THE DAVE LLOYD MEGA CHALLENGE...
02-07-2008
I AM WRITING THIS FIRST HAND THIS WEEK AS IT HAS BEEN A VERY SPECIAL WEEKEND!...
I just can't believe it's finally come and gone. It was so long in the organisation of the Dave Lloyd Mega Challenge that I was beginning to have nightmares about the "big day". From the first seeds of the idea of putting all my favourite climbs I had trained over for the last 40 years into one super long MEGA Sportive last September, to the realisation of that dream seems such a long road. When I told Mark Harding about the idea , he said we should run with it and so the work began. It took me months to get the route "right" and when I finally did my first ride around the Mega, I realised it was something VERY special...
However, before too long Mark and I realised it was just too much for two of us to put together by ourselves and when I came back from my training camp in Denia with serious injuries, I was in trouble. ... I had ridden the Three Counties in 2007 and it was the best organised event I had ridden and I knew Terry Bell well... In desperation I rang him for some advice and after a long sob story, he offered to take over the organisation...
The rest is history, as they say. Terry got his team around him and together we got the thing done and last Sunday all the hard work Terry had done came to fruition and by the looks of the feed back we have had, it was a MASSIVE success... I have to admit, I was having nightmares about the whole event, but it all came good on the day.
OK, it wasn't the best weather, and it was a head wind on the "road to hell", but.. IT WORKED !! The look on the riders faces coming into the finish when I was meeting them on the line was brilliant. The look of satisfaction and relief on the faces said it all... Chris and I were just so relieved and pleased it had all come together and the hard work was all worthwhile.
There are FAR too many people to thank personally, but , believe me I am SO grateful to one and all.. ESPECIALLY TERRY AND SUE, who did what can only be described as a miraculous job.
BUT.... WATCH THIS SPACE... WE (TERRY, SUE , CHRIS AND ME) ARE UP FOR IT AGAIN NEXT YEAR, AND I AM STARTING WORK ON IT ... NOW !!!
We are looking to make it much bigger and better next year. We have learnt a lot this year and there is so much more we can now put into the event to make it what we believe will be the best Sportive of all time in this country... I am really excited about some of the ideas we have. Terry and myself will be having a huge debrief once he has got the Three Counties off his back and had a well deserved holiday with Sue...
I also want to thank the athletes who rode the event too. The cameraderie was there in spades .. People helping each other through bad times and through mechanical problems and falls... You guys are FANTASTIC... Also, when Chris and I were taking signs up on the Monday after the event, there was NOT ONE piece of litter on the road or the verges.. Not one gel wrapper or energy bar wrapper... BRILLIANT STUFF.. The event was also ridden by a North Wales Police Officer, and he said it was the best organised, best signed and with the best food stops he had ever seen.. WOWEEEE... !!!
WEEKEND RESULTS IN SHORT....
Adrian Hunt pulled off yet ANOTHER PB when he beat his best 10 mile TT time by 15 seconds to pull out a 21'03" on a really hard grotty day... What a season you're having Adrian...
Kara Chesworth did a superb ride in her first year to finish in the second group in the National Womens Road Race Champs sprinting in for 7th place and getting 14th place.... BRILLIANT FUTURE AHEAD...
Jen Caldicott was in the same group and just two places behind Kara...WELL DONE JEN...
In my Sportive, we had two great results....
BRETT HEDGES FINISHED SECOND IN THE MEN'S 140 MILE MEGA...
ERYN NOLAN FINISHED SECOND IN THE WOMENS 140 MILE MEGA...
TWO ABSOLUTELY WONDERFUL RIDES... SO PROUD OF YOU GUYS.. THAT TOOK SOME BOTTLE ...
I JUST CAN'T WAIT TO GET STUCK INTO THE 2009 MEGA CHALLENGE NOW.. YOU GUYS ( AND I MEAN ALL THOSE WHO FINISHED) WERE THE INSPIRATION I WAS LOOKING FOR... A BIG "UP" TO YOU ALL... YOU WERE A CREDIT TO THE SPORTIVE SPORT!!
Thank You
Thank you for posting a comment on this article. With all comments, they are moderated for content before publishing, so your entry here will not be immediately visible.
Comments
Ian Doran | 02/07/2008 @ 13:46
Living in Liverpool and now on the wirral I've always ridden into North Wales and still do 'cos I love it, so the mega challenge was a must for me having done all of those climbs at some point over the years, the course you chose was fantastic and I enjoyed the whole event. looking forward to next year (minus the rain).
Well done everyone.
Ian.