Etape Caledonia 2009

I'm a little bit peeved to have a start time of 07:28. I started about that time last year and was held up a bit on the narrow roads around Loch Rannoch. I ended up finishing in 4hrs4mins. This year I put in a seeding request aiming for sub 4. I am much fitter this year but with 3500 cyclists, most of them in front of me I dont think I'll get a good time. They seem to have allocated most of the start times according to surnames with some seeding requests being successful.

The bonus is the scenery is magnificent and you dont have to worry about metal heads so a nice pleasant cycle may be on the cards. No point getting wound up about people in front or the people last year who dropped onto the little ring and stood on the pedals on the Shehallion flank thinking it was a hill.

OK, this is either an obscure Outlook fault or another case of typical Etape C pre-race communication: email arrived this morning claiming to contain, among other things, start times and seeding info. It contains the line

Download your race start times and seeding information

but the link is invisible until you click it!

If anyone else is having the same problem, the link is:

http://www.etapecaledonia.co.uk/images/PDFs/Race-Start-Times.xls

Sub 4 is a great time, sub 4.5 is good. There are however a lot of riders out there so you may not always be able to go at your own pace. I would suggest enjoying the scenery and making the best of the day is more important than getting a specific time.

I think you may be surprised how fast a course the EC is, especially if the weather conditions are favourable. Its a beautiful part of the world make sure you look up and enjoy the scenery.

arranandy wrote:

7.04 start time for me. Hopefully all the miles I did in Majorca last week will see me round the course. I'm hoping for a sub 4.5 hours time but in reality I'll be quite happy to roll along and take in the scenery.

Hopefully I'll see some of you on the day. I'll be riding a black,white & blue Wilier and I'll be wearing EK Road Club kit

Not to be confused with me who will also be starting at 7:04 on a black, white and blue Wilier :roll: although not sure what I'll be wearing yet - weather permitting.

Some questions for anyone who knows the route:

Having looked at the elevation of the route provided on the organiser's site, the course appears to have a gradual climb for the first 16 kms (with a spike around the 10 km mark) and then another around the 70 km mark.

What are these two climbs actually like? They look dramatic in relation to the rest of the course but the metres indicator would suggest that they only take the rider from 100 to 200 metres elevation and then from 200 to 300 metres.

What is the average gradient of these climbs and what gradient are the steepest ramps? How many kms long is the main climb?

Second question, I live in Spain and have been spoiled by good weather for several years (currently 26 degrees). How cold is it at 7.00 am in Pitlochry, even on a decent May morning? I looked at a forecast for next week and it is showery, 12 degrees or so with am temps as low as 4 degrees - is it really still that cold in the middle of May?

Here's hoping the weather changes . . .

The Other McHoy wrote:

Some questions for anyone who knows the route:

Having looked at the elevation of the route provided on the organiser's site, the course appears to have a gradual climb for the first 16 kms (with a spike around the 10 km mark) and then another around the 70 km mark.
What are these two climbs actually like? They look dramatic in relation to the rest of the course but the metres indicator would suggest that they only take the rider from 100 to 200 metres elevation and then from 200 to 300 metres



The first spike I describe in a post above, as Bonskeid Hill. Length about 1.5km
Then on the contou,r there follows the Queens View spike of about the same distance with the bad bit 150 metres before the summit.
The second spike you refer to, I described as the one out of Kinloch Rannoch and it is not easy. Probably the worst of the lot, in total, seemingly endless, but after that it is fast downhil , mostly, to Aberfeldy

How many kms long is the main climb?
Around 2km.

~Samm
. . .

Other McHoy, calm your beans, settle the kettle. The climbs are not extreme. Queens view is a pech, Shiehalliion is a grind and the lumps after Logierait are unwelcome at that stage of the route but, sod it, you are nearly there by then.

I recommend arm and leg warmers and a lightweight waterproof. The steam coming off the crowded peloton will keep you warm on the way round the lochs.

First year, drizzle, last year, perfect conditions. This year, I predict a tempest!

Hey McHoy, relax - the temperature was only just freezing last year and the frost on the grass soon melted! I did the runner's thing and wore an old trackie then chucked it before the start (into a bin, unlike runners) which left a nippy feeling for the first 10 mins, but the adrenaline gets you over that.

Last year was near-ideal but the pattern round here for the last while looks like cool, breezy (westerly), showery weather, and it does look a bit set to continue that way, not that you can predict that accurately in Scotland.

I was out for a ride in the area last saturday and the squally showers were noticeably worse in the west, the wind was unpleasant and cold around them, but only ever for a few minutes at a time, in between the sun was quite pleasant and I built up quite a sweat on the Glen Quaich road.

The Etape C is definitely not that hilly, I find the undulating terrain makes it hard to get into a steady rhythm at times, but the climbs people mention are really no big deal. Watch out for the steep little climb where you turn off the main road at Logierait (about 75 miles), it's not that much but catches a lot of people in the wrong gear, judging by the crunching, girinding and gnashing of teeth I heard all around me. The little rises in the following (i.e. final) 5 miles hurt me a lot more than the Schiehallion road.

BTW, with reference to discussions earlier in this thread, some sort of "Etape C++"*, including Glen Quaich & the Lawers road, would have to beat them all.

So in short, if you're used to Scottish conditions, shorts & l/sleeved top should do fine, if you're used to Spanish conditions, maybe a sleeping bag with leg holes?


*Geek joke

bompington wrote:

H

So in short, if you're used to Scottish conditions, shorts & l/sleeved top should do fine, if you're used to Spanish conditions, maybe a sleeping bag with leg holes?


*Geek joke

I'm checking now to see if Specialized have the sleeping bag kit still in stock. I shouldn't be hard to spot in the A group with that on,

Extra speed on the day - yes. The first year they did this, I rode the course two weeks before to test the landscape. On that basis, I was looking at 5 hours being a good time. On the day, I got 10% more than my usual average speed and rode the fastest 100km of my life, mostly through hooking up with chaingangs, partly through sheer adrenalin.

This year I want a sub 4.30 but I haven't managed that pace on my own yet in training over distance. I am relying on the group effect and praying I don't get held up in traffic.

Hi folks,

I missed the entry period for this year's Etape but am coming up to Pitlochry anyway for a week.

What are the odds the organisers would let me enter if there was a no show?

Further on Scottish conditions...
rode to work today into a wind gusting nearly force 10, stinging rain, temp starting at about 5°, here's the evidence:

At one point I was doing 10mph down a 10% hill.
There is indeed snow on high ground as Sam-antha predicted.

Looking forward to it!

I hear that there's fresh snow on the Shiehallion climb..... :shock:

Weather will be fine next Sunday. Sun, light breeze and 18C - I wish!!!!