{"id":167,"date":"2021-11-08T13:00:30","date_gmt":"2021-11-08T12:00:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.bikeradar.com\/?p=651587"},"modified":"2021-11-08T13:20:08","modified_gmt":"2021-11-08T12:20:08","slug":"bikeradar-rides-in-search-of-cornwalls-toughest-century-ride","status":"publish","type":"rss_feed","link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/cyclingplus\/rss_feed\/bikeradar-rides-in-search-of-cornwalls-toughest-century-ride\/","title":{"rendered":"BikeRadar Rides | In search of Cornwall\u2019s toughest century ride"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/p>

By Nick Busca\n \t\t<\/p>

Published: Monday, 08 November 2021 at 12:00 am<\/p>

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There were 130 kilometres on the clock, and some 3,200m of climbing metres to boot, in a thoroughly exhausting day\u2019s work when the heavens opened to stick in the knife.<\/p>\n

Oh, and I\u2019d also run out of food, and there were 30km still to go.<\/p>\n

My legs trembled with each pedal stroke, on the cusp of cramping.<\/p>\n

I wasn\u2019t climbing any Alpine or Andean monster, rather the steepest hills of Cornwall, and frankly, in that moment, I didn\u2019t know which was worse.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt always rains in Holsworthy!\u201d A bellow through the fog, as we tipped over into Devon, briefly jolted me into life.<\/p>\n

It came from my day\u2019s road captain, local Strava<\/a> legend Craig Harper, who was cranking up the tempo.<\/p>\n

Craig is always sphinx-like, with no grimaces or visible signs of pain across his face at any point. He appeared annoyingly fresh.<\/p>\n

He must have been feeling it, though, as this had been a monstrous day in the saddle for the pair of us.<\/p>\n

\""Two\"<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>
We sent Nick Busca in search of Cornwall\u2019s toughest century.<\/span><\/figcaption> Joseph Branston \/ Immediate Media<\/i><\/span><\/div>\n

Grand plans<\/h2>\n

We\u2019d set off much earlier that day from the centre of the coastal town of Bude with a bold plan: 160km and 3,500m of elevation.<\/p>\n

There\u2019d been no gradual easing into these numbers, either, as the road reared up immediately following a fast descent towards the wide, sandy and rocky Widemouth beach, and straight into one of the steepest climbs of the day.<\/p>\n

Millook is gracefully short at 750 metres in distance, but its 14.4 per cent average gradient bites hard and thunders straight into 30 per cent pitches.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s tough on a dry day, but in these wet and humid conditions part of the fight was devoted to keeping your front wheel and the tarmac acquainted.<\/p>\n

Craig set the tone for the day with a no-fuss seated grind to the summit, while I scampered around in his wake.<\/p>\n