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| Bealach Mor |
 Bealach Mor, 90 miles and a really wet start but thankfully nearly flat calm and ended nice and dry.
Surprised myself by managing a 4h 55m 36sec for route with a 41min 36 sec climb.
Unfortunately i will miss the hill climb later this month as will be away at work.
Good luck to all that take part. |
· donniebruce on 23/10/2011 19:37 ·
0 Comments ·
295 Reads ·
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| LEJOG - alf, claire and catherine! |
this is hilarious! they are cycling up from pitlochry today - let's all send them (especially alf) some love for the hills!
i've got some photos too... some a bit revealing but i'll find a way and stick them up!!
Day 1
Penzance to Land's End then Land's End to Upton Cross by 143 minor, minor roads! (95 miles)- thanks Alan!
Title: Another Bl***y Hill!
Quotes of the Day
Alf: That was some bloody hill!
Catherine: (2 miles from home) Only 47 more hills then!
Claire: That's a nice crematorium!
Day 2
Title: Lost on the Devon Bealach (Upton Cross to Taunton)- 90.1 miles
Quotes of the Day
Claire (lost) It's the Garmin!
Catherine (lost!) It's my glasses!
Alf : Bl***y girls!.... mutter, mutter,.. "We're not going up that bl***y hill are we?....f*** hill, splutter, splutter, mutter,hill, mutter, f*** hill....., wheeze, wheeeeze........
Day 3
Title:Settling In
Taunton to Monmouth -77miles
Alf: I think this is going to be the best day, huh!
Claire:Listen you two, you just swerved round that manhole cover ....you could have died!!!!
Catherine: For your cheek you can just go up those bl****y hills on your own!
Day 4
Title:Meeting Pals for a glass or two
-Monmouth to Shrewsbury- 72 miles
Alf (in the dark with mobile phone light on at 2.30am, 4.30am, 5am.....): Mumble, cold,mumble, f*** hot, mumble bl**** air conditioning!
Mel (sharing room with Alf): Where can I buy earplugs?!
Day 5
Into Mordor!
Shrewsbury to Preston -96 miles
Highlight of the Day- Alf bumped into the locals and collected 500 points in the park......the poor guy's okay but Alf will never be the same again!
Day 6
Soul Searching on the Shap
Claire: Let's just book him in here!
Alf (soul searching again): That was some bl***y hill.....again!
Catherine to Alf as Mel goes speeding past him up the hill: Come on Alf, get him, go get him, GO.
Mel (as Alf catches him): My legs are actually quite tired today!............
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· lauran on 01/08/2011 09:24
1 Comment ·
945 Reads ·
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| Stage Race.......... |
Our stage race is rapidly approaching and we're still in desperate need of marshals/helpers etc (even riders!!). If you can help at all on one or other of the days - 23rd/24th July, get in touch with myself or John McLean, it will be greatly appreciated. Transport to Cromarty can be provided.
If you intend riding, and I hope as many of you as possible will ( remember its only ever 10 miles from HQ :) get your entry in asap!!
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· PHIL on 06/07/2011 08:14
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625 Reads ·
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| Meigle Vets Race |
 MEIGLE VETS RACE 18TH June 2011
I watched three different weather forecasts on Friday night but they all said the same thing, it was going to be wet, especially in Angus which Meigle is bang in the middle of. This is my forth Vets race and the third one that I have done in a downpour. On arrival the forecast was dead right, there was also a strong easterly wind blowing and it was only 11 degrees. Riding up to the strip I looked on enviously to those guys with the see through rain jackets on. They seem a good idea for days like this.
Thankfully we didn’t have to hang about too long before we were off. The race started with a long undulating run straight into the head wind. Virtually before the flag was pulled there was an attack from James Millar. I caught his wheel and went with him, but the pack were lively and looking for action and lots more little breaks went, so I just tried to stay reasonably near the front without catching too much of the head wind. Eventually a couple got away and started working together but with the wind and all the draggy little climbs and the fresh bunch they never got much of a gap. Just before the left turn to the major drag of the circuit a big guy went off the front. Given the weight he was carrying I figured his tactic was to get a gap before going backwards up the hill. On the hill itself I was joined on the front by James and we pretty much stayed there. By the time we got to the top the two escapees where reeled back in.
A left turn at the top of the drag saw a tailwind for the first time which seemed to energise our James again and he started launching attack after attack. One guy said to me “what is it with that Dooleys Guy, he keeps attacking them sitting up”. I tried to just sit on wheels again on what was an extremely fast section of the course. At one stage the guy in front of me braked, when I did the same nothing happened for about 3 secs (which felt like a week!) courtesy of wet carbon rims, I swerved inside the guy only to find that we were on a sweeping right hand bend. Well I’m sure an involuntary yelp escaped me, though it was hopefully covered by the noise of the wind in the ears. I got away with a fright though I understand the pack came down later in the race and one guy was at the strip with his arm in a sling. Hopefully no lasting damage.
Shortly after there was another slight rise in the road and James went yet again. This time he looked like he was in full time trial mode, good on you James I thought. A guy then went past me at a lick and I grabbed his wheel. I didn’t want to real James in so initially I thought I would just sit on. After a bit I looked over my shoulder and saw we had a reasonable gap. So I came through and we spelled together until we caught up with James. “We seem to have a bit of a gap” I told him. “That’s good” was all he said.
After we had completed the first lap and were on the horrible head wind section again the Motorcycle guy came alongside and told us we had 30 secs. A proper gap then, something to work for. After another half lap it was up to 50 secs and by the time we were onto the third lap it was out to 1min 9ses. I think we must have got a bit complacent then. Because half a lap later after the drag it was back to 30 secs and by the time we got to the finish line for the penultimate time it was down to 20 secs. I remember saying to James “I think its curtains” James however was ever positive “keep it up lads and see what happens”. Onto the sticky headwind section again and our third member (John McQuade) was conspicuous by his absence, he admitted afterwards that he thought it was all over and was just waiting for the pack to roll up to us. I never missed a spell on that nightmare section but I must admit some of them were pretty short! James on the other hand was like a man possessed and I remember thinking if we finish together then James deserves the win for the effort he has put in. Things were getting a bit blurry at this stage and I was beginning to think that this being in a break wasn’t such great fun after all. It just hurt a lot. James then came through and shouted over the noise of the gale “still at least it’s not windy” it took a while to register what he had said. When I realised he was still cracking jokes at a time like this I was just flabbergasted. I think it gave me a bit of a boost. We were also getting news of a break from the main bunch closing in. James had spotted them on the road and he heard at the bottom of the drag that they were within 15 secs. James had also said if only we could get to the top of the drag with a lead then we should be able to stay away.
John and I put in a big effort going up the drag. We were pretty well matched on the hill and rode more or less shoulder to shoulder. James admitted afterwards that he was virtually dropped going up there. On the downwind section, I was on the front and put in an effort to get the speed up and get us rolling again. I was surprised not to see James at this stage because on all the previous laps this was where he came to the fore. After 400m or so I realised why, James took off like a hare, neither John nor I had any response. I was bit disappointed that we had lost the help of one of our band but at least it was mostly either downwind or downhill from here to the finish. At one stage I turned to John and asked if he wanted to make it joint second at the line. “There’s a bunch of guys are going to catch us” he said. I didn’t really believe him, but thought oh well, and just put my head down and carried on.
Before the finish there was a descent with a couple of bends on it then a straight downhill section before the road levelled off and about 400m of flat to the finish. I was now doing most of the work but was feeling quite comfortable, John was coming through but his spells were fairly short. Then to my astonishment at the bottom of the last descent all these strangers suddenly appeared and overtook us. I could see the line and could see a slight gap between the two in front of me. Bu&&er these interlopers, I thought, gritted my teeth and went through the gap. I was amazed and delighted to see fresh air in front of them. Second place yippea. Afterwards I spoke to John and found that he got third place. So in the end the escapees got 1st, 2nd and 3rd and, I think, in the order that we deserved it. Great race and a big thanks to James for an education in how to become an escape artist. Would be nice to have dry day for the next one though.
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· gretch on 19/06/2011 20:11
1 Comment ·
1101 Reads ·
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| Dyke APR 2011 |
Dyke APR 5th June 2011
Nine of us set off in group 3, 3 minutes ahead of the scratch group and 3 minutes behind a fairly strong looking group 2. The pace was good from the start with almost everyone coming through to take their turn.
I’d never ridden the course before but the roads were generally good, fairly flat and quiet. About half way round I spotted John and Donnie on one of the bends. Donnie had us in the sights of his big lens and I decided that I would just stay on the front and take the corner at a lick. You always see these photos in the mags of people leaning right into corners but any pics of me I still look really upright. This one I decided would be different. Halfway round the corner I realised the corner tightened horrendously and I was going way too fast. Jamming on the brakes I locked up a couple of times and eventually mounted the grass verge before getting back into the group. After that I was quite happy to take the rest of the bends in an upright position.
This close call must have given me a shot of adrenaline because before long I was shouting at my team mates to come through and spell and get chasing and what not. Ivor had a quiet word and told me to settle down as I was actually slowing the group down. I’m sure he was right and I tried to slip back to being a cog in the wheel instead of an adrenaline fuelled maniac. Probably thanks to this the second lap seemed a lot smoother. Again nearly everyone, Even Phil, was coming through and spelling. Our teamwork was rewarded at the end of the second lap when we spotted group 2 up ahead.
A couple of miles later and it was Gruppo Completo as they say in Forres. A few of the guys from group 2 were coming through but I was keen to keep fairly near the front in case anything went off. A shout of 30 seconds went up as we rounded the right turn on the course. This took me by surprise as I didn’t realise anyone was still out front. A mile or so later we passed a tired looking Mark Munro and George Findlater told me he was the last man. So that was it no more chasing required, although the pace didn’t drop much. Josh Conry and David Anderson from Deeside were doing much of the driving at this stage.
Shortly before Dyke village George Findlater went, I jumped with him and tried to make a break but we were quickly reeled in. Next the Deeside pair went in the village of Dyke were there is a nasty little rise. I jumped over to them as well and this time we did open a gap. I tried to help them out and make it count, “if only we could stay away I’d be guaranteed third place” I toldmyself. A short while later a glance over the shoulder showed it was gruppo completo again, Damn!
There was one more drag before the final bend and then about a half mile straight into the wind. Almost before the drag had started Josh went like a rocket. I was on the front of the pack but let him go. I was still in recovery mode. I had one half of my personality telling me I was an idiot and I’d missed the decisive break, while the other half was telling me to be patient and just limit the gap. Before I fell out with myself too badly Charles Fletcher shot out the pack. I grabbed his wheel and was very soon up with Josh. On reaching him, Charles started to slow and I saw my opportunity. I gave it everything I had up to the last corner and the top of the drag. I was on the limit of blowing and was dreading the final straight with the headwind and the bunch bearing down on me. I put my head on the bars and did my best TT impression, praying I didn’t get cramp. Occasional glances under my oxters revealed only tarmac. Then with about 100 metres to the line when I felt if I needed to I could put in a final spurt I finally dared to look over my shoulder. Pure relief, a comfortable gap to the bunch and I knew at last I had it.
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· gretch on 07/06/2011 19:08
2 Comments ·
929 Reads ·
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| Smashing Time in Spain! |
 I arrived in Montecorto a little white village (pueblos blanco) built into the mountains here in Andalucia, South of Spain on Friday. As we drove from the airport I was getting so excited about all the mountains that we had to climb this week! The butterflies started when the plane was landing!
First thing Saturday, full of porridge (which I had a bit of a time sourcing but it was neccessary!), bike bottles full and MFCC jersey crammed with Gels we set out to Ronda which is the nearest town. It was a great ride and I had my climbing legs on (just as well I took the week of before coming here I was thinking) - there is nothing but up and down - both extreme! We got to Ronda early morning and popped into the bike shop (my housemate here Sree had to get his wheel true-d). Ashley (the dude who's been climbing these mountains for 6 years!) and I set off for a gentle 60-70km (everything in km - at least i get to do a bit of mental arithmatic... 36-40ish miles). Nice.
The weather was not brilliant but a little rain and wind never hurt this tough highland lass! To be honest i was still in a short sleeve shirt and shorts as these guys whinged about the cold! Cycling through the town I was really happy about the way drivers treated us. There were many zebra crossings and drivers stopped and let pedestrians pass with care, second came cyclists and third drivers... the way it should be I think.
You know those white lines are slippy as anything in the rain? I felt my back wheel skid a couple of times and thought to myself watch yourself Laura, these roads aren't used to the rain and they are a bit greasy. A few minutes later and I realised just how right I was. Tarmac and faces are not friends! I had hit the deck, I don't know why but I seemed to decide if I am going down I'm using my face as a brake. Someone was watching out for me though because in this busy street the car behind me stopped quickly so as not to hit me. 3 cars stopped to take me to the hospital. And everyone wanted to help in some way.
Fortunately the hospital was only 5 minutes away. Before I knew it these lovely Spanish nurses were chattering away around me... I couldn't understand a word but it was comforting. Ashley came behind and he speaks Spanish so he told them all they needed to know - though they did laugh at him for not knowing my date of birth as they thought he was my husband!!
They were so lovely and nice and they knew pain and water in english so I was okay.
4 stitches, a clean up, an x-ray (which they gave me to take home if anyone wants proof my head is fine!) and a few hours of making sure I wasn't concussed and I was on my way back to Montecorto. I slept a lot. It was halloween night in the village so everyone probably just thought that I had done some pretty good make up - I'm sure I looked pretty gorey!!
The next day was a write off - i have never spent such a lazy day for a long time. I read a whole book! I was so wiped I wasn't even frustrated. I ate a lot of grapes - needed to get my strength up for cycling - I was determined to get out! That's why I came here!!
So using my face as a brake was pretty silly but it had it's advantages... bike was okay (phew - did I mention I took my Mam's bike to Spain?!), legs were okay, helmet okay, arms okay!!
Yesterday then, was my first day of cycling and what a thrill! It was warm, the roads are lovely, the hills are long and quite tough but beautiful, I was flying. (ever seen a flying chicken?!) Okay so I wasn't speedy gonzalez but I was getting up the hills and I was happy! We rode about 40miles and climbed 1200m - I got home and had a siesta! What a life.
Today we climbed again, the beast of el bayor they call it here! 9 miles of pretty tough climbing! Dores less than 4 times I kept saying to myself! And I did it, 2 gels, an elevenses bar and a bottle of juice later I was on top of the world (it really did feel like it!).
The descents I'm not so keen on but that is practise isn't it. Might be needing new brake blocks when I get home though!
That's the Andalucian Cycling Experience so far - it has it's ups and it's downs - both extreme! I thoroughly recommend it but take it from me faces don't work as brakes! You'll see that next week when I'm back, 2 black eyes, scar on chin and half a front tooth missing!
Alf - you would love the hills here!
Peace and bicycle grease, Laura *:) |
· lauran on 02/11/2010 18:22
0 Comments ·
1843 Reads ·
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| MFCC at La Marmotte |
| The following is my take on this event. Sorry It's a bit long. |
· gretch on 10/08/2010 12:41
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2654 Reads ·
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