BCC Mentmore '10' 27th September 2026

This wasn't the first Berkhamsted CC promotion on this course, but it was the first one I'd ridden. That said, I've ridden similar courses over Mentmore over the years, so I knew what to expect climbing-wise!

The course, F12/10B, is a circuit that takes in the the climb over Mentmore hill and loops through Wingrave and Long Marston before passing the start to finish near the bottom of Mentmore hill. That's quite an unusual feature, particularly with several 3-up teams that were first to start. At least one of those teams came roaring past me just after I started. They looked pretty good, too! One consequence of this start/finish arrangement was that riders had to shout "first lap" as they passed the time keepers soon after starting. It all seemed to work well on the day.

After my ride at the VTTA '25', I decided to ride my Cervelo P5 once again. I thought maybe the fatter 25mm tyres might be better suited to the slightly rough tarmac on parts of the course. At least the shockingly bad road surface on both sides of Mentmore has been recently repaired and is now really smooth. Unfortunately my HR sensor had discharged rather unexpectedly and rapidly, so I was lacking any HR data on this ride - except for a few seconds in the run in to Long Marston - maybe this was the rider who caught and passed me!

I'd ridden out to the event, so was pretty well warmed up, and after signing on I was mostly interested in keeping my legs turning. I had the usual banter with other riders as we awaited our starts. Some of the 3-up teams came through at about this time. As I started I tried to get up to a decent speed but also kept in mind the climb up to Mentmore...I shouted "first lap" to the timekeepers and made every effort to look the part as I started the climb. I don't know if I succeeded! I crested the hill and tried to pick up speed on the descent - this was a little difficult owing the twists in the road and some parked cars. All too soon I was at the crossroads to turn left to make the gentle ascent up to Wingrave. I encountered a slightly unruly group of cyclists out for a ride who seemed to be taking up a large part of the road width, and did my best to get past as fast as I could. 

In Wingrave the course turns left after the pond and head downhill. I know the road fairly well so I could easily avoid the few potholes on this section. After the road levelled out, we had a headwind and things got a bit tougher. I saw one of my Bossard Wheelers pals on the roadside - he shouted something inaudible to me - probably something about a puncture, before riding through Long Marston. I nearly turned into the cafe for a much-needed coffee but resisted that temptation. Turning left towards Cheddington you are on one of the more disreputable roads with subsiding road surfaces and potholes all over the place. I tried to keep well out of the way of these road defects.

At the Cheddington double roundabout it was left to ride past the start and on to the finish. Shortly before I reached the finish a pair of gravel riderspopped out onto the course. I passed them after I'd crossed the finish line, and I suspect they looked like they'd enjoyed their ride more than I had done mine.

This map of the course has wind direction and speed (km/h) overlaid

When all was done and dusted, I rode back down the hill and along to the cafe in Long Marston for a bite to eat and a coffee. Then a 19 mile ride home which included a clamber through the hedges at a road closure in Little Brickhill!

I finished in 26:32, which was fine - this was never going to be a blisteringly fast course after all, and was the fastest in the 65-69 age group. This corresponded to an age adjusted time of 23:52, which made me fastest veteran on standard. That was all fine. I did wonder whether the Cervelo P3 might have been better suited to the course as with it's Hed 3 wheelset it's a fair bit lighter than the P5 I'd selected. Maybe I'll try that next year. There were a mix of road bikes and TT bikes being used at this event, and some of the road bike riders were fast. It's possible that an aero road bike would be the best option for this kind of course. I note that I came 4th in the Open TT bike category and 10th overall, so presumably there were six ron oad bikes quicker than me.