Etape Caledonia 2013
Comments
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Heads up - time chips in jersey pockets don't work! Ach well, Strava time for the course is 3.50.07 so I'll go with that. Managed to get in a few really strong groups and was in one with some serious big lads on the road to Logierate, we were barreling along at 29mph! Schiehallion was a road block, but some chap had the balls to just barge through so we got on his wheel. The descent produced a brown bibs moment when I missed my line on one of the corners and nearly went over the side. Queue squealing rims and me shouting 'shhhhhiiiiiiiitttttt!!!!!!'. Saw one guy getting put in the back of an ambulance and one guy with a grey face lying under a blanket by the side of the road surrounded by cyclists. Plenty of bloody legs at the finishing line too. It was a really good day though and I'm glad I managed to get the sub 4hrs I was after.
Big pats on the back all round guys and sleep well tonight! :-)0 -
Well done mate, 3:50 is a good time (although most of the COG Velos beat you
) I passed the ambulance aswell - a fairly sobering sight and I hope he's alright. I wish I had power in my legs for the second half after Schiehallion but the cramp meant I couldn't make up any time. 4 hour goal for next year though and I'll try and do some proper training this time and figure out how to fuel better to avoid the muscular-grip-of-death. 0 -
Great effort from all who took part today. Was my first Etape Caledonia and loved the route and all seemed v well organised. Registered my interest for next year already.
Was aiming for anything sub 5hrs and got 4h:24m:59s, so am chuffed with that.0 -
Have to admit I was totally off my face on caffeine when I got back. Jibbering like a fool. From the climb to home everything I ate and drank was loaded with the stuff. It works though ;-)
I pretty much went round the whole route with a chap on a Kuota. Brilliant guy to pace with and we even crossed the line together. It was emotional
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Well done all.
Managed 4hrs 37mins this year, was just over 5 hours last year - so not a bad improvement.
Really struggled after about 50 miles, prob because Ive not done any training rides over 50 this year due to circumstances at home. But still happy with time0 -
Great read peeps, keep the reports coming, missed out this year due to work but have already registered interest for next year.
Well done to all who participated.0 -
Feedstations were great (except perhaps the final feedstation featuring the very angry marshall with whistle - "YOUUUU THEREEEE... I ORDERED YOU TO DISMOUNT.... DISMOUNT NOW OR YOU WILL BE DISQUALIFIED!!!").
I was a little disappointed in how many gel wrappers were lying on the road along the route. Put them in your pockets people. I can understand the odd one gets dropped/fumbled when you're trying to pocket them but there was a lot of them just getting chucked on the ground. Would be sad if locals lost their enthusiasm for the event because of littering!
That's my only grouch though, everything else about the day was spot on (other than my legs).0 -
nweststeyn wrote:I was a little disappointed in how many gel wrappers were lying on the road along the route. Put them in your pockets people. I can understand the odd one gets dropped/fumbled when you're trying to pocket them but there was a lot of them just getting chucked on the ground. Would be sad if locals lost their enthusiasm for the event because of littering!)
+10 -
Finally broke 4 hours @ 3h57 after a few years of trying. Absolutely delighted.
Few negatives, three guys (including me) doing all the work along the lochs to look back and see a group of around 60 bunched behind us (suppose that's the nature of the event!), people throwing gel wrappers away, couple of accidents - one into the ambulance I'm hearing is collar bone and he's home at the moment but I believe the air ambulance was out too.
Oh yeah, the split in the road with cones at the last feedstop - my group saw it late with me mid-group, still got no idea how I missed the cone, sure my knee touched it!!
But overall a great day out and couldn't be happier with the time. Think now that I've ticked that box though I'll give it a miss next year anyway...Current steed is a '07 Carrera Banshee X
+ cheap road/commuting bike0 -
Pros
1. Closed roads
2. Route and generally good surface roads
3. Friendly staff and support on the road
4. Well organised with less congestion/ delays at the start than i expected
Cons
1. Cost( especially when combined with Accommodation etc)
2. Goody bag
3. No safety pins!
4. Fast groups/narrow roads=higher chance of crashing
5. Getting up at 0400hrs
Did it for the first time, enjoyed it and got under 4hrs and as such and for the reasons above probably wont be back next time.0 -
MBCaad8 wrote:nweststeyn wrote:I was a little disappointed in how many gel wrappers were lying on the road along the route. Put them in your pockets people. I can understand the odd one gets dropped/fumbled when you're trying to pocket them but there was a lot of them just getting chucked on the ground. Would be sad if locals lost their enthusiasm for the event because of littering!)
+1
Absolutely. The bunch I was in most of the way round was pretty good - one guy threw a wrapper away, and was immediately shouted at by several of the peloton, he had the good grace to look embarrassed and mumbled "sorry"
Somewhat optimistically told folks I was "aiming" for 4hrs, but started making excuses mid-week.... as it turned out though I hit 4:05 so was really chuffed, considering last time round I came in at 4:52
The only small niggle was the narrowness of the road after the Logierait turn - I still had plenty in the tank, but there were so many riders who had run out of gas that it was difficult to get past on the two or three wee hills and I probably lost a few minutes there. I was probably a bit conservative on the run up to Schiehallion as well, so I reckon I could have just squeezed in under 4hrs. Next time........
Great day out, well-organised and good fun. Hope the casualties we saw on the way round are all OK."Get a bicycle. You won't regret it if you live"
Mark Twain0 -
Not good enough! I would have forced him off his bike and pulled him up the road by his ear to pick it up. What do the locals think when they take to the roads the day after an event like this when they see their countryside strewn with debris thrown by f***wits who find it too much of an inconvenience to put their rubbish in a pocket.Blacktemplar wrote:The bunch I was in most of the way round was pretty good - one guy threw a wrapper away, and was immediately shouted at by several of the peloton, he had the good grace to look embarrassed and mumbled "sorry"
I think riders ought to have numbers on their backs so that litter louts can be reported to organisers and DQ'd0 -
Have to agree about the gel wrappers this is the fourth year I have done the event and thats the worst I have seen for discarded gels wrappers. the other thing that is going to piss the locals of is guys urinating in their driveways on the way round the course. There are plenty of places to stop away from habitation.
There also seemed to be a lot more crashes this year, don't know why, I suspect to many cyclists not used to riding in groups and leaving there brain at home trying to get a fast time :shock:0 -
Sadly a reflection of the general attitide in the UK to littering. With nearly 5,000 people on the road it's inevitable there's going to be a fair bit of detritus left behind, but that doesn't mean people should just chuck stuff away.Pumpkin Positive wrote:What do the locals think when they take to the roads the day after an event like this when they see their countryside strewn with debris thrown by f***wits who find it too much of an inconvenience to put their rubbish in a pocket.
To be honest I didn't notice a lot of gel wrappers and rubbish lying at the side of the road, but then I was too busy trying to get a fast time
I agree that there were a lot of idiots taking a (the) p1ss at the side of the road, plenty of spots to do it out of sight. It's the ones taking a dump that really annoy me....... :twisted:"Get a bicycle. You won't regret it if you live"
Mark Twain0 -
My first big sportive and I left with mixed feelings the marshalling was very good, locals great and the young people at the feed stops were a real credit to their families. Managed my target of 15 mph which is pleasing having been told I wouldn't ride again three years back. Would have managed under 5 hours if my bladder wasn't like a paper bag!!
Downside, queues at first foodstop and to a lesser degree the second toilets lost me a lot of time which when you are last to set off sets you racing the broom wagon all the way round. The cost of trying to avoid peeing in public...possibly 1 or 2 portaloos every 10 miles fom say 30 miles might lessen this and discourage people from using the roadside as a latrine.
Appreciate roads are needing to be opened but felt for the people who were clearly needing to eat and drink yet grabbed their bike when they heard the wagon was approaching. Given the slower riders are setting off last and have least experience of fuelling on rides that's a pity.
Certainly learned that food stops aren't recoperation spots if you want to get round with the least hassle.
Guidance on bike numbers was poor and why couldn't we just have had a front attaching race number and two cable ties? The photographer is going to have a huge number of unclaimed/unseen photos today.
Makes me smile when I read of sub 4 hour times when I was racing against people on bromptons, tandems and fancy dress 0 -
official photos up at marathon now... disappointed there don't seem to be any photos from Logierait as my face would have been an amusing picture. Anyhoo, I don't really fancy paying nearly £20 for a photie of myself on a bike but they're fun to look through anyway.0
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I've seen mine, I would happily pay £20 to get them to take them down... having lost over a stone in the last two months, it's a bit depressing to see how much I still have to shift :-(nweststeyn wrote:official photos up at marathon now... disappointed there don't seem to be any photos from Logierait as my face would have been an amusing picture. Anyhoo, I don't really fancy paying nearly £20 for a photie of myself on a bike but they're fun to look through anyway.0 -
Well, after doing the Etape du Tour for the last couple of years, this was my first time completing the Etape Caledonia and I have nothing but praise for the event.
I realise that this is not a hugely challenging route for some but it has a bit of everything - great scenery, decent roads, some climbing and some fast rolling roads too. The welcome from the locals was fantastic and a little unexpected after I'd heard the horror stories of the tacks from a few years ago but they were brilliant.
I admit that the riding of a lot of the participants left something to be desired. Riders were requested to remain on the left where possible to aid overtaking but stubbornly remained in the centre of the road or just swerved out without looking who was behind when they themselves wanted to overtake. I saw one accident in particular which could have been avoided had people in the bunch had been more aware of their surroundings - at least one guy will be sore this morning!
Overall the positives far outweighed any minor gripes and with a good route, plenty of food stations, good parking and beautiful scenery then I will definitely put the Etape Caledonia on the calendar for next year.
Thank you to the organisers and the people of Pitlochry and surrounding areas for a great event and all their support!0 -
Very lucky with the weather and a big improvement on last year's "hell of the north". I've done a few sportives in UK and Europe now but this is one I keep coming back to, it's a great weekend in a great part of the country and the closed roads are a fantatstic way to enjoy group cycling.
I honestly didn't think the litter was that bad considering total consumption of gels must be in the 20,000+ category. I didn't see anyone deliberately discard anything apart from an odd banana skin.
I hope the locals benefit as their support and tolerance is fantastic - always helps to give them a thank you and a cheery wave. In 2007 at the first event the B&B owner greeted me with a "are you here for this infernal cycling event" Now they're fully booked for 2 nights and they're up making porridge at 5am. Hope that's reflected in the wider tourist economy.
Got round in my customay 4 and half (+/- a few minutes) and apart from a truly choatic pile up (4 fallers) at Logierat, saw little carnage (although I hope the bloke being helped into the ambulance with what must have been a broken collar bone hasnt sustained anything worse.)
I couldn't fathom the contents of the goody bag at the end so that can certainly be ditched to save costs!
I'll be back.Where the neon madmen climb0 -
My Garmin said I did less than 1144m climbing. Can anyone tell me what hill I missed?0
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Mine says 1,322m... Still nowhere near the quoted 1900+m 0
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Pissing in someone's drive ? WTF !
My first time and I was alarmed by the cost but having done it, I can see why it's expensive, and for me now worth every penny, deffo be back next year.
When I uploaded to ridewithgps it gives me 6344 feet whatever that is in metres.0 -
I’ve been reliving the day in my head and I have to say that although I managed to have a lot of fun in the crazy weather last year I had a bloody fantastic time this year! The B&B we stayed in over the weekend in Aberfeldy was superb and although the owner turned out not to be riding it he was up with the larks to feed us homemade granola and porridge. I rode behind, in front and beside some great roadies and pretty much all of my bunch were giving out hand signals and spotting trouble ahead. I’d love to put a mic at the side of the road to record the sound of folk climbing up Queen’s View. Total silence apart from heavy breathing and gear changes – quite surreal.0
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...some entertaining noises over and above that: a few choice words aimed at wayward riders in the tight bunches; the combination of wind and tyre noise when with a bunch descending at 35mph or so (hard into the wind) off the top of the Schihallion road; the fantastic spectators and their cowbells, cheers, and badly played but nonetheless welcome bagpipes; and best of all, the spectacularly loud shouting and swearing from someone clearly suffering badly from cramp on the Logierait climb.0
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Bompington, I'd like to imagine that was me but you were most likely far ahead of me by Logierait. However, I had a few choice words to say to the cramp in my legs and I apoligise profusely to the parents of the children who may have overheard my profanities. Never want to feel that kind of pain again! I obviously don't train hard enough because I've never encountered that problem before.0
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thegreatdivide wrote:the sound of folk climbing up Queen’s View. Total silence apart from heavy breathing and gear changes – quite surreal.
That's uncanny you saying that, that's exactly what went thru my head as I was heading up there, deadly quiet. As for Logierait, I'm disappointed I wasn't able to take it all in, I was going that fast towards it and up, I really had no time to take the cheers in, but I was very humbled at the top of Shallyin to see so many folk taking the effort to go away up there and cheer us on.0 -
Sorry for getting all nationalistic for a moment but although I’ve not done any sportives down south I can’t imagine how any of them could be better. Sure a few of them are harder but the nature of the event being closed road and all the folk who come out to cheer must make it the most atmospheric in the country. The finish line was also the best yet. Doubters can scoff all they want at the entry fee but IMO until you’ve ridden it you can’t make a judgement. I think it’s VFM – I’m still buzzing.0
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Took me far too long to figure out that meant Value For Money... I was guessing Very F****ing Magical at first.0
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Oh yeah, and another highlight was driving up this:
http://www.strava.com/segments/kenmore-615848
Terrifying.0 -
thegreatdivide wrote:Oh yeah, and another highlight was driving up this:
http://www.strava.com/segments/kenmore-615848
Terrifying.
Lightweight, you should have ridden up it as your cool down.
Glen Quaich is by far the best climb in the area, I'd love to see a sportive or pro race go up it.0
