Bolsover & District Cycling Club

2010 will bring some new promotions from B&DCC to the Audax calendar as well as seeing the 6th edition of the challenging but popular Beast of Bolsover Audax (where details of the 2009 event can be seen below)

The provisional audax calendar looks something like the following

 more details of each event will be released closer to the time 

2009 saw the 5^th edition of the Beast of Bolsover on Saturday 26 September. The event was organised by Peak Audax in conjunction with Bolsover & District Cycling Club. This year the ride had been turned around and was run in an anti-clockwise direction.

The ride is best described as ‘scenic’ with over 2,000m of ascent, but the extensive views across the Peak District and fast descents more than compensate for the climbs.

Although the controls are the same as in previous years, albeit in a different order, the ride has a different feel as some of the climbs are longer and the approach to Bolsover is flat, rather than a final climb past the castle.

The route heads out from Bolsover and skirts the edge of Chesterfield before climbing to an info control at Apperknowle, then passes through Dronfield en route to Barlow and the eastern edge of the Peak District. A desent of Curbar Gap is followed by an ascent of Kirk Dale to a café control at Monyash. The return leg is via Middleton, Elton, Bonsall, Cromford and a climb through Lea, then via Ogston Reservoir and Clay Cross, before entering a network of quiet lanes leading to a final climb to Ault Hucknall and a fast, flat run in to Bolsover.

There is one café control on the ride at Monyash (50km). In addition, there are a number of other cafés along the route, at Calver (just off route) and Cromford.

The route can be followed on OS Landranger Maps 119 and 120.

The ride will start from the Courtyard Kitchen Café in Cavendish Walk, which opens at 8:30am. FREE tea or coffee is provided for all entrants at the start of the ride.

Bolsover is easily reached from M1 junction 29 or 30 and there is ample FREE parking in the Town End Car Park adjacent to the café.

The ride will finish at Bolsover Parish Hall on Hornscroft Road, opposite the Parish Church and is only a few hundred metres from the start.

Food (sandwiches, cakes, etc.) and drinks will be provided at the finish for post ride recuperation.

Further details can be downloaded here and the routesheet here.

Both files are in pdf format and will need Acrobat Reader to download.