Etape Caledonia 2010
cframe
Posts: 171
Who's all signed up and what times/aims have you got in mind???
I'm wanting a sub-5h and good crack at the Schiehallion climb split (especially after this years madness!)
Definitely planning on doing the route a few times beforehand too, benefits of having family in Pitlochry so I can go and stay whenever I want
I'm wanting a sub-5h and good crack at the Schiehallion climb split (especially after this years madness!)
Definitely planning on doing the route a few times beforehand too, benefits of having family in Pitlochry so I can go and stay whenever I want
How's that for a slice of fried gold?
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I have signed up and like you, I am hoping for sub 5 hours, and expect sub 5 1/2.
The training is not going to plan though :oops: :shock: :oops:
I have done the route already though and it is superb! :P
I have added a report on an earlier thread that may be of interest to novices.
It was done on a wind free sunny day though. Fingers crossed.............
Edit:- Link added http://www.bikeradar.com/forums/viewtop ... t=12656473
I was looking forward to doing it next year on my new bike, but after it was nicked I just hope I'll get a replacement in time...
I'm going for modest improvement and I'll say 4:15 on the old bike, 4:05 if I replace the new one, mostly on psychological grounds.
I have signed up again, was one of those affected by this years 'wait here for 10 mins'....so hopefully next year will go without a hitch. I think I may have been on for 4.40 -4.50...so again I will look for anything under 5 hours!!
Shane
Hope to do it 4 or 5 times before the big day.......and fancy doing it 'the wrong way round'...just for the climb from Aberfeldy to start of Schiehallion road, which I think is tougher than the climb from Rannoch up the Sch Rd........
Hoping for under 5hrs, and would be delighted with 4 and a half.
I'll be doing at least one familiarisation ride beforehand, probably mid-April
Also going for sub 5, but planning for an enjoyable ride.
The GT
Route looks ok, but there are better climbs around that area imo. Still, descent from Schiehallion down to Aberfeldy is fun!
If you can, try going down past Loch Tay and riding up over Ben Lawers both ways, nice 4-5miles of climbing and then a cracking descent, especially if you ride over from the Loch side.
Another climb to defo give a go is the road into Garrow from the south, very steep, and then another really good descent down into Kenmore.
No need to raise extra cash.
The route is pretty good considering that there will be 3,000 riders if various skill and fitness levels. It's worth it more for the joy of riding on closed roads and the overall ambience.
If you can, try going down past Loch Tay and riding up over Ben Lawers both ways, nice 4-5miles of climbing and then a cracking descent, especially if you ride over from the Loch side.
Another climb to defo give a go is the road into Garrow from the south, very steep, and then another really good descent down into Kenmore.[/quote]
Good training run is leave from Blair Athol, take the road out to Struan, Calvine, then left at crossroads, fantastic descent, on to Tummel Bridge, then road back to Garry Bridge, turn left for Killiecrankie and BA..........
Andy, if you fancy heading up and doing part of the run in the New Year, give me a shout. I'm in Arbroath, but up there a fair bit. Pitlochry to Rannoch, and around the Loch is fairly straightforward, but I'm wanting to tackle the climb a few times, and the second 40 mile stretch.
As for training runs, if you do 50 miles or so (the distance from the start to the foot of the Schiehallion climb) and then one of those two climbs, the Schiehallion road holds no terrors. Or it's actually quite easy (as in cartographically, not as in "easy on the legs") to link them both.
When I first did the Etape C (2008) I had never done that kind of distance apart from one recce around the route - I'm very glad I did.
That would be great fun!
Also, how do the organisers allocate your start times? I'm sure I read that riders with results from competitions etc to show would be seeded to start off at the earliest opportunity, but what about after that?
Is it just descending order of alledged ability, or, do those who are reckoned to be the slowest get the next slots after the seeded bunch in order to minimise the time the roads are shut for?
It makes sense that they leave first.
I've signed up to the 5hr 30min + as it's my first escapade into road cycling... I'm thinking about signing up for the charity side of things as I believe they give you support on your training schedule but not sure how good it is.
Also does this sportive have Gold, Silver, Bronze awards etc for certain times, or does it not operate on that kind of basis?
Last year start times seemed to be a little bit random but broadly correct, I started near the front and I was certainly passed by a lot of people going much faster than me for a lot of the first hour, but then I also passed a lot of people who must have started in the first wave and were going backwards quite fast.
Traffic can be a bit heavy, especially on the narrow road on the south side of Lochs Rannoch & Tummel (about mile 30-40) and the Fortingall loop (55-65) so you don't want to be stuck behind a lot of slow people there. Of course if everyone then tries to boost their seeding, the whole system falls down - that may account for some of the obvious anomalies I saw last year.
No Gold/silver/bronze, I don't know how these categories work as I've never done any other sportives, but if you consider yourself a serious competitive cyclist then you should be aiming for under 4 hours, 5 hours is a good challenge for anyone not used to this kind of thing.
But half the fun is in the "big event" atmosphere, the scenery, and the pure joy of fizzing along in a big bunch on closed roads. Even when you're trying to push a time you shouldn't miss out on these.
EDIT: just thinking about it has put the snow & ice outside into perspective... man I'm looking forward to it!
I've wanted to try a route with Lawers for a while but have never quite got around to it, I did Glen Quaich though last year as prep for the Bealach. If anything I'd say the drag out from Aberfeldy to there was about as tough as Quaich itsself!
Didn't quite have the bottle for the Kenmore descent, that road is just too narrow to really commit to it :oops:
Cheers for that! Can't wait for it either
Should definitely do a route with Ben Lawers next time your up then, climb is harder from the loch side, and the descent down into Bridge of Balgie is also better than the descent back down to the loch. You can always see a good few hundred metres at least infront of you, so can absolutely cane it.
Whereas like you say, with the descent down into Kenmore, towards the end there are too many blind corners to fully commit.
Had forgotten about the hill out of Aberfeldy, is indeed quite a long drag, and you don't get much of a reward for doing it either! Never been down that hill into Aberfeldy, imagine it would be rather good as the road is wide and nicely flowing?
How do you find doing the Bealach? Was thinking about giving it a crack too(although i read everyone needs to wear a high-vis this year :?)
The Bealach was alright (this was the 40miler in May, I might add), apart from the snow! I'd been off the bike for 3 weeks beforehand (marathon training has a lot to answer for) so didn't have the best legs but just stuck in a pack and spun up.
Conditions were pretty awful, wind, rain, hail and snow all in the course of the climb. Of course once we were down the other side the sun came out! I nearly thought I was gonna have to abandon after the descent because I was absolutely frozen to the core and hadn't drunk nearly enough on the climb because it was so cold.
Managed to drag myself round the rest of it (which is also very lumpy!) but was going backwards for a big part of it.
Best advice I can think of; don't forget to eat/drink on the way up!
Don't think I'll be doing it on that basis - I wouldn't want to ask people for sponsorship for something I'd be doing for fun anyway, and £200 for a 81 mile ride is a little steep...
Hope to see some of you guys there but for now would just like to get rid of all the snow and ice and get on my bike!
Summer Bike: Colnago C60
Winter Bike: Vitus Alios
MTB: 1997 GT Karakorum
Summer Bike: Colnago C60
Winter Bike: Vitus Alios
MTB: 1997 GT Karakorum