200 on the results sheet.
As you can see from my overall scores above I thought the event was very well organised indeed.

Rated Event: 64.444%

DaveEllis1 wrote:

The weather really made the difference to this event being either a great success or an ordeal. As it happens the wether men got it right at the the beginning of the week but the oranisers failed to take note. Unsuitable parking on a water logged field was mayhem and the HQ was similarly poorly sited on grassy garden areas.
The route was testing, scenic with the main hill climbs within the first 40 miles (100 miler). Top marks for that. Route signage was good but a few more hazzard signs coud have been placed.
Weather played a big part in diminishing the quality of this event, but the lack of planning for bad weather was the real spoiler. Can't say I'll be back neat year sorry.

Rated Event: 78.889%

Ian121 wrote:

The weather made it quite challenging but overall the route was quite good, the feed stations well stocked with hot drinks available (medium route) The feed stations would would benefit from the provision of bike hangers instead of finding hedges, walls, cars, bins etc etc to the lean your bike against. Mow Cop is silly steep and Gun Hill was great. Just the right amount of climbing with a good run in to the finish.

Rated Event: 41.111%

ElRider wrote:

This event has most definitely gone astray from previous years. There are plenty of others to choose from, I'll be riding something else next year.

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?