The chain gang of cyclists tramping through the British countryside on a Sunday morning, a mix of lycra and baggies, riding full-suspension, hard tails, cyclocross, fatbikes, 26ers, 29ers and even the odd 27.5, must mark the start of the off road events season.
For many who ride it, the Hell of the North Cotswolds is the first event of the year, a shakedown for all the new kit purchased over the winter and an opportunity to catch up with mates on what is always sure to be a challenging ride. The HONC, as it is more commonly known, celebrated its 30th year and with similar events like the Dyfi Enduro, the ride sells out in minutes when it goes on sale at the turn of the year. Last year the weather played a part in making it one of the wettest most miserable events for some time but the blue skies and almost dry trails made the 30th running of the event a fun one.
The route, always a challenge, is a mix of rough farm tracks, some twisty singletrack and bridleways broken up with short road sections. You can always guarantee some good long climbs too! This year, 1250 riders headed out from the town of Whinchcombe at 9am. Although it’s not a race, the organisers stipulate it is ‘Reliability Ride’, the mass start makes the first hour a bit of a hustle as riders jostle to get up front and the first hour this year was mostly spent climbing up Cleeve Hill. We saw plenty of punctures and the odd mechanical on the way.
The long climb helped to thin the pack and on passing the summit the riding became more open with less traffic. What lay ahead was a few hours of beautiful English countryside, challenging twisty climbs and fun descents with kind landowners providing temporary access through their farms to help the organisers link up routes.
A mid ride snack station was well stocked with coffee and cake, always necessary on what really is a social event. Bottles refilled and bread pudding duly dispatched we set off for the second half which was much the same as the first. Hill, descent, hill, descent. The day ended with a really fast descent through a private estate and a road ride back past Sudeley Castle and onto Winchcombe for medals and bacon sandwiches.
For the 50k route the garmin reported over 1000 metres of climbing so it’s no Sunday morning stroll but it is a well organised event and a great social too. Thankfully last year’s weather didn’t appear to have put too many people off and no doubt next year will be a sell out too.
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