The Rawlinson Bracket ride is a hilly ride in the ‘Wilds of Warwickshire’ taking in the gradients of the Edge Hill escarpment. This ride roughly marks the date 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 year's event marks ten years since Nick left us, our target is to take our fundraising total to over £112,000 and you can help us do this by getting on your bike.

This event has two objectives - the first is to raise funds for research into, and awareness of, Sudden Arrhythmic Death Syndrome (SADS), the second is to allow you to experience the type of riding that Nick enjoyed with a passion and to convince you that cycing is a year-round activity, even in this country!

Nick was a local lad, born and bred in Kenilworth and worked at Jaguar Land Rover. Nick loved cycling, especially the suffering aspect and was a disciple of Rule #9 (see below). 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). He was also the owner of one of the noisiest bikes I’ve ever experienced, after several weeks of ‘swapagnostics’, it finally became clear that the bottom bracket was the culprit. That troublesome component lends its name to The Rawlinson Bracket.

This year's hilly route, the Top Bracket, is 99km in length and has over 1190 meters of climbing packed into it. We have the same venue as last year, the kind people at Harbury RFC have provided with their facilities for event day.

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 will have an audience on the way up, the sheep are always curious.

Climb#2 Shotteswell – The rural version of the Côte de Saint-Nicolas, a short steep climb encompassed by houses but we can't guarantee any screaming Belgian cycling fans.

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 Lady Elizabeth Hill – An undulating climb to rob your legs of their remaining freshness before the final climbs.

Climb#5 Winderton Hill – A picturesque climb through a Cotswold hamlet, enjoy the scenery – imagine you’re climbing the Côte de La Redoute.

Climb#6 Sunrising Hill – Same height gain as the Edge Hill climb but a different character, a max gradient of 16% and a rough road surface make for an attritional climb with an alpine style switch-back at half-way. Nick would always smash his way up this climb.

The flatter route, the Bottom Bracket, is 55km in length and has 498 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 for riding endurance miles in winter.

Ride The 2023 Top Bracket - 62 miles

Ride The 2023 Bottom Bracket - 34 miles

Info for Riders

There are two routes available - the hilly route is 99km in length and has 1193 meters of climbing with gradients of 14%+ in places, the flatter route is 55km in length and has 498 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 an event memento 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 gps file will be provided in the pre-event email. All proceeds will be donated to the SADS UK charity.

If you are not riding but would still like to donate please click here