statts1976uk Posted April 27, 2018 Share Posted April 27, 2018 Heading home to pick up my bike and head towards Inverness for this weekend’s Etape. I’ve had nowhere near what I wanted in saddle time so I’ll not be hammering it round. This is closed roads riding at its best, we should definitely have more of this in Scotland. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Benjamin_Nevis Posted April 28, 2018 Share Posted April 28, 2018 23 hours ago, statts1976uk said: Heading home to pick up my bike and head towards Inverness for this weekend’s Etape. I’ve had nowhere near what I wanted in saddle time so I’ll not be hammering it round. This is closed roads riding at its best, we should definitely have more of this in Scotland. Indeed. I'm heading up there later this morning. Forecast looks almost acceptable for Sunday as well. Pity the Etape Royale fell on it's arse, that looked a cracker (Deeside). 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
statts1976uk Posted April 28, 2018 Share Posted April 28, 2018 http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-edinburgh-east-fife-43925101 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
statts1976uk Posted April 28, 2018 Share Posted April 28, 2018 1 hour ago, jupe1407 said: Indeed. I'm heading up there later this morning. Forecast looks almost acceptable for Sunday as well. Pity the Etape Royale fell on it's arse, that looked a cracker (Deeside). I always planned on doing the Etape Royale but never quite managed to be able to schedule it in but hopefully it gets resurrected soon. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tbsouth Posted April 28, 2018 Share Posted April 28, 2018 Never understood why anyone wants to pay big bucks to ride on roads that you can ride on anytime for free, i go out every weekend with a tenner and ride myself, sometimes do up to 200 miles and do it in my own time (no cut off point) the thought of 60 odds miles surrounded by bike snobs comparing their 3k bikes makes me vomit. :-) 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Unleash The Nade Posted April 28, 2018 Share Posted April 28, 2018 5 hours ago, statts1976uk said: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-edinburgh-east-fife-43925101 This is fantastic and great that one of Scotland’s cycling legends is getting involved . No doubt there’ll be negative reactions as per usual from the morbidly obese, lard eating, sweaty foreheaded masses that Scotland is infamous for . 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Unleash The Nade Posted April 28, 2018 Share Posted April 28, 2018 3 hours ago, tbsouth said: Never understood why anyone wants to pay big bucks to ride on roads that you can ride on anytime for free, i go out every weekend with a tenner and ride myself, sometimes do up to 200 miles and do it in my own time (no cut off point) the thought of 60 odds miles surrounded by bike snobs comparing their 3k bikes makes me vomit. :-) I’m with you to a point in this as personally never really saw the appeal of sportives and the costs involved , for the reasons you give. However, if it makes more people get out there on their bikes , exercising in the fresh air , it can only be a good thing. After all, cycling is the fastest growing sport in the country and the more people we have out there doing it , the better 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Unleash The Nade Posted April 28, 2018 Share Posted April 28, 2018 Due to work commitments , first time out on the bike for 3 week 30 miles at 17.2mph average , so chuffed with that , despite some stronger than expected winds and still a fair chill factor 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dindeleux Posted April 28, 2018 Share Posted April 28, 2018 My average speed is dreadful generally speaking but I did get a 42 mile ride in this morning going up to Barrhead and back. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gnash Posted April 29, 2018 Share Posted April 29, 2018 On 4/28/2018 at 10:42, tbsouth said: Never understood why anyone wants to pay big bucks to ride on roads that you can ride on anytime for free, i go out every weekend with a tenner and ride myself, sometimes do up to 200 miles and do it in my own time (no cut off point) the thought of 60 odds miles surrounded by bike snobs comparing their 3k bikes makes me vomit. :-) I did the Kinross Sportive yesterday and I would probably agree with the first bit of that for an open road sportive. There's little - if any - benefit in an open roads event versus going on a group ride with a bike club. In fact, riding with people you know in a group ride has the advantage of being much more disciplined and social (at least for people like me that don't talk to strangers much). A closed road sportive is a completely different beast. I've ridden a few and the feeling of belting along in a huge (60+ group) without the worry of traffic is fantastic. Definitely worth the large price tag on these events. For the record I have never heard anyone comparing their bikes on a sportive. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Unleash The Nade Posted April 29, 2018 Share Posted April 29, 2018 (edited) Another 56 miles done today , 2489 feet of climbing and 16.9mph average . First time out on the good summer bike Edited April 29, 2018 by Unleash The Nade 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
statts1976uk Posted April 29, 2018 Share Posted April 29, 2018 Etape Loch Ness done and I certainly felt the lack of saddle time in training. Great organisation again this year with plenty of support vehicles on the route. Only downside was that the start was a bit of a shambles, I was scheduled to start at 0637 but didn’t cross the line until after 7. Saw a couple of ambulances tending to people out on the course, hope it was nothing serious. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Benjamin_Nevis Posted April 29, 2018 Share Posted April 29, 2018 Etape Loch Ness done and I certainly felt the lack of saddle time in training. Great organisation again this year with plenty of support vehicles on the route. Only downside was that the start was a bit of a shambles, I was scheduled to start at 0637 but didn’t cross the line until after 7. Saw a couple of ambulances tending to people out on the course, hope it was nothing serious. Aye I started late as well. Cracker of a day though and improved by 15 mins on last year which was an unexpected bonus. The beer at the finish line barely touched the sides.I went up the Sat morning and camped in Beauly with the intention of staying tonight and doing some hills on Monday. A fucking terrible idea which was binned after a freezing cold night in a tent [emoji38] 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
welshbairn Posted April 29, 2018 Share Posted April 29, 2018 4 hours ago, statts1976uk said: Etape Loch Ness done and I certainly felt the lack of saddle time in training. Great organisation again this year with plenty of support vehicles on the route. Only downside was that the start was a bit of a shambles, I was scheduled to start at 0637 but didn’t cross the line until after 7. Saw a couple of ambulances tending to people out on the course, hope it was nothing serious. 5 minutes ago, jupe1407 said: Aye I started late as well. Cracker of a day though and improved by 15 mins on last year which was an unexpected bonus. The beer at the finish line barely touched the sides. I went up the Sat morning and camped in Beauly with the intention of staying tonight and doing some hills on Monday. A fucking terrible idea which was binned after a freezing cold night in a tent What kind of times did you do? My cousin did it on a mountain bike in 6 hours and was terrified of the van coming to pick her up. Said the climb out of Fort Augustus fucked her a bit for the rest of the route. First big ride for her. (no euph) 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Benjamin_Nevis Posted April 29, 2018 Share Posted April 29, 2018 What kind of times did you do? My cousin did it on a mountain bike in 6 hours and was terrified of the van coming to pick her up. Said the climb out of Fort Augustus fucked her a bit for the rest of the route. First big ride for her. (no euph) I was 4h24m 6 hours is decent going on a MTB, they're usually 3-4 kilos (at least) heavier than a roadie. The sweep van is meant to cruise the course at 12mph I seem to remember, though you don't have to get on it, just means you won't be on closed roads if it passes you. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
statts1976uk Posted April 30, 2018 Share Posted April 30, 2018 Mine was just a touch over 5 hours, a little disappointed but expected. It goes to show that no matter how many hours are put into the gym it’s saddle time that matters. I took out three inner tubes, I gave one away halfway up the KoM stage thinking I’m doing ok and then straight after the downhill section I had my own puncture so was a bit nervous. Next year I’ll be better prepared but I did enjoy it. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Unleash The Nade Posted April 30, 2018 Share Posted April 30, 2018 (edited) 28 minutes ago, statts1976uk said: It goes to show that no matter how many hours are put into the gym it’s saddle time that matters. This ^^ The past few years I’ve spent a lot of time in the gym during the winter months, especially on the Wattbike. Whilst it does maintain a certain level of fitness, it lulls you into a false impression that all will be well when you get back out on the road .... it isn’t !! Edited April 30, 2018 by Unleash The Nade 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
statts1976uk Posted April 30, 2018 Share Posted April 30, 2018 4 minutes ago, Unleash The Nade said: This ^^ The past few years I’ve spent a lot of time in the gym during the winter months, especially on the Wattbike. Whilst it does maintain a certain level of fitness, it lulls you into a false impression that all will be well when you get back out on the road .... it isn’t !! Had my first go in a wattbike in Saturday in the cycling hub in Inverness and was really impressed with it, I managed 1310 and 1327w which apparently is quite good for a man of my age and build. I was happier that my power distribution both times was 50/50. Great bike of kit, definitely going to see if I can incorporate it into my gym routine. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Unleash The Nade Posted April 30, 2018 Share Posted April 30, 2018 6 minutes ago, statts1976uk said: Had my first go in a wattbike in Saturday in the cycling hub in Inverness and was really impressed with it, I managed 1310 and 1327w which apparently is quite good for a man of my age and build. I was happier that my power distribution both times was 50/50. Great bike of kit, definitely going to see if I can incorporate it into my gym routine. You managed 1327 Watts ??!! How long did you hit that output for ? 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
statts1976uk Posted April 30, 2018 Share Posted April 30, 2018 1 hour ago, Unleash The Nade said: You managed 1327 Watts ??!! How long did you hit that output for ? It was over 10 seconds, damn near killed me! Luckily it was on the Saturday to allow me to recover! 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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