This last weekend saw over 3,000 cyclists enjoy some of the great roads of the New Forest. Two events ran over the weekend, the Wiggle New Forest 100 and the Gridiron. Many of the riders taking part in these events came from outside the New Forest National Park. In the past, the Wiggle event started and finished in Brockenhurst, but due to small, but focussed opposition, the start and finish was moved to outside the New Forest boundary. Whilst this is worth an article in itself, we really want to focus on the success of the weekend.
It’s great that people are able to enjoy the Forest like this.
Despite the rather inclement weather over the weekend, the events were a great success. Most encouragingly, there were no reported acts of vandalism or sabotage, as have been the case over the past two years, a great relief to riders and organisers alike. Along the route people cheered and gave encouragement to the cyclists as they rode the 54, 81 or 100 mile route. A cheer can be as good as an energy bar sometimes! Whilst a sportive is not a race, it is a challenge and each rider is timed so there is a real sense of achievement in completing it.
Surprisingly not as flat as you think, the New Forest!
If you’ve never taken part in a sportive before, then this video will give you a good idea of what it’s like!
The Wiggle New Forest 100 route took in some fantastic parts of the New Forest. There were three options to choose from – Epic (100 miles), Standard (81 miles) and Short (54 miles) – each taking in some of the great roads available in the Forest. It showed the range of roads that are available to the cyclist in the New Forest, hopefully many will be back to explore some more.
A great attitude towards what this is all about came from a motorist, Hazel Platt, whose car was stuck, off the side of the road. A group of cyclists came to her aid to help get her car back on the road. Hazel said: “They were so kind. I didn’t know what to do and suddenly these six men turned up. It’s great that people are able to enjoy the Forest like this.”
It is indeed great that people are able to enjoy the New Forest like this – this is what it’s all about. Hopefully those who were experiencing the New Forest for the first time will go back and let their friends and families know what a fantastic place this is to visit, stay and enjoy.
A few stats from the Wiggle Sportive:
- 1900 rode each day.
- 30% women
- 10% families / U16
- 30+ Marshals
- 15 support Vans
- 6 medic’s
To find out more about a sportive in your area, we can recommend you start here: http://www.ukcyclingevents.co.uk/
Allez!
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