Etape Caledonia 2009
Comments
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Idiots. Why spoil a good fun day out for all. Hope the rozzers catch the gits!Winter Bike: Specialized Allez Elite
Summer Bike: Specialized Tarmac Pro SL0 -
What kind of dickless piece of sh!t would do such a thing? Seriously.
Not only could someone have died, but to ruin a ride in aid of Cancer research just boggles the mind.
Must be some local inbreds who are upset their roads are closed for a day.0 -
Just spoke to the owner of my hotel and he said there has been a lot of protest from the locals about how much business they're losing as a result of the roads being closed. They tried to get the Etape stopped. When they failed they resorted to tacks.
We were held up for about an hour and a half while they tried to clear the road (about 10 miles worth!). They did a pretty good job. Most of us got through. But the first 100 or so super fit cyclists all punctured. (I knew there was a good reason for not being at the front!)
Still. A superb day, nevertheless. A great route and the sun shone, despite all our concerns.
I am definitely doing it next year. Excellent. Great organisation too.0 -
such a shame, I feel so sorry for the organisers who will have spent a whole year planning the event, getting nervous in the days running up to it, hoping it all goes well and then some idiot goes and does something like that.
I had a great day out despite the problems. I don't know how, but I managed not to puncture. I was on for a great time (for me) until I got stopped just at feed station 3 for about an hour. The water and food being passed around was really appreciated and I think they did a good job of keeping us informed of the situation and what was going to happen next. In the end, I finished in 4 hours 9 minutes - I stopped my timer at the top of the hill when I realised that we weren't going to be moving for a while. I snapped off my chip at the start and had to hang down my arm with it in my hand as I went over the mat. :roll: My time says that I'm still on the course! I wonder if they'll tell us about the king of the mountain stage timing?
As routes go, I thought it was very different to the kind of sportives I've been doing so far this year - lots of rolling countryside and fast riding and less of the slogging up steep hills. It was fantastic & really enjoyable.
My husband didn't have such a great day - he was stopped at feedstop 2 and told to either get on a bus or go back to pitlochry on his bike. He did the latter.
The support around the course was great. The organisation was great. The weather was perfect. I just can't believe that a few idiots would do this.0 -
can I apologise to whoever was behind me when my torq cannister popped out of my pocket. I didn't realise it had happened until I got to the car and found that I had one missing - I hope it didn't cause any problems. :oops:0
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This was my third Étape Caledonia. I really enjoyed the last two and hoped to improve on the previous year’s time, but as we stood in the wet and cold waiting for the off, this seemed unlikely. A slight tail wind along Lochs Rannoch and Tummel made the going very fast and the well sheltered, return ride along Loch Rannoch meant that at the foot of Schiehallion, after about 45 miles, my average speed was 19.5 mph and I felt that I stood a good chance of achieving my target.
The first I knew of any problem was when, just before the feed station at the bottom of the hill, a motorcycle marshal drove towards us shouting, “tacks on the road”, although what we were expected to do about it wasn’t clear. From then on all the way up the hill there were literally HUNDREDS of riders with punctured tyres. I thought (and hoped) that I might avoid one but I was out of luck; about a mile from the top my front tyre deflated. I stopped, changed the tube and was about to set off when I found my back tyre was flat. I used my second (and last) spare tube to change that too and tried again. Within 50 yards my front tyre was down again and my back tyre had gone soft. I was at a loss see how I was going to get back to Pitlochry, over 30 miles away. The organisers stopped the race at the top of Schiehallion; all 3500 cyclists gathered together in one place was a spectacular sight. While we waited, the rider next to me, who had avoided a puncture, offered me one of his two spare tubes. This act of great kindness was much appreciated, so thanks Ross; I hope you read this and that you didn’t regret your generosity a somewhere down the road. I had already met up with my club-mate Sam who had had only one puncture and still had a spare tube. My bike had a good front tyre and a slow puncture on the rear which seemed to be holding up for about 20 minutes. 1200 feet above sea level was a cold place to stop, but the organisers had no other choice. There could easily have been a few cases of hypothermia if it had been raining, but luckily the rain had stopped by then, and the sun even came out for a while. It was difficult to stand and wait for over an hour after riding so hard for 3 hours, and I had uncontrollable shivers and very sore legs when we started again. We were told to keep to the middle of the road where there were allegedly fewer tacks, but there were still huge numbers of riders puncturing, and the cycle maintenance folk at the top of the hill, had long run out of anything to help with. We made it down to warmer climes and, while I stopped to pump up my rear tyre outside a church, we were offered a cup of tea and a ‘jammy piece’ by the folks outside the church at Weem. We were delighted to accept, after all there was no rush; the race was over for us. They expressed their disgust about what had happened and explained how they enjoyed watching the event, supported its charitable aims, and had moved the time of their church service to fit the road closures. We got underway again, clapped and cheered on by the locals and after other mile or two and another pump-up realised that my rear tube wasn’t going to make it, so we played our last card and I used Sam’s final tube in the hope that we were now out of the danger zone. We set off again, with much cheering and clapping from the locals and made it to the finish about two hours later than originally expected. Without the various acts of kindness along the way I have no idea how I would have got the end, so thanks to Ross, the church people of Weem and to Sam for helping me home. I heard that the rider who had nine (yes, nine!) punctures also got home, but I’d love to know how.
I cannot understand the people who did this; I suppose it’s possible they had no idea of the consequences of their actions. This was no teenage prank with a few kids spreading tacks along a few yards of road; the tacks were spread over many miles of the course. It was a major, and unfortunately, successful attempt, to sabotage a huge event that brings hundreds of thousands of pounds of business into Highland Perthshire and raises similar amounts for cancer research. It messed up the event for everyone and sullied the reputation of the local people. I hope the perpetrators are caught and punished.
I would encourage everyone who fancies a go to enter next year and fervently hope that this sabotage is a one off event. Could a new route be found so the event only comes to particular roads every other year; there is huge potential to the east of Pitlochry. As it turned out, nobody died, and, so far as I know, no one even got hurt, but the potential was there for a catastrophic crash or mass hypothermia on Schiehallion. I hope the organisers do run the Étape Caledonia next year and that they find a way of upping security on the course. When we got back into Pitlochry, the buzz was amazing but there was only one topic of conversation which was a shame. My big mistake of the day…….. eating a hot dog & onions just after I finished; it played havoc with my digestion on the drive home!pete-the-bike
the idea is to die young as late as possible0 -
Peter Main wrote:
I cannot understand the people who did this; I suppose it’s possible they had no idea of the consequences of their actions. This was no teenage prank with a few kids spreading tacks along a few yards of road; the tacks were spread over many miles of the course. It was a major, and unfortunately, successful attempt, to sabotage a huge event that brings hundreds of thousands of pounds of business into Highland Perthshire and raises similar amounts for cancer research. It messed up the event for everyone and sullied the reputation of the local people. I hope the perpetrators are caught and punished.
!
Well said Peter.
I was fortunate just to suffer 2 punctures and I got over the top of Schallion before the race was halted. However I reckon I lost about 20 minutes and will therefore be returning next year if only (on a purely selfish basis :twisted: ) to get a more realistic time.
Seriously though I would encourage as many people as possible to enter the event next year as we simply can't let the actions of a small idiotic minority spoil what is a really good event held in beautiful countryside.Flying Scot? You must be joking!0 -
my bad0
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Ok, leaving the disruption aside for a moment, a few comments on the event:
1. the MAVIC "mecs" were great - got my gears sorted in 3 minutes prior to the start.
2. marshalling was, once again, excellent
3. conditions were also good (the East wind really helps you build up a good time on the outward leg - it was the same the first year)
however . . . .
4. the repositioned feed station at the bottom of the climb was a mistake. There wasn't enough road room for people to continue through without getting caught up among those stopping. It was the only place on the course (apart from the obvious) where I was so held up that I had to unclip. I much prefer pit-lane style feedstations where there is plenty of room to continue on the other side.
5. They need to sort out the seeding for next year. The windows were too wide and putting the bulk of us in alphabetical order left me way down the field for the time I was aiming for. In the end it was irrelevant, but it would be good to feel you could form a chain gang with those around you from the start.
6. Oh yes, and a few more portaloos at the car park. The queue at 6.30 was already 15 mins.
That seems like a bunch of niggles after what happened, but since so many are determined to go back next year, a bit of continuous improvement is not out of place.0 -
Peter Main wrote:It was difficult to stand and wait for over an hour after riding so hard for 3 hours, and I had uncontrollable shivers and very sore legs when we started again.
I discovered I shiver at the resonance frequency of my new bike, which rapidly became very frightening. I can do the descent in 8 minutes, this time I took over 12!0 -
Yes I would have liked to have beaten my PB for the event
Yes I was irritated when I saw I had a puncture at 41 miles
Yes I was initially angry when I saw the cause of the puncture and heard others around me pulling tacks out of their tyres too.
Then a moment of calm passed over me, the rules had changed but I realised it's now just a different game, a more gladiatorial one, one with an element of luck, I'm no longer racing against the people around me or my own previous times, we are now united against a common enemy.
Figuring I was in for a number of punctures I started to time myself. First tube replacement 10m 35s including inflation, not bad but I'm sure I can do better.
A few miles later I get the chance to prove myself, tack in the rear tyre, a bit harder to remove than the front wheel and I only carry 1 spare tube so it's patch time (Park Super Patches, always carry). I start the watch and I'm off the bike. Watching the time tick down I have the tube out in 3 minutes, I fumble a little at this point but with more focus I'm sure I can beat the time. I realise now that repeatedly glancing at my watch is costing me vital seconds so I concentrate on the repair. I pump like a steam engine and don't stop till 105 psi, can't stop the watch yet as the rules (newly invented 6 miles earlier) clearly state I must be moving before the repair is "complete". I leap onto the bike, cleats bite first time, 1 push and hit the lap button, time: 8 minutes 25 seconds. The elation, the pride, the joy, the thought that if I hadn't fumbled how many seconds could I shave off.
I rode as hard as ever when we could, for the rest of the event though there was a small irritation that I didn't get another puncture, I'm sure I could've gone sub 8 minutes.
Will I be back next year, hell yeah, in fact I'm already in training, just stripped down and replaced both tubes, don't want to give away my time but next year's looking pretty good.
You can take my air, my tubes, my speed but you'll never take my freedom
See you all in 20100 -
robwoods we salute you! But we kind of hope you won't be breaking your PB next year...0
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Just seen the video clips of the finish line as linked from the organiser's letter (http://etapecaledonia2009.sportcamvideo.net/), & for the record I don't look too good, I was cramping badly, but it reminds me that the finish is very badly laid out - I wanted to hit the line at whatever max speed I could manage, after all that nonsense, so it was a bit disappointing to have marshals signalling me to slow down for the tight turn as I hit the line.0
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I was a bit confused at the finish as there was another mat before those two shown in the video. I'm now wondering if it was actually something to do with the video tagging system.0
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Ladies and Gents
I salute all of you for saying you will return, I for one will not, yes I suppose the d1ckheads win but I cannot see how Police/IMG could possibly guarentee it wont happen again. They (d1ckheads) have seen the disruption that they have caused and may try again next year. This year we were lucky it was only punctures, next year it maybe serious injury. I will spend my hard earned cash on another event I'm afraid, I am dreading working out how much it cost to ride 42 miles :shock: travel to from Kent/ 2 nights b&b/ food/ hire car etc etc. The most annoying thing was that I had a 7.40 start but had managed to keep to a very good time (for me) and was possibly on for a time of 4.45-5.00 hour finish, gutted
Well done to all those who managed to get through.
Shane0 -
Easily - just close all the roads and ban all movement for 48 hours before the eventshane515 wrote:I cannot see how Police/IMG could possibly guarentee it wont happen again.0 -
bompington wrote:
Easily - just close all the roads and ban all movement for 48 hours before the eventshane515 wrote:I cannot see how Police/IMG could possibly guarentee it wont happen again.
Bompington lol, nice reply
the more I read about fellow riders attitude to 'sod 'em I'm doing it again next year' the more I re-consider my original post. Perhaps, after a few days I will change my mind and sod em join you all next year.
Shane0 -
You will be plesed
to know that a 62 year old man :evil: will appear in court on Wednesday on matters concerning those tacks. 
More news later..0 -
The Tacksman has been charged with recklessly and culpably depositing tacks onto a road.
He, a Chairman of Rannoch Local Community Council had a night in custody and then appeared before the Sherriff, in private and did not plead.
He has been released on bail.
I hope that he will be required to repay the costs of tyre replacement, as an extra.0 -
I got the “pop & fizz” just as I crossed the timing mat for the King of the Mountains which, at the time, really p*ssed me off as I fancied giving the climb my best shot. But on the plus side once I replaced my inner I got a free run at the rest of the course (while dodging tacks).
It’s a real shame that more people didn’t get the same free run at the course which is not only beautiful but fast (I averaged 20mph+ including puncture). I would love to come back next year but it’s a big expense to travel up from London only for some idiot to pull a stunt like this. I hope the offender was acting alone and we can have some assurance that it won’t happen again.
To all those who were delayed by an hour or more and have already entered next year’s event – respect!0
