Etape Loch Ness coming next May on closed roads

unixnerd

See http://etapelochness.com/index.htm. New event and I expect it'll be very popular.

67 miles on closed roads with 900m ascent including the big hill just east of Fort Augustus, starting in Inverness and going round the Loch in an anti-clockwise direction. If they really are doing it all on closed roads I'm shocked that the A82 will be closed, they must have friends in high places!

markhewitt1978

OOh that looks nice and a nicer run than the Etap Pennines.

I doubt they'd close the A82, the main road in the area, more likely use other roads and have crossing points of the A82 like they do on their other events.

ben@31

I did the Lochness Marathon. They closed the roads off on the south side of Loch Ness. Quite a scenic route. Not flat though, I was thinking at the time "could be worse, at least I'm not cycling up this hill".

unixnerd

My nephew did it this year too. I thought they started it from the top of the hill just north of Loch Tarf. Where do they actually start it from?

adr82

The week before the Etape Caledonia? Seems a bit of an odd decision... I'd imagine a lot of people who can only find time/money to travel to one of the two in the space of a week will go to the Caledonia as by now it's much larger and well established. They'd probably have done themselves a favour by running it in June/July, not to mention probably getting better weather too.

unixnerd

Agreed, you can still have snow on the high bits of that route in early May some years.

Colinthecop

markhewitt1978 wrote:

I doubt they'd close the A82, the main road in the area, more likely use other roads and have crossing points of the A82 like they do on their other events.

Speaking to my boss about this last night, the plan is apparently the Southbound A82 from Inverness to Ft Augustus will be closed for two hours. The Northbound traffic will still flow as normal and cyclists will use the southbound lane. They reckon after 2 hrs even the slowest riders should be close enough to the Ft.

Bit like the marathon, the road is closed for 5hrs and any stragglers just keep to the left when the traffic starts again.

Colinthecop

unixnerd wrote:

My nephew did it this year too. I thought they started it from the top of the hill just north of Loch Tarf. Where do they actually start it from?

Yes it is, half way between the Suidhe viewpoint and Whitebridge. Although i'd imagine for this the start/finish would be Bucht Park.

unixnerd

Aye the Bucht sounds logical. Should be a great day out if we get the weather.

cougie

Sounds nice - but I'd probably not bother travelling that far to ride for just 67 miles.

I've ridden across Scotland on an adventure race and didn't have any problems with traffic anyway - so the lure of closed roads isn't a big thing for me.

adr82

cougie wrote:

I've ridden across Scotland on an adventure race and didn't have any problems with traffic anyway - so the lure of closed roads isn't a big thing for me.

Well the thing about closed roads isn't so much about avoiding problems with traffic as it is about being free to use the entire road. For example, it's a lot more fun coming down Schiehallion in the Etape Caledonia when you can take the best line through corners and not have to worry about oncoming traffic!

ugo.santalucia

Looks beautiful...
I'll give it a miss though... not challenging enough for such a long trip... they should have tried to push it towards the 100 miles mark or make it hillier, or both...

unixnerd

Have look at the profile, granted 67 miles isn't that long but the hill at Fort Augustus is beastie. The scenery on the east side of the Loch is just fabulous.

I think this ride will attract a lot of riders for whom 67 will be a new best distance. We don't often get this sort of thing around Inverness so I'd expect a strong local turnout with a good percentage not being hardened roadies.

ugo.santalucia

unixnerd wrote:

Have look at the profile, granted 67 miles isn't that long but the hill at Fort Augustus is beastie. The scenery on the east side of the Loch is just fabulous.

I think this ride will attract a lot of riders for whom 67 will be a new best distance. We don't often get this sort of thing around Inverness so I'd expect a strong local turnout with a good percentage not being hardened roadies.

I think it will be popular among the locals... I don't see roadies travelling to Loch Ness to ride 67 miles with 900 mt of climbing. Stunning places, but likely to hit the wallet and the provision of holidays for many. Closed roads are attractive, but there are the Etape Cymru, the Etape Caledonia and now even the London-Surrey 100 on closed roads

markhewitt1978

Don't forget the Etap Pennines are Etap Mercia too.

cougie

900m in 67 miles isn't that hilly. Its about 13.4 meters per mile. There are Welsh Sportifs I've done with double that climbing per mile and over 100 miles in distance.

If they're going to have closed roads - I'd prefer it if they went big, and give people options on the distance.

(and I'd never trust closed roads fully - we had closed roads for an event in September. Didn't prevent a landrover coming head to head with me on a twisty country lane. If I'd been using all the road I'd have hit it)

Colinthecop

ugo.santalucia wrote:

I think it will be popular among the locals... I don't see roadies travelling to Loch Ness to ride 67 miles with 900 mt of climbing. Stunning places, but likely to hit the wallet and the provision of holidays for many.

I'd think it'll be like the Loch Ness Marathon. The route itself isn't that great or fast but the scenery is to die for. Many people who run it are enthusiastic amateurs (the 4hrs plus runners) who fancy a weekend away and give it a go. And they travel a fair distance for it. Come to the Highlands, stay in a B&B and do a few other things whilst they're here.

Nairnster

Just found out about this yesterday, so have joined the mailing list.

I live in Inverness, and plan to use the ride as build up for hopefully my first 100 later in the year.

Should also hopefully be a fairly decent turnout for it

ajkerr73

Start/finish point might be Queens(?) Park, where the athletics track is. Thats where they finish the Maggies Bike and Hike.

See also "Tour O the Borders" starting in Peebles on 14th August who are advertising "Closed road" for 2014.

Stedman

adr82 wrote:

The week before the Etape Caledonia? Seems a bit of an odd decision... I'd imagine a lot of people who can only find time/money to travel to one of the two in the space of a week will go to the Caledonia as by now it's much larger and well established. They'd probably have done themselves a favour by running it in June/July, not to mention probably getting better weather too.

It seems a pity that the organisers of this event and the Etape Caledonia cannot co-ordinate when they open their entries. From my point of view, I want to know that I have an EC entry before entering the ELN. 450 miles is a long way to go for a short 67 mile event.

I have e-mailed the ELN organisers about this and not had a reply.

fnb1

to me it looks like an event targeted to be direct competition for Etape Caledonia??

Headline 'sponsor' is MacMillan who were the orginal 'sponsors' for EC before Marie Curie ousted them. Running the week before, so either hoping to pick up on entries that may have gone for EC or hoping to get people 'making a week of it' so to speak???

Also I see entries for EC still not open?

adr82

fnb1 wrote:

to me it looks like an event targeted to be direct competition for Etape Caledonia??

Headline 'sponsor' is MacMillan who were the orginal 'sponsors' for EC before Marie Curie ousted them. Running the week before, so either hoping to pick up on entries that may have gone for EC or hoping to get people 'making a week of it' so to speak???

That is a bit weird (the sponsoring situation) but if so it's still very odd timing and location. Being much further north than Pitlochry and only a week before will make it very subject to the usual changeable spring weather. Don't know why they didn't make it June or July.

fnb1 wrote:

Also I see entries for EC still not open?

Yeah they're a bit late with that this year it seems...

MattC59

That looks great. I'll have a 4week old baby though, do you think that Mrs C. will let me have a couple of days up in Scotland ?

unixnerd

Child seat for the bike maybe :-)

I agree with the comments about timing, would have been better later in the year. Just received this BTW :

Entry for the 2014 Etape Loch Ness will open at midday on Thursday 21 November and will be capped at 1000 places for the inaugural event. As you've signed up to our e-news, you will get an exclusive window of opportunity to enter before the website goes live to the general public on Saturday 23 November.

navrig

Having lived in Inverness for 12 years and ridden a motorbike around that area for many of them I hope that they minimise the amount the route follows the A82. I hope they take the route out towards Beauly and past Kiltarlity joining the A82 at Drumnadrochit. Much nicer roads for cycling with no loss of impact from not seeing the Loch until half way down one side.

The A82 itself is tedious.

unixnerd

I agree with you. A loop around Cannich or over the hill to Foxhole and Moniack would have been nice. But the map of the route on the Inverness Cycling Club's site shows it starting in Inverness then direct to Drumnadrochit, Fort Augustus, Whitebridge and back via Foyers.

Not 100% sure if I'm going to sign up just yet. I broke my wrist at the start of October and only got back on the bike last weekend. With the weather up here I won't have much cycle time between now and the start of May to get back into form. Can't go more than an hour on the bike without it hurting a good bit right now.

thegreatdivide

Fort Augustus to Foyers is a good long climb.

I was going to do the Etape C again this year but I think I'll rubber it for this.

Nairnster

Registration opened for the subscribers today

£55 entry fee, and the following rules apply:

The Etape Loch Ness is intended to provide every cyclist with the best event experience. In order to do this, we have the following Event Rules in place to ensure the smooth running of the event. This list is not exhaustive and the Organisers reserve the right to amend these Rules prior to the event.

Participants must ensure they adhere to the mandatory kit rules – these rules will be strictly enforced.
Safety approved cycle helmets (CE standards EN1078 or equivalent national standard) are compulsory and must be worn at all times when cycling. Any cyclist not wearing a helmet whilst participating on the event will be excluded from the event.
You must use a bike that is deemed safe for the purposes of the event in the opinion of the organiser. Specifically, no fixed wheel bikes are permitted and no bicycle (conventional or otherwise) is permitted to have unconventional handlebars including triathlon bars, aero bars, clip-ons, prayer bars, Spinaci bars and cow bars. However, MTB bar ends are permitted on mountain bikes. Recumbent and tandem bikes or children in child seats, tag along bikes or trailers are not permitted
Cyclists must display both rider numbers provided at registration, one for the bike and one for the helmet, at all times.
Riders will set off in waves every 2 minutes at the Start. Please do not start earlier than your allocated time as this may affect your overall finish time.
Please cycle ON THE LEFT at all times. Be aware of other cyclists around you and enable faster cyclists to pass you on the right. Cyclists must take extra care on the A82 section from Inverness to Fort Augustus where traffic will be travelling on the opposite carriageway. Cyclists must NOT cross the central white line at any time, crossing the central white line will result in disqualification.
You must not deviate from the official event route which will have directional signage throughout. Failure to comply may result in disqualification.
Cyclists must adhere to the minimum average speed of 13mph. Cyclists falling behind this will be given the option of returning to Inverness in the sweep vehicle or can complete the course on open roads, having handed in their timing chip to the sweep vehicle.
You must follow the instructions provided by event marshals, officials and Organisers at all times. Failure to do so will result in disqualification.
The Organisers will provide water and feed stations at specific locations around the route, but we encourage you to start the event with a full water bottle and enough snacks for the duration of the event.
It is your responsibility to dress appropriately for the conditions on the event day. Remember that the weather can change and deteriorate very quickly in the Highlands, you should therefore bring appropriate clothing to keep warm and dry in any adverse weather.
Please adhere to both the Scottish Outdoor Access Code and the Highway Code for the duration of the event.
You may not use your mobile phone while cycling. Please stop at the road side if you need to make or receive a call.
You may not use a music player with headphones while participating in the event.
Littering is both against the law and unacceptable behaviour, especially in an area of such outstanding natural beauty. Any cyclists identified disposing of litter other than in bins along the route will be disqualified from the event.
The event has insurance cover through British Cycling, however we recommend that participants have appropriate insurance cover for their own bike and personal equipment.


Of note to me, was the imposed minimum 13mph speed. This will be my first sportive, and while I don't think I will have any issues, I thought sportives were not meant to be races? So the fact you have to hand in your timing chip if you fall below this speed, suggests those people wont get a time, and probably not a certificate either?

Anyone with more sportive riding experience heard of this kind of thing? Is it the norm?

Colinthecop

Just signed up too.

I don't think 13mph is unreasonable. Obviously the sweep team instructions can be ignored as they can't make you give up.

My only issue was, I had to put in my estimated time. How the hell would I know...? I've never cycled that far before.

adr82

Nairnster wrote:

Of note to me, was the imposed minimum 13mph speed. This will be my first sportive, and while I don't think I will have any issues, I thought sportives were not meant to be races? So the fact you have to hand in your timing chip if you fall below this speed, suggests those people wont get a time, and probably not a certificate either?

Anyone with more sportive riding experience heard of this kind of thing? Is it the norm?

That's literally almost word for word the standard blurb you get about most sportives. The minimum speed thing is required because of the road closures - they will have arranged to close the roads on a certain stretch of the route between hour X and Y, where Y is calculated as being the time that the latest starters riding at 13mph would have passed that section of the course. If you are slower than this they'll either give you the option of jumping into the broom wagon or continuing to ride the course but on open roads without your chip. Nothing to stop you recording your own time though 13mph is really quite slow anyway, you'd expect most people to be capable of going faster than that unless they're struggling badly with the weather or something.

adr82

Colinthecop wrote:

My only issue was, I had to put in my estimated time. How the hell would I know...? I've never cycled that far before.

It doesn't really matter that much unless you're keen to find a group riding at your pace. Either you'll underestimate how long it'll take you and start with guys who are faster and then get dropped, or you'll overestimate and get stuck with overtaking loads of slower people for a while