West of Scotland forum ride?

Crapaud

There're a few Weegies and folk within traveling distance on here, so is there any interest in organising a forum ride?

I've got a few routes in mind, but I thought I'd sound the forum out re distance / hills / route etc

I was thinking April would be good (except for the weekend of the 24th).

Thoughts?

lmk1

great idea! my mate and i should have done the fife flurry last October but i had to pull out and he was left without transport to get to cupar. We'd both be up for this and imagine love to use it to build up miles before the etape caledonia in May. We done a very hilly 40 miles yesterday around abbington leadhills and wanlochead but perhaps a trip up and around the city somewhere would be good. distance wise anywhere arround the 60/70 miles mark would be good. The first two full weeks are kids school break so perhaps leave it till the end of april if your busy the third weekend and we'd all get away for a full day? keep us posted

lmk1

great idea! my mate and i should have done the fife flurry last October but i had to pull out and he was left without transport to get to cupar. We'd both be up for this and imagine love to use it to build up miles before the etape caledonia in May. We done a very hilly 40 miles yesterday around abbington leadhills and wanlochead but perhaps a trip up and around the city somewhere would be good. distance wise anywhere arround the 60/70 miles mark would be good. The first two full weeks are kids school break so perhaps leave it till the end of april if your busy the third weekend and we'd all get away for a full day? keep us posted

Snoppy

I will keep a eye on the thread. I could bring 4 0r 5 weegies for a ride.

LittleB0b

lmk1 wrote:

. We done a very hilly 40 miles yesterday around abbington leadhills and wanlochead

I'm guessing you did the ride we did 2 weekends ago, but the other way round. We commented that it seemed to have more down than up, but that the other way round might seem the other way...

lmk1

abington> crawfordjohn> sanquhar> mennock> wanlockhead> leadhills> abington, there is a lovely 10 mile of so cruise gently downhill between crawfordjohn and sanquhar but a brutal climb up the mennock pass to wanlockhead and beyond. an ambulance passed as i reached the sumit and i though how apt!!

pneumatic

I'm up for it. Do I have to pay puggish small boys 50p each to look after my car?

LittleB0b

lmk1

Yup - you did it the uphill way.

rokkala

Would be up for this unless dates clash!

Crapaud

Is Wanlockhead a suggestion then? :shock: I was thinking of the Trossachs - relatively flat with Dukes Pass added for variety, Callander for a cakestop (we'll need a cakestop). If we want hills there's always the Rest and be Thankful / Hells Glen loop from Dumbarton (134 km though). 60 / 70 miles strikes me as about right.

Lmk1, I think we've missed each other a couple of times

pneumatic, it's 75p and I'm not that puggish. :twisted:

Snoopy, welcome aboard. Feel free to pipe in with any suggestions.

lmk1

i'd definitely be up for a run around the trossachs as am planning to enter the trossach's ton and have not done any cycling there. would the last weekend in april be any good for people? bearing in mind easter is at start of april and folk with weans will be busy!

pneumatic

Because I'm doing the Trossachs Ton anyway (great fun!), I'd rather do something else. RABT plus Hell's Glen is a beautiful ride, but Wanlockhead also sounds interesting. However, a ride is more important than the route and, if I can sell it to Mrs Pneumatic as an "event", I'm more likely to get a day pass

Skiddypants

Count me in for this, 60/70 miles would be a good distance to prepare for the Etape in May.

Dr U Idh

I might be up for this too. I've already planned an Etape recce ride from Pitlochry on the 25th though. Whether we do all, or just some, of it will depend on weather.

Crapaud

I had a look at a couple of routes yesterday. They're provisional, based on a couple I'd plotted for myself so the start points may not be the most suitable.

Wanlockhead 122.4km / 76.1mi. It's a bit over the target distance and the start point doesn't have access by train for anyone without a car.

RabT 98.2km / 61mi. Start point has train station and there'll be a suitable carpark. A detour to Inveraray for a cakestop's a possibility.

The downside of both is the amount of climbing which may not suit everybody. I'd find it tough, but they fit in with my plans for a hilly 200 at the end of may. My preference would be RabT.

I'm still looking at the Trossachs. I noticed that there's an unclassed road / trail around Loch Katrine, but I'm not sure if it's navigable by bike.

Stirling strikes me as a good staring point for here. Stirling - Doune - Callander - Dukes Pass - cakestop at Aberfoyle - return to Stirling? Should be around 60 - 65 mi. I'll plot it later if I get a chance.

vanleapo

The road around Loch Katrine is a great for cycling, apart from the potholes of course.

I may be up for this ride, as long as it doesn't clash with anything else.

Skiddypants

Any updates on this yet?

Crapaud

Sorry, Skiddypants, I had a busy wekend and I'm just back from Forfar's 'Scone tha Flat Way' 100 km.

I've been having a search about on mapping sites for ideas for the Trossachs and other possibilities. I also want to find the route for the Trossachs Ton so that I can avoid as much of it as possible so as not to ruin it for those that are doing it. I'm fishing around for other possibilities as well.

In the meantime, some feedback would be useful. Do we want:

a challenging hilly route? an intermediate route (flattish with some medium hills)? an easy-peasy flattish route?

Access to the start: Does everyone have access to a car or would a train station be better?

Any suggestions for a particular area or route or is everyone happy for me to come up with some routes and then you can decide whether or not to come along?

The reason I ask is because, as a forum ride, I'd like to make it as accessible to sa many as possible.

pneumatic

Intermediate (preferably) for me and I'll be coming by car.

Upon reflection, if it is only me who is mithering about the Trossachs Ton, I'd be quite happy to ride some of it as a training run. Duke's Pass and Katrine was the most interesting part of the route and I'd be happy to do that any day. If you need a station, you can do it from Dunblane, perhaps.

From memory the TT route is out of Stirling on the 811, cross country to Lake of Mentieth, along to Aberfoyle, over the Duke, round Katrine anticlockwise, back to Aberfoyle, down the main road towards Balfron, a lot of titting about on backroads around there and then out to Lennoxtown for the Crow Road and over the very hilly hills on poor surfaces back to Stirling.

http://www.action.org.uk/route/225875

17th April sound any good?

rokkala

Crapaud wrote:

Sorry, Skiddypants, I had a busy wekend and I'm just back from Forfar's 'Scone tha Flat Way' 100 km.

I've been having a search about on mapping sites for ideas for the Trossachs and other possibilities. I also want to find the route for the Trossachs Ton so that I can avoid as much of it as possible so as not to ruin it for those that are doing it. I'm fishing around for other possibilities as well.

In the meantime, some feedback would be useful. Do we want:

a challenging hilly route? an intermediate route (flattish with some medium hills)? an easy-peasy flattish route?

Access to the start: Does everyone have access to a car or would a train station be better?

Any suggestions for a particular area or route or is everyone happy for me to come up with some routes and then you can decide whether or not to come along?

The reason I ask is because, as a forum ride, I'd like to make it as accessible to sa many as possible.

A route with some nice big challenging hills would be good fun.

Don't really mind where the start is, i don't drive but can probably arrange a lift anyway.

themightyw

I'm definitely up for this! Nice to see some familiar faces on this thread. How is everyone? A couple of other ones that are in my provisional diary, if anyone else is doing them?

Canny Man's 200km (GULP!) on March 28th

2 back to back 100km audaxes in Forfar on 24th 25th April

Etape Cal on 16th May

Crapaud

themightyw wrote:

... Canny Man's 200km (GULP!) on March 28th ...

Too early in the year for me.

themightyw wrote:

... 2 back to back 100km audaxes in Forfar on 24th 25th April. ...

The Pitlochry 150 & the Glen Isla? I'm up for the 150. I've had the entry form printed out for a while - not sure if I'll follow up with the 100 the next day.

Do you not fancy the Deeside Loop (200 km) at the end of May? There's some nice climbing there.

Anyhoo, welcome aboard, Mighty W.

[Edit] Just realised you said 2 x 100. I did the Scone on Tuesday - nice route, flat.

themightyw

Those are the ones! Had forgotten that one of them is a 150km. Cripes.

themightyw

Crapaud wrote:

I did the Scone on Tuesday - nice route, flat.

Cool, 'Scone the flat way' I assume? Glad to hear it's flat. Am trying to up the miles this year and did my first 'back to back' rides last weekend - 62miles on the Saturday, 50 on the Sunday. Was gubbed at the end by an unexpected crippling little hill that goes up from near Newburgh to Foodiash (sp?) at about 15%.

You would recommend the Scone ride?

Crapaud

Yeah, the Scone's not a particularly challenging route, but has some nice rural scenery. If you're already doing 65 miles it won't be a problem. I finished in 6 hours and my longest ride this year was 37 km. T'was a nice day out for the princely sum of £4.

AndyD2574

Count me in.I can vring along about 4 weegies!

Any weekend in april apart from 11th as its the lakeland loop that weekend

themightyw

We could all just doe one or two of the Forfar audaxes on that weekend of 24th 25th? Personally central or eastern Scotland would be most convenient but I'm happy to travel a wee bit.

screebs

themightyw wrote:

We could all just doe one or two of the Forfar audaxes on that weekend of 24th 25th? Personally central or eastern Scotland would be most convenient but I'm happy to travel a wee bit.

you'll be wanting us all to start and finish somewhere near St Andrews I would expect!


crapaud - I will keep an eye on this thread and may participate if I can up my training over the next few weeks and your route isn't beyond me!

kfinlay

My mate and me would consider this, would be happy for a central or east run just not the west side of Glasgow as thats a bit far for us to travel. Can't do 11th April as we are doing a recce ride of Etape Caledonia. Anything around 60-80miles but not seriously hilly - ie not Fred Whitton 30%ers! but the odd 15-20% I can (just about) do

rokkala

Enough of this east coast hijacking! As the topic says, West of Scotland, so a ride in the west or centre it has to be!

lucky paddy

count me in I am not too fussed on the route loch katrine would be nice as I train around wanlockhead moffat most of the time anyway,How about a recce of the etape caledonia route?