Pedal for scotland sportive 2011

Jimbosome

It was a game of two halves. I was freezing by Douglas - could really have done with a coffee wagon there. Definitely enjoyed the second half - flew into Edinburgh with that mighty tail wind.

Maybe the route into Muirkirk was an original experiment by (Tar) MacAdam?

http://www.ayrshirepaths.org.uk/muirkirkhistory.htm

PS. Thanks to Tusher for the commentary, belly laughs from me.

Steve McD

Hi just wondering if anyone else found the directions at the finish a bit poor, A couple of us got sent the wrong way by a steward who said turn left but an arrow behind him pointing straight on!.
Apart from that it was a good run, weather for the first 30 miles was grim and was on my own for a good 50 miles. Went as hard as i could all day to try and catch a guy from Dooley's club but couldn't get him, but the tail wind to Edinburgh was great and that put my average up to 19.3

Managed it in 04:53:59 and a top speed of 49mph on the way down after the steep climb that i wasn't expecting!.

Did anyone else find the hill pretty steep?.

Teddy Westside

Well I was pretty disappointed overall for a number of reasons. First off, we again arrived much later in Glasgow than we could have because like last year our coach and truck were fully loaded but we were forced to wait. What are they trying to do to us? :roll:

By the time I had my bike and had made a "personal pit-stop", I only made it to the start line in time for the last handful of sportive riders getting away. Then, a missing sign led to a wrong turn costing a 6 mile, 20 minute detour (riding slow with a fellow Bike Radar member, hello!), looking for clues, asking locals if they'd seen other riders) before we doubled back and found the route again.

The weather was shocking and our detour probably led to us being subjected to more of it than we would otherwise have experienced. Eventually we parted company as I needed to speed up to keep my legs warm(er) but we met up with each other at feed stops. Hi too, to the "Awkward Threesome" I sat on the coach with and the many fellow sufferers I chatted to at various points in the ride. I was grateful to the Bike Station mechanic for taping up my bar tape which had been unravelling on me for 20 miles due to the bar end plug popping out somewhere on the rough roads, probably a casualty of the road into Muirkirk which they have a nerve actually calling a road!

Was i just late to the feed stations or were they really badly stocked compared to last year?

Stop 1: Water, Nutri-Grain bars and bananas.
Stop 2: Water, Nutri-Grain bars, bananas (I think) and sandwiches.
Stop 3: Water and bananas.

No gels, energy tablets for your water or chocolate, which were all provided last year. Thanks to another of my acquaintances on the day for giving me a couple of his gels to top up the couple I'd brought myself. I had only brought the two, expecting them to be provided. If there was going to be less on offer, it should have been made clear in the weeks before the ride.

I know I wasn't the only one who got caught by the side wind right after the hump back bridge. It nearly threw me into that deep ditch but I just saved myself.

The positives were most of the riders I met, all sharing the suffering with good grace, the marshalls who were mostly in good spirits despite the majority having to stand in the rain and... and... that's about it! Oh, and nice to see Aggie (of Kim and Aggie) enjoying the ride at the 2nd stop, despite the weather. And good that a "celeb" (I hate that term! LOL) stepped up to the sportive rather than the Challenge which she did last year.

The climb at Carmichael was a challenge again but I actually made a better job of it than last year, despite the conditions. The photographer was quite cheeky, obviously expecting a good pose from me when I had my head down concentrating on riding to the top, but he got his shot! :twisted: Met him again at the Carnwath stop where he got me again, and I gave a good "winning shot" over the finish line.

A pity the results in the Sun don't show the finishing position - makes for tricky counting of the small type. And no list of the DNFs of which I think there would be many. A casualty of the need to avoid being deemed a race or just careless reporting? A shame for those who would like to see their name listed even if it does remind them they had to abandon.

Summing up, I hated the conditions, was unimpressed by the feed stations' supplies, had too many close passes by cars (including one prat who jammed his brakes on and wanted to start an argument or fight about it - moron! I was raising money for charity, what activity of any value was he doing?) but I'm ready to do my 3rd ride next year.

glasrcm

Some of our club members did the 100 mile cycle ride which was described as quite brutal! The others that did the 51 mile had some fair weather and it only rained after the ride on the way home.

One of our guys did it on a hand cycle 51 miles of sheer pain in 6 hours!

Great event, good to see a big turnout.

glasrcm

Someone from our club will be on the radio chatting about the ride if you want to tune in.

Thursday morning at 1035. MacAulay & Co, BBC Radio Scotland 92-95FM, 810 MW.

mcj78

glasrcm wrote:

Some of our club members did the 100 mile cycle ride which was described as quite brutal! The others that did the 51 mile had some fair weather and it only rained after the ride on the way home.

One of our guys did it on a hand cycle 51 miles of sheer pain in 6 hours!

Great event, good to see a big turnout.

I seen him - didn't chat as he was in the middle of a bunch of families, does he have a disability or just fancied a challenge?

The bloke on the unicycle made the daily record(?) yesterday - wonder if he's finished yet!

nhoj

Teddy Westside, they had Tunnocks chocolate wafer thingies at the feed stops. I ate them all though. Sorry. There was some energy drink thing inside one of the water dispensers, which I thought was just water. Yuck. I didn't see any gels.

Steve McD, I see you came second! Impressive time! Did you stop at all? Do you know what your moving time was?

glasrcm, thanks for the heads up about the radio show. I'll tune in.

Teddy Westside

nhoj wrote:

Teddy Westside, they had Tunnocks chocolate wafer thingies at the feed stops. I ate them all though. Sorry. There was some energy drink thing inside one of the water dispensers, which I thought was just water. Yuck. I didn't see any gels.

Oh yes, I forgot there were some Tunnocks wafers too :oops: You must have missed a couple as I did take two (which I ate after I got home). But I prefer chocolate towards the end of a ride than before that (lactic acid and all that). I did see an orange water dispenser sitting forlornly and untended in a tent at the back of the Carnwath stop but as there was nobody in the tent I assumed it was some empty thing they'd just dumped there. Besides, I'd want to know what "energy drink" I was filling up on! :?

I think the lack of gels is the biggest omission as people are increasingly relying on them. To have had them last year but not this is a big issue for me. If they either couldn't get someone to donate them or couldn't afford them in the price of entry (however it was done last year) then it should have been on the website to inform riders. But I've filled in the email questionnaire so hopefully they take note.

derek_the_viking

Steve McD Sorry to hear about your diversion! Had a similar one on the Welsh stage Tour Ride - only, me being so stubborn, I pulled that one out to a 20 mile detour!

If it makes you feel any better, I buckled my front derailleur after 15 miles or so, so was stuck in the big ring, which might explain the pace :-P. (Going past the photographer in 50-25 was a bit of an ordeal!)

Heading to Rothesay this weekend?

Rob Y.

Steve McD

nhoj , That time listed was my time, i didn't stop at all. I took 6 energy gels, 2 zipvit bar's and 2 bottles with supplement's in them. Was surprised i didn't need a nature stop!.
Body was zapped of energy when i got home to Denny as i cycled home and put the miles up to 127miles.

derek_the_viking , Enjoy Rothesay this weekend, some of our club (Falkirk Bike Club) are heading over as well. They are easily spotted we wear a top that is all Blue and White squares, a bit like an old dish cloth!!.

Steve McD

rokkala

Was alright until last few miles of Sportive. Again, some p*ss poor organisation. Sign pointing one way, marshal pointing the other. Get to end of that road and come to a junction with no marshal or sign. Turn around and pedal back up the round in the headwind to have a 'chat' with the marshal, who was sure it was the right way, to take a right at the junction and there would be signs/marshal at the next one.

There wasn't. Cue me spending a good 15 extra mins all in until i got to Murrayfield, and we came in from the wrong side. Stopped to tell some official the about their f*ck up and he got on the radio, so hopefully that at least helped those coming in later.

Then had to go wrong way round stadium and over some gravel to get into the stadium/finish line. Doesn't seem to have registerd my time either, so don't know if I missed some checkpoint at the end.

Know a few others who were ahead had same problem, and there times haven't appeared either.

The one feedstop I stopped at was Douglas, seemed pretty basic rations.

Teddy Westside

Rokkala wrote:

Doesn't seem to have registerd my time either, so don't know if I missed some checkpoint at the end.

Know a few others who were ahead had same problem, and there times haven't appeared either.

Can you describe where you were sent the wrong way? The only checkpoints for the timing chips were 1) at the start line and 2) on Russell Road after going under the railway bridge where you turn right onto the cycle path and climb the zig-zag. In both cases there should have been a guy with a handheld device, checking your chip as you cycled past. If you didn't pass that second guy, there's your problem.

This is the view you should have had but with the timing guy in it of course. The cycle path entrance is right behind that middle car.

Garryboy

Photos are up
www.mybibnumber.com

nhoj

Times are up here now.

Mine is still missing. I hear the chips weren't meant to be tight against the forks/frame, which mine was, so I suspect it hasn't registered at all. Bugger.

hagar123

My times have not appeared either. I suspect that my timing chip wasn't position correctly, although it was checked at the start line.

IronmanAndy

Ye they looked like they had problems at the start entering ppls numbers manually and repositioning alot of the chips and then entering manually when they crossed the finish line....

No problems for direction..Wind maybe pushed a few signs over...

Pics look great and as you can see im still on my bike going up that "hill"....Shifty eyes




Andy

hagar123

My time is now on the website - looks like they have entered them manually after all.

fuzzynavel

6 hours 11 mins here.....according to official timing..was feeling the pain in the last 64 miles after a fast start :P

Aiming for 4 hours 49 next year......(yeah right!!)

sumosprintstar

Rokkala wrote:

The one feedstop I stopped at was Douglas, seemed pretty basic rations.

When I was there they had Pasta, sandwiches, nutrigrain bars, Tunnocks caramel wafers, energy gels, bananas, gatorade, bottles of water.

I have not done many events like this but it seemed pretty reasonable to me. What else would you want?

fuzzynavel

sumosprintstar wrote:

Rokkala wrote:

The one feedstop I stopped at was Douglas, seemed pretty basic rations.

When I was there they had Pasta, sandwiches, nutrigrain bars, Tunnocks caramel wafers, energy gels, bananas, gatorade, bottles of water.

I have not done many events like this but it seemed pretty reasonable to me. What else would you want?

I saw the same...had a nice cheese and onion sandwich and a caramel wafer...

there were energy gels at one of the stops too.....I missed the gatorade though.....presumed that it was just water in the big containers.

Teddy Westside

sumosprintstar wrote:

When I was there they had Pasta, sandwiches, nutrigrain bars, Tunnocks caramel wafers, energy gels, bananas, gatorade, bottles of water.

I have not done many events like this but it seemed pretty reasonable to me. What else would you want?

No pasta, Tunnocks, gels or Gatorade when I was there. That's the problem - too few supplies (assuming there weren't a whole lot of greedy so-and-sos taking more than they needed).

Teddy Westside

I see mybibnumber is down for maintenance (at least for the PfS photographs). I wonder if they are making a better job of the number searching? I had no luck using my number and had to trail through hundreds of pages of thumbnails to find any of me, and all the numbers were clear so I hope that's the reason for "maintenance". I've still to find the one taken of me crossing the finish line (or those taken at the Carnwath stop), but I have found two of me on the Carmichael climb and one inside Murrayfield Stadium.

rokkala

fuzzynavel wrote:

sumosprintstar wrote:

Rokkala wrote:

The one feedstop I stopped at was Douglas, seemed pretty basic rations.

When I was there they had Pasta, sandwiches, nutrigrain bars, Tunnocks caramel wafers, energy gels, bananas, gatorade, bottles of water.

I have not done many events like this but it seemed pretty reasonable to me. What else would you want?

I saw the same...had a nice cheese and onion sandwich and a caramel wafer...

there were energy gels at one of the stops too.....I missed the gatorade though.....presumed that it was just water in the big containers.

Sounds good, they must not have finished setting up when I stopped. I did get the toilets whilst they were clean tho!

fuzzynavel

Rokkala wrote:

fuzzynavel wrote:

sumosprintstar wrote:

Rokkala wrote:

The one feedstop I stopped at was Douglas, seemed pretty basic rations.

When I was there they had Pasta, sandwiches, nutrigrain bars, Tunnocks caramel wafers, energy gels, bananas, gatorade, bottles of water.

I have not done many events like this but it seemed pretty reasonable to me. What else would you want?

I saw the same...had a nice cheese and onion sandwich and a caramel wafer...

there were energy gels at one of the stops too.....I missed the gatorade though.....presumed that it was just water in the big containers.

Sounds good, they must not have finished setting up when I stopped. I did get the toilets whilst they were clean tho!

What was your time....must have been fast if they hadn't set up!

nhoj

The PfS website now has a spreadsheet of the times. Surprise, surprise, mine's not there. But neither are the last three miles: "91mile freshnlo Pedal for Scotland"

rokkala

Was on for a 4h50something before I got sent the wrong way and lost.

2 guys who got to that station before me said they only had water out for them by that point. Probably late getting set up.

fuzzynavel

Rokkala wrote:

Was on for a 4h50something before I got sent the wrong way and lost.

2 guys who got to that station before me said they only had water out for them by that point. Probably late getting set up.

4 hour 50 is very good going....you'll probably find I was tailing you for the first 30 miles....

You didn't happen to be wearing a liquigas top or Sky team bibs did you?