New event in Central Scotland: Trossachs Ton

equivalence

I've thought about the club thing in the past but unfortunately I'm based out of Lochgoilhead and so there are not many clubs in the area. However, I'm spending a fair bit of time in Erskine these days (never at weekends though) which I'm sure is more amenable to getting involved with a club. I managed to complete a reasonably long route (85 miles) between Erskine and Callander a week or so ago but it was tough going. It's the larger hills that are going to be the problem as I'm around 16.5 stone and carrying that up a hill is painful - I don't suppose there is many ways of getting round this problem other than losing weight

Crapaud

equivalence wrote:

I've thought about the club thing in the past but unfortunately I'm based out of Lochgoilhead and so there are not many clubs in the area. However, I'm spending a fair bit of time in Erskine these days (never at weekends though) ...

Have a look at the Johnstone Wheelerssite. I don't see anything obvious, but they're a big club so will likely have something going on mid-week - even if it's only some members going out for a ride together. Might be worth dropping them a line.

Johnstone is around 8 - 10 miles from Erskine.

equivalence

Have a look at the Johnstone Wheelers site.

Thanks for that, just taken a look now and looks interesting. I'll try to follow up with the details on their site. My only worry about the whole club thing is that I'll be totally out my depth - I can slog away for hours at the pedals but I tend to travel at a lowly 12-13 mph whether it be 20 miles or 80 miles.

wakemalcolm

Equivalence
You ,might be going that speed on your own but you'd be surprised how much easier it is to ride faster in a bunch.
I don't know anyone in Johnstone wheelers but there always seems to be a crowd of them at Sportives covering most levels of ability and they come across as a friendly bunch.
Cheers

scapaslow

As i was in Aberfoyle at the weekend i took the chance to explore the 30 mile section of the route that loops round Loch Katrine - never having done it before.

The Dukes Pass climb starts abruptly as you round a corner on the main street - so get in the wee ring in plenty of time! Not a hard climb by any means - a few steep ramps but a great view and a great descent down to Loch Katrine - take care on some of the bends - easy to go too fast here.

The section round Loch Katrine is a very narrow single track road which close to the car park, is frequented by families out for a stroll. It is obviously a popular family cycle loop as witnessed by the sizeable number of family groups i passed on the way round. It will be interesting to see how the organisers deal with this on a busy June weekend. A couple of steep ramps here and there but nothing too bad.

The section back to Aberfoyle by Loch Ard is very fast and easy and on a much wider road which however is pothole strewn interspersed with lovely bits of new tarmac.

All in all this loop has some stunning views which you can take in if you dare to take your eyes off the potholes for a second or two!

I also know from the recent past that the road around the Carron Valley reservoir has much the same mixture of potholes. The descent down to Stirling is on a narrow poorly surfaced road as well.

With the Crow Road climb included (one of my favourites) this will be a good outing.

Unfortunately there is an Aviemore sportive the same weekend which i'm favouring at the moment.

wakemalcolm

Hi Scapaslow
I was aware of the Hands-On event up at Aviemore but that's 8 says beforehand. What's the other one?

Regarding the standard of the road surface, the Trossachs Ton organisation has contacts in the local police and council who are looking to address some of the Loch Ard pothole issues in time for the event. I'm riding that part of the route myself tomorrow and I'll come back with my thoughts.

Cheers

scapaslow

Hi Wakemalcolm

My apologies - i've got my dates mixed up! The Aviemore ride is the previous Saturday.

Look forward to your impression of the route. I'm not sure how many entrants there will be but the very narrow road round the Loch could cause problems for bunches of riders.
I hope the organisers can get some roadworks started as avoiding potholes will be more difficult in a bunch i'd imagine.

It's not as if the Loch Ard road is the worst road i've cycled, far from it - there are some very good stretches. But it only takes one bad bit to cause chaos and there are a few of those. Ayrshire seems to hold the worst potholes honour in the UK according to the news today!

peter_andrew

I've signed up with a couple of guys from my work.
The pier at L.Katrine will be busy for the first mile or so then will be quiet. Beware the road before you reach L. Ard as it is very narrow with blind bends/dips

richara3 posted

---

All this talk of doing it in 7 hrs is a bit offputting for me I am just aiming for a finish.....

Likewise, i have finished last plenty of times, the point is to finish last you have to finish
Peter

wakemalcolm

Hi

I rode the Dukes Pass - Loch Katrine - Aberfoyle section yesterday. As long as you're not looking to hook the ditches on the inside of the bends, I think the descent of the Duke's Pass is fine. There's a small section between Kinlochard and Aberfoyle where there's some new tarmac been laid (but arguably, not enough) but as long as you look further ahead than the end of your stem you should have no problems. We've got the local police on side and they're 'encouraging' the council to improve things further soon.

The big news is that ZipVit (of Cervelo test team fame) are on board as official nutritional suppliers to the event. I had a trial run with one of their gels yesterday and unusually for a gel it wasn't like a shuttle launch in my bathroom this morning. Result!

Look forward to seeing you all on the day.
Cheers

DaveyL

I'd have said the bit of road from Fintry to Carronbridge would be the worst bit of the route for road quality. Certainly in the opposite direction, the descent into Fintry is seriously dangerous due to the number and size of potholes in the road. In the other direction it might not be so bad I suppose as you won't be going that quick on the climb out of Fintry.

wakemalcolm

Agree with you there, pothole on descent: bad, pothole on climb: unfortunate, but not so bad. I think the route strikes the right balance between quality surfaces, light traffic and stunning scenary.

Crapaud

DaveyL wrote:

I'd have said the bit of road from Fintry to Carronbridge would be the worst bit of the route for road quality. Certainly in the opposite direction, the descent into Fintry is seriously dangerous due to the number and size of potholes in the road. In the other direction it might not be so bad I suppose as you won't be going that quick on the climb out of Fintry.

You're not kidding! I've always had to walk that part, but in my defense, it's been at the end of my return journey from the East coast and I've been knackered. Actually, ISTR I made it once.

alphaanne

Aha....superb.....I was hoping I would find a thread on this ride.....
This will be my first biggy and have no real idea how long it will take me....I was figuring about 10 -12 hrs as I can pootle along at 13 -14 mph with little effort but also am factoring in big hills and several stops along the way......

I would be interested to know what advice folks can give for on the day.....what food stuff to take, how much water to carry??

pneumatic

alphaanne wrote:

I would be interested to know what advice folks can give for on the day.....what food stuff to take, how much water to carry??

I'll be taking two 650 ml water bottles; one with lucozade sport, the other with plain water. I'll be expecting to stop and refill them each once.

I'll also have a back pocket full of home-made banana flapjack (the banana is important to make it moist, but also tasty), probably some jelly babies, too.

If your normal cruising speed is as you describe, I reckon you'll be well under 10 hours. These rides have a habit of giving you extra purpose, adrenalin etc. A lot different from riding on your own or without any particular goal in mind.

Looking forward to it.

wakemalcolm

Hi

The route has been tweaked slightly to take in some concerns about the return into Stirling.

http://www.routeyou.com/route/view/9118 ... on-2009.en

The routemap also includes locations of refreshment stops which should help when planning what to take on the day.

Cheers
Malcolm

wakemalcolm

Just a quick update: We've just had word that Stiirling council's "jet-patcher" has been despatched to fill in the holes along the B829 Aberfoyle to to Inversnaid section.

No excuses for leaving your Sunday bikes at home how.

alphaanne

Ooooo.....its getting closer!!!

Are there any other girls taking part in this? Not that it matters, I was just wondering, am feeling I might be in a tiny minority....?

Wee question.....Energy Gels....any good? Someone said not to use them on long rides as they cause an energy spike....followed by a drop? Ive never used them but am not sure what to carry??

Wee question no 2.....If I take a really long time to get round will that be a problem? Is there a cut off time for late finishers?

And wee question no 3.......I take it its all well way marked and I wont need to memorise the route...(i know dumb question....but Im just building up to getting worried about the event!! :? )

Feel free to laugh at me

DaveMoss

I know Bonnybridge isn't Bonnyrigg, but we need some Bonnygirls to enter the Edinburgh Sportive August 8th, which will be well marked and allow you lots of time on the shorter (but still 70 mile ) route.

Energy gels. it's true, as with any high sugar content food, you get a spike then your body says " something wrong here, stop absorbing sugar into the blood, turn it into fat" and the effect is then a crash, i.e a loss of fuel (sugar) to the muscles. Very experienced riders know how to use them and what to mix them with, I not that experienced and would only consider them to get me through the last half hour if I'm dying.

alphaanne

Cheers for that, I might carry 1 gel to see me to the end then

And if Im still in one piece after this event then I will get my name down for the one you mentioned!! I was already wondering what Id aim for after this was over so you answered a question you never even knew I was asking.....now thats impressive

fnb1

anyone else doing this one??

LorneC

I'm in!

Using it as part of training for AMR's London to Paris the following month, which has a nasty 113 mile day 3!!!

mitchgixer6

Not long till this sportive. Going to be my first so excited and apprehensive at the same time!

Thought I'd go out yesterday and ride some of the course to put my nerves at ease a little. Did a loop leaving from Strathblane over the climb at Crow Rd back through Fintry/Kilearn then back to Strathblane.

Basically did the run to try the Crow Rd climb, and TBH it's not too bad. Was probably about 20 mins of climbing at around 8mph. My lungs were bursting but I put that down to just recovering from a cold/man swine flu! First segment of climb is steep, then it flattens a little for a fair distance. Once you turn the corner past the car park it kicks up a bit again but not for long, then a very slight climb over the top. As I say I was blowing yesterday, so don't know what it'll be like on Sunday after already having cycled 70 odd miles! Road surface is questionable in parts, and the descent is pretty fast with only 1 tight left hander near the bottom that might be tricky on the day.

In general I had a nice 25 mile loop and feel better for seeing some of the course. Really looking forward to getting out there in a bunch, taking my time and having fun. That's what it's all about eh? One word of advice though, keep the mouth closed on the descents. Lost count of the amount of flies I swallowed yesterday! :shock:

Good luck to all that are taking part. Might even meet some of you on the day, you never know!

pneumatic

See you all on Sunday, then.

I'm feeling distinctly under-prepared for this, not having done anything serious since the Etape Caledonia (except fit some kevlar armadillos!) so I anticipate being jolly and sociable for the first 50 or so miles and then grimly determined for another 20. After that, I'll be hollow eyed, sunken cheeked, veering from side to side and muttering obscenities.

Just the way to spend Father's day!

alphaanne

Survived....woohoo!!!

A proud moment for me ... Ive never done more than 30 miles before!! Long and brilliant day....

Really well run and the marshalls etc were great. Superb lunch as well....

Guys, you were great, very encouraging of my inexperienced efforts....that pretty much goes for everyone who zoomed past but took the time to say hello before whizzing off.

Thank you everyone for helping make it such a good day

Anne

pneumatic

Yes it was a very sociable event, well run and good fun. Mind you, I thought the course was cruel and unforgiving, especially the last 10 miles that had me weeping inwardly.

I got eaten to death at Loch Katrine - my legs have contracted chicken pox from the thigh down. :shock:

A real challenge over some spectacular terrain. Highly recommended.

LorneC

Ditto on the chicken pox legs...

managed round the course in a little over 6 hours of riding.

the last third of the course was tough - in part because the route profile didn't really suggest much climbing required after the Crow Road.

Cramped a little at 95 miles, but feel fine now, especially after the post-ride massage... L2P in one month's time and I feel ready.