Hell of the Ashdown 2024
On Sunday 25 Feb myself, Anne, Giles, Justas, Simon, Cong and Andy M had signed up for THE HELL OF THE ASHDOWN. A 100k sportive with 1,892 meter climbing, going over Toys Hill, Markbeech, Cowden, Wych Cross, Twyford Lane, Kidds Hill aka The wall, Col de Groombridge, Hobbs Hill and Bayley’s Hill.
1500 cyclists (from that only 85 women) had signed up for the event, so when we arrived at Westerham brewery there was already a sea of people rearing to go. It was a chilly 2degrees Celsius and there was a thick foggy mist in the valley giving the scene a slightly eerie and excited atmosphere. We were warned before setting off that the road conditions were bad, with many potholes and lots of water, gravel and mud on the road but that wouldn’t stop us from getting a few PBs and a good overall time.
We started off together, though the first hill to climb (Toys Hill) came after only 2 kilometers, which broke up the group right away. For most of the ride Anne and I were the TDV femme duo encouraging each other to keep the pace. It was a constant up and down, with very little time to recover in between the hills.
The atmosphere during the ride was great, all the cyclists shouted and pointed to warn each other of the many potholes and whether junctions were clear. It was good we started slightly later than planned, as we kept on overtaking and finding other cyclists to stick with for a time.
And after only 4hr8min Anne and I crossed the line together. We were pleased with the result and made plans to improve on this timing for next year’s event almost immediately! Giles was already waiting for us having finished some time earlier and the rest rolled in shortly after.
At the finishing line we got a free beer and enjoyed some food from one of the food trucks before making our way home. Simon, Anne and Justas impressively enough cycled there and back increasing their distance of the day to 161km!
It is a hellish sportive so early in the season, however I can’t recommend it enough. It’s close to home and really tests whether you kept your cycling fitness over the winter. Join us next year!
