The Rawlinson Bracket ride is a hilly ride in the ‘Wilds of Warwickshire’ taking in the gradients of the Edge Hill escarpment. This ride takes place near the anniversary of the departure of a close friend of ours, Nick, who passed away in his sleep on the 24th of February 2012, aged 30.

This event has two objectives - the first is to raise funds for research into, and awareness of, Sudden Adult Death Syndrome (SADS), the second is to allow you to experience the type of riding that Nick enjoyed with a passion.

Nick was a local lad, born and bred in Kenilworth and worked at Jaguar Land Rover. Nick loved cycling, especially the suffering aspect. The Hilly Route goes over some of Nick’s favourite local climbs and training routes. He was using these roads in preparation for the Maratona dles Dolomites in July 2012 and his first season of road racing. He was a keen Strava member and follower of ‘The Rules’ (http://www.velominati.com) especially rule#9. He was also the owner of one of the noisiest bikes I’ve ever come across, after several weeks of ‘swapagnostics’, it finally became clear that the bottom bracket was the culprit. That troublesome component lends it’s name to The Rawlinson Bracket.

ALL PROFITS FROM THIS EVENT GO TO THE SADS UK CHARITY (http://sadsuk.org.uk). In the last three years we have raised over £20,000!

THE EVENT HAS A NEW HQ AND REVISED ROUTES THIS YEAR!

The hilly route is 113km in length and has over 1300 meters of climbing packed into it this year! Think of it as a mini Liege-Bastogne-Liege in terms of gradient and length of climb. Here are some of the climbs you will encounter -

Climb#1 Burton Dassett – A short climb where you will find it difficult to stay out of the red, you may have an audience on the way up, the sheep are always curious.

Climb#2 Shotteswell – The rural version of the Côte de Stockeu, a short steep climb encompassed by houses but no screaming Belgian cycling fans (possibly).

Climb#3 Edge Hill (Knowle Hill) – This climbs appears in ‘Another 100 Greatest Cycling Climbs’ by Simon Warren. It’s only 600m in length but has a maximum gradient of 14% which makes for a gruelling climb. Nick enjoyed this one and always found some extra power to sprint over the top.

Climb#4 Compton Winyates/Winderton Hill – Another relatively long climb with some interesting kicks, enjoy the scenery whilst riding through the Cotswold village of Winderton – imagine you’re climbing the Roche aux Faucons!

Climb#5 Lady Elizabeth Hill – A relatively long steady climb to allow you to settle in a rhythm before the assault on the last big climb.

Climb#6 Sunrising Hill – Same height gain as the Edge Hill climb but a different character, a max gradient of 16% makes for an attritional climb with an alpine style switch-back at half-way. This was one of Nick's favourites!

Here is the elevation profile of The Top Bracket for 2016, precise route will be posted when it's too cold for segment hunters to steal the KoM before event day!

The flatter route is 53km in length and has 400 gentle meters of climbing. To me this one is reminiscent of the rolling fields of northern France, a little Paris-Roubaix but without the cobbles. Nick and I used this route as our endurance building route in preparation for circuit racing.

You can now purchase a TRB A$$ Saver with your event entry!

The TRB A$$ Saver is a standard length A$$ Saver that is branded with the TRB logo to keep your behind drier whilst proving your adherence to Rule#9! This is £6. A picture of the design can be found on our Facebook page and will soon be on our website (www.the-rawlinson-bracket.co.uk).

This item will be available to collect from the Preview Ride on the 29th of November (see FB page for details) or on event day (28/02/16).

The terms and conditions covering the sale of these items are:

TRB Merchandise Terms and Conditions -
1) The TRB A$$ Saver are sold through The Rawlinson Bracket Cyclosportive Society, in the event of a product fault please contact therawlobracket@gmail.com and your issue will be dealt with by one of the team.
2) British Cycling is in no way liable for the function or description of these goods.

Ride The Top Bracket 2016

Ride The Bottom Bracket 2016

Info for Riders

There are two routes available - the hilly Top Bracket route is 113km in length and has 1300 meters of climbing with gradients of 14%+ in places, the Bottom Bracket route is 53km in length and has 400 meters of climbing with gentle gradients. The roads are a mix of rural unclassified roads, B roads and a small section of quiet A road. The course will be sign posted and there is a feed station on the hilly route. There is ample car parking at Ride HQ (start/finish) along with toilets and refreshments. There will be goodies for all finishers. This is not a race. Please ride safely and considerately as this ride is held on open roads. There will be marshals at key points and an emergency wagon will be available. Mudguards and back-up lights are recommended and every rider is expected to bring their own spares (2 inner tubes, tyre levers, multi-tool, water, food) and a fully charged mobile phone. A route card will be provided in the entry pack. All profits are donated to the SADS UK charity.