Edinburgh to St Andrew's route

tyax

screebs wrote:

Cycling to work in the rain is not good is it! And putting wet clothes on for cycle home is even worse! :shock: On the bars/energy drinks/goo front, i know i probably should, but don't know where to start to be honest! Think i'll stick to water, jelly babies and dried pineapple!

To be brutally honestI have no clue about, ahem, "sports nutrition". However the ZipVit stuff was/is free (apart from £4 postage), and frankly I can't resist free, ever, especially when a free waterbottle is involved My understanding is thus: carbs (jelly babies, raisins, Gatorade-type drinks, fruit blah blah) during rides give you energy, and protein (cooked meats, fish, blah blah) after rides makes your muscles rebuild themselves, or something The drinks/powders/bars/goo are basically just different, more expensive ways of getting these into you Here endeth my sports nutrition knowledge

I quite liked the ZipVit protein bar (chocolate orange, yum), but having checked the numbers I'd have got the same amount of protein by eating 100g of cooked chicken. Hmmm...

To make up on my commuting failure, I decided on a short, sharp run in the afternoon today, so went for just 13 miles but at absolutely full steam, and bloody hell did I feel it in my knees! Managed 15.5MPH average, the highest I've ever done, but I knew all about it afterwards... had to have an hours couch-based dose/laziness. I do currently have a sore throat and general sense of being rundown, so wondering if I have a touch of the cold. Mmmm... excuses

AMcD

tyaxnoob wrote:

AMcD - Can you tell me how much space is in your dHB panniers? I was thinking about buyng some as wiggle have given me a discount voucher for not buying off them for a while, but they've no rear ones left, so I figure the front ones might do. As a rough guide, how many 500ml bottles of water could you fit in each? Ta

Hi Tyax, the panniers (I bought the pair but just use the one for my day trips) are quite roomy. It says they're 11litres each - means nothing to me - but last week I did fit in 4 spare bottles, a jacket, repair kit, spare gloves with plenty more room. If I had more than 6 water bottles (two on the frame) could have fitted a couple extra in. I did mention to check your rack when buying because the fittings can be tight but have just read about this set in a back issue of Cycling Plus and it says that the fittings have extra spacers so I probably have just left them in without realising, and that's why they are very tight on one of my racks. Sounds like they can be adjusted - will check tomorrow before I start my 43 miles .

The one thing I don't use is the zipped pockets etc inside - there's lots of compartments for things but when I did stop to help someone with a puncture I found it hard to see where I had stored everything so now put all my repair bits into a small stuff sack that's easy to get at.

AMcD

themightyw wrote:

BTW did you guys find that the energy drinks / bars helped? I did my 50 miler with just a wee bottle of water for company, but was planning on taking an energy drink for the last third and a bar or two.

MightyW - I can't imagine cycling 50 miles with just a wee bottle of water. I sweat buckets and drink just as much. For each hour I reckon on one bottle of sports drink (I use PSP and each 500ml is 150 cals of carbohydrate). For my expected 3-4 hour jaunt last week I took 4 bottles of sports drink and 2 bottles of water (one bottle I gave to a thirsty lamb) and one sports drink I forgot about. I would have done a few extra miles but had used up all my drink and was feeling thirsty at the end despite all that drink (also forgot, I also had a cup of coffee in a cafe).

I have only ever had one headache since starting training and that was last Sunday when it was boiling and I could really have done with remembering I had another bottle spare. When I ran (and before the days of sports nutrition) I always used to get dehydration headaches after a race or longer run. I definately think sport drinks makes a difference for me now. I even take a bottle of sports drink when I do just a 'quick' 10 miler, especially as I have been going out in the morning.

Also in Cycling Plus it mentions that if you don't drink enough you lose the ability to sweat properly which in turn makes your core body temperature overheat.

I think you should definately up your liquid intake, perhaps a combination of more water and an energy drink or two for your longer rides.

AMcD

tyaxnoob wrote:

To make up on my commuting failure, I decided on a short, sharp run in the afternoon today, so went for just 13 miles but at absolutely full steam, and bloody hell did I feel it in my knees! Managed 15.5MPH average, the highest I've ever done, but I knew all about it afterwards... had to have an hours couch-based dose/laziness. I do currently have a sore throat and general sense of being rundown, so wondering if I have a touch of the cold. Mmmm... excuses

I'd take it easy for a few days Tyax - it's too close to the event to wear yourself out - when I ran (sorry to go on about what I used to do!) I'd often have a great run one day, as you did with your 15.5mph, and then came down with a heavy cold or sore throat the next day - I think the theory was that you are most susceptible to germs when you're at a good level of fitness and pushing yourself.

Tomorrow I'm being very brave and tackling the Crossford and Cleish hills again - I'll be following the route to Milnathort from home but then going straight around Loch Leven,not heading off to Strathmiglo, and back home through Kelty, Cowdenbeath and Crossgates. It'll be 43 miles - not as much as I'd like but if feeling good at the end will do an extra loop to Crossgates and home making it 50 ! I'm pleased it's looking like a cool, overcast day tomorrow.

Thanks for the parking info too!

screebs

went out this morning and did 40.2 miles in approx 2hrs 55 - felt as if I could have done a few more miles, not many though! :shock:

Was just 3 miles out when I looked down and realized I had left my water bottle in the kitchen, had to double back and pick it up - change of route at the last minute as didn't fancy adding an extra 6 miles to my planned route. One 600ml bottle for 40 miles was cutting it fine right enough.

Hoped to do a 50 miler before the 20th but only chance for a ride of that length will be next weekend, Which is probably too much too close to the event itself, yes?

Good to hear of everyones progress - making me feel a bit guilty about not upping my miles earlier!

screebs

AMcD - housework or going for a ride, tough choice!

My worry is cleish hill at C40 miles in - that might just kill me off!

tyax

AMcD - thanks for the info regarding the pannier sizes, I think i'm gonna go ahead and order them 8)

Busy day for me today, 30 miler before breakfast (well lunch lol), quite eventful... first it started throwing it down five minutes out, so I took it easy on some cycle paths to start with. Made a mess of my average speed, but sod it Then about an hour later I was following two guys in a cycle lane at Corstorphine, wondering if I should attempt passing them, when one of the guys entire left hand crank arm/pedal fell off :shock: How he didn't end up in a heap on the ground I've no idea. Cue me taking evasive action to avoid first the bike bits, then the guy, then his mate, was like a slalom

FFWD another hour or so to me chundering thru the Innocent Railway Tunnel onto the cycle path, normally my fave bit of that route as I'm only a few miles from home and it's a slight downhill. Quite surprised to see a VERY large group of people at the tunnel entrance in front of me. Slowed down and to my slight disbelief, see a veritable river of people walking on the cycle path, edge to edge, all walking the way I was headed, literally hundreds of them. Turns out to be the Walk For Scotland charity walk that was leaving from Holyrood shortly before I met them :shock: Tried a few overtakes but got bored of crawling along and saying "excuse me" every 3 seconds, so decided to walk with them for a few miles, friendly bunch, all shapes and sizes, doing 12 miles for charity. Good on them 8)

Then, this afternoon went for my hill recce (in the car heheh), again ta for the location info AMcD 8) Checked out the one at the back of Crossford, looks grand, more a series of three or four linked inclines. Cleish Hill is high, but the gradient doesn't look that bad at all from the direction we'll be taking (screebs - you'll be fine!). The other side looks nasty, will deffo be a test of the brakes on the way down :shock: The hill out the back of Freuchie heading towards Burnturk looks EVIL, it's a short one but bloody hell it's near vertical! Won't be ashamed to walk up that, as it's so close to the end I'm sure to be shattered. Or maybe not :arrow:

Oh also been sampling the freebies from the ZipVit box. My thoughts...

The strawberry energy bar is lovely (the apricot one is similarly nice according to my sis), chocolate coated and full of cereal/dried fruit etc. Yum. Will be buying more of these 9/10

The choc orange recovery bars are not quite as nice, but definitely palatable and good for after-ride protein. However I worked out that half a small chicken breast has the same amount of protein in it, so whatever floats yer boat 8/10 (9/10 for chicken)

The energy drinks are fairly tasteless, but certainly seemed to give me some go, so I'll use them up then go back to Bikefood. :? 5/10

The goo, or to give it its proper name, orange carbohydrate energy gel, is utterly, trully revolting. Probably the mingingest thing I've ever eaten. It has the colour and consistency of thick wallpaper paste, and tastes of raw sugar, NOT orange or anything else for that matter. Avoid, avoid, avoid!! 0/10 :x :shock: :? :evil: :roll:

That is all

AMcD

tyaxnoob wrote:

AMcD - thanks for the info regarding the pannier sizes, I think i'm gonna go ahead and order them 8)

Busy day for me today, 30 miler before breakfast (well lunch lol), quite eventful... first it started throwing it down five minutes out, so I took it easy on some cycle paths to start with. Made a mess of my average speed, but sod it Then about an hour later I was following two guys in a cycle lane at Corstorphine, wondering if I should attempt passing them, when one of the guys entire left hand crank arm/pedal fell off :shock: How he didn't end up in a heap on the ground I've no idea. Cue me taking evasive action to avoid first the bike bits, then the guy, then his mate, was like a slalom

FFWD another hour or so to me chundering thru the Innocent Railway Tunnel onto the cycle path, normally my fave bit of that route as I'm only a few miles from home and it's a slight downhill. Quite surprised to see a VERY large group of people at the tunnel entrance in front of me. Slowed down and to my slight disbelief, see a veritable river of people walking on the cycle path, edge to edge, all walking the way I was headed, literally hundreds of them. Turns out to be the Walk For Scotland charity walk that was leaving from Holyrood shortly before I met them :shock: Tried a few overtakes but got bored of crawling along and saying "excuse me" every 3 seconds, so decided to walk with them for a few miles, friendly bunch, all shapes and sizes, doing 12 miles for charity. Good on them



That is all

You seem to have as much delays as I tend to get :roll: . On my last three weekends I've hydrated a poor little lamb, located a farmer to tell him about a distressed ewe and stopped to help a guy change a tube in the pouring rain. He hadn't fixed a puncture in 25 years so to save time I gave him my spare tube, fitted it for him, gave him heavy duty handwipes to clean his hands and he then went and threw his old innertube into a hedge whilst saying "I know you shouldn't litter but............" I was gobsmacked and took it home in my pannier :x .

I have promised my husband to keep my eye on the road on the way to St Andrew's and to try and ignore the wildlife .

Today nothing untoward happened, although met two friends in the most unlikely spot half way round and had a chat. Went up the horrible Crossford hill (awful, and yes, has 4 peaks, I counted!) and Cleish hill (not so bad at all) and had another horrible slog somewhere after Kelty and before Hill of Beath on my way home. My legs were fine but my nether regions in agony. Did 43 in 4hrs exactly, only 10.7 mph average but my hardest run to date as my other two longest runs have included 11 miles of flat cycle paths - no such luck today . Still, happy with progress and know that adreneline will keep me going on the day - and copious amounts of chamois creme .

AMcD

screebs wrote:

Was just 3 miles out when I looked down and realized I had left my water bottle in the kitchen................600ml bottle for 40 miles was cutting it fine right enough.

Hoped to do a 50 miler before the 20th but only chance for a ride of that length will be next weekend, Which is probably too much too close to the event itself, yes?

Good to hear of everyones progress - making me feel a bit guilty about not upping my miles earlier!

Screebs, I worry about you and MightyW going out with just one bottle of water for 3 hours! Bet you'd drink more than that if you were sat at home on the sofa . I hope you're not counting on me sharing any of my six bottles on the way to St Andrew's? .

I'm not thinking of doing anything extreme next weekend - this will be my longest run. I plan on doing 3 x 10 miles this week and 38 next Sunday (11 of those flat cycle path). On the final week will probably only do 1 x10 miles and 1 x 7miles on the Tues and the Thursday. This week I'm going to trial wearing one set of padded shorts and one set of padded 3/4 tights over the top - just a trial as perhaps two sets of padding could be storing up more trouble :? .

BTW tomorrow's my day off from cycling and work and I just can't wait to get stuck into the housework - honestly

screebs

AMcD - I wouldn't worry about me and themightyW, we have spoken about the need to take on more fluids on the day (we work in the same office btw)! I even bought some Gatorade at the supermarket today and I am considering purchasing a camelbak.

I would think you're being sensible in the run up to race with the mileages you're talking about - not sure about the clothing though!

I think you're right about the adrenaline on the day getting us through - you've gotta hope. My real worry now is what state i will be in for driving back to Glasgow that night.

Now get on with that housework!

AMcD

I'm so glad you're sorting out your liquid intake .

I can just imagine the conversations in your office........... chaffing, pee stops, hills, knees ....... unfortunately working in an all girl office I have no outlet for my woes so have to come on here .........don't really want to tell them why I'm sitting funny that day .

I've had an idea about saddles - my husband has a similar style to mine, centre cut out, but looks slightly wider perhaps with more padding. I'm going to trial it this week to see if it's a better style - as it might be too hot too wear two padded affairs on the day .

I don't envy you driving back to Glasgow presume you're getting the bus back to Edinburgh? It'll be a long day for you - I'm so glad I'll have hubby and the dogs to meet me in St Andrew's.

Will you and MightyW be cycling together on the day or do you plan a bit of a race?

screebs

AMcD wrote:

I'm so glad you're sorting out your liquid intake .

I can just imagine the conversations in your office........... chaffing, pee stops, hills, knees ....... unfortunately working in an all girl office I have no outlet for my woes so have to come on here .........don't really want to tell them why I'm sitting funny that day .

I've had an idea about saddles - my husband has a similar style to mine, centre cut out, but looks slightly wider perhaps with more padding. I'm going to trial it this week to see if it's a better style - as it might be too hot too wear two padded affairs on the day .

I don't envy you driving back to Glasgow presume you're getting the bus back to Edinburgh? It'll be a long day for you - I'm so glad I'll have hubby and the dogs to meet me in St Andrew's.

Will you and MightyW be cycling together on the day or do you plan a bit of a race?

It's a big office and we work in different buildings, so the chat is over instant message - so, no one else gets to hear about an uncomfortable saddle and the associated impacts! :oops:

I think they do saddles specifically designed for women don't they? - from what i read they're slightly wider at the back, and also it suggests they are more comfortable for females if the saddle points slightly downwards at the front. That's exhausted my "knowledge" of female saddles!

As for travel on the day, yes i am getting the bus back to Edinburgh. So, not the longest of drives home then.

Myself and ThemightyW have agreed to start together with the proviso that if either of us naturally goes away from the other at any point it is absolutely fine - we'll see how that goes. Certainly wont be a race for sure! :shock:

screebs

tyaxnoob wrote:

Then, this afternoon went for my hill recce (in the car heheh), again ta for the location info AMcD 8) Checked out the one at the back of Crossford, looks grand, more a series of three or four linked inclines. Cleish Hill is high, but the gradient doesn't look that bad at all from the direction we'll be taking (screebs - you'll be fine!). The other side looks nasty, will deffo be a test of the brakes on the way down :shock: The hill out the back of Freuchie heading towards Burnturk looks EVIL, it's a short one but bloody hell it's near vertical! Won't be ashamed to walk up that, as it's so close to the end I'm sure to be shattered. Or maybe not :arrow:

Thanks for the reassurance on Cleish Hill, albeit it never seems as bad from the comfort of your car seat does it!

I will avoid the "goo" at all costs! Cheers for the warning!

tyax

screebs - yeah fair point about hill gradient from the car seat, but I was being ultra cynical so hopefully it'll be okay :shock:

AMcD - last time I was in looking at Spesh saddles, I noticed they do one with the cutout/groove which is available in various widths. Can't remember the model, but it was in Edinburgh Bicycle. Assume they do a ladies version too, as Spesh seem to do most of their clothes/gloves/saddles as "D4W" too 8)

Not long to go now, wish it'd hurry up! :roll:

themightyw

I was on holiday today, and took advantage of the cracking weather to do 45 mile loop from St Andrews to Falkland palace. I was keen to find out what the Freuchie hill was like after I'd already done 25 miles or so, since the last time I did it I was fairly fresh.

Have to say, it was a lot harder when the pins were tired already. I actually think the evil thing about that hill is that you have a really sharp stretch, get to the top and pat yourself on the back. You then turn a corner and see another grim hill ahead of you with little recuperation time. I'm also a tad grumpy as I was hoping to be 15mph+ average but was 14.8.

That said, I'm not entirely sure that I've got the right hill, since I was keeping a good eye out for potholes and still didn't spot any. Perhaps the red mist in front of my eyes was clouding my vision...

Since everyone's doing the 'energy food' thing, I did take an energy drink (one of the ones you dissolve in water) and an energy bar along (sugary, gloopy toffeeish thing - first bite horrific then strangely moreish...). I tool a camelback with 3 litres in it, and 1.5 of energy drink and still only got through a litre or so. I'll play it safe on the day though.

Oh, and I put my bike in for a service at my LBS (Spokes) as there were some alarming rattles coming from it at some points. I was also considering getting a gel saddle, as my posterior was a little tender but the guy talked me out of it (nice sales patter!) saying to try shifting the saddle back a bit first to see if that made things easier.

Funnily enough, I was ok at the end of the cycle and feeling great after a shower etc. It was the 1.5m cycle to the bike shop that exhausted me....

tyax

Hmmm, not sure if I'VE got the right hill then! :shock: The hill I thought was at Freuchie (with AMcD's directions) is completely straight up and a one-shot thing, I didn't see any additional summits... but then I was in the car

Also, I'd be delighted with 14.8MPH over that distance, you roadie guys don't know you're born sometimes

With regards to food/drink, I remember doing my first "proper" long cycle last year, Edinburgh to Falkirk Wheel (and beyond) on the Union Canal. I had no clue what to take with me, so I took my 2L fake camelbak of water (that's LOADS!, thought the naive I), and nothing else. No food, no energy drinks, no bars, no nothing. For a ride of 44 miles over nearly five hours. No wonder I was pretty much broken by the end of it :? I've learned a valuable lesson since then: More is more

screebs

themightyw wrote:

I was on holiday today, and took advantage of the cracking weather to do 45 mile loop from St Andrews to Falkland palace. I was keen to find out what the Freuchie hill was like after I'd already done 25 miles or so, since the last time I did it I was fairly fresh.

Have to say, it was a lot harder when the pins were tired already. I actually think the evil thing about that hill is that you have a really sharp stretch, get to the top and pat yourself on the back. You then turn a corner and see another grim hill ahead of you with little recuperation time. I'm also a tad grumpy as I was hoping to be 15mph+ average but was 14.8.

That said, I'm not entirely sure that I've got the right hill, since I was keeping a good eye out for potholes and still didn't spot any. Perhaps the red mist in front of my eyes was clouding my vision...

Since everyone's doing the 'energy food' thing, I did take an energy drink (one of the ones you dissolve in water) and an energy bar along (sugary, gloopy toffeeish thing - first bite horrific then strangely moreish...). I tool a camelback with 3 litres in it, and 1.5 of energy drink and still only got through a litre or so. I'll play it safe on the day though.

Oh, and I put my bike in for a service at my LBS (Spokes) as there were some alarming rattles coming from it at some points. I was also considering getting a gel saddle, as my posterior was a little tender but the guy talked me out of it (nice sales patter!) saying to try shifting the saddle back a bit first to see if that made things easier.

Funnily enough, I was ok at the end of the cycle and feeling great after a shower etc. It was the 1.5m cycle to the bike shop that exhausted me....

You're disappointed with 14.8mph over 45 miles - I think you might be pulling away from me sooner than i thought (after about 200 metres of the start!). I seem to be stuck in the 13.8mph rut but it should see my doing the distance ok - i have to keep something in the legs for the next big challenge! 8)

screebs

tyaxnoob wrote:

With regards to food/drink, I remember doing my first "proper" long cycle last year, Edinburgh to Falkirk Wheel (and beyond) on the Union Canal. I had no clue what to take with me, so I took my 2L fake camelbak of water (that's LOADS!, thought the naive I), and nothing else. No food, no energy drinks, no bars, no nothing. For a ride of 44 miles over nearly five hours. No wonder I was pretty much broken by the end of it :? I've learned a valuable lesson since then: More is more

This may seem like a dumb question, but do camelbaks have room to carry anything as well as the water bladder? Probably going to buy one, but not had a chance to see them in the flesh - would be looking for one that can carry some additional stuff such as food and energy bars and maybe another bottle or two. I will be cycling in the South of France in about 4 weeks and will need the amount of fluids that a camelbak holds and probably the additional space.

themightyw

My fakelback carries about 4l of water, and yesterday kept my keys, phone, a couple of chicken breasts, spare tyre and repair kit in it. Not sure you'll be able to fit your make up, powder mirror and boyzone CDs in there though.

I'll bring it in so you can take a look.

screebs

themightyw wrote:

My fakelback carries about 4l of water, and yesterday kept my keys, phone, a couple of chicken breasts, spare tyre and repair kit in it. Not sure you'll be able to fit your make up, power mirror and boyzone CDs in there though.

I'll bring it in so you can take a look.

Dont be giving away my secrets now! :roll: Bring it in m8 and i'll have a look at it - sounds just the job though!

tyax

There's loads of different hydration pack models, quite a few have additional space, but not much! If you want loads of space it's possible to buy something that's more like a rucksack with a hydration bladder pouch built in

My Fakelbak (made by High Sierra, can occasionally pick them up on ebay for around £20) has a 2L Source bladder in it which has a really good "Wideslide" closure on it - means the whole top of the bladder opens up like a bag of crisps, instead of a little 3" sideways filling hole which seems to be standard. When bladder is filled I can fit in mini track-pump, spare tubes, lightweight shorts/T-shirt to change into, energy bars/sweets/other grub, sachets of Bikefood, phone and wallet. With the clothes it's a tight squeeze until the water level goes down a bit. It also has an external helmet carrier net thing which is handier than it sounds - I keep my waterproof jacket in it when not wearing it

My sis has a Tesco fakelbak similar to mine (minus the helmet holder) which cost a tenner, but she said the bladder tainted the water taste badly, so I gave her a spare Source bladder which solved the problem. Not financially clever, as the Source bladders cost £17, but there you go

screebs

tyaxnoob wrote:

There's loads of different hydration pack models, quite a few have additional space, but not much! If you want loads of space it's possible to buy something that's more like a rucksack with a hydration bladder pouch built in

My Fakelbak (made by High Sierra, can occasionally pick them up on ebay for around £20) has a 2L Source bladder in it which has a really good "Wideslide" closure on it - means the whole top of the bladder opens up like a bag of crisps, instead of a little 3" sideways filling hole which seems to be standard. When bladder is filled I can fit in mini track-pump, spare tubes, lightweight shorts/T-shirt to change into, energy bars/sweets/other grub, sachets of Bikefood, phone and wallet. With the clothes it's a tight squeeze until the water level goes down a bit. It also has an external helmet carrier net thing which is handier than it sounds - I keep my waterproof jacket in it when not wearing it

My sis has a Tesco fakelbak similar to mine (minus the helmet holder) which cost a tenner, but she said the bladder tainted the water taste badly, so I gave her a spare Source bladder which solved the problem. Not financially clever, as the Source bladders cost £17, but there you go

Thanks for the info m8 - you are a mine of usefull information!

AGNI

The camelbacks are good but boy do they make your back sweat. Plus I dont feel comfortable with the weight of that much liquid on my back. I ended up getting an extra bottle cage and increasing the size of by bottles from 500ml to 750 ml.

I would use the camelback again, but would use it without the bladder and just have a few light items in it

AMcD

screebs wrote:

I think they do saddles specifically designed for women don't they? - from what i read they're slightly wider at the back, and also it suggests they are more comfortable for females if the saddle points slightly downwards at the front. That's exhausted my "knowledge" of female saddles!

Hi Screebs, I already have 3 ladies saddles thanks, Specialised Jetts, which I thought were fine (hence buying one for each bike!) but that was before I started going further than 10 miles . I bought the narrowest size although I have a big bum, as I didn't want to get any chaffing at the top of the legs. This works but the trouble is the Jett doesn't have much padding for the sit bones. My husband has a Giant OCR road saddle which appears the same width as my saddles but definately has more padding on the main seat area - you can press it in with your thumb which you can't with mine. I'll be trialling it this week and hoping for the best . He can have one of my Jetts if I want to swap - he could use anything as he never complains about saddle soreness but then again he is a skinny minnie . Saddle soreness is now my main gripe and worry about the day .

AMcD

themightyw wrote:

I was on holiday today, and took advantage of the cracking weather to do 45 mile loop from St Andrews to Falkland palace. I was keen to find out what the Freuchie hill was like after I'd already done 25 miles or so, since the last time I did it I was fairly fresh.

Have to say, it was a lot harder when the pins were tired already. I actually think the evil thing about that hill is that you have a really sharp stretch, get to the top and pat yourself on the back. You then turn a corner and see another grim hill ahead of you with little recuperation time. I'm also a tad grumpy as I was hoping to be 15mph+ average but was 14.8.

That said, I'm not entirely sure that I've got the right hill, since I was keeping a good eye out for potholes and still didn't spot any. Perhaps the red mist in front of my eyes was clouding my vision...

Hi MightyW

Not sure if it was the same hill or not.....hope I've given everyone the right info. I got it from the link at the very beginning of this thread....... Saying that I do remember thinking I was at the top when in fact there was more to go.............perhaps this is what you mean :? ?

The famous potholes are not at Freuchie; they're on the road after Wester Balgeddie to Strathmiglo - most have been filled in but somewhere in the thread it was pointed out that two very large ones are still there but they might look like small puddles of water if it's been raining.

So, it might be the right hill as there shouldn't be any potholes, and it does sort of go on a bit, but at a much much easier gradient after you've reached the top. I wouldn't have said it was another grim hill...........but then again when I did it I'd only ridden from Milnathort and was feeling quite fresh!

AMcD

screebs wrote:

You're disappointed with 14.8mph over 45 miles - I think you might be pulling away from me sooner than i thought (after about 200 metres of the start!). I seem to be stuck in the 13.8mph rut but it should see my doing the distance ok - i have to keep something in the legs for the next big challenge! 8)

My ave MPH dropped from 12 to 10.7 this weekend, but the course was harder, so I'll be happy to average 10mph on the day. To think I'll be on the road for 7 hours, plus stops, is quite daunting. I'm so glad I'm getting a lift home as don't think I'd get to St Andrew's in time to catch the last bus home .

By the way do they publish the 'results' of previous years anywhere? Would like to know roughly how slow the slowest will be. I'm not scared of being last but don't particularly want the sweeper bus trying to make me go faster than I want .

screebs

AMcD - i have looked but can't find anything - doubt they post (or even capture) results as he Lepra sit specifically says 'it is not a race'. Very much doubt you'll be the last to St Andrews, I know people who stopped for a pub lunch at halfway last year!

tyax

AMcD - most of what I've read seems to suggest that the less padding on the seat the better/comfier it'll be after a while. I thought that was counter-intuitive, but it does appear to be true I've discovered over these past few weeks. My MTB has a WTB Rocket V saddle, which I used to think looked like a razor, but having tried it recently it's very squidgy and doesn't feel comfy after a few miles. My Spesh BG saddle still has some squidge, but way less than the Rocket, and I the only time it's ever been uncomfy was after my 110 mile week of training that culminated in a 40 mile ride, but that's probably to do with spending too much time in it that week

It seems to be to do with the more padding there is, the more it bunches up around/between your sit bones, causing lateral pressure on said sit bones. I read a good article on Sheldon Browns website when I was after a squidgier saddle, and it convinced me otherwise! :shock:

Oh, and I agree with screebs, you'll not be the last by a long shot, that week is Bike Week and I think there'll be a lot of people on the ride who're just getting back into cycling, and will have done no training... I had a similar worry at PfS last year, but when I saw people pushing their bikes up the mildest of hills that I barely noticed, I knew I wasn't gonna be slowest!

AGNI - I think that's a common complaint with any rucksacks, some are better designed than others. I have a laptop rucksack that I've been commuting with, and it makes my back sweat like nothing on earth, but my Fakelbak is absolutely fine. The reason I went for the High Sierra is that there's two deep, padded, vented ridges that sit either side of the spine, keeping the bag off my back and allowing air to flow around there. Seems like a gimmick, but I find it works 8)

themightyw

tyaxnoob wrote:

Oh, and I agree with screebs, you'll not be the last by a long shot, that week is Bike Week and I think there'll be a lot of people on the ride who're just getting back into cycling, and will have done no training... I had a similar worry at PfS last year, but when I saw people pushing their bikes up the mildest of hills that I barely noticed, I knew I wasn't gonna be slowest!

I must admit I'm fairly surprised that Lepra promote this in some of their material as a real 'family' event. I'm a very new cyclists, and obviously it's not a patch on things like the Trossachs Ton and full on sportives but I consider myself relatively fit (though not athletic!) and have put in a fair few miles training and I'm certainly going to find it tough. That said, I bet I get overtaken by countless cyclists who are 20 years older than me and 20 years younger than me!

AMcD

http://maps.google.co.uk/maps?hl=en&q=k ... 53809&z=13

Hi y'all,

Just to try and make sense of the now infamous Freuchie hill . I double checked the route from the link given very early in the thread as I was worried I'd mislead you all. I have pasted a link to the same area on a Google map. The route that is highlighted by the rider from the 2007 event is the road from Freuchie, over the A914 to Langdyke - you take a left just before Langdyke to head towards Coaltown of Burnturk.

To confuse things the official cycle route doesn't go this way I believe. It goes from Freuchie to Kingskettle, then over the A914 at this point and up the road that has Annfield Muir typed over it on the map. Perhaps this is the one you went up MightyW?

Thanks for the info regarding saddles - I had read somewhere that less is better when it comes to saddles so I bought one that's barely there and pretty solid . I like the narrow width of it as it doesn't chaffe me legs - but after 20 miles it's a tad hard :shock: . Not sure whether the bit of extra padding on my husband's will do the trick or make things worse - they both feel the same at 10 miles :? . The true test will come this weekend . My favourite padded shorts are quite good, Endura I think, but I wish I had the money and the figure to get some ladies' Assos as the reviews on here and in Cycling Plus often give them 10/10. Perhaps I should use them as a carrot - stick a photo of a pair of Assos on the fridge .

Screebs, I won't be having a pub lunch on the day so might make up some time there . If I sit down on a plush velour seat at 40 miles might never get back on the bike .

What weather are you all wishing for on the day? I'm being a spoil sport and wanting it overcast and less than 60f like it was last Sunday - sorry! But if it's sunny and warm then I'll just have to cope, slap on the sun lotion on and give myself an extra hour to finish .