L'eroica Britannia 2016

I'm liking the RR. Some of my cycling friends do it. I think the Eroica Britannia is finished. I'm thinking about the RR next year.

Was riding from Manchester to Leicester on Friday and really enjoyed the miles of traffic free cycling thanks the massive queues of traffic trying to get on the site

You won't regret entering the Retroronde. I did it in 2012 and 2013 and always had a great time. Over the years it has grown organically and the organisers have made an effort to make it better year after year, ratherthan just bigger.
The main difference with Bakewell is that everything revolves around the bicycle: the bicycle is not an excuse to draw people in and make money, but it's the core of the all weekend. There are races for different categories of period cycles on the saturday afternoon and seeing folks racing the high wheels around the cobbled streets of Oudenaarde is a spectacle in itself.
The sunday ride is shorter, which means you can ride a bit harder than you would in the Peak District. There is a reasonable amount of cobbles to make it into a full on Flandrian experience. The mass start is also nicer than the 20 at a time kind of UK start for health and safety reasons.

I was there this year, as last.
It wasn't as good for me this year, but I guess that's partly personal, partly weather. Like others, we ended up quite a long way from the festival - and the toilets, which is a bit of an issue with kids.

I agree with the comments about the festival/sellers not being such a good match to the ride participants. Like others, I'm not very interested in much of it. I met folks there who have no interest in riding bikes, but said they "just like dressing up and drinking beer"!

Would be nicer if it was smaller (about half the size)/less commercial, but I can understand organisers needing to make it profitable.

I thought the route this year (100 miles) was a bit nicer, with much less traffic, but the combination of hills and 42/25 makes it harder. Also, the feed stops weren't so good, and weren't so well-spaced (16 miles, 35 miles, 65 miles, 80 miles, 93 miles). I found the signage OK, although the map was no good. Chatsworth was a bit of an anti-climax after last year, huh?

I'm sure I will go back next year - but thanks for the suggestion of RR.

http://www.wielerclubmill.nl/aankondigingen/brabantse-strade-bianche-2016/,,,,,,,, 4.5 euros entry fee,,,,, ????????

thx for the tip,

looks like an event worthy of forum representation, :-)

http://www.retroronde.be

ps. about Bakewell / Eroica,

maximum-enjoyment of the festival site would seem dependent on family-appreciation (they bill it as a 'family festival') / bicycle-parts appreciation (from the jumble/stalls), or having a jolly there with your mates (the last of which seems to be the favoured recipe for many locals, judging by the overwhelming local accents in the beer tent and the surrounds - quite appropriately);

otherwise, guess its about appreciating the Peak District location (some great walking routes to be discovered), perhaps by getting there early and riding about a little on the Saturday like so many people were and making a holiday of it..

.. sunshine helps too!

contingency planning for rain/mud (via wood chip / hosing-down of bicycles at the end) would seem appropriate for a pre-1987 bicycle event!

agree with much of that; the 'posh toilets' seemed okay and kids-friendly, but maybe not at all times?! guess camping on a muddy site is more of a challenge to the event being completely family-friendly!

likewise, the feed-stops of last year in comparison to this seem to represent a vintage due to smaller-scale - how nice was Chatsworth last year, on the verge and in the sun (!), and that so-scenic village-stop - guess 4,500 Eroicas was deemed too much for this year!

deffo taking on the bacon-butty at the first very early stop (sure it was 16m and not 10? - as it felt like!) would have helped the stomach survive until the 65m lunch-stop, which did feel very due upon arrival..

.. as the tagline states, 'the last person home wins' - or words to that effect, would like to take more time on the 100-route next year, enjoying more stop-offs and taking-in more the scenery - therefore committing to staying-over for the Sunday night and enjoying a few more beers with fellow riders at the end in the beer tent (!)

Interesting reading all of the above.

I had a stand there for the third year. From a vendors point of view feel that the organisers were hit with the double whammy of the weather and the Womens Tour on Friday and as such my pitch only just broke even.

From what I have heard the routes had to be tweeked as the number of riders had outgrown them. They had some issues last year especially on the 100 miler with people hammering it on the trails a bit too much.

Feel the event has gone through three stages - year one had it's early adopters. Year two was fun and now the event is more about drinking with a bit of a bike ride on the Sunday.

I haven't decided whether we'll be back next year - depends how much they hike the pitch fees up and what they do with the entry fees for day visitors as that put a lot of locals off.

Must admit it was fun watching them trying to move the Mavic truck on the set up day on Thursday though !