Polka Dot Challenge Day

Hi

Well today is the day of the Polka Dot Challenge in Derbyshire and this is being posted at just about the time I hope to start. I'll be riding with a mate from work, David, and we are going to try to stick together and see how we do. I think there will be about 500 riders in the event and we are hoping to get into the top 10% which would probably mean riding the 100+ mile course in under 6 hours. Now, that doesn't sound too bad if you ignore the fact that the route includes some of the classic climbs used in many of the famous British cycle races. The 100 mile route includes 8 major climbs – Cat & Fiddle (7 miles), Long Hill (3 miles), Chinley Head (1 ½ miles), Chunal Head (1 mile), Snake Pass (3 miles), Winnats Pass (1 mile at 25%), Axe Edge (2 ½ miles), Gun Hill (1 ½ miles).

So, spare a thought for us today, I'll try to post a short message after the finish to let you know our provisional finishing time and any other snippets from the day.