Pedal for Scotland 2013 Sportive

papad

I'm giving this a shot as my first sportive. Anyone else doing it?

I'm confused by the location of the 2nd feed station. The interactive map says it's at Douglas but the info pack says Crawfordjohn, which appears to be off route. They definitely said it was at Crawfordjohn when I called them!

Is the actual route different than the one posted on the website? The route map in the information pack certainly looks different, although it is quite poor.

Robert72

Your lucky your pack has arrived. I emailed them and was told if I don't get it to go to a desk at the start from 5.30am for a duplicate number. Can't help with the route, sorry.

markhewitt1978

Presumably there will be signage along the route and you'll be directed to the feed station by said signs. So don't worry

Teddy Westside

First off, don't worry about missing feed stations, the whole route is well signposted and only one of either the wind or a Weegie ned* was responsible for one sign within Glasgow sending me the wrong way near the start last year.

I've ridden all 3 previous sportives and the feed station is always at Douglas so I think it's an error. It's at approximately 55 miles. Beware that 22 miles later, at Carmichael, is a lovely climb of about 25%. It's only half a mile long but it's not one to climb if you're feeling tired, so stock up well at Douglas!

As for registration packs, I only registered on the night of Wednesday 28th August and received my pack on Monday.





* Translation: Glasgow hoody/pikey

tedmaul

As far as I'm aware it's the same route as last year, so feed stops should be Galston, Douglas (lunch) and Carnwath.

I've mapped the route out on mapometer so you can see some rough elevations as well.

http://gb.mapometer.com/cycling/route_3614526.html

It's reasonably hilly but other than the Carmichael climb mentioned already, nothing too nasty in terms of gradient.

- Starts with a gradual climb out of Glasgow, with a few steeper ramps as you head towards Stewarton
- Then a fast run down into Galston
- Reasonably hard climb out of Galston at the 24 mile mark - starts steady and ramps up at the end.
- Steady slog over the hill to Muirkirk - 90% of this road has been resurfaced, so it's not the bone-jangler it once was. Nasty surface still remains just as you come into Muirkirk tho.
- Fast run to Douglas followed by what i remember being a nasty surface into a headwind along the B7078
- Turn off and head over a decent climb at Tinto Hill into Rigside
- Flatish run up to the real stinker at Carmichael - as mentioned, this is only about half a mile long but it's ramping up to high teens/20% for the most part. At this stage it's probably going to hurt a bit.
- After that, there's some steady climbing here and there, but a reasonably quick run into Edinburgh.

I enjoyed it last year, in spite of my back tyre shredding about 20 miles in putting me pretty much at the back of the field. Was well organised and a decent challenge. Looking forward to it now.

pizzaboyEdinburgh

I am doing this tomorrow. Looks like the temperature will be about 12 degrees.

What layers should I take? Just a long sleeve jersey and a waterproof packed in the pocket? is that sufficient

Teddy Westside

Short sleeves for me, with arm warmers when necessary, jacket and gilet in back pockets. I prefer to be prepared for the unexpected from personal experience!

Gazzetta67

Just ridden the 47 mile challenge ride. Good day but scary in some places - dunno why they put traffic cones in the middle of the road as it makes it more dangerous trying to overtake a slow group. came across a few crashes as a result of the cones. some people were riding 6 abreast too :roll: . I reckon it would be safer tho harder doing the 110 mile sportive. hats off to you guys today who did the long one as that wind was nasty.

Tusher

Gazzetta, you've taken the words out of my mouth- we've just had this conversation with the family.

Today was beautifully organised (although the sandwiches at Linlithgow were a little disappointing- hey, if that's my only gripe.........)

But the riding was truly atrocious. I've only missed 2 Pedal for Scotland rides- sometimes it's just been hubby and I, sometimes sister and brother-in-law, sometimes with added nieces and nephews. But today was awful. I was hardly on the drops because I was on alert for the entire distance. And my shoulders ached when I arrived at Murrayfield- having covered 70+ miles a day on France on the same bike, I don't think it was my position, I think it was stress.

I don't know if I've become less tolerant or if there was a reason for so many eejits today. We left in the 08:00 wave and I'd be interested to know if later times were better.

All the children I saw rode very well BTW.

But we've been discussing whether it would actually be more pleasurable to do the 100 miles. The problem is that although I ride almost daily, I am not fast and don't own a road bike. The one big sportive I entered......um........I came last. If I hadn't been sponsored, I would have taken the kind offer of the lift from the Broomwagon (which passed me with 10 miles to go. I remain emotionally scarred by the experience).

Still- would it be worth me putting in some concentrated training next summer, and do you really need a road bike or could my cross manage it? I'm not expecting to be even average, but I don't want to be humiliated again.

(I am wondering if some of these people are still on the road. The number who only pedalled going up a hill and then freewheeled on the flat or downhill was amazing. And they managed to weave all over the road. Before they stopped suddenly right in front of me.

suzyb

Later times wasn't any better

I get that a lot of people want to take it easy, and I'm not the fastest either but why do they have to cycle in the middle of the lane. It makes overtaking them a tad nerve wracking as you've barely got enough room on either side to do so. It's like driving along the motorway but on 2 wheels and about 60 mph slower. Ride on the left unless you're passing someone. And shoulder check before you pull out to do that pass. So many people seemed to think they were cycling along the road themselves and didn't bother checking it was safe before pulling out or stopping.

In fact because of that I almost took out some poor Edinburgh resident when riding along the cycle path. He was coming the opposite direction and had to swerve to avoid me when I had to swerve to avoid someone who'd swerved to avoid the person who'd just suddenly stopped on the left side of the path :roll:

I also agree about the cones. I didn't like it the last time I did the ride in 2011 which I think was the first time they coned off a lane for cycles only and I like it even less when they cone off the faster downhill part between Avonbridge and Linlithgow. Did a lot of doging between cones and riding on the wrong side of the road today just so I could freewheel down a hill without having to ride the brakes.

/rant

That said the organisation was well done. And chapeau to the kids who completed the ride.

tedmaul

I completed the sportive ride in 6hrs 39m - was pretty tough with the wind coming from the east and not many groups forming on the road. They'd also chucked in an extra climb compared to the route i posted up last year - cutting off before Douglas and over the hill at Glespin before the lunch stop at Crawfordjohn.

My Bryton had it at around 2300m of climbing this year, but it felt worse tbh.

Organisation was pretty decent - transport back was a doddle, i only stopped for lunch but there was a decent selection. Signage after the timing mat to get you to the stadium was pretty rotten though. That was the worst bit of the whole ride tbh, trying to get through Edinburgh traffic.

WTF

Did sportive and loved it, clocked about 7hrs. so was a bit slower than other years efforts.
Organisers got it right for the route and having the wind in your face made a change from the usually wind assisted rides of previous years.
Climb to Crawfordjohn was way better than the route year before up the old A74 route and the fare on offer and of course the entertainment there was worth it alone.
Does anyone have link to times in order to see where I positioned rather than the times in alphabetical order as printed in the Herald ?

Roll on next year

Robert72

Did the 47 miles, thought it was a great day but agree with everyone above. One more point, when did it become acceptable to spit when cycling? Dicks

Inutero

Agree with what's been said about the 47 miler. Think we're going to do the longer one next year.

Big kudos to the guys on the unicycle and the penny farthing type bike

doug5_10

Robert72 wrote:

Did the 47 miles, thought it was a great day but agree with everyone above. One more point, when did it become acceptable to spit when cycling? Dicks

Would you rather snot-rocket all over yourself? Lots of bogies and slever come with the territory I'm afraid, especially into a headwind. Fair cop if they were asbo-chav-spitting though . . .

Teddy Westside

For the most part I enjoyed the 110 miles, having done all 3 of the previous sportives. Some of the road surfaces are terrible (bone-rattling) but there's not exactly much the organisers can do about that.

I'm glad I took my own supply of gels as there were none at any feed station when I was at them, and I had heard there had been some at stop 2, despite that being the one they weren't advertised at being available! I think there are some riders who think, "I've paid for it, I'm going to fill my pockets with as much as I can" :evil: :roll:

On the subject of gels, I was sad to see more empty gel sachets on the roads and verges than ever before. It doesn't create a good impression of our sport and past-time. And those riding in their club colours may want to be a little more careful of their actions - one G.R.C. Tri rider not only threw away a gel sachet (no doubt one of many), but it very nearly hit me in the face as he hadn't even bothered to check if there was anyone behind him. A piece of fairly rigid foil/plastic hitting you in the face at a combined 30-40 miles an hour could cause a serious cut (or eye injury if a rider had no eye-wear on).

On the flip-side, I did my bit to combat that by getting fellow riders interested in Gel Flasks (other retailers are available). People were asking me about them and weren't aware of their existence.

Littering aside, most of the riding I saw was of a decent standard with the odd exception of wheel-suckers and not leaving room for riders to pass on narrow sections. Unsurprisingly, there were some examples of unnecessarily close passes by motorists, and I was nearly inside a caravan, it passed me so close on a tight bend. :x

The new Crawfordjohn feed station was well stocked (gels aside as mentioned), and the locals put on a good show, including the live music. And nice to see a hall where nobody complained about cleats on the polished wood floor (I hope the hall caretaker was aware of what was coming!). Well done!

The organisational negatives were, yet again, begun by the lack of time between leaving Edinburgh and arriving at the start. Every year, it has been a dash to get from the TNT truck via a "comfort break" to the start. As it was, this year I didn't even have a moment to compose myself in a wave waiting to be sent off - I just cycled straight onto the route. The TNT guys were as efficient and careful with the bikes as usual, it's the overall timing of the transport from Edinburgh (relative to the sportive start time) which needs revising.

The other niggle was the apparent reduction in the number of stewards on the sportive route. There's an extremely bad surface at the left turn from the B769 onto Clunch Road (which claimed my rear tyre and nearly me too last year) and yet there was no steward there, unlike last year. Also no steward this year on the crossing over the A77 onto the A719 where there is a benefit of having an extra pair of eyes to look out for fast-moving traffic (or to be on hand should the unthinkable happen).

It would have been nice if this evening's STV news had acknowledged there was more than just the 47 mile route their presenter just happened to have ridden, especially as it was in aid of their charity appeal!

On a personal note, a small ankle bone niggle from before the 30 mile mark ended up with a painful ankle for the rest of the ride and probably contributed to tight muscles further up which resulted in me needing 4 attempts to get off the bike at Carnwath! Ouch!

But after all that... I still expect to be entering again next year! 8)

Gazzetta67

Tusher wrote:

Gazzetta, you've taken the words out of my mouth- we've just had this conversation with the family.

Today was beautifully organised (although the sandwiches at Linlithgow were a little disappointing- hey, if that's my only gripe.........)

But the riding was truly atrocious. I've only missed 2 Pedal for Scotland rides- sometimes it's just been hubby and I, sometimes sister and brother-in-law, sometimes with added nieces and nephews. But today was awful. I was hardly on the drops because I was on alert for the entire distance. And my shoulders ached when I arrived at Murrayfield- having covered 70+ miles a day on France on the same bike, I don't think it was my position, I think it was stress.

I don't know if I've become less tolerant or if there was a reason for so many eejits today. We left in the 08:00 wave and I'd be interested to know if later times were better.

All the children I saw rode very well BTW.

But we've been discussing whether it would actually be more pleasurable to do the 100 miles. The problem is that although I ride almost daily, I am not fast and don't own a road bike. The one big sportive I entered......um........I came last. If I hadn't been sponsored, I would have taken the kind offer of the lift from the Broomwagon (which passed me with 10 miles to go. I remain emotionally scarred by the experience).

Still- would it be worth me putting in some concentrated training next summer, and do you really need a road bike or could my cross manage it? I'm not expecting to be even average, but I don't want to be humiliated again.

(I am wondering if some of these people are still on the road. The number who only pedalled going up a hill and then freewheeled on the flat or downhill was amazing. And they managed to weave all over the road. Before they stopped suddenly right in front of me.

They obviously listened to the "Concerns" in their questionaire thingy they sent out last year ...NOT !!!!! about the traffic cones ( are you supposed to sit for 47 miles behind 4 people doing 10mph all over the width of the road and not pass ???) . Some poor guy in a "Discovery" top (Boo Hiss) looked like he had wacked a cone fell and broke his collarbone at Linlithgow bridge. coming up old edinburgh road there were 6 women riding 6 abreast in the 3rd lane :roll: . Said i wouldnt ride the 47 miler again. but def next year.

PS. I reckon you would get round on your cross bike maybe change your tyres to slicks or thinner oh and a 1000 miles or 2 training might help also 8) .

Also a big thanks to the Pilton resident for bringing his big dog with him on the cycle path and letting it run loose nearly bringing 10 guys down and then shouting pleasantries of "You F***ing" cyclists think you own the road...to which i said i think you'l find this is a cycle path bawbag...... easterhouse, Crammond, Pilton, the organisers sure like to treat you to both ends of the poverty/extreme wealth trap eh 8) .

Teddy Westside

Gazzetta67 wrote:

Also a big thanks to the Pilton resident for bringing his big dog
...to which i said i think you'l find this is a cycle path bawbag......

Technically, it's a shared use cycle path, but I've pointed out in the past to those types of people, that without those who funded and campaigned for it (Sustrans etc) it would still be an overgrown and impassable abandoned railway line, so without cyclists there would be nowhere for irresponsible peds to walk.. :roll:

The tales of woe each year regarding the 47 mile route make me glad I'm comfortable and capable doing 100 mile plus rides. I pity those who want to have a fun but reasonably energetic ride on the shorter route. At the same time, it's got to be all-inclusive so I suppose better education and co-operation, (along with stricter stewarding?) are necessary.

Teddy Westside

Tusher wrote:

... do you really need a road bike or could my cross manage it?

Pretty much any serviceable bike should be capable of doing the 47 mile distance - there was at least one folding
bike on the 110 miler, as well as a handful of mountain bikes. A ten year-old kid too who was a very pacey rider.

But yes, fit some slick tyres such as these from Specialized. I use Nimbus tyres on my urban mountain bike - fast rolling but still grippy and offering a smoother ride than knobblies.

suzyb

doug5_10 wrote:

Robert72 wrote:

Did the 47 miles, thought it was a great day but agree with everyone above. One more point, when did it become acceptable to spit when cycling? Dicks

Would you rather snot-rocket all over yourself? Lots of bogies and slever come with the territory I'm afraid, especially into a headwind. Fair cop if they were asbo-chav-spitting though . . .

I was one of those who had to clear their nose :oops: Having to sniff in every second breath is a little inconvenient. I made sure the road around me was clear beforehand though.

Yet there were so many people seemed oblivious to what was going on around them I wouldn't be surprised if people were, as you say asbo-chav-spitting without even realising.

WTF

Sportive times here... http://www.pedalforscotland.org/media/9915/sportive_rider_times_-_pedal_for_scotland_2013.xlsx
if anyone can arrange them in a time order ?

papad

I really enjoyed my first sportive. Coming through the Southside in a massive train of bikes was fun! The climb out of Darvel was good, everyone went silent as they struggled up and began dropping backwards like stones!
Carmichael hill was not as bad as I expected, managed to power up it out the saddle in the granny.

I did it in about 6hr 45ish. Next time I would go a lot harder at the start and take less time for lunch - as great as the band were!

Teddy Westside

WTF wrote:

Sportive times here... http://www.pedalforscotland.org/media/9915/sportive_rider_times_-_pedal_for_scotland_2013.xlsx
if anyone can arrange them in a time order ?

Easily done in Excel.

1. Highlight all the times (just the times, not any other info or columns or you'll get an error)

2. Click on "Sort and Filter (normally top right of Home tab in Excel 2010)

3. Click on "Sort A to Z"

4. In the "Sort Warning" box, ensure "expand the selection" is selected, and click "Sort".

5. Done! 8)

papad

Try this for times

http://www.scotroutes.com/PfS2013.pdf