CityCyclingEdinburgh was launched on the 27th of October 2009 as "an experiment".
IT’S TRUE!
CCE is 15years old!
Well done to ALL posters
It soon became useful and entertaining. There are regular posters, people who add useful info occasionally and plenty more who drop by to watch. That's fine. If you want to add news/comments it's easy to register and become a member.
RULES No personal insults. No swearing.
I'll be starting Paris Brest on Sunday at 17:45 (local time) and anyone wishing to can track me on the PBP tracker site (google Paris Brest 2019 tracker) by entering my rider number H013.
I'm in the 90 hour group. Last time I got to Dreux with 14 hours spare, so we booked into a local motel, but this time as we have a campervan with 24 hour access, I may just try to get under 80 hours.
Dave C
See you all at the Ghost. Has anyone received the routesheet etc this week?
@DaveC Have a great experience!
@amir - yes, received the routesheet etc. on Monday - best check with the org if you've not got it yet?
@DaveC - good luck, and may the wind be at your back both ways...
@amir, yes, I got the details.
@DaveC I hope you have an enjoyable time at PBP.
Paddyirish - likewise, have a good ride. I'll likely be in an SBR jersey (despite hailing from Midlothian:))
Good luck to all the audax riders, but especially DaveC: may there be a fair breeze at your back.
Good luck to everyone! I may join you in some of the future rides.
Hope DaveC will get to eat lots of Paris-Brest pastries!
Bonne route! Doesn't seem like eight years since my PBP! The next one will be the year of my 40th birthday, perhaps a good target for a midlife crisis :-P
Cycling is a good way to deal with a mid life crisis. But be ambitious and peg it at least 60!
I can imagine losing this dad paunch for 2023 but not holding it off until the 2040s!
Tough day - first half was wet and very bumpy, the second the next third was windy and bumpy and then the sun came out for Carron Valley and Tak me Doon which were stunning.
Great to meet Amir at last and also Cyclingmollie and mr and mrs panyagua again yesterday. May have met edinburgh87, but no positive identification.
amir has a tale to tell about his day...
Rode 1st 50km in a bunch and made good progress to Stronachlachar- original intention was to go N Side of Loch Katrine but a landslip had closed the road. Aberfoyle-Strionachlachar was beautiful, but the surfce was awful- credit to Stephen, the organiser for pointing that out Great scone and coffee at the Pier cafe which was superb, despite the torrential rain. Had a big cramp on leaving the pier, but thankfully it worked itself out after bout 5km. Joined up with Ellie and Graham after about 80km and rode with them to the finish. Very much appreciated their company, especially on the long flat stretches which wore me down.
Want to go back and explore the Campsies, the Trossachs and the back of the Ochils in particular.
Great to put a face to the name for cycling Mollie and already bumped into amir a few times. Completed the route however lobbed 20k off the end via a shortcut (over crow road rather than TMD) due to pretty nasty lower back pain so no two points for me. Fit related I think as it only occurs sporadically. Had no issue on an earlier 400 on the same bike.
@edinburgh87 Ah - I think I recognise you - I was there in front of the cafe in Kippen when you made the call to do that. Was in the yellow jacket.
Good to meet you yesterday paddyirish, and edinburgh87. Sorry to hear about the back problem. I don't think I'd have kept going in that weather if the route hadn't been mostly new to me. The road surface back from Stronachlachar broke my bottle cage but otherwise I was lucky compared to amir.
It was a tough old day - most of the time there was some combination of heavy rain, headwind or poor surface, sometimes all three at the same time. It was good to finally see the clear skies at the top of Tak ma Doon - felt home and (almost) dry by then. Despite all the hardships it was an excellent and varied route. Great to see you all and I hope to be back for the Long Dark Teatime in November - don't think Mrs P will be joining me for that though...
@panyagua
Agree about the route which was great- Trossachs, Campsies and Ochils in teh one route was fantastic.. Shame that the original "Strava Art" route didn't get a try out. May well put an entry in again next time and would ride if there is good weather - if it was like yesterday no way Jose.
Thumbs up for the organisation as well- the enforced route change after the brevet cards were printed must have been an organiser's nightmare and the soup at the end was great and the snacks at the control at Logie Kirk were particularly welcome.
I really enjoyed the route - it's always nice to go west. Rain was a bit tiresome especially the first half (fantastic cafe at Braco, where I wrang my gloves and socks).
The end coming off the Tak was fantastic with sweeping views of the whole central belt - and much brighter!
My technical struggles start on the top of the hill between Braco and Causewayhead. Before the descent, I found my ability to change gear had disappeared. The rear gear cable had snapped somewhere around the shifter. At the bottom of the hill, I discarded the cable, googled to look for bike shops open (non apart from Halfords) and then adjusted the high screw on the derailleur as much as I could. This gave me a two gear system (compact front, rear formerly 10speed now fixed in 8th), with the lower gear hugely higher than my normal lowest. But I needed this audax, especially if the rrty attempt is to be pursued.
Some of the bumps between Bridge of Allen and Doune tested my ability to storm up short sharp slopes but I was sceptical about the later stages, with big hills to come. The inability to fine tune gears was annoying on the flatter sections, especially into the headwind - slow and spinny or fast but hard. The former won out.
Another sharp climb into Kippen (another candidate for a rather long audax around places where cyclingmollie has lived). A welcome break there. Then a slog over to the lovely Fintry (possible osprey?) - the descemt was hard into a very stiff breeze. A tailwind helped on the ascent to Locj Carron. Then the biggy Tak ma Doon. Fortunately this is stepped. So while there are steep bits, I generally managed to launch my self up. I walked about 50 m by the ford and on a too long steep bit. The descent was lovely!
Today - my legs feel bigger than they look!
@amir, massive kudos for completing your ride with 2 gears. However, you say Halfords was open so why did you not go there to get a new cable fitted?
Very nice to meet you @paddyirish finally. Also nice to finally make the connections between edinburgh87 online persona and his real-life personage. And Mrs P has really taken to audax - great work.
@cyclecommute I thought it would have been a trickier than normal job due to the breaking around the shifter (I still don't know how messy it is). This is an argument some long distance cyclists use for older style levers. My experience of Halfords mechanics has been a touch mixed and it was mid Sunday pm. My choice meant that I didn't annoy my cycing companions too much (thanks cyclingmollie and jacksonpriest). And of course true audaxers like a challenge!
No doubt that sometimes the extra challenge makes it extra special.
I've had the cable break a couple of times inside my right hand shifter (105 5700). First time took me ages to get out, but the next time I found an easier way to access the cable. I'm sure the Halfords mechanic would have known how to get a cable out...
Anyone doing "Alston and Back Take 2-The Twilight Zone" on 14th of September from Gala?
I signed up for it and it will be my first Audax. DaveC encouraged me to do an Audax but with his knee injury he left me on my own ;-)
I am starting to get a bit anxious since I began to recall my last (and first) 320km ride a couple of months ago and now when I think of it I remember that it actually was a long way.
@bill: No - I am on hols and anyway am having a year off rides longer than 200km
@cyclingmollie and I had a challenging 200km DIY audax yesterday, with 2.9km of climbing. From Tweedbank, we went via Lilliesleaf to Ashkirk, over the wonderful pass to Roberton. From there we explored the gorgeous valley by Burnfoot and Woodburn. New roads. Over the top to the A7 then another over the top to get to the B3699 to Newcastleton (not Newcastle toon). This is a beaut of a road with added railway value (including the lovely Shankend Viaduct). The descent along the Whiterope burn is classy. We avoided an invasion of sheep by tripping up to see the impressive Hermitage Castle.
Lunch at Newcastleton was very good but took overly long. The resturn north took us up the Liddel valley, with more railway stuff and over the Note o' the gate we hit our first heavy shower.
Short of Bonchester Bridge we turned right onto the A6088 to Chesters, where we climbed to a gorgeous and long ridge road. Suspiciously straight in places particularly near the A68. Crossing the A68 (another possible Roman ref Camptown) and up back on to the tops. Lovoly hills and valleys in this area. We headed to the wilder area by Pennymuir. Here there are the visible remains of Roman forts right next to Dere Street and below the Iron fort on Woden Law. The Kale valley continued the general theme of gorgeousness. Very clear cultivation terraces.
Near Morebattle we took a right to get to Town Yetholm, and carefully averted our eyes from the gnomes. Then a overly hilly ride to Kelso - finally a coop. To make up distance, our route back to Tweedbank took us via more hills and unlikely Hume castle. The rest was much easier but still pretty, passing Mellerstain, Earlston,Redpath and Gattonside.
Remarkably this is the first 200 I've done entirely in one county (I think).
@amir - I wonder if our paths crossed at any point yesterday? I was doing a DIY 300, which coincidentally had 2.9km of climbing.
It was a lovely ride: down to Carnwath via Tarbrax, turning east to pick up the westerly wind, and get blown gently downhill through Peebles (timed to miss the road closures on the A72), on the lovely railway path to Innerleithen, Melrose (stopped to fill up bottles), Kelso, Coldstream and Berwick upon Tweed. NCN 1 into Berwick is a shameful embarrassment. I stopped in Berwick McDonald's for a cheeseburger, coffee and a muffin then turned north to Eyemouth, Pease Bay (sudden downpour as I was coming down the steep hill into Pease Bay), Dunbar, North Berwick and then home along the coast.
From Kelso to Berwick upon Tweed the route kept hopping in and out of England.
Near Dunbar Cement Works I came across an Indian-looking chap called Kishor (I think) fixing a puncture. He was riding a hugely overloaded bike (I mean hugely - he had a track pump on the back!) from London to Edinburgh. He seemed to be planning not to make it to Edinburgh that evening.
Low point was realising that the route I'd plotted accidentally included a stretch of the John Muir Way that was two miles of single track path through a field. My bike is suitable for gravel riding (apparently) but the slick tyres and close-fitting mudguards arent'. There were a depressing number of dead songbirds on the road: I don't care about dead pheasants, but tiny little songbird bodies are a shame. High points were the 100 miles downhill from Tarbrax, with a tailwind, and seeing a stoat on the road.
300km in just under 16 hours. I now need to decide whether I'm likely to get permission for a 600km before the end of the month to wrap up the SR series for the year.
@amir, @greenroofer, good reports
Nice one @greenroofer
Solo 300km @greenroofer, that's a tough ride.
@amir's route was great and I'd recommend the road that branches off to the left on the Alemoor climb out of Hawick:
Here's the viaduct on the back road towards Hermitage Castle:
And here's @amir riding along Dere Street by the Roman camp at Pennymuir, Woden Law hill fort in the distance:
I must admit that after crossing the Teviot hills and then the Cheviot foothills, the climbs between Yetholm, Kelso, Stichill and Hume were unwelcome. I may not have been as positively disposed towards @amir's exctitement at encountering another Roman road as I was earlier.
I did find an Audax hotel though, near Mellerstain:
Gulp
I've just obtained approval from Mrs G to attempt a 600km ride on the last Friday in September. I've got this one chance, this one opportunity, to tick the final box in the collection of rides I need for an SR series this year.
I've never done a 600km ride before. I'd be grateful for advice from the actual experts on here who have, and who know what's what.
Rightly or wrongly, the route I'm following is two different 300km loops centred on Greenroofer Towers so I've got a place to stop for the night to refuel/recharge. I can do a single 300km ride in 16 hours or so. Oh yes, and each of the two loops has a McDonald's about mid-way along it...
Advice gratefully received
What would you advise?
1) Do allow for the likelihood that the second 300km will be slower perhaps much slower.
2) You will likely want to stop more often
3) Plan foodstops 50-70km apart
4) Make sure they will be open
5) Persistence is key. There will be down points. But you can recover, especially after a wee break.
6) Do not do with a cold (this is more for me after I collapsed 540km into a 600 then had a roaring fever)
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