Etape Caledonia 2013

RandG

Oh my confidence is growing troops, cheers for the support 8)

RandG

Also went down thru Liff and up the Birkie Brae after it, just call me Bertie

d4evr

RandG wrote:

Also went down thru Liff and up the Birkie Brae after it, just call me Bertie

Sounds like it should be the Etape Du Tour you should be doing RandG

RandG

Aye, I can live with the best of them, right up til the 30 mile mark :roll:

RandG

Another question. After the Logierait climb does it wind itself up that shitty wee narrow road that's always covered in crap is only about the width of a strip oh bacon ?

d4evr

Its the sharp L/H turn onto the single track road at Logierait opposite the Hotel (you can't miss it, there will be a large crowd there baying for blood :twisted: ), it goes up (very short but steep!!), down, up (nearly as steep), down, up (just as steep-ish), down, up (still steep), down before coming out at the Milton of Fonab caravan site, before bringing you out onto the Champs Elysees (locally known as Pitlochry High Street) and over the finish to world wide acclaim!!

Omar Little

It is more like the Cramps Elysees for me...every year so far it has happened as soon as i try to power up the drag to the finish!

As for muck on the road i think they sweep the worst bits the day before so it should hopefully be alright.

Stedman

Omar Little wrote:

It is more like the Cramps Elysees for me...every year so far it has happened as soon as i try to power up the drag to the finish!

As for muck on the road i think they sweep the worst bits the day before so it should hopefully be alright.

They also fill in the pot-holes!

d4evr

Stedman wrote:

Omar Little wrote:

It is more like the Cramps Elysees for me...every year so far it has happened as soon as i try to power up the drag to the finish!

As for muck on the road i think they sweep the worst bits the day before so it should hopefully be alright.

They also fill in the pot-holes!

Have to say the roads have been excellent every year I have done it.

The only 'crap' I've witnessed is discarded gel wrappers (stick them in your pockets folks) and a couple of carbon bikes smashed to pieces on the descent from Schiehallion the other year.

Oh and the tacks, I nearly forgot about them!

The roads on a whole are excellent IMO.

RandG

Smashed to pieces carbon bikes :shock:

Nobody has mentioned this before :?

d4evr

RandG wrote:

Smashed to pieces carbon bikes :shock:

Nobody has mentioned this before :?

A couple of guys had a coming together on the way down Schiehallion. One if not both had to be helicoptered (is that a word? :? ) off to hospital.

Don't worry about it, the 5 miles or so downhill are the best bit on the route

thecrofter

d4evr wrote:

RandG wrote:

Smashed to pieces carbon bikes :shock:

Nobody has mentioned this before :?

A couple of guys had a coming together on the way down Schiehallion. One if not both had to be helicoptered (is that a word? :? ) off to hospital.

Don't worry about it, the 5 miles or so downhill are the best bit on the route

Great fun using the whole width of the road for cornering. Although there are a couple of sharp corners that require a bit of care I fully expect to top 70kph on the descent :evil:

Gazzetta67

Do we need to bring any e-mail correspondance to sign on and get your chip\goodie bag.

Stedman

thecrofter wrote:

d4evr wrote:

RandG wrote:

Smashed to pieces carbon bikes :shock:

Nobody has mentioned this before :?

A couple of guys had a coming together on the way down Schiehallion. One if not both had to be helicoptered (is that a word? :? ) off to hospital.

Don't worry about it, the 5 miles or so downhill are the best bit on the route

Great fun using the whole width of the road for cornering. Although there are a couple of sharp corners that require a bit of care I fully expect to top 70kph on the descent :evil:

There is a straight downhill section on Queens View where I usually end up at that speed; however I do not usually have the nerve to do that on the Schiehallion with the wind and the bends. I understand that some of the faster guys will easily exceed 80 kmh!

RandG

Well I went up this morning, tried to get there for my start time but was delayed a bit but set off from Fascally around 7.30.

From a complete novices point of view, there seems to be a tough start, middle and end Although I'd say they were short 5 mile sections.

To Queens View is harder than I thought it would be, yes I know for you long time riders it's nothing but had my thighs on fire, then obviously the shehalyin climb and then at Logierait.

I only did about 35 miles but I think the hardest parts of the course as the rest looks/seems either flat or downhill. When I got picked up at the junction before the decent to Aberfeldy, it seems to go downhill all the way to Strathtay, although I never went round the bit that turns off to the right and back.

Anyway, I'm glad I did that today, and now really looking forward to it. 8)

d4evr

RandG wrote:

Well I went up this morning, tried to get there for my start time but was delayed a bit but set off from Fascally around 7.30.

From a complete novices point of view, there seems to be a tough start, middle and end Although I'd say they were short 5 mile sections.

To Queens View is harder than I thought it would be, yes I know for you long time riders it's nothing but had my thighs on fire, then obviously the shehalyin climb and then at Logierait.

I only did about 35 miles but I think the hardest parts of the course as the rest looks/seems either flat or downhill. When I got picked up at the junction before the decent to Aberfeldy, it seems to go downhill all the way to Strathtay, although I never went round the bit that turns off to the right and back.

Anyway, I'm glad I did that today, and now really looking forward to it. 8)

Yip, think you have it about right RandG. When I first did it, I forgot how lumpy it was around Queens View. Now that you have had a recce there should be no surprises for you on the day.

crescent

First time for me last year and I had all the same questions. Working this year, unfortunately, so can't make it

You have done the right thing in recce'ing Queen's View, it does have a bit of a sting in it. Also, it comes fairly early in the route and it is very easy to set off too quickly due to nerves/excitement/adrenaline, call it what you will. I did this last year and it was unsustainable. By the time I got to Queen's View I was overheating, partly due to trying to maintain too fast a pace and partly because I had too many layers on, expecting the weather to be even worse than it actually was. Once I'd shed a layer or so I was fine and once the adrenaline calms down a bit you will really enjoy it I'm sure.
I had a bit of a psychological episode at Fortingall. There were quite a few people there cheering us on and one woman shouted "come on you've only a quarter of the way to go now!". I don't know why, but this seemed to sound so much more than "you've only got 20 miles to go now", and took the wind out my sails a bit - strange.

Enjoy it, it is a great day out. Good luck to all who are taking part and I hope the weather is more pleasant than last year.

RandG

d4evr wrote:

the support from the locals is unbelievable all the way round, even last year when the weather was horrendous.

Just been having a re read of this topic when I seen this post. Well I was in the co-op just up the hill off the main road early on Saturday morning, and that's not quite the impression the old dear gave us as she moaned about folk being stuck in their house ALL day and the inconvenience to the locals it causes.


I was really shocked by her attitude, first thing my partner said was.....it's only one day a year, and just as she went to say..but, I interrupted her and said....you've been away buying carpet tacks haven't you, then she laughed and we left the shop.

As I say, I was quite surprised by this attitude as I assumed the whole area would be welcoming the event with open arms, but not if this deary is anything to go by. :?

d4evr

RandG wrote:

d4evr wrote:

the support from the locals is unbelievable all the way round, even last year when the weather was horrendous.

Just been having a re read of this topic when I seen this post. Well I was in the co-op just up the hill off the main road early on Saturday morning, and that's not quite the impression the old dear gave us as she moaned about folk being stuck in their house ALL day and the inconvenience to the locals it causes.


I was really shocked by her attitude, first thing my partner said was.....it's only one day a year, and just as she went to say..but, I interrupted her and said....you've been away buying carpet tacks haven't you, then she laughed and we left the shop.

As I say, I was quite surprised by this attitude as I assumed the whole area would be welcoming the event with open arms, but not if this deary is anything to go by. :?

You always get one or two. Believe me, when you go up next weekend you will experience the true feelings most of the locals, shops, pubs, cafes, etc etc have for this event.

It probably does cause some inconvenience but the benefits to them ALL up there far outweigh the negatives. These type of people need to stop and think before speaking, and in my experience best ignored.

crescent

I was in Pitlochry last year, just a few weeks before the Etape, and went into the tourist advice office just with a few general questions about the event. The woman who was serving me went off on one about how they come up here, take over their car park, shut off the roads etc etc :shock: sorry for asking!!

bompington

You'll find the same mixed, or ambivalent, attitude to any kind of tourism in areas that depend heavily on it - you can bet the shops in Pitlochry would employ rather a lot less staff if it wasn't for the tourist business, but there is a commonplace resentment. And in a lot of cases they're well aware of how ridiculous it is to moan about (or even to!) the source of their income, but that only fuels the resentment: leading to the absurd "stuck in the house all day" type comments (FWIW the south end of the high street, i.e. the finish of the route, is closed for 6 hours or so, which is quite a lot, but you can get round it in the back streets: most of the route is more like 4)
I'm still fairly sure that the majority of local people are in favour of the etape, some people just like to moan but would probably not vote against it happening, and then there are the hardcore protesters - anyone heard much from Mr Hounam recently?

Anyway, back to the cycling - the weather forecast has, of course, slipped from the "dominated by high pressure" that's been on the met website for weeks now - looks like there will be high pressure to the south but warm fronts to the north west, meaning strongish westerly winds and maybe some rain... possibly not that different from last year :-(

At least it's warming up - I had a good "last big ride" up to Glenshee on Saturday, cold and windy with a sprinkling of snow on the road at the top...

d4evr

The Chocolatier has been silent since he sold his soul to Bollywood.

Prior to and after the event the last 2 years I have spent time and money in shops, cafes, hotels, pubs and filling stations in the area and never heard a complaint yet. That and the support from the roadside around almost the entire route on the actual day tells me the true feelings of the locals.

Yes you will always get complaints from some folk, and I do sympathise with folk who have no interest in cycling etc. However, the same type of people up there probably complained about the traffic passing through the town on the old A9, then moaned about the drop in trade when they bypassed the town. My point is they will ALWAYS complain, without first examining the bigger picture.

The fact is this town would have tumbleweed in the High Street were it not for cyclists, hillwalkers, anglers, day trippers, tourists etc etc and this narrow minded minority should remember this and be thankful so many people want to visit their lovely little town and beautiful area.

Thankfully the majority welcome folk like us with open arms and long may it continue.

RandG

I don't quite get the "stuck in the house all day" comments :?

It happens once a year, and for a few hours on that day, and no one, is tied into the house. The folk I'd have a bit of sympathy would be those who live in Strathtay or Logierait, these seem to have their roads closed off for longer and are a little more remote than Pitlochry itself. Kinloch Rannoch is probably the most remote village but they will have their streets open by 10am.

rollemynot

With a bit of common sense and planning, locals can park their cars in convenient locations. With a bit of local knowledge with the exception of the early parts of the route (however open by 10am) there are plenty of alternative routes if you MUST travel on that particular day. However moaners will always moan - it's what makes this nation so great.......

crescent

d4evr wrote:

The fact is this town would have tumbleweed in the High Street were it not for cyclists, hillwalkers, anglers, day trippers, tourists etc etc and this narrow minded minority should remember this and be thankful so many people want to visit their lovely little town and beautiful area.

Good point. I have visited Pitlochry and the surrounding area three times in the last year. The first was to suss out the route, the second was to take part in the event and the third was just because we liked it so much the previous time. Each time involved a couple of nights in a hotel and family meals, shopping etc so a fair bit of trade for local businesses. I'm sure there are plenty who came for an event and returned for similar reasons.
Just a bit disappointing that, in my case, it was the tourist advice centre that gave off such a negative reaction. The hotels and restaurants couldn't have been friendlier. Escape Route is a nice little bike shop, plenty of coffee on offer while I was deliberating over which bibs to buy.

Gazzetta67

Is it just photo ID you need to get your race/pack on friday night or sat afternoon......looking forward to knowing that were P***ing off a few locals who have a FULL YEAR to organise there sad little lives and do something else for half a day a YEAR ? :roll:

Stedman

I find it ironic that per head of capita the roads that we use for this event are probably some of the best kept and most expensive to maintain especially during the winter and when the local authorities here try to expand the scope of the benefit and income that these roads could bring to their communities, there is still a significant local group who cannot see the benefits of their bigger picture!

In comparison where I live in Nottingham, our roads are roads are heavily damaged from frost damage and we have continual chaos through major long term road closures whilst they expand the current tram network.

Pumpkin Positive

My wife has a dilemma...

She and her friend have places but it looks like her friend will drop out. She has another friend that is willing to take her place and travel with her from Devon.

Question: How strict are the registration team on the photo ID thing? If they won't register her it shouldn't be too difficult for her to get on the course, right?

I did it last year but I can't remember whether or not I had to show ID or not :?

bianchimoon

Pumpkin Positive wrote:

My wife has a dilemma...

She and her friend have places but it looks like her friend will drop out. She has another friend that is willing to take her place and travel with her from Devon.

Question: How strict are the registration team on the photo ID thing? If they won't register her it shouldn't be too difficult for her to get on the course, right?

I did it last year but I can't remember whether or not I had to show ID or not :?

can be done, you can register on behalf of a friend if you have a letter of authority from them, we did it on last years etape pennines, after you've got race pack, you're not going to be stopped and asked for id. When you pay £65 for entry to ride public roads you should be able to transfer legitimately, it's a lot of money to waste, good luck

mountain chub

So what's everyone doing for nutrition this week? Any hints or tips? Or is it just drink plenty water eat healthy and carb load on Friday and Saturday? Got me thinking today as I fought the urge to wolf a massive bar of chocolate and a mug of coffee