Etape Caledonia 2009
Comments
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I'm W too & i'm off @ 7:00 .....................eek0
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I'm T and off at 7.34. Didn't put in a seeding request, just got a time. Doing it with my mate who hasn't got his time yet. Mind you if he doesn't make the same wave as me I'm sure I'll spot him amongst the other 3499 riders.0
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Looks like no seeding at all then - unless you guys all put <4:30?0
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On the day, if you want to ride with your mates, they let you start later (but not earlier) than your start time. At least they offered that last year. It makes no difference to your time as the chip only activates when you cross the start line.0
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popette - e-mail from the organisers.0
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pneumatic wrote:On the day, if you want to ride with your mates, they let you start later (but not earlier) than your start time. At least they offered that last year. It makes no difference to your time as the chip only activates when you cross the start line.
The event regulations state:
"You may not start earlier than your allocated group. Failure to comply with this rule will result in your finish time being adjusted."
No mention is made of starting later than your allotted time so my assumption is that it's the same as last year.0 -
Hi all
Anyone spent their hard cash on one of the ride Jerseys?? I needed a new jersey so thought what the hell (prob wont wear it on the day though :oops: ). So ordered on 2 April, with an advertised available date of 12 April and guess what........yup no bl**dy jersey yet!! E-mailed them a couple of times and tried calling the number on the website but that must divert to Carlsberg Customer Complaints :shock:
Hate companies that take money for orders then dont come up with the goods :evil: :evil:
On the timing thing me and a friend are both C's and entered the same end time, his start is 07.05 and mine is 07.40!!!
Shane0 -
I was hoping to be a few minutes behind my mates (give me something to chase) but (as they said on the seeding thing) "riding with people of similar speed" - well whilst I'm never going to break any records one of the reasons I've paid my £54 and travel and accommodation costs is so I can enjoy that "closed roads" experience and get challenge myself to get round as fast as my little fat legs will carry me - not to sit in a traffic jam of bicycles!
Still - could be worrying about nothing - the first 20 miles might be a 4 lane highway and we'll be able to overtake at will.
How wide are the roads near the start, btw?0 -
Narrow through Pitlochry, a couple of miles of relatively wide just out of it till the Garry Bridge turn then its just about 2 cars wide and pretty twisty and lumpy through to Tummel Bridge. After that it straightens out quite a bit round Loch Rannoch etc.
The singletrack round Logierait is gonna be even more interesting this time round!How's that for a slice of fried gold?0 -
Number 759 calling. Off at 7.06.
Anybody want a lift from Chester area to Scotland and back. Maybe a Friday up Monday back but not sure yet.
given my speed into work this morning I could stiill be ploughing around the loch when the etape is due to start....0 -
I am seriously embarrassed with my seeding. As an old man of 53, I put in a time of 4.5 hours and they have given me a ridicules start time of 7.02!
I am looking for a group of 18 -22 mph and not one of 25 – 30+++mph to drift with!
:oops:0 -
I put my estimated time as 4.5 hours but I've not received any notification of my start time yet :?Flying Scot? You must be joking!0
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HI
This will be my first Etape and I was hoping for some advice on what sort of distance I should be comfortable with doing in training.
I've seen advice relating to 100 milers, saying you should be happy with doing up to 75 miles or so - does this 3/4 of total distance ready reckoner apply here ie 61 miles?
I've been doing 2 or 3 10-15 milers during the week over the past couple of months and building up on a longer ride at the weekends (65 last weekend).
Basically, am I on track? I just really want to enjoy the day and finish.
cheers0 -
Graham
If you are doing a 65 mile ride at the weekend then this in my opinion would be eneough to get you through the Etape.
You do not say how long it takes for 65 miles though. I think the roads open after about 6 hours??0 -
I've been averaging around 15mph, though that drops on the more severe terrain... Most of the riding is East Lothian and Fife so it's pretty hilly!0
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All being well you should be ok. I find the atmosphere helps and you can get pulled along with it.
Just be careful not to go too hard at the start as you may run out of energy.
It is all too easy to get into a fast bunch and then blow later in the day.
Good luck.0 -
thanks, looking forward to it!
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7am start for me :shock: :shock: :shock:
What's the earliest departure?
We're staying in Kinloch Rannoch - how easy will it be to drive over from there and park for a 6.15ish arrival?0 -
:evil: **Rant warning**Rant warning** :evil:
Just hope their admin skills are better on the day than they are answering e-mails and dispatching goods from their website. Finally got to speak to someone about merchandise by calling IMG Headoffice direct and some bloke who sounded like he had just got out of bed said, 'yeah we will probably get round to sending an order out next week'..........NEXT WEEK!!!! says on your website 12 ****ing April. AArrrgghhhhhhh not impressed :evil: :evil:
Starting to get a little nervous about the whole thing now, cr*p admin, more than 3000+ riders (50% increase), start times all over the place, all on roads that bottle necked with 1500 riders and not to mention hotel/travel from Kent.....someone tell me that its not going to be a bad as I'm dreading it maybe.0 -
Organisation has been really good last 2 years and there is no one in the world better than organising large sporting events than IMG's implimentation teams.....and although though their "mass participation" department is a bit new they do the Blenheim and London Triathons.
So SHOULD be OK.0 -
To be fair they have been very good on the day over the last 2 years. Marshalling has been very competent. Car parking slickly organised.
However, they don't seem to reply to their email at all, they sent me somebody else's results last year and the whole registration process the day before is a pain if, like me, you live less than two hours away and don't want to stay he night in Pitlochry. On this year's evidence, the seeding is a bit of a shambles, too.
So, once you get there, it should be a fantastic experience but don't expect much else around about.0 -
Yeah, but 3500 is a lots of bikes on narrow, narrow roads. If the seeding is crap, there is going to be a lot of queuing. I have a reasonably early start, so I hope I can get away from the fun and games behind me.
On the credit side, last year was awesome - best £50 I have spent.0 -
Art Vandelay wrote:7am start for me :shock: :shock: :shock:
What's the earliest departure?
We're staying in Kinloch Rannoch - how easy will it be to drive over from there and park for a 6.15ish arrival?
Your it Art at 7am in the A Team
I'm 4 minutes behind in the C Team, not sure what to make of that as my seeding entry was 4:30. Could have some very fast riders on my tail :roll:
Oh and for those like me who didn't get a seeding notification email (beyond the auto registration), the times are on their website.
The long grazed legged one0 -
And having looked at the times it's largely been done in alphabetical order - generally the earlier surnames are lower start numbers.0
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*GULP* What have I done :shock: :oops:The emu wrote:Your it Art at 7am in the A Team
Mark Beaumont's not even starting at 7
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7:14 kickoff for me!
Think my mates I'm riding with are gonna drop back from their 7:04 start (B surname) so I don't have to try and make up 10mins on them!
I still can't quite imagine what 3500 bikes (let alone all the families etc) is gonna look like on the main street through Pitlochry for the start!How's that for a slice of fried gold?0 -
andy_from_embsay wrote:And having looked at the times it's largely been done in alphabetical order - generally the earlier surnames are lower start numbers.
Not sure about that. I'm in the A group and my surname ibegins with "F". A friend is off ten minutes later and his name begins with "C". We both put down for sub 4hrs.
Weeks prior to that and before knowing how the seeding would work, I sent an email with a diploma from a 110 km sportive in Spain where I averaged 42.5 kmph. I thought they would be looking for some kind of proof of speed if you hadn't done the event before.
I have no idea if the email I sent influenced the start time I got as I never got a response to it. INevertheless my mate is hacked off that he's 10 mins back even though he asked for the same start time. Is there any method in their allocation of times? Who knows but it doesn't appear so.0 -
Hi,
I did it in 4:40 last year and put in between 4:00 and 4:30 on the seeding request as an expected time. I would have expected that to be mid-pack.
I off at 7:04am!!! Like Stedman, I'm a bit embarrassed by this. Looks like I'll be the one causing the traffic jams :? But in saying that, I didn't see any traffic jams last year, just stayed to the left and kept out of trouble.
Hopefully the weather will be as good as it was last year. Clear skies, no wind, but hoping for that in Scotland two years running is asking a but much.0
