Report: Exmoor Beast Tamed?
Words and Pictures: Paul Howard
Posted 11 Nov 2008
Paul Howard takes on the final challenge on the 2009 sportive calendar. But did he tame the beast?
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Above: Paul, tamer of the beast or lamb to the slaughter? |
It's dark, almost pitch black in fact - sunrise is another half hour away and the thick cloud is making sure dawn is more of a concept than reality. It's also windy and chilly. The last remnants of the previous night's torrential rain are still stinging the faces of the 1,300 cyclists gathered in the gloaming on the edge of a muddy field. Welcome to the Exmoor Beast.
The Beast is the last event of the burgeoning British cyclosportive calendar, and is a fitting challenge with which to draw the curtain on the year. In fact, the challenges come thick and fast, even before you start the ride itself.
First is maintaining the motivation required to prepare for and then ride up to 100 miles over the toughest roads Exmoor can throw at you - and all this in November when thoughts are normally already beginning to turn to next year.
Assuming this hurdle has been overcome, the impact of the clocks having recently been put back an hour coupled with a warm, cosy bed on a wintry morning can be enough to sow seeds of doubt in the minds of even the most ardent sportive fan.
Not that such meagre concerns were sufficient to deter the 1,378 hardy souls who rolled across the start line at Wimbleball Lake, and who then had to face up to the final and most significant challenge - the ride itself.
Participants have two options - 100km or 100miles. Both are very hilly - the 100 miles route has nearly 14,000ft of climbing - and both are worthwhile tests for even the very fittest riders. If further evidence is needed, the level of the challenge is made quite clear by the fact that around 200 riders failed to finish either route this year - some through inevitable mechanical failures exacerbated by the roughness of some of the roads covered, some through simply having under-estimated the difficulties involved.
These difficulties do not take long to become apparent. The first 20 miles or so as you head north over the Brendon Hills are a succession of ups and downs, although they turn out to be little more than an appetiser for what's to come. The climb up to Dunkery Beacon is where the real fun begins - steep enough to have had more than half the riders I could see walking, while progress is further hampered by a cattle grid and then a ford.
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Above: Hardy participants ford a river on the route |
Once up on the top of the moor the roads to the west are once again steeply undulating, and the exposure to wind and chill - no rain, fortunately - is stark. The descent into Lymouth down Countisbury Hill provides little respite as it's so steep you need to work hard just to slow down, while the fact you arrive at sea level means the only way now is up. The route duly obliges as you head south over the moor in a succession of long, steep climbs to the cut-off point between the two routes and feed station at Simonsbath.
The remainder of the 100 mile route is apparently slightly less challenging - I wouldn't know. A delayed start meant I missed even the generously extended cut off time of 11.15am, meaning the 100km was the only option; the fact this was the option I would have chosen anyway at that point reveals something of fatigue that had already been induced.
As it was, the final 15 miles or so of the shorter route were still a challenge in their own right - sufficient, as the organisers point out, for you to legitimately claim to have 'tamed the beast'. The bigger beast of the full 100 miles will have to wait for next year.
Challenges for the organisers:
Although a very enjoyable event run over two excellent routes, the second manifestation of the Exmoor Beast did not pass off entirely smoothly. The problems began before the event started. Even for those arriving early, as requested in the pre-event information, it took up to half an hour to park. Once parked, evidence of where to go to sign-on, if necessary, or even how to find the start, was limited. Toilet facilities, too, were at a premium (for men at least - the women present were gleeful in finding themselves for once at an advantage in this respect). This in spite of the fact the physiological impact of an impending start-gun on the bowels of nervous participants is a widely acknowledged phenomenon.
Once under way things were much smoother, with the course well-signed, back-up vehicles and marshals prominent and traffic generally light. The absence of distance signs was a concern for those without bike-computers, however, and the queues at the feeding station in Simonsbath were a source of some frustration - those waiting for the delicious bacon butties were in no rush, but those simply wanting to refill water bottles from one of only two dispensers would have been excused a greater degree of impatience.
After the event, the queues to leave the finish area were as pronounced as those experienced when arriving, and there was also the tricky matter of negotiating the single-track lane that riders were still using to reach the finish. Fortunately, the efficient marshals did a good job in mitigating the disturbance to all concerned.
Organisers response:
MIG Security, the company behind the Exmoor Beast, acknowledged that the event had some organisational improvements to make (after the considerable success of the inaugural event) and apologised for any disruption and inconvenience caused. It also vowed to take on board all the comments it had received to ensure the event improved in the years to come as it sought to cement itself as a fitting final challenge in the domestic sportive calendar and targeted eventual participation levels up to 2,500 riders.
According to MIG Security's Sammy Chung, the problems with arrivals and departures were caused in part by the organisers not having the anticipated access to a bridleway that would have provided an extra route into and out of the car-parking area. He also acknowledged that the organisers had overestimated the capacity of the lanes near the start. As a result, he said that negotiations were already underway with new start-finish venues for next year to ensure improved parking and access/egress.
The vast majority of the excellent route, however, would remain unchanged.
He said the lack of sufficient toilets would be addressed (the fact Wimbleball Lake had successfully hosted a triathlon with 2,000 participants had led them to believe facilities were sufficient), as would provision of more water dispensers at the feeding stops and distance signs on the route. "It's not something that was raised last year, but then participation levels have more than doubled so we need to be aware of what's needed to cope with more riders," said Chung.
He also pointed to a list of further improvements the organisers hoped to bring in based on the experience gained this year, including temporary shelters on the more exposed parts of the route for those who needed mechanical backup or had simply bitten off more than they could chew. "A large number this year underestimated the challenge and pulled out at the top of the first climb," he pointed out.
"We're more than happy to take on board every single comment. We appreciate the fact that nearly 1,400 riders made the effort to participate this year and we've had great support from the local community, so we plan to make the necessary improvement and for the event to go from strength to strength," he concluded.
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