Etape Caladonia

windbreaker

This is my film of the day. I missed the finish through :oops: incompetence.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5CjKUxH5r-s

dulldave

Glasgowbhoy wrote:

They weren't timing people for nothing


/quote]

It wasn't a race though. It was a cycling challenge. When you get dropped from a race you're on your own. In a sportive, your time and placing (if they give you it) is somewhat artificial if you've been dropped at any point.

In a race you can't rely on jumping onto another group who started a few minutes after you. Unless it's an APR in which case they'll be faster than you, not slower.

grantus

Lol, that's the difference!

Pigtail

Well I'm not caring what it was - I had a great day anyway.

I've never entered anything of any sort before, and it just blew me away. I've only had a roadbike since October, but I certainly feel all the work I've put in since then has been worth it.

I started quite far back, because I was quite cautious with my estimated time. I spent almost the whole day threading through other cyclists, then around the last 10 miles or so I found a lot more people giving me a stiff challenge. I didn't stop at all - I intended missing the first feed station, but I got so caught up in it I just went for it.

Now I need to find a club and do some proper training, with the hope of doing better next year!

suzyb

Wallace1492 wrote:

suzyb wrote:

How steep does a hill need to be before it's classed as a climb lol

not steep.. it is in the eye of the climber.... if it is a climb for you then it is. But there are "official" catogories for what makes the different types as in the Tour De France.

Up for another crack at it Suzy?

Ah of course, officialdom.

I might give it another crack some day. But not for at least a couple of years I would think. By then I'll know whether I'm a cyclist or still just someone who likes going a bike ride a few times a week.

dulldave

Pigtail wrote:

Well I'm not caring what it was - I had a great day anyway.

I've never entered anything of any sort before, and it just blew me away. I've only had a roadbike since October, but I certainly feel all the work I've put in since then has been worth it.

I started quite far back, because I was quite cautious with my estimated time. I spent almost the whole day threading through other cyclists, then around the last 10 miles or so I found a lot more people giving me a stiff challenge. I didn't stop at all - I intended missing the first feed station, but I got so caught up in it I just went for it.

Now I need to find a club and do some proper training, with the hope of doing better next year!

Deeside Thistle seem like a good bunch.

Drummybuich

Thought it was a great day again this year. Stuck with the first Gp until Schiehallion and then the elastic snapped. After that worked with Glasgowbhoy et all until the end. Hit some pretty high speeds along the flat - possibly 35mph?!?Unfortunately I dropped my chain 2 miles from the end so lost a minute there and finished at 3.34.
The wife made it round too for her first sportive and loved it.

JAGGY

What a cracking day.

Had a brill ride. Far better than I thought especially after the cold start. Worked on the front in some big groups that just seemed to evaporate when I flicked the elbow for someone else to give it a go. So I just pushed on to the next. Loved getting a wheel then moving though and onto the next one. Top marks to two lads with pink fellowes tops on and a lad on a trek with 2xu shorts who were good to work with.

Hope I did my father in law proud with a 4.26. As my ride and sponsorship was for his charity Macmillan .I was 4 mins under target time. Would have been a about 2mins better if hadn't stopped to clear mud out of cleat that wouldn't engage after feed stop 2.

One of the main reasons I did it was for Macmillan and the way they looked after him while he was ill. I welled up a few times on the way round thinking of him and how much he is missed by all of his family and myself. He was a brilliant kind man who loved my daughter very much. This pushed me on to the end.

I hope everyones ok who was getting treated by the paramedics at the side of the road.

I was also overwhelmed by the local community support especially if you gave them a wave or a thumbs up.

Just read about the tacks. I can't believe people want to be so obstructive to people having a good time and raising money for charity. The local economy netted in excess of a million quid from us cyclists from this weekend. No wonder the good people from the area were happy to give up their Sunday to cheer us on and didn't mind the roads closed for a few hours.

See you next year. Brilliant!

screebs

What a great event, and it was dry as well! Albeit could have done without the wind for the first 35 miles.

Had set myself a target of 5hrs30mins, and managed to do it in a couple of minutes over 5 hours - so i was very pleased.

Didn't think Schiehallion or Logierait were that bad, but those couple of climbs after Logierait took it out the legs.

That was my longest ride ever but hoping to go under 5 hrs next year!

Saw 2 ambulances treating people on the course when going round (one at about 30 miles and one on the schiehallion descent) - hope the injured are ok.

SuzyB - sorry to hear you had to withdraw, you'll be back - just need to clock up the miles in advance and you'll do it

Bompington - Thanks for the accommodation - very much appreciated.

Bicycles

First time for me, really enjoyed it and very impressed with the organisation.

Great atmosphere, and great support from the locals and other riders.

Still buzzing!

themightyw

Cracking day out! Weather wasn't exactly sunbathing territory, but barely saw a spot of rain.

Surprised to get within a minute and a half of my time from last year, when I'd done far more training. Gnat's crotchet of 4hr 30m as I decided to 'chill out' this year. I guess all those pipers and the general 'event' gubbins make it hard not to go for it.

Had a surprisingly good night's sleep at Chateau Bompington, and great to see so many BRers on the ride.

Cleat Eastwood

windbreaker wrote:

This is my film of the day. I missed the finish through :oops: incompetence.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5CjKUxH5r-s

great stuff. I like the end titles...."and then I finished"

well done

Cleat Eastwood

JAGGY wrote:

What a cracking day.

Had a brill ride. Far better than I thought especially after the cold start. Worked on the front in some big groups that just seemed to evaporate when I flicked the elbow for someone else to give it a go. So I just pushed on to the next. Loved getting a wheel then moving though and onto the next one. Top marks to two lads with pink fellowes tops on and a lad on a trek with 2xu shorts who were good to work with.

Hope I did my father in law proud with a 4.26. As my ride and sponsorship was for his charity Macmillan .I was 4 mins under target time. Would have been a about 2mins better if hadn't stopped to clear mud out of cleat that wouldn't engage after feed stop 2.

One of the main reasons I did it was for Macmillan and the way they looked after him while he was ill. I welled up a few times on the way round thinking of him and how much he is missed by all of his family and myself. He was a brilliant kind man who loved my daughter very much. This pushed me on to the end.

I hope everyones ok who was getting treated by the paramedics at the side of the road.

I was also overwhelmed by the local community support especially if you gave them a wave or a thumbs up.

Just read about the tacks. I can't believe people want to be so obstructive to people having a good time and raising money for charity. The local economy netted in excess of a million quid from us cyclists from this weekend. No wonder the good people from the area were happy to give up their Sunday to cheer us on and didn't mind the roads closed for a few hours.

See you next year. Brilliant!

No harm in welling up dude; love is a powerful emotion, drives us to do the most incredible things....like an 80 odd mile bike ride, well done.

Pigtail

Omar Little wrote:

Great day out and thankfully the tacks were found before the start. Just missed out on sub 4 hours so a bit slower than last year but really pleased with that due to the lack of training over the winter (and the extra 2 stone i'm carrying )

First 40 miles was a bit disorganised, promising groups formed but people kept losing the wheel in front and letting gaps grow. After Schiehallion it seemed to get a bit more organised and as a result the last 30 odd miles flew by. Might be an expensive entry fee (plus most will need accomodation on top) but will be signing up again for next year - really is one of the best days cycling you can get in the UK.

I'm entirely new to riding with other people - all of my riding has been solo. Somebody upstream recommended that I get some club runs in first, but I ran out of time and the one time I managed to get out most of them had gone to a competition so there were only 3 of us there.

On Sunday I started well back. I registered a long time ago so my estimated time was a real shot in the dark. I spent pretty much the whole day overtaking people and must have passed a couple of thousand people overall, however I didn't work with other people in any organised way, and the only issues I had were with groups of people.

Here's one which bothered me at the time - looking for some thoughts on what might have been going on - remember I don't have a clue!

We were coming along a flat bit beside the loch a few miles before Schiehallion. It was about the quietest stretch I had all day - with one cyclist up ahead and it was quite windy. I gradually caught him and was just about to dig in and overtake, when a group of cyclists came through quite quickly. However instead of moving on they bunched around us. So I'm stuck on the inside, behind somebody going slower than I want to go, with about 8-10 cyclists in total in front, on the outside and behind. As they were working well together I had assumed they were all from the same club, although there were a variety of tops so they might just have picked up people on the road. Their coordination was impressive - they were not only very close front to back, but also side-by-side. I kept with them for as short a time as I could, though they weren't quite so close all the time, but when we came to a climb I managed to get past and didn't see them again.

So what was happening there?

Were they just using their teamwork to leap from group to group and didn't think about what I was doing at-all?

I was quite happy to let them through, but why would they have slowed down and engulfed us?

Could they have assumed I would appreciate the help to combat the wind on an open stretch?

I can see I have a lot to do if I'm going to make a go of this cycling. I was with 4 other people at the end. I decided to go for it with just less than a mile to go. Then just after the turn at the campsite one guy went through. I responded quite quickly and overtook him before the left-turn to go onto the main steet and under the bridge. We got a sign saying 400 metres to go, but the lane was quite narrow and there were two women side by side taking up the whole lane, going quite slowly so I lost quite a bit of momentum. The guy with me shouted 'Excuse us Ladies, please!' and one of them pulled in behind. However by this time I had lost speed, was hunting for a gear and my legs just had nothing left, not only the one person I had been jousting with went through, but the other 3 from our final group did as well. I reckon if I hadn't been so greedy and hadn't been determined to take the guy who went past I would have been second in that group instead of last. Nevermind, it's all good experience for the future.

suzyb

Thought you might like to hear what it's like at the back of the pack

No problem with crowds whatsoever (obviously) although you do get some people who somehow manage to take up the entire road leaving vey little room to overtake. No one works together, it's every man and woman for themselves, even people who are doing the event together don't work together.

Overall, the ass end is quite...pedal for scotland.

Steve_F

Well done everyone riding the event, hope everyone injured/struggling is ok and recovers quickly.

I managed 4h02. 14 minutes better than last year. Breaking 4 would have been great but I felt like I'd given everything. If only I never had that toilet stop!!

If the guy in the Astana shorts who lead a group from the Fortingal loop turn off back on to the main road all the way to Logierait (and a bit after that too) reads this - THANKS!!! What an effort pulling an entire group along that entire stretch. No way I could take the pace and get on the front as I was borderline maxed out anyway! People were joining and dropping like flies, really was an impressinve turn on the front.

SuzyB - don't let one bad day on a bike get you down or put you off. We all have days like that where it doesn't seem like our legs are working. Really unfortunate you've had this on an event day. Stick in and you'll soon get the enjoyment back.

When does sign up open for next year?? Sub 4 hours must be on the cards!

One Q - did anyone break 50mph on the Schiehallion descent? Saw 51.9 on the max speed and although I was going for it can't see that happening as it seemed to be into the wind. Guessing the timing mats threw up a misreading at some point.

eggyh73

I had a great weekend. Thanks once again to Andy for helping me out for a place to stay.

I had a strange day, struggled badly for the first 35 miles and then it was as if my body suddenly decided it would give it a go after all. The hill at Logierait and the few after it were the best of the day for me in terms of not struglling on them (the Saturday night top tip for the Logierait hill was a life saver) . Seems like I rode into my climbing legs as the day passed, as the hills at Queens View was were I really struggled.

I was nervous about doing the event, my first big cycling event, and I just wanted to get around. In the end I really enjoyed it. Came in on 5:34:19, which I'm happy with for a first attempt.

Loved the decent from schiehallion, although I think I was a bit more careful after seeing the lad who had crashed. Hope he's ok, looked in a bad way. The headwind after that section I found a real killer though, was glad to turn off that road and out the wind.

Omar Little

Steve_F wrote:

When does sign up open for next year?? Sub 4 hours must be on the cards!

One Q - did anyone break 50mph on the Schiehallion descent? Saw 51.9 on the max speed and although I was going for it can't see that happening as it seemed to be into the wind. Guessing the timing mats threw up a misreading at some point.

I only managed about 39 mph on the descent. Was fairly busy though so had to feather the brakes a bit on what i thinkwould have otherwise been the fastest bits so i imagine there will have been others who managed it a fair bit faster.

Not sure about when sign up opens for next year - the original agreement for road closures was for 5 years and i think this was the 5th year, so a new agreement with the council will need to be made. There does seem to be genuine support from it from most people in the area and there is the obvious economic benefit so i cant see why it wouldnt be allowed again...but if acre kicks up a fuss it might delay the decision somewhat.

bompington

The random thoughts of Chairman Bompington:

SuzyB - really sorry to hear you had such a disappointing day - like others have said, you just need to go out and ride your bike, preferably on nice sunny days when there's no pressure. Come back and do the Etape C, maybe next year, maybe the year after - and think of the satisfaction when you cruise round it. Glasgowbhoy - impressed by your time, even more impressed by your motivation & aspirations as you seem to be disappointed by it! Once again the course was lined with spectators, clapping, cheering, encouraging - I'm not sure I could get up that early and stand out in the cold for so long just to see (in most cases) one relative / friend go past. And they kept on clapping, every rider, for hours. Now

that's stamina.

Great crack with the BR crew at the cottage, having people around for the night really helps to build the big event feeling. Not to mention being a big help when you forget things like your pump.

The first time I bought a new chain I discovered that I needed a new cassette too. Same the next time, and the next. But this time, well, the cassette really doesn't look too bad, I'm sure it'll be fine... Until I found out at 7pm the night before that it wasn't. Top marks to the folk at Escape route (bike/outdoor shop in Pitlochry) who deserve every penny they made this weekend - shame they didn't have an exact replacement in stock though, I would have felt more comfortable with my 28 rather than the 26 bottom cog I wound up with.

The Etape C experience summed up: it's the smug feeling you get when you leave some mamil on a 5k bike in the dust behind you. And that smug feeling being wiped out by the old guy with white beard, anorak and boy scout shorts who comes past you seconds later on his touring bike with knobbly tyres.

Congrats to all who took part, even bigger congrats to the organisers, spectators, long-suffering wives etc. - and of course most of all to the council crew who swept the route at 5am.

glasgowbhoy

Drummybuich wrote:

Thought it was a great day again this year. Stuck with the first Gp until Schiehallion and then the elastic snapped. After that worked with Glasgowbhoy et all until the end. Hit some pretty high speeds along the flat - possibly 35mph?!?Unfortunately I dropped my chain 2 miles from the end so lost a minute there and finished at 3.34.
The wife made it round too for her first sportive and loved it.

Good to meet you at the end. Was a very good group to work with over the last 30 miles. Everyone was working hard in the chaingang and we were flying!

Appreciate the commments above regarding the 'race', however, at the front of the Etape C it is run like a race and I'm sure those around me at the end had all started within seconds of me in the first pen.

Cheers Bobington. Cetainly not disappointed just always looking to improve. More focus on road racing later this year after La Marmotte and goal is to get into Cat 3 next season.

Thoughts to the riders injured on the bridge yesterday too. It nearly caught me out and thought to myself that it was an accident waiting to happen. Should have put tape up before it to funnel people in before they came to the stone bridge

popularname

Suzyb - echo what everyone else here says. Look forward to seeing you there some time.

I'm very impressed with the organisation and the locals - like you say Bompington, that's stamina. And a special thanks to the 8 year old at the finish who was yelling 'only 400 meters to go - COME ON' for all he was worth. Made me get out the saddle and push it. since i did it in 4:29:32, I just may owe him my sub 4:30 time.

SurosaRider

Had a great day, loved it, improved on last year (03.38.56) and bumped into some familiar faces. It's a small (bike riding) world. Highlight was passing a bloke on a pink bike with panniers and weird handlebars, feeling a little confused and then realising it was Graeme Obree. Rode past and said hello then caught up with him again at the finish where he kindly signed my race number for me.

....Only gripe was some dude getting all competitive and edging me out when I was trying to get past on the final steep climb. I was climbing better than him and I wanted to get up the road!

jibberjim

dulldave wrote:

Glasgowbhoy wrote:

They weren't timing people for nothing

It wasn't a race though. It was a cycling challenge. When you get dropped from a race you're on your own. In a sportive, your time and placing (if they give you it) is somewhat artificial if you've been dropped at any point.

More importantly by violating the rules of the insurance, the organiser has put the entire event at risk, the insurance can use this to refuse to pay out on any accidents etc. The risks involved insuring a race and insuring a non-competitive cycle ride are completely different, and I think it unlikely the insurance company would cough up.

Blacktemplar

Well done everyone, irrespective how fast or slow - it was a great day and the weather was an unexpected bonus.

As this was my first sportive I had no idea what time I'd post, so really pleased with a 4:49 (and being able to walk at the end). There were a few good groups on the way out that really hauled me along, but legs went into hibernation for a bit after the Schiehallion descent and I lost a lot of time around the Fortingall loop.

Hope the guy who was injured on Schiehallion pulls through OK - he's said to be 'critical but stable' with internal injuries. It happened behind me, but a friend passed them just after the accident, and said it didn't look good - bike wreckage on the road, a few dazed guys sitting on the verge and someone sprawled face down on the tarmac. Ugh. Have to admit I feathered the brakes on the way down quite a bit - chicken I know, but 40mph+ is fast enough for me!

Huge thanks to all the locals who took the time to come out and cheer us on - often in their jammies! And utter, utter contempt for the selfish morons who once again tried to sabotage the event. The road crews did a brilliant job of clearing the course at some god-awful hour.

We were staying at the Moulin Inn, and gently enquired what local opinion was of the Etape. Interestingly, the vast majority overwhelmingly support the event, but the sabotage is (allegedly) ascribed to a very small group of "Christians" who are incensed that they can't worship at their local church at the time of their choosing on one day of the year. They should be ashamed of themselves. I got the sense that most folks would cheerfully do something very un-Christian to Mr Hounam and his nimby friends.

suzyb - don't beat yourself up too much, 30 miles in that terrain is still an achievement, and we all have days where the legs don't work and the brain tells us to sod off. Register for next year's event now and come back and do the course with some pals this summer.

Finally (yes, there is an end to this post), thanks to the organisers - the pre-and post ride facilities were great, the atmosphere brilliant, and the feeling of "belonging" to a family of lycra-clad frame tarts at last was just great. Atholl Road late on Saturday afternoon felt like the King's Road - all the bike bling posers cruising up and down on their Pinarellos, Cervelos, Ridleys.....etc etc.....magic.

Roll on 2012

AndyB_1

Great day out, started in the second group but a massive push by a group of us meant we caught the leaders as we hit Loch Rannoch, that group split on the climb but again some great work saw a number regroup on the decent and again worked well along the flats. Unfortunately clashed wheels on the congested turn up the hill in Logierait which ripped off my timing chip off . A bit of a sprint towards the end meant coming in towards the front of the 2nd group, but the 2 mins we gained by catching the leaders helped massively in terms of total time. Would have been "4th" (I know its not a race or comparable to one) but officially a DNF because of the chip incident (trying to rectfy!!).
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/85889064
Got to say well done to the organisers, especially on sweeping the course beforehand.

Skiddypants

This was my second ride of this event, beat last years time by 49 mins, managed to get under 5 hrs, I'm sure I could knock another 30 mins off next year. Great day out and great organisation!

My only gripe was people who would move across the road to overtake a slower rider with-out glancing behind to make sure no one was overtaking them already. Apart from that - a lovely day

dulldave

jibberjim wrote:

dulldave wrote:

Glasgowbhoy wrote:

They weren't timing people for nothing

It wasn't a race though. It was a cycling challenge. When you get dropped from a race you're on your own. In a sportive, your time and placing (if they give you it) is somewhat artificial if you've been dropped at any point.

More importantly by violating the rules of the insurance, the organiser has put the entire event at risk, the insurance can use this to refuse to pay out on any accidents etc. The risks involved insuring a race and insuring a non-competitive cycle ride are completely different, and I think it unlikely the insurance company would cough up.

So do you know how they went about insuring it or have you just jumped to a conclusion?

thecrofter

Many thanks to Bompington again for the accomodation, glad you got a time you were pleased with, sub 4:20 next year?

Great day, indeed. Mostly, everyone seems really pleased with their performance, commiserations to suzyb, maybe you should have taken up the offer to keep warm at the start . Don't give up tho'.

Next year, well now I've seen my time I'm starting to think about breaking 4:15, here we go again. :roll:

jibberjim

dulldave wrote:

So do you know how they went about insuring it or have you just jumped to a conclusion?

We know it was run under BC insurance - the BC pages provide that information, there may indeed be other insurance, but that seems unlikely - why insure it twice?

The organisers completely violated they rules of British Cycling. Hardly something to commend and likely to harm any other insurance. It certainly harms the chances of other sportives getting good deals in the future.

Reckless, foolish and disgusting.

meanredspider

AndyB_1 wrote:

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/85889064
.

Wow - I hadn't realised how flat it was. A colleague came in this morning from riding it yesterday and said there weren't really any hills (even Schiehallion was relatively easy compared to some near here, he said) and now I see what he means.