@bill, ah all locals in house and not going back out after 5pm
CityCyclingEdinburgh Forum » Events, rides etc.
Audax and Sportives 2021
(247 posts)-
Posted 3 years ago #
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I had a lovely ride to Seahouses and back from Hawick yesterday. It was warm, too warm for someone from Scotland, but still cooler than Saturday. And there was some respite at the coast.
The ride started with a big hill, to Carter Bar via Bonchester. The mingling of the local roadies with the usual audax crowd meant a stunning pace to the top. Then we split ways! The descent from Carter Bar on the quiet A68 was gorgeous - not only due to the road, but a refreshing self-induced breeze. Then into some of my very favourite parts, the remote valleys to Morebattle, passing Woden Law and the Roman camps on Dere Street, then some very old terracing on the valley sides. Back on to a very familiar audax road to Wooler. Failed to get into a cafe, and Coop provided a great backup with its airconditioning.
Wooler to Belford was surpisingly hilly - yikes - in the now searing heat. But then the views of the coast, with Lindisfarne and all the glories. A short ride, and we are atop a hill viewing the outsized Bamburgh Castle. The village is a honey pot. And the road between there and Seahouses crammed with cars. So popular Seahouses, but the queue for the chippy was short. I wish we'd had time for a cooling boat trip.
Trip back was quite a lot flatter, over to Cornhill and Coldstream (ice cream!), then river following coupled with dreams of jumping in.
I often come back from audaxes heavier but this one I lost a kilo!
Disappointing drive back, as Radio 5 devoted to golf not TdF.Posted 3 years ago # -
Yet another audax on Saturday, this time a DIY 400km from Selkirk to Kendal and back. It started off misty along the Yarrow valley. Lots of campers around the lochs and by GMT. Nearer to Moffat the sky cleared. Down the A74 service road to Gretna then Carlisle (unfornately had to go through both ways but nice to see the castle and the oversized chimney apparently for a bungalow). Lanes to Penrith then Shap, Orton and the real Tebay, and over to Kendal. On the way back we came over the utterly brilliant A6 proper Shap summit (unnecessarily steep though!) and then back a similar way. Most stops were not glam (Morrisons, services) but the Coop in Dalston is nicely located. I was better mentally in the second half despite being obviously more tired. I thought the weather problem would be soaring heat, but there was enough cloud to reduce that issue. However the temperature plummeted to around 5 degrees from St Mary's Loch onwards, with patchy mist. That did catch us out, and fingers and toes were complaining. The final climb was 100m to the top of Selkirk (why oh why?!). Great ride but only one ice cream.
Posted 3 years ago # -
@amir - those are two lovely rides and write-ups. I'm familiar with both routes and you've reminded me that those are places I want to visit again.
I've never been to Carter Bar or the A6 at Shap, being feared that both might be a nightmare of HGVs, but now I'm tempted...
Posted 3 years ago # -
Saturday must have been the day for 400s, I did the Annan Other Borders from Ponteland. It started overcast and a tailwind sped us over the military road to Longtown and the first control at Annan, by which point we had a cloudless blue sky. Thankfully I spent some time faffing looking for ice lollies in Annan Tesco, as otherwise my receipt might have been a few minutes too early (not an audax experience I'm used to!). Any time gains started to be paid back on the drag to Moffat, and even more so on the climb up Moffatdale which was like a furnace once the shaded sections ran out. St Mary's Loch and Loch of the Lowes v busy, like a Mitteleuropa inland sea with bathers, kayakers and paddleboarders. Low road through Selkirk and on to Gala, after which the climb out of the valley at Leaderfoot came as a nasty surprise. Skirted Kelso on the north side and then along quiet roads to Berwick. After a McDonalds pit stop to celebrate the end of the headwind, the route turned south, I reached Etal at dusk and it was dark by the time I made Wooler. As amir said, it turned very cold after dark (down to 4 degrees on the Northumberland moors) but I had a fantastic red Hay Moon for company. Then a quick descent into Alnwick, where we'd been warned to watch out for overenthusiastic revellers, but uneventful apart from a bit of shouting. Onto the final leg, caught up around Widdrington Station with another Scottish rider who was not long back from doing the Pan Celtic Race (chapeau!). I blew up a bit on the last significant climb out of Morpeth, some emergency carbohydrate imbibing required, maybe more for placebo effect but enough to get me to the finish. A fantastic day out.
Posted 3 years ago # -
@amir - looked like a decent ride on Strava, well done for getting a 400 in. Border Nights 400 in Sept for me this year - hoping life and work will be in more of a routine by then! Got Covid jab #2 about 3 hours before I'm due to drive down to Carlisle for TotBaG, so that one'll end in triumph or disaster..hopefully be able to reschedule jab inwards a few days.
Posted 3 years ago # -
@edinburgh87 I am not likely to do TotBaG as it looks too much hassle. Annan Water seemed to be restricting or even completely closing off the seating area at around 11pm so not even the chance for a snooze there.
I may ECE Lucy's 200 in August to a 600 if I get led astray.Posted 3 years ago # -
@Murun great riding. It must be good having a tailee on the Military Road - two doses of headwind this year for me.
@Greenroofer I have only ever tackled Carter Bar from Bonchester Bridge direction - that leaves only a wee bit of A68 up to the top. I have often proceeded beyond to eg Elsdon - a necessary evil, but never terrible.
The A6 was fine - occasional fast driving but not too busy, no lorries at the time, and a very wide road. And lots of Roman stuff around about to think about.
Posted 3 years ago # -
That’s quite interesting / good to know - did wonder how venues would react to people sleeping for 3-4 hours on their premises in the current climate tbf. Could be that a 375k from to home followed by a 225k the following day is the most hassle free way of a 600 at the moment. If one can manage to drag self outside again on the Sunday morning…
Posted 3 years ago # -
@amir
Wooler to Belford was surpisingly hilly - yikes
I know exactly what you mean. I bonked here on a bikepacking trip and the last 20 miles of the day were brutal. Beautiful area but bad memories
Posted 3 years ago # -
Cracking rides @amir and @Murun! And lovely write-ups!
@Murun I spent a lot of time trying to decided which ice cream to pick for the "beach" for @edinburgh87 and myself when we were at said tesco
Posted 3 years ago # -
@bill - your choice was worth the wait IIRC :)
Posted 3 years ago # -
File under "It Shouldn't Happen To An Audaxer"
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Cyclist thought he would die after Portsoy bridge plunge
A junior doctor has spoken about his "miracle" rescue after he plunged 30ft (9m) over a bridge and into a river during a long-distance cycle ride. Duncan Brown, 34, had been on a 300km (186 mile) organised event but after braking as he approached a sharp bend onto a bridge near Portsoy, he skidded on the road. He hit the bridge and was thrown over the parapet, sliding into the water. Duncan said it was a miracle his fall was seen by an RAF nursing officer. He had been about 100km (62 miles) into the event, which began in Nairn last Saturday, when he approached the bridge over the Burn of Boyne on a decline.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-north-east-orkney-shetland-58129268
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Assume he was riding The Turra Coo:
https://audax.uk/event-details?eventId=8867Posted 3 years ago # -
I did a 600 this weekend to complete my SR this year.
A group of us decided to ECE (add extra mileage) a 200 audax from Galashiels to Berwick-upon-Tweed. Due to the weather two of us decided to do Saturday and Sunday rather than the original Friday/Saturday, as the forecast was so-so for Friday. To their credit, two stuck with the original plan (and got soaked and wind blown).
We A7'd it down to Gala early doors then had a very sociable wind assisted ride to Berwick via Morebattle and Wooler. Note - there is a lovely community shop in Morebattle with high quality sweet stuff. Morebattle is an excellent place for cycling, short or long. Lots of views and interesting history. From Berwick, the return leg was hard, with a very fresh breeze. But it got better as we neared Gala for the calendar event finish. After a carb top up there, we rumbled up the Tweed valley, mainly along the lovely railway path to Peebles, then to Dawyck, Broughton and Biggar. By then very cold, we returned along the main road back to Midlothian for a good 4 hour kip in our own beds.Slightly refreshed, the next day took us through Edinburgh over the FRB and to Bridge of Allan via Culross and the path south of Alloa (interesting if NCN-ish). An excellent second breakfast there, and at last I felt a bit more alive. The roads around Braco, Auchterarder towards Perth were a delight. Returning to civilisation(or carmageddon) in Perth, we had our last major stop before our return to Edinburgh. It was a bit of a slog, partly because of the unexpected traffic (last day before schools back?) and partly because of the unexpected return of the breeze. The latter pushed us through the cycle paths of Edinburgh and the lively Portobello, and then along the coast to Gullane. I was on the edge there, and the thought of the last 27km into the westerly to return home did not help. However an icecream and a good helping of unhealthy food helped, and I coped mentally much better. It was so good to get back though!
It was also a relief to complete the ride full stop. I have a poor ccompletion rate for 600s, having previously failed 2 (illness and cba with bad weather) and only completed 1. So stats are looking bbetter.Unlike some, I much prefer a 400.However, this was a mini-epic. @bill is currently on a magnificent quest just now, and I look forward to the tales thereof. Maybe dragons or perhaps "just" midges.
Posted 3 years ago # -
Great write up @amir and well done on completing the SR. I'm sure you were limiting yourself to 200s earlier in the year?? Just spent a week in Northumberland (only cycling was a lap of Kielder Water) and it is a lovely area to explore. Was on some of the roads you were using, especially around Wooler. Quite a bit was lumpier than expected.
Looking forward to hearing of @bill's exploits.
Posted 3 years ago # -
I'm sure you were limiting yourself to 200s earlier in the year??
I got led astray
Posted 3 years ago # -
Enjoyed your account @amir, and chapeau for achieving your SR, especially this year. Are you planning to ride any more events this season? I've been very slow to the party for various reasons, but it would be good to catch up with you and others in person. Mrs Panyagua and I have signed up for Lyon, Lawers and Moors on 4 Sep, and SBR on 16th Oct. I'm also down for Talla Ho on 11 Sep.
Posted 3 years ago # -
The Lyon, Lawers and Moors looks lovely but I can't do the date. I am doing Talla Ho for the following weekend - with our very own local organiser. I'm also signed up for the SBR and Etal-u-Can (different route to usual, but same as last weekend's 200). I may sign up for more but will see how it goes. Would definitely be good to catch up in person @panyagua.
Posted 3 years ago # -
@panyagua - great glad to hear you're doing Talla-Ho, remember to mention CCE to me when I hand out your card, it's always good to be able to put another face to a CCE username! I'll be the guy flapping about with a clipboard and handful of brevet cards. I'm currently doing Border Nights (400), ToEL (100), Moulin Moors, SBR, Etal, LdTtotS and Tour of the Ochils (all 200s), plus the route check for my own event . Hopefully arrest my backwards slide down the SBR points table a bit ;) Quite looking forward to getting back into them, life has gotten in the way a lot this summer.
@amir - well done nice write up, I'd also second your preference for 400s.
Going to open a sweep-stake to see how many people pull out of my event to watch the ToB. I've had 2 so far. Any advance??
PS - don't forget the Post Xmas Tour of Midlothian 100 if any local Audaxers fancy a social ride. Mulled wine may be on offer.
Posted 3 years ago # -
@edinburgh87, sorry for being a no show on the talla-ho. I'm planning to extend the tour-o-the borders into a 200km (non-audax) ride.
Posted 3 years ago # -
@acsimpson - no bother at all, tongue is firmly in cheek. Audaxes are on all the time but tours seldom come to our roads, so completely understand. Depending on crowds, times etc I may try to catch a bit of it before riders start heading back to the guide hall
Posted 3 years ago # -
Thanks @amir for introduction to my ride!
Over the summer I was thinking about upping my game from last year's 600k. While chatting to @HankChief about LEL at the CEC 10 year drinks he mentioned that I could totally do it, so I thought about doing it as ELE and tried to find a companion.
When speaking to a fellow Audaxer from Aberdeen he mentioned The Eightsome Reel. 1600k was a bit more than I had planned but I always wanted to tour Scotland by bike, so we decided to do it together. You enter this event by post sending envelops, stamps and a £3 cheque (I was told i could just attach coins which is what i did). That was a bit different to the usual online entries. You get a list of checkpoints (in an order) to visit and the route is claimed to be 1575k so you get 131.25h time allowance at 12km/h.
Planning took a bit of time as the accommodation availability has been limited this summer. In the end managed to find a room every ~300k starting from Inverness. I used a planning spreadsheet that i got from @edinburgh87 and that made things a lot easier. I also printed out each day schedule, taped it over and stuck to my bar bag so i could see the distances and times (that's @DaveC's tip!). I had an Alpkit saddle bag from @sheeptoucher and that fit all all the stuff I needed.
I had a little hiccup at the start when while driving through Fife I realised that I had forgot my cycling shoes and had to go back to get them!
Day 1: Inverness-> Lairg-> Durness-> Bettyhill-> Dunnet
Setting off at 6am on fresh legs, so we made a good progress to the NW coast where is started raining and continued during the day on and off. Once on NC500 the roads were quite busy. Lovely coast and the ups and downs were fine on still relatively fresh legs.Day 2: Dunnet-> Wick -> Dornoch -> Muir of Ord -> Drumnadrochit -> Fort William
We woke up to a lovely sunrise and had a pretty flat ride until we got to the east coast with some 10% and 13% long climbs and descends. Lunch in Dornoch and across to Drumnadrochit for a fish supper dinner. After dinner we still had 70-80k to Fort William along the Loch Ness. Loch Oich and Loch Lochy. I have never been so happy to see 'Welcome to Fort William' sign.Day 3: Fort William -> Glen Coe -> Tyndrum -> shores of Loch Lomond -> Erskine Bridge -> Irvine -> Ayr -> Girvan -> Dailly -> New Luce -> Stoneykirk
A bit wet but warm start from Ford William and we made it to the Green Welly stop for the second breakfast. This section looked amazing as expected and the traffic was OK since we were early on a weekday. After Tyndrum the sun came out and it was pretty sunny along Loch Lomond. Once west of Glasgow the progress was quite slow due to traffic and navigation. We eventually made it to Ayr for a Burger King picnic and set off for another 100k to Stoneykirk via New Luce. The road between Barrhill and New Luce is an interesting one -- a narrow single track going quite high up with about 20 cattle grids along it. It was pitch black by the time we were there only saw sheep's eye and frogs.Day 4: Stoneykirk -> Drummore -> Newton Stewart -> New Galloway -> Moniaive -> Penpont -> Eskdalemuir -> Selkirk -> Berwick on Tweed
From Stoneykirk we went down to Drummore to take a photo and back up to Newton Stewart. I felt very weak and tried all this section. I think I didn't get enough food last night and in the morning. A75 was surprisingly OK, no much ferry traffic. I got lots of food in Newton Stewart and some caffeine tablets. Then off to New Galloway and Penpont, across to Boreland and Eskdalemuir. All those climbs to Eskdalemuir were tough 5-7% up and down. Coming through Eskdalemuir always feels special. Correct me if I am wrong I think it has a very special place in a heart of every Scottish Audaxer. We got a wonderful evening sun through Ettrick valley and were treated to a pasta dinner in Selkirk at a fellow Audaxer house. Then a few hours down to Berwick.Day 5: Berwick on Tweed -> Gifford -> Trenent -> Edinburgh -> Perth -> Pitlochry -> Newtonmore
Started off with very stiff legs headed for Gifford via the Rigg. Some 16-17% were really tough. As @amir mentioned in the other thread section of the road from the Rigg to Gifford was closed (clearly stating that including cyclists) but we pushed on and walked along the verge carrying the bikes while the workers were shouting at us. We couldn't face 10k diversion at this stage. Then into Edinburgh stopping at our place for lunch and then into Fife and Perth. I believe we saw Mr Fimm around Ardmillan and I wave to him. Fife felt like a slog (so hilly!) but we feasted at a petrol station and made us feel so much better! Then went to Pitlochry for dinner (they have take away, post-office, grocery shop and a botlle-o in one shop -- how good is that?). After that still 77k to Newtonmore for the night. The cycle route to Drumochter pass turned out to be not great at dark and in the rain so once at the top we put on all all the lights we had and hopped onto A9 so we managed to get to Newtonmore before 1am.Day 6: Newtonmore -> Aviemore -> Inverness
We woke up feeling very rough and had a bit of a sleep in till 6.30 for the final 77k to Inverness. Breakfast rolls in Aviemore and finished at Velocity cafe in Inverness at around 1-2pm. We had time till 5pm, so we had a safe margin. After some food we headed off for a 27k flat pootle to bring the total distance up to 1,000 miles.It was really good ride. We had good weather: not too cold, not too hot, not too windy, not too wet. Every night we would get at least a little bit of rain for the final 20-30k.
The staff in the hotels were very accommodating and let us take the bikes to the rooms and gave us some breakfast stuff when were arrived so that we could set off early/eat when arrived.
We were only getting about 5-3h hours of sleep (progressively less every night). It was nice to get a cup of tea, shower and nice bed. We also packed light shorts and a t-shirt as PJs, that made a nice change from the cycling kit.
Setting off for another 70-100k after early dinner each night was a bit tough but it was great to have someone to haver to.
I suppose if you cycle faster you get more sleep/longer breaks. But my average speed was my commuting speed so not very fast at all.
We didn't have any mechanicals but my pal fixed my front derailleur shifting around Newton Stewart as i stopped being able to go the big ring and had to do it manually a several times ;)
I started using my drop bars for the first time on day 3 or so and actually used them quite a bit later on. I like how with so many hours on the bike, the bike kind of became part of me. My cycling position has definitely changed compared to the start and my commuting riding.
Here is the Strava link with photos if anyone interested and hasn't seen it.
Posted 3 years ago # -
Very impressive. There quite a lot more climbing in that route than in LEL.
Posted 3 years ago # -
I cycled to Kingussie a couple of years ago, and was so absolutely gubbed by the time I got to Dalwhinnie that I stopped to try and get a train for the last 20km (The next one wasn't for an hour, so I ended up cycling anyway).
Just the thought of doing that after 1500km, rather than after 150km, is painful...
Chapeau!
Posted 3 years ago # -
@edinburgh87 - is there a waiting list for Talla-ho?
Posted 3 years ago # -
@bill - great write-up of an amazing ride. The detail is really useful as that gives the possibility for some of us to have...ideas.
(OK, I'll come clean. I've fancied the idea of something like LEL, and I'm eligible for a place next year, but I'm not sure that I want to actually do LEL because of all the people. This is an interesting alternative for an amusing activity in 12 months time and your detailed description is really helpful.).
I've ridden that path beside the A9 in the dark. It's really rubbish, isn't it? It's the gravel, the random gates and the constant going up and down silly inclines and over pinch-puncture bridges. I too went on the road for a bit, but then chickened out as it was the small hours of the morning and I was alone and worried that I would be reduced to a smear of jam on the tarmac by a dozing HGV driver.
Posted 3 years ago # -
Maybe I should get a T-shirt made up for the next CCE Drinks "Warning: Do not talk to this person unless you want to end up in the rain on Drumochtor Pass at midnight with a man you barely know but who's backside you've been staring at for 4 days" Does that cover it?
In all seriousness, what a cracking ride which you seem to takeit in your stride and still smilimg at the end. A measurable step above LEL in terms of both length (100miles) and elevation (12,000ft) and you had to source your own food along the way and cope with busier roads. Chapeau
Posted 3 years ago # -
@bill eskdalemuir is callling. chapeau.
Posted 3 years ago # -
@bill Absolutely superb! Not many have done that route. What a challenge!
Posted 3 years ago # -
Chapeau Bill!
Someone on Facebook said that they reckon Bill is the first woman to complete the Eightsome Reel.Mr fimm confirms that a person on a bicycle waved at him on Ardmillan Terrace the other day.
Posted 3 years ago #
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