West Lothian Roadies
Comments
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I've just entered the Southern Uplands Sportive.....ok, I'm definitely going to do the route for this one beforehand but it's going to be midweek sometime I think, and in good weather! If any of you fancy this let me know
OS65, I did the ayr roads cc road race yesterday which is for 3rd and 4th cats, it was a very hilly, testing course with 3 climbs including the 3 mile long nic o balloch.....i stayed in the bunch and felt comfortable till the first climb then it was goodnight vienna and out the back...i underestimated the severity of the climbs and wasnt ready to give the necessary dig but there's always next year! not sure on exact placing as results still to be confirmed0 -
Fat Head wrote:I've just entered the Southern Uplands Sportive.....ok, I'm definitely going to do the route for this one beforehand but it's going to be midweek sometime I think, and in good weather! If any of you fancy this let me know
OS65, I did the ayr roads cc road race yesterday which is for 3rd and 4th cats, it was a very hilly, testing course with 3 climbs including the 3 mile long nic o balloch.....i stayed in the bunch and felt comfortable till the first climb then it was goodnight vienna and out the back...i underestimated the severity of the climbs and wasnt ready to give the necessary dig but there's always next year! not sure on exact placing as results still to be confirmed
There is some hard hills down that neck of the woods Fathead - I did the nic o balloch climb last year and it does go on a bit. Glad you are in SUS and hope to see you there. I have done most of the route but on different rides and some of it the opposite way but know about 70% of the route and the finish will be quite difficult.Brian B.0 -
That's me and Stevie entered the SUS tonight so we better get the 100 milers in between now and the 13th, help !!!!!!!!!!!!
Rgds, Bill0 -
Hi Malcolm
When you mean Boonenesque gaffe,is this when you caught me on the blind side ?????
After you left we went back over to Bathgate then out past Slammanan to the Hulk Road,then onto some other roads that are all a bit of a blur!!!! altough there were some wind turbines :?
We then passed Bill's house and I returned to Livingston.
All in it was a good run for me and i never stopped eating all afternoon....
Mark.0 -
Hi Brian
I seemed to be everywhere on Saturday.KWM,Linlithgow,Kirkliston,Dalmeny,South Queensferry,Winchburgh,Ochiltree(thankfully not Kingscavil) Cathlaw,Torphicen,Westfield,Slammanan,Hulk Rd and loads of other roads then back to Livingston.
The Dave Lloyd recce was good,although a little scary.(If my reading the route is correct)
Bwlch Pen Barras climb is steep,but I made it up to the top without stopping (so i think anyone can
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The Shelf is a constant gradient which was on TINY lanes with gravel on most corners,cattle grids and grass in the centre of the roads.
The Horshoe Pass is pretty straight forward from Ruthin side and a great descent to Llangollen.
Worlds End is steep and there is a lot of gravel all up the climb.There is also a Ford to negotiate.
That ended my recce,not the full Mini route,but enough for me on a wednesday evening. :shock:
I shall PM you my number if you fancy meeting up on the Sunday night.
Mark...0 -
Sparky, meant to say, I'm not doing the Dave Lloyd0
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Thanks for letting me know Fat Head.
You must have looked at the route profile and decided against it.
Mark....0 -
Heading out at 7am tomorrow with Stevie to do 3 laps of the cycling plus route around the bathgate alps including kingscavil, around 96 miles total in prep for the SUS in 2 weeks. If you cycle round the route area you will probably meet us somewhere along the road.
rgds, Bill0 -
BillR1 wrote:Heading out at 7am tomorrow with Stevie to do 3 laps of the cycling plus route around the bathgate alps including kingscavil, around 96 miles total in prep for the SUS in 2 weeks. If you cycle round the route area you will probably meet us somewhere along the road.
rgds, Bill
:shock: :shock: :shock: :shock: good, err, luck!0 -
I was out at the KWM for 8. Rain wasn't too bad. Didn't see Bill and Stevie!
Noodled around for 2 hours. Rode the Blackness-Knock-Blackness route (gulp!) Reckon the start and finish should be the lamp post closest to Blackness Castle (you can lean against it with pedals clipped in at the start) and the turn at the Knock should be the left hand junction just over the brow of the hill.
You racing this weekend Fathead?
OS 650 -
Matt, Sorry I couldn't make it out this weekend - went out for a few sneaky training miles last night and returned about 20 minutes later completely drenched.
Don't think I'll be joining your overnighter next weekend; I'm off to Switzerland (to prepare for Bill's hillclimb) a couple of days afterwards and there'll be much to do. Hope you and Tobias enjoy wherever it is you end up: Lake District, Durham, and Fort William have been favourite overnight destinations for me.================================
Cake is just weakness entering the body0 -
Race is tomorrow, not today as I thought earlier in week. Home late last night , Working all day today, home late, knackered, oh dear! Been off the bike since a tough chain gang on tuesday, was hoping to get out for gentle spin since but not managed it....oh well!0
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Good out for an honest soaking yeasterday afternoon.
My question for the day is this - 'Is North Lanarkshire really just one big enormous pot-hole'? :?
Matt - did you get a time on the BKB run or was it just a recce?0 -
My ride started out as a recce, I took some photos to pinpoint the start/finish and turn. By the time I got to Blackness I decided to do the course and register a time - a slow one 'cos I was knackered after a heavy week training. I was managing to turn the pedals and got up KIngskavil and Beecraigs, but my body gave out before I got to the KWM! So I abandoned!
Might try again one evening this week.
OS 650 -
[post deleted]0
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Brian B wrote:My question for the day is this - 'Is North Lanarkshire really just one big enormous pot-hole'? :? quote]
My answer to this is YES
Too right, been out that way today and I can still feel the vibrations. Funnily enough on the B715 running down into Forth you cross a small bridge and find yourself in West Lothian, the road surface also instantly changes to relatively smooth.0 -
Sparky P
Hope you got home okay last night - that would have been a long road to drive up after that tough route. I have done some crazy 100 mile hilly routes before and none compare to that first 70 miles(the first 35 miles was absolutely insane and the second half was not much better). That was a good time you got.
Me and my brother had some chinese food and promptly went to our beds and slept like babes. What a day. I started at 0730 and finished at 1917. After doing that, normal 100 mile sportives will be a breeze. I can average between 14 to 20 mph on sportives depending on the difficulty and can keep a good pace going throughout. Not yesterday though I could only do 12mph :PBrian B.0 -
Hi BrianB
I got home Ok after a long run
I am looking at my split times as i write this and to be honest i am delighted
First feed stop 2.43.27 and the second feed in 4.55.49,with 5.35.08 overall. I am even more delighted that i never got off and walked once,which i thought i might on Worlds End.Took me another 40 mins to get the 10 miles back to Ruthin after the second feed,as i was spent.
Downloaded my Garmin data and it says 5.23 at an average of 13.1 mph.(shame we have to take the official figure)
It was a tough introduction to my first Sportive and the food,organisation and the route were all first class.Had a word with Dave at the finish,and he was a nice guy who indicated i had chosen a hard sportive for the first (I could not agree with him more)
I will be back next year !!!!!!! (not for the 140 tho)
Overall a great day (apart from the downpour at Rhosemore @ 50 miles) and i managed to raise aprox £650.00 for Marie Curie at a personal level.
Hopefully you and your bro had a good day,albeit a LONG one.
Mark0 -
Well done to Mark, Brian and Richy on the DLMC it sounded like the toughest sportive to date and you will be well sorted for anything over 100 miles now.
See you Saturday
Bill0 -
SparkyP wrote:Hi BrianB
Overall a great day (apart from the downpour at Rhosemore @ 50 miles) and i managed to raise aprox £650.00 for Marie Curie at a personal level.
Mark
Very honourable...I raised £500 for the Macmillan Nurses in last years FWC...these organisations offer so much comfort to so many...and if you can raise a buck or 2 for such a good cause doing such a personal challenge then all the better....well done mate...I applaud that kind of thing.0 -
Four of us were out on the Thursday training night - Bob, Mark, George and Matt. Tapped out 5 laps. We rode through-and-off, keeping the group together, a good ride and everyone got a workout. Cheers for the beer Mark!
Also were famous! There's a picture and a story about the club in the Linlithgow Gazette today.
I'm off on holiday to next week so see you in a couple of weeks.
Cheers
OS 650 -
For those of you doing the southern uplands sportive, I went down today and did the full route on my tod in very nice weather! 8) There is no doubt this is a tough route although the second half is notably more difficult than the first, although the Talla climb, steep and shortish, comes towards the end of the first half. I got stuck in from the off and was average nearly 19mph for the first 3 hours but after the Talla road, when you take a right heading to Moffat, things start to grate somewhat as you go over several very draggy sections. After Moffat you turn onto the first half of the Devil's Beeftub which again is not steep but a long drag. You turn off this half way up (you do the second half earlier on) and continue climbing before dropping down to cross the M74 again.
The final hour or so from Elvanfoot is where you begin to realise that the route is a toughy as you climb all the way to Leadhills, into Wanlockhead and up to the golf ball. I didnt have any zip left from Elvanfoot and from then on it was just a case of ploughing along at a managable and slowish pace. The climb to the golf ball has its steep bits and should remove a few from their bikes.
This took me 6hrs 4mins saddle time which worked out around 17mph, with maybe 20mins or so for stops.0 -
Yeah, Fat Head - I rode the route last Sunday and found it pretty tough - although the weather played a large part in that I think. I posted an altitude profile on this thread earlier, but no one was interested enough to say anything (hundreds of views and zero comments). Perhaps it's got something to do with me not coming from West Lothian. So I spat the dummy and deleted it - that'll teach you east coasters!
You're right about the drag back into leadhills - I found that road pretty demoralising, as I was completely gubbed by then. I suspect it'll be much of the same next weekend. It's certainly a different feeling, seeing the high elevation finish line at several points over the course of the day. It just lingers there, reminding you you've got to climb the bastard to finish!0 -
Captain F
Welcome to the wlr section, hopefully see you at the SUS next week.
F Heed
Good effort on the reccie ride mate.Are you out tomorrow?
Me and Stevie are out, anybody else?
Rgds, Bill0 -
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Captain Fagor wrote:Yeah, Fat Head - I rode the route last Sunday and found it pretty tough - although the weather played a large part in that I think. I posted an altitude profile on this thread earlier, but no one was interested enough to say anything (hundreds of views and zero comments). Perhaps it's got something to do with me not coming from West Lothian. So I spat the dummy and deleted it - that'll teach you east coasters!
You're right about the drag back into leadhills - I found that road pretty demoralising, as I was completely gubbed by then. I suspect it'll be much of the same next weekend. It's certainly a different feeling, seeing the high elevation finish line at several points over the course of the day. It just lingers there, reminding you you've got to climb the bastard to finish!
Oi Fagor - that was a great thread and I was going to post a response but you had whipped it away before I got round to a response, I thought you had moved it to another area of the forum. Don't take it personally I thought maybe your good post was wasted here so you wanted to put it somewhere more worthwhile.....btw how long did it take you? how long for stops? what do you think about the feeding scenario - 40 miles for the first feedstop is quite early given that the 1st half of the ride isnt that tought, i will probably miss this and eat a few bars on the go and get the next one after about 80miles 0 -
Hi FH. Another reason for my deleting the graphic was the crap time I did - the ride took me 6hrs 41mins, with a further 31 minutes of stops en-route! The weather was very ropey that day, and St Mary's loch all the way home was against extended heavy showers and a strong SW wind. Most of the stops were for putting on / taking off my climajet. Assos it may be, but try riding wearing that thing when it's not raining and I completely cook! Also, stopped near Elvanfoot to ring out my socks, by which point any hope of getting a good time had been well and truly surrendered! They're my excuses and I'm sticking to them...
Hopefully the weather on the day will be better. I'll certainly be concentrating on avoiding crashes on the first descent toward the A76, and similarly on that resurfaced "spray and stone" gravelly stretch near the start of the A702 to Dalveen. I'll also be keeping my eyes peeled near Talla for lunatic descenders overtaking me, as it's dodgy there too (as the rider information pack received today rightly suggests).
Another one that's ripe for accidents through breaking the highway code is the series of traffic lighted twisty bends near Moffat - there'll be issues there for sure. Lastly, on safety, I'll also be listening out for un-marked police cars hooring up the B7076 alongside the M74 - a police Volvo passed me during a brief respite from the rain doing what must have been 120mph+!
Feed-wise, I'm not too fussed about where they are. I'll be carrying all the food I need, and unless it's a very hot day then I'll only drink about 2L during the ride. If I don't meet you on the day, have a good ride!0 -
I wondered what was on that post. All I saw was Cap Fagor had deleted a post. Good going on the recce lads. I have done most of this course on other rides and some of it the other direction.
If we get good weather it will be a great day out - if its windy(and its usually is down there) it could be a tough day out. I have done the Lowther climb a few times but will be good at the 100 mile mark. Most of the other climbs are manageable grinds apart from the Talla but it is relatively short but will have a few off their bikes.
Just got my start time and it is 0909. Hope to CU there Captain. I meet your mate Bigal at the the Fred Whitton.
Bill, Stevie and Fathead - Are you going for a good time on this one?Brian B.0 -
Brian,
As it will be mine and Stevie's first time over 81 miles, Etape length, we will have to see how we feel on the day. Any help from yourself and FH on the day to keep us motivated will be helpful mate.
Did not receive my time yet but should get the pack on Monday. George came out with us on Saturday and we got a good steady 40 miler in around the usual roads, didn't want to do too much in prep for the SUS.
Rgds, Bill0
