Etape Caledonia 2013

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  • adr82
    adr82 Posts: 4,002
    RandG wrote:
    adr82 wrote:
    .. the pair of us overtook a group of at least 20 on the way to Weem. Most of them tagged onto us and then did absolutely no work, the two of us had to tow them all the way from Weem down to Logierait :roll: Seriously lazy people. When we got to Logierait a few of them suddenly appeared at the front to try and race off up the hill, but most of them got dropped there (how sad :) ) and they were all gone by the time we got to Pitlochry, except for the guy who'd been doing the work with me. !


    That sounds affy like the group I tagged on to and did zilch work, cheers for that, I would never have had the time I had if it wasn't for you guys. 8)

    NB: If you read back you'll see a confession posting from me, I made no apologies for it, as a complete novice and my first sportive who's only just taken up the sport I was just glad to be able to hang in there.
    Hah if it was then no worries, I was really annoyed at the time but that was more due to being sore and tired than anything else, I do know better than to expect to find everyone willing/able to do turns on the front :P
    htsw5 wrote:
    The one advantage of me starting in the last wave was that I had a very relaxed start. I waited in the car park for a bit and then waited in the event area before finally wandering up when there was only a couple of waves to left to start.

    Just a thought if you want to avoid the melee...
    Sure, but the thing is if you do that when you're aiming for <4 hours pace then you're probably not going to find anyone to ride with if you start that late and so you will end up doing it all on your own! I was hoping to get into a decent group right from the start and ideally for that you need to be going off early. Maybe I'll do that next year though, would give me some extra time in bed in the morning :D
  • nweststeyn
    nweststeyn Posts: 1,574
    I got stuck aswell and started 2 waves after I was supposed to. Took a long time to find a group riding at a good pace but myself, my friend and a guy on a nice looking Ridley did some good pacework on the other side of Loch Rannoch heading east. Lots of hangers on though!

    Then up Schiehallion it was every man for himself, and after Schiehallion I cramped and was good to noone! A guy sat in my wheel for a wee while against the wind and then came through to do a turn which I appreciated but I think he must have been 5ft 2 or something and provided little shelter to my 6ft 4 frame :D He pulled me back up to my mate though who had dropped me at this point so thanks wee guy!
  • RandG
    RandG Posts: 779
    adr82 wrote:
    Hah if it was then no worries, I was really annoyed at the time but that was more due to being sore and tired than anything else, I do know better than to expect to find everyone willing/able to do turns on the front :P
    htsw5 wrote:
    The one advantage of me starting in the last wave was that I had a very relaxed start. I waited in the car park for a bit and then waited in the event area before finally wandering up when there was only a couple of waves to left to start.

    TBh I don't think it was your group as there was only about 5 of them when I towed on, I was hanging in for grim death, had I went up the front we'd have dropped about 5mph :lol:
  • adr82
    adr82 Posts: 4,002
    At least you made it into a group and could hang on, I was too scared of causing a crash to ride in groups for a long time :lol: I saw your earlier post about you being new to cycling and doing the Etape for the first time, 4:42 is a really good result! First time I did it back in 2010 I'd never done more than 40 miles in a single ride before... I made it to the finish but it took me 5:40, so your first time was a little bit faster than mine :D
  • RandG
    RandG Posts: 779
    Thanks, I was well happy, problem being setting such a benchmark is trying to beat it next time round might prove difficult, as a lot of things went my way, I found decent groups, I had no mechanicals other than my chain coming off early doors, I did get stopped behind an ambulance for probably a minute and I spent around 6 minutes at feed stations, but over the piece I enjoyed a fairly free ride, doubt if it would all go as well next time round.
  • adr82
    adr82 Posts: 4,002
    RandG wrote:
    Thanks, I was well happy, problem being setting such a benchmark is trying to beat it next time round might prove difficult, as a lot of things went my way, I found decent groups, I had no mechanicals other than my chain coming off early doors, I did get stopped behind an ambulance for probably a minute and I spent around 6 minutes at feed stations, but over the piece I enjoyed a fairly free ride, doubt if it would all go as well next time round.
    Ah but if you keep putting the miles in all year you'll find it easier next time! If you're aiming for < 4h 30m then you should easily be able to do that with some more training! Also helps to skip the feed stations entirely - take a couple of water bottles with some energy drink plus a handful of gels or energy bars and eat/drink while riding, you'll be fine with that.
  • tedmaul
    tedmaul Posts: 31
    adr82 wrote:
    RandG wrote:
    Thanks, I was well happy, problem being setting such a benchmark is trying to beat it next time round might prove difficult, as a lot of things went my way, I found decent groups, I had no mechanicals other than my chain coming off early doors, I did get stopped behind an ambulance for probably a minute and I spent around 6 minutes at feed stations, but over the piece I enjoyed a fairly free ride, doubt if it would all go as well next time round.
    Ah but if you keep putting the miles in all year you'll find it easier next time! If you're aiming for < 4h 30m then you should easily be able to do that with some more training! Also helps to skip the feed stations entirely - take a couple of water bottles with some energy drink plus a handful of gels or energy bars and eat/drink while riding, you'll be fine with that.

    Yup, I doubt anyone doing 4hr times was stopping at all.

    Was my first time at the Etape having only started cycling last June. I took a couple of bottles with some carb drink and ate 3 SiS energy bars on the way round and felt strong at the end even without stopping. I'd way overestimated how long it would take me, expecting around 5 hours so started in group W near the back. Was hard not really knowing what to expect, so I think I held back a bit too much in the first 30km. It was bumpy but tbh I found the hills pretty easy through that section and was going past folk fairly easily. Definitely could have pushed a lot harder through there, even though I came out of that section well ahead of schedule.

    Didn't really get into a decent paced group where people were sharing the work until around Dull/Weem kind of area. Was well timed, as was starting to get a little tired and it gave me some recovery before Logierait. And yes, I did take my turn on the front! :wink: The last 10k i still felt really strong, and seemed to be breezing past a lot of people at that late stage.

    Final time was just under 4h 25m, and still felt pretty good coming over the finish line. I reckon I'll be back next year with the aim of starting in a much earlier group and trying to get under the magic 4hr mark. I reckon it's doable with some extra training, some experience of the route and the chance of getting in with some faster riders from early on.
  • alan_a
    alan_a Posts: 1,587
    adr82 wrote:
    RandG wrote:
    Thanks, I was well happy, problem being setting such a benchmark is trying to beat it next time round might prove difficult, as a lot of things went my way, I found decent groups, I had no mechanicals other than my chain coming off early doors, I did get stopped behind an ambulance for probably a minute and I spent around 6 minutes at feed stations, but over the piece I enjoyed a fairly free ride, doubt if it would all go as well next time round.
    Ah but if you keep putting the miles in all year you'll find it easier next time! If you're aiming for < 4h 30m then you should easily be able to do that with some more training! Also helps to skip the feed stations entirely - take a couple of water bottles with some energy drink plus a handful of gels or energy bars and eat/drink while riding, you'll be fine with that.

    Wrong. It doesn't get easier, it gets faster. :lol:
    http://www.3pistescycle.co.uk
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  • adr82
    adr82 Posts: 4,002
    Alan A wrote:
    adr82 wrote:
    RandG wrote:
    Thanks, I was well happy, problem being setting such a benchmark is trying to beat it next time round might prove difficult, as a lot of things went my way, I found decent groups, I had no mechanicals other than my chain coming off early doors, I did get stopped behind an ambulance for probably a minute and I spent around 6 minutes at feed stations, but over the piece I enjoyed a fairly free ride, doubt if it would all go as well next time round.
    Ah but if you keep putting the miles in all year you'll find it easier next time! If you're aiming for < 4h 30m then you should easily be able to do that with some more training! Also helps to skip the feed stations entirely - take a couple of water bottles with some energy drink plus a handful of gels or energy bars and eat/drink while riding, you'll be fine with that.

    Wrong. It doesn't get easier, it gets faster. :lol:
    Well, that's true if you keep your effort up each year! If I wanted to ride around next year at the same speed I did on my first attempt I'd find it very easy :)
  • AlunP
    AlunP Posts: 106
    No training at all other than back and fore to Tesco (3 miles) and biking the Way of the Roses a couple of weeks ago. But I did lay off the wine for a couple of days before.

    At 57 I was happy with a 5hr02 time.

    More to the point I have a trip computer that isn't mine! Details of your lost computer to me please and I will send it back in a jiffy - and a jiffy bag.
  • make mine a triple
    make mine a triple Posts: 36
    Hi,

    I fancy having a go at this next year,as the in-laws only live a few miles away. Is it a ballot job, or a first come first served Glastonbury type scramble? And what time of year do they hold said ballot/sale?

    many thanks anyone who can help
  • Omar Little
    Omar Little Posts: 2,010
    make mine a triple wrote:
    Hi,

    I fancy having a go at this next year,as the in-laws only live a few miles away. Is it a ballot job, or a first come first served Glastonbury type scramble? And what time of year do they hold said ballot/sale?

    many thanks anyone who can help

    First come first served usually in the autumn. If you pre-register your interest you should get emailed before the public sale.
  • Marik
    Marik Posts: 40
    Does anyone know how to work out from the results how many riders were in your age category/where you were placed?
  • ronnierocket
    ronnierocket Posts: 172
    Download the excel spreadsheet and then you can sort and filter anyway you want, has gender and age categories.

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