21st Tour of East Lothian Audax

21st TOUR OF EAST LOTHIAN
105 KILOMETRE BREVET POPULAIRE
10AM SUNDAY 14th FEBRUARY 2010

The event organiser, Andy Laing, from Musselburgh RC emailed to let us know about their season opener Audax

"We have had difficulties updating our website with the latest entry form but further route details, etc are available at
www.musselburghrcc.co.uk

Please note that, due to excess numbers previously turning up on the day, NO entries will be taken on the day.
I may consider late entries received by 10 February but no guarantees!
Thanking you in anticipation"

He has sent me an entry form as a word document, let me know if you need it and I'll send it on to anyone interested.

Click here to read Graham's report from last year's ride

Early season sportive

THE JODRELL BANK CYCLOSPORTIVE
14th March Woodford, Cheshire

Early season cyclosportive around the Cheshire lanes. Taking advantage of Cheshire's micro climates mild winter weather. The event features 3 distances 30 miles, 50 miles, and 80 miles catering for all levels. The picturesque route takes the riders past the famous Jodrell Bank Radio Telescope.

More details here: http://www.cyclosport.org/eventdetails.aspx?eventid=2419

A nice part of the world and home to the most recent Clarion section: North Cheshire Clarion: http://www.northcheshireclarion.co.uk/

Veteran TT Association

Jim Harris, our honorary member and and go-to-man for the Scottish section of the Veteran Time Trial Association (VTTA) has sent me their 2009 report which documents all the events and winners from this past year.

If you are 40 or over (and lets face it many of us are), you might be interested in joining up with the association, they run a comprehensive calendar of races throughout the year including 10, 25, 50, 100 TTs, a veterans Best All Rounder competition and numerous trophy races.

The VTTA was established in 1943 with the aim of providing realistic competition in time trials for older racing cyclists, so they would be encouraged to continue in the sport. Races are won not by your actual time but by times calculated using a set of 'standards' according to age.

The standards, which are either times for set distances, or distances for set times begin at the age of 40 and become more generous with each passing year. Standards for women are similar to those for men but there is a phased shift to reflect physiological differences.

If you are interested in finding out more go to www.vtta.org.uk

Or visit the Scottish VTTA website to find out more about the racing north of the border here

Family fun bike day

As part of National Bike week, Linlithgow is having a 'family fun bike day' at Linlithgow primary school this Saturday 13th between 11am and 3pm. There will be loads to do including fun rides, a bike doctor, kids races and a bike powered scalextric. To find out more, click on 'events' on this site:

Kid's pursuit race
I'm organising a kids pursuit race around a an oval track marked on the grass. 2 kids will be starting at either end of the track like Bradley Wiggins and then racing round for two laps, each being timed by a time keeper.
The format will follow Top Gear's 'Star in a reasonably priced car' and each time will be posted on a league table with the kid's name and age so at the end of the day we can see who was the quickest in each age group.
Bring your kids down to have a go - its not often they get the opportunity to have a race in a safe environment.
All competitors must wear helmets.
The event starts at 11.am, see you there!

10 under the Ben

Denise and Dave rode this night time marathon off-road event, at the weekend, here is Daves's report:

It's a 10-hour endurance event in Fort William that can be ridden solo, in pairs, trios and quads (teams of 4 not the motorbike thingies).
I rode in a pair under the team name 'Jan Ullrich Slimming Squad' (I didn't choose the name). We completed 8 laps of the 10 mile (more like 12) course coming in 47th out of about 100 teams in our category.
Denise, on the other hand, chose to ride solo and managed an impressive 5 laps to put her 8th from 14 in the women's solos. She was a bit teary at the end of her final lap, as she was so chuffed with herself. Quite right too, I'm very proud of her.
The weather was immense for the 2nd year in a row. The atmosphere at this event is great and if you've ever considered entering an mtb event, I'd recommend this one. There's a wee video of it on the homepage of the event

Skye Sportive report

Bill, Stevie and Malcolm rode the 100Km event in strong winds over the weekend.

Jackie, Malcolm's partner rode the 50 mile event and said "The wind was brutal and were well in excess of 20 mph, I hope never have to be out in anything like that again. Bill, Stevie and Malcolm are saying they are never doing the 100 again and there is talk of everyone doing the 50 next year."

Malcolm said "That was the most brutal on bike experience I can recall although some of it was of my own making. I spotted that my brake was rubbing at the start line and made a quick fix rather than looking for the real cause. After 10 miles of seeing my heart rate go through the roof and everyone passing me I looked down to see that the problem had sorted itself out and my brakes were now jammed on the other side. By the top of the island the locals had started to protest and some of the sheep were throwing ticks on the road....
Eventually I caught up with a local from Skye called Graham Dees, just as he turned into his drive to pick up some supplies he'd left to see him through the 2nd half of the race. Graham caught me up, turned tour guide and kept me going throughout the rest of the ride. After he told me that he was a paramedic, I though that it was probably best to stick with him. Haven't seen the results yet but I'm at least an hour slower than last year."

Edinburgh Nocturne

On Saturday, the Grassmarket in Edinburgh was taken over by the Nocturne Crit series. Anth and John took park in the Folding bike race and John's mate Angus (wearing the Clarion colours) rode the 4th cat crit and finished 9th. Anth said "That was brilliant but I couldn't keep up with big John after 1 and a half of the three laps, I possibly finished in the top half. Maybe. David Millar seemed to cruise the elite race..."
John Said "We had a blast in the folding race, a few sharks had entered but the first lap was ace and I think we both placed in the top ten. I could here the Clarion supporters cheering us on around the course, many thanks!"
Mark's kids, Erin took and Declan, took part in the Rollapaluza event with Erin coming Second in the girls 250 meter race and Declan 11th in the boys 25o meter race - Congratulations! More details here
More photos here and at Anth's flickr page

A movie form the guys at washing machine post:

edinburgh nocturne, saturday, may 30th 2009 from twmp on Vimeo.

Spider men

Grant Thomson and Graham Gillooly entered their first road race on Sunday, the TLI promoted Spider Nugent's Road Race, a particularly tough event! Read Grant's report to find out how they got on...

Me and Young Mr G set off with the Grandads in the 50+ group with the 40+ 3 mins behind and the seniors a further 4 mins after them. After a downhill start we hit the first big climb - a  2 mile drag up above the M74 which I reckon would be similar in gradient to the Crow Road from the Golf Club to the car park halfway up.
I lasted a few hundred yards and it was Goodnight From Me as the old yins (plus Graham) went away from me. The climb was made harder by being into a block headwind, I had a look behind and saw the second group rapidly closing. I jumped onto a group of 5 or 6 but only lasted half a mile, before another wee rise saw me say goodbye to them as well. The last bunch came past right behind and I didn't even try to join on - just plugged away on my tod. Up ahead it looked like Graham was hanging on well to the group we started with.

The road drops down to Abington services after about 7 or 8 hard miles but the tailwind on this section meant I managed to activate a roadsign telling me to slow down for a corner - the first time this has happened -  be assured!

Turning off the A73 onto another B road which undulated then came the second climb albeit not as hard as the first. I dropped down to finish the first lap and saw Graham standing with a group of 4 - one of whom had punctured and I assumed they were waiting to re-start however they had had enough and opted to make the 5 mile ride back to the HQ while daft-arse here decided to do a futile second loop

It wasn't a wasted effort however as I felt good on the second loop and teamed up with a chap from St Christopher's CC who had been going well but unfortunately had punctured. We went round at a reasonable but not daft pace but by the time we finally got back to the HQ, the winner had already been presented with his prize and had gone home! 

Have to say, in a quite perverse way, I really enjoyed the experience however a couple of riders said to both me and Graham that we were mad to try this event as our first race as it is considered a tough course. C'est La Vie! I tend to think the opposite - I expected to be last so wasn't disappointed and was happy with my effort - I would have liked to stay in the bunch a bit longer but the hill so early on was my downfall.

I'd recommend the TLI events though, as there was a very good atmosphere and all the riders, both myself and Graham spoke to, were very encouraging and offered good words of advice, so it was a valuable learning experience for me and, I think, for Graham as well.

More photos here on the Falkirk BC Gallery

Race route here

Law Wheelers 10 report

Sadiq, Matt and Stevie rode the Law Wheelers 10 on Sunday morning. The weather was almost perfect for testing, cool with a slight headwind on the way to the turn, providing good assistance on the return leg. The Cambussbarron course has about 14m climbing so fast times were expected, Sadiq and Stevie clocked new personal bests while Matt set a new club 10 record.
Sadiq said "The course is more or less pan flat with roughish road surface in places, traffic was ok but there were a few coaches and large things kicking about but i didn't see any dodgy driving. I found it tough going, a flat course means pressure on the legs all the way. I was pretty wasted at the end, more so than club TTs

Times
Sadiq Mir: 24.16 (34th)
Matt Ball: 22.46 (13th)
Steve McDowall 25.56 (46th)

Clarion riders make it through the Etape

Malcolm, Jim, Angus, Craig, Mike, Paul and Mark made up a group of seven Clarion riders involved in the disrupted Caledonia Etape at the weekend. The well run event was sabotaged by a local, who spread carpet tacks across sections of the course. Rannoch and Tummel community council chairman, Alex Grosset, 62, appeared in Perth Sheriff Court on Wednesday but presented no plea to the court. Luckily, this reckless action inflicted only punctures on our riders and they avoided crashing. It remains to be seen how the behaviour of a minority will effect the future of this charitable event.

Malcom said "Words escape me as to describe how big an act of stupidity this was. Those responsible could easily have had blood on their hands and should be treated as if they have. After I'd punctured, I saw a guy carrying his bike on his shoulders cyclocross style. I asked him if he'd run out of tubes but he said someone had just run across the road spreading tacks and jumped back down to the river bank. He had a pretty good description of the guy.
I saw a couple of police motorbikes being taken away on a low loader, so something tells me that they'll get their man."

Mark said "I managed to get three punctures, it was just after the 43 mile point when things went pear shaped, after the feed station there were bikes everywhere with punctures. I was going good guns as well passing the 40 mile point at 1 hour 48 mins. Apart from the sabotage, it was a good day! My time was 3 hrs 43mins taking off the time for punctures. I will be booking up for next year and taking plenty of patches with me!"

Mike said "Hats off to the event organisers who did a fantastic job in sorting the mess out as best as they could, and to all the volunteers who kept spirits up when we were all coralled at the top of the hill. Bumped into Angus and some of his mates there too so passed the time chatting.
Can't believe the idiocy of who ever did this. If you want to protest then fair enough, but risking the life and limb of hundreds of cyclists..."

Angus said "My own wee story is basically feeling good at the 45 mark with a 20mph average under the belt. Then the disbelief at the number of riders at the side of the road with punctures. Approaching the climb, we eventually got the message about the dreaded tacks. Now it was just down to statistics! Front tyre flat right at the foot of the climb! After the eventual re-start at the top I got fired on the run-in as the fast line-out groups gathered pace and I was feeling good! Then my front tyre went flat again (managed to stay up-right-just-and get over to the right hand side). Faffed around for probably 20 minutes, eventually getting back on the bike and time-trialling solo into the wind for the last 15 miles. We should return next year en force just to show the bar stewards that they haven't won! "

JIm said "I must've been one of the few that didn't get a puncture, and that is just as well because I was at Tummel Bridge before I realised my pump was still in the boot of my car!
I was in the first group to be stopped at Kinloch Rannoch and forced to wait for the sweep. I looked back along the south Loch Rannoch road and there were thousands backed up. A lot chucked it at the break, which is a shame. I had been going great until then at an average of 19mph. Once we restarted we had a slow roll out of the village which took ages. Even taking off the 90 minute hold up, at least a further 15 min were lost in just getting back onto the Schiehallion road. Still on the bright side, the firemen treated us to tea and biscuits and I got to dress as a firefighter for a wee while!

Paul said "I finished in 5:30 not bad considering I have only been out 3 times in the 3 weeks leading up to the event and the biggest distance I had covered since I started cycling again is 34 miles! I didn't get a puncture and thoroughly enjoyed the day. I will train harder for next year!"

Craig Said "I was one of the lucky few who didn't get a puncture so my heart goes out to all the cyclists who suffered at the hands of some mindless morons hell bent on ruining what should have been a great day.
I got to the top of Schiehallion with no punctures and crossed the 50 mile marker in 2 hrs 53 mins. Then spent the next 45 mins hiding from the wind before we set off again. I crossed the finish line with an "actual" cycling time of 4 hours 02 mins for the 72 miles but that obviously doesn't include delays.
The event was really well oragnised with a good course that takes you through some fanatstic scenery so it would be a shame if it was cancelled due to the irresponsible actions of a minority. I would like to go back next year but am obviously concerned about this happening again. I assume that the organisers will be ready for it next year though.
As for the boost to the local economy, I spent at least £120.00 over that weekend so multiply that figure by the number of cyclist and that is a lot of dosh."

Scottish 10 TT champs report

Sadiq, John and Matt rode the 10 mile time trail championships organised by Glasgow Wheelers at Newton Mearns last Saturday. The course is quite lumpy, using the A77 but because of the new M77 just alongside, it's virtually traffic free. The morning stayed rain free but the race speeds were effected by strong gusts and side winds.
Sadiq was our first rider off and put in a strong performance, recovering from the setback of going off course at the turn to record a new personal best time Sadiq said "My performance was a frustrating case of 'what if'. Coming out of the halfway turn, I succeded in taking the wrong exit and found myself on the M77 towards Glasgow. I reckon I could have lost anything between 30 seconds and a minute. Still, half a minute off my PB but obviously there is some frustration!
John riding his third '10' of the week blasted off in a massive gear from the start and put in a fine performance. John said "What a day! Two years ago I was 16.5 stone beer monster, so proud to be a part of all of this, If I never cycle again this is a highlight of my life."
Matt was the last Clarion rider to leave the starting gate, and managed to reduce the club record by a few seconds. Matt said "There was a good atmosphere in the HQ afterwards, lots of banter and laughs... nice spread too! The course was pretty tough but a bit faster than our own Kirkliston TT."

Winner: Arthur Doyle Dooleys 00:20:46
Matthew Ball 00:23:49 (club record)
Sadiq Mir 00:25:03
John McComisky 00:27:17

Many thanks to Glasgow Wheelers for organising a superb event and three cheers to 'directeur sportif' Grant who encouraged and supported the riders all morning.

More pictures from Glasgow wheelers here

McComisky and Thomson step up

On Wednesday evening, this week, John and Grant rode the Ian McCulloch Memorial 10 TT promoted by the ERC on their Kirkliston course. The event was won by Evan Oliphant in a, staggering, course record time of 21.47
Grant Said "I really enjoyed this event, everyone was very friendly and enthusiastic and a lovely spread of cakes and tea and coffee was put on at the end. Met some nice people and had a PB on a lovely sunny, albeit windy, night with scran to finish - what more can you ask for?
Would like to thank Andy and Lucy for coming out to cheer on the team and Julie D was there to offer support as well Steve, her other half was riding and put in a stonking time of low 23's.
Allan Black passed as well, just before I started, in Kirkliston and then gave me nice words of encouragement when I passed him up near the Jet garage at Kirkliston. Cheers Al. Guys like these and Sparky who turn up at events to cheer on the riders make a difference. Chapeau!"
John Said "Thank you to all you guys who offer support, totally reiterate what Granus was saying about folk from our club turning up to offer support, it is spellbinding. I had a good solid run in readiness for the Scottish Championships, went out too slow though, to save more for way back in. The ERC did a smashing job"

Earlier in the year, winner, Evan Oliphant gave the club exclusive advice on how to ride the Bridgend - Kirkliston course, read it here
John McComisky West Lothian Clarion 27.36
Grant Thomson West Lothian Clarion 29.25

Fred Whitton Report

Sadiq
Originally uploaded by westlothianclarion

Sadiq, Brian and Neil rode the Fred Whitton Sportive on Sunday, roundly regarded as the toughest event of its kind in the country, with Sadiq managing to beat his pb for the route.
Sadiq said "Another loooong sufferfest of epic proportions, today's Fred took us through cloud, sunshine, snow at the top of Wrynose and heavy heavy rain on the Wrynose descent.
Nothing rivals the sight of first seeing Hardnott in the distance, like a piece of string hanging from the sky with every wee shape strewn out along it an a personal story of pain and the hope that it ends soon. I Cramped after 40 miles with 70 to go, because of poor cleat positioning. I got off the bike at the hairpins on Hardnott and pushed again at the same spot as last year. I would say only about 1 rider in 20 was still riding. Got back on before the summit and slogged up Wrynose. Job done.
2 mins faster than last year at 7hrs 29. Had ambitions of going under 7 hours but no chance whatsover. Still happy enough having not trained specifically for the Fred as I had done last year. I Rode with Boness and Falkirk residents Brian, George, and Neil for a good portion of the ride, Neil coming home 20 or so minutes after me. Two in a row is enough, no more next year!

Bealach Beag Report

The Clarion colours were worn by 6 riders at the Bealach Beag last Saturday, while the local weather tried it's best to make it one of the harshest days of the season. Well done to Mark, Dave, Malcolm, Jim, Peter and Lesley, plus Malcolm's better half, Jackie and Peter's wife Sandra who rode the event too.

Dave said "My first event in 12 years, that means I can wait until I am 46 until I enter another, I should have recovered by then! Managed to get round in 3hrs 16 minutes in sleet, and very heavy rain on the run up the Bealach. We also had a healthy portion of hail bouncing off our noggins. I was at my limit on the Bealach, at one point I was going so slow I almost keeled over but thankfully I managed to keep my balance and get up the hill without incident."

Malcolm said "That was some day in the saddle. David might have said hail and sleet at the top of the Bealach but I'm claiming snow! Despite my bike giving out on me 4 times during the course I managed a best ever position of 133rd but the time of 3:08 was 6 minutes slower than last year.
My wife Jackie, completed in less than 5 hours; She had to switch into survival mode whilst being blown backwards on the climb. Highlights of her day were a herd of deer crossing, just in front of her, on the climb and an all too brief period when the sun was out and the wind was on her back. She came in at the same time as a man with one pedal but ahead of several others (plus a large number of DNFs including a certin David Blane (encased in ice, upside down, or on top of a pole: fine. West coast of Scotland in the springtime: not so hot.)"

Mark said "What a great day... My overall time was not the best after having some serious steering wobbles descending the Bealach. I think it took me longer to go down than the 51.39 to climb it! I Got to Applecross and I was frozen, but the sun came out for the run back to Shieldaig. This made the scenery beautiful on the very lumpy run back.
Hats off to all the locals that embrace this event by cheering weary riders at various points."

Jim said "This was my first ever sportive. I thoroughly enjoyed the whole thing. The craic was great, although there wasn't much talking going up the Bealach. The locals were supportive and it seemed the entire population of Applecross was out to watch. What an amazing route, although if there was an award for being able to fit the most hills into a 20 mile stretch of road, then the one from Cuaig to Sheildaig wins hands down!
I finished in 3:30, and got up the Bealach in just under an hour, in probably the worst possible conditions. I agree that there was definitely snow mixed in there. I was just happy to manage the course, as I didn't feel well prepared at all. I would have settled for 4 hours so I'm well chuffed!"

Angus CC events

Alex Pattison at Angus CC sent in an information about their forthcoming events which sound pretty amazing...
The events are run as Audax events, with a relaxed friendly atmosphere for riders wanting a nice day out, but scope for a fast pace for those that want a good burn-up.

Already some interest on the forum

Sunday 17 May, Forfar
HOWE OF THE MEARNS 110k
Out to Fettercairn, through Drumtochty Glen and Auchenblae down to Laurencekirk and over Garvock Hill to St Cyrus returning to Forfar by Bridge of Dun

DEESIDE LOOP 200K
A well established ride, out to Fettercairn then the big climb of Cairn o'Mount, along Desside to Braemar then home over Glen Shee and down Glen Isla

6-7 June Kirriemuir Weekend
Saturday
A MEARNS MEANDER 160k (100 miles)
A steady ride though the Mearns to Stonehaven and Banchory then back over Cairn o’Mount the easy way

SNOW ROADS 300k
A classic and challenging hilly route round the central highlands, featuring the Cairn o’Mount, Banchory, the Cabrach, Dufftown, the Lecht, Braemar and Cairnwell

Sunday
A POTTER FOR TEA 100k
An easy tour of Angus countryside, with two (count ‘em) café stops at Carmyllie and Stracathro, and a downhill finish!

THE DUNNING DONE IN 200k
North up Glen Isla into highland Perthshire through Pitlochry and Aberfeldy, and back via Dunning and Coupar Angus

Sunday 16 August
PITLOCHRY & KINLOCH RANNOCH 200k
A fairly testing ride, from Forfar all the way west via south Loch Tummel to Kinloch Rannoch then back via the Queen’s View, Pitlochry and Glen Isla

If you want any more information about these events at this stage please contact alexandalli@kirrie.eclipse.co.uk
Entry forms etc for all of these events from Audax UK

Road racing reports

INGLISTON CRITERIUM SERIES
John and myself have been trying out a few criteriums and road races recently. John has regularly been entering the Ingliston crit series organised by the ERC, and loving every minute. Last Thursday he persuaded me to have a go too. The next day John Said "I feel a million dollars this morning, though a bit sore. There is a good spirit between the riders lower down the pecking order, if only I could just fine a small amount of acceleration I could improve more. I love the start and when the fast guys rip by. I'm using it as a learning experience plus its worthwhile training for pushing your own limits."
It was a very exhilarating evening, great to ride on a closed circuit and able to use the whole width of the road for some fast cornering on the hairpin. John and I were cheered on by Clarionettes, Jill and Claire, they shouted every time we went by - lovely! The series of races is incredibly well organised by the ERC and even has free massage before and after the race!

MAY DAY GALLUP
On Sunday I rode the May Day Gallup in Larbert, organised by the Falkirk Bike Club. 64 year old Davie Miller from Glasgow Couriers crossed the line first. The TT expert jumped away into the wind on the last lap, I underestimated Davie's pedigree and thought he'd never stay away because the going was so tough. I planned to make a move on the final hill, 2 miles from the finish. It was getting a bit messy in the bunch so I jumped on the run in to the hill, got a gap and then Jamie Whitworth from the ERC joined me. He was super strong on the climb, all I could do was stay on his wheel and couldn't help him build up the lead because I couldn't get past him! I thought we'd catch Miller but he wasn't slowingr. The Finishing straight was a 40mph blast to the line, I lost Whitworth's wheel on a busy RAB and couldn't close the gap and finished 3rd. 
The event was a handicap, I was in the second group which was caught by the first cats after I'd got away I think. Our group worked well, through and off the whole way round with some riders working harder than others on the 10 mile circuit which we rode 5 times.
There was a good atmosphere at the HQ and Falkirk BC put on a great event. Well worth considering next year. The handicap system has the riders going off in groups of similar ability, which allows a wide level of riders to get a descent road race experience, without getting blown out the back straight away - I reckon the guys doing the Tuesday chaingang would be able to handle this event.

Photo by Ian Henderson at Falkirk Bike Club, more shots here

Port Light 200 Audax Report

Clarion riders Neil (Centre left), Peter and their pal, Stephen, who wrote this report took part in the Port Light 200km Audax over the last weekend.

This Audax takes in a number of Scottish islands so the riders have to time their rides to catch the ferries. Here is the report:

Left the house at about 4.00am to be there before 6.00am start. Conveniently, the rain stopped for the first leg -a 55KM leg to the 9:30 ferry at Oban. The coast road round to Oban is a great ride anytime: At about half six with the sun on the hills over the water, no particular rush to get anywhere it was most pleasant. Rode and chatted with various folks, before getting caught in a cold heavy shower on the drag up before Oban. We took over Tesco's cafe in the town - loads of blokes in lycra with stupid slidey shoes buying bacon rolls with fancy looking bikes piled up outside.

On the ferry, I found a window in the sun and I dried out and dozed off before Mull.

On Mull, Ronnie came along side and started going fast to latch onto Robert McCready's wheel up ahead. I wasn't really ready for this, but I thought, well lets just catch Robert. I got on, and looked round and Ronnie hadn't made it! I thought "Och well, I'll sit here until I get knackered, then go easy until I'm caught" I Hung on for a bit. We stopped to disrobe as the sun had come out but on the restart my bike seemed incapable of going at the same speed as the others and over the big climb I dropped back. From the top the view was breathtaking: white beaches, bright blue sky and sea with big waves over the rocks. 

There followed a lovely twisty descent then a nice tailwind along the coastline. High cliffs with waterfalls, clear blue sea and no cars. Brilliant! It was also easy cycling here, flat, tailwind and noone in sight either behind or in front. I got to the North coast and turned right along to the ferry, which I could see over the water. 'Great!' I thought, 'I've caught the early one'. I took my time here, but actually I only just made it. I got on and saw others arriving just as the ferry left the port...

Back on the mainland now, at Lochaline I was now about 1.5 hrs ahead of the others. The road from Lochaline to the Corran Ferry was magic. Just glens and moorland, hills and lochs. One big climb then an awesome descent to sea level. Long straight roads, no traffic, a 50mph descent. (I was too scared)

Another cold shower before the Corran ferry, but I didn't mind. I was by myself and just touring. I was even fortunate enough to have a 10 min wait on the Corran ferry as the sun came out again after the rain.
105 miles in the bag: Heading back to the finish, and really glad to turn off the main road towards Kinlochleven. It was actually quite warm now. Lovely, wee, twisty, lumpy road with tailwind and tons of vintage motorbikes from a rally in Kinlochleven made this bit memorable. I looked over the water before the "turn" at Kinlochleven and I saw a bus up in the sky. Hmmm, it'll be hillier that side then! And it was! With a headwind too, so I got the granny in. You can keep yer compacts, y'canny whack the granny!
Finished. Pretty slow, mostly on my own. But a memorable ride.
The 3 Ferries is not quite so accessable as the 5 Ferries, but it makes a cracking 200 Audax.

More breathtaking photos of the event here here

New local sportive

Club member Malcolm Wake has been working behind the scenes, helping out on Action Medical Research's Trossachs Ton Sportive which will begin in Stirling on 21st June. The 100-mile circular route will start and finish at Stirling Castle and raises vital funds to support the charity’s work in Scotland. It is hoped that more than 300 riders will take part in the inaugural event.
The route has been designed by cyclists and will take riders through the heather-clad peaks of the spectacular Trossachs. It contains everything you would expect from a cycling challenge in Scotland - castles, lochs, monuments, hills and glens.
The sportive is fully supported, with food and water stops and a team of marshals and mechanics on hand. 
Action Medical Research is currently funding doctors and scientists based in Edinburgh, Glasgow, Aberdeen and Dundee. This work includes projects looking at how to prevent premature birth and improving the success of a treatment that could reverse blindness.
Malcolm says "I got involved with Action Medical Research when I rode London to Paris with them last year, I said I'd help out if they decided to organise an event in Scotland. There has already been alot of local help, Sadiq's family business have kindly donated the sweeper van and the local council's "jet-patcher" has now been despatched to fill in the holes along the B829 to Inversnaid."
"We're looking for participants and for people who could maybe offer up a half-day to marshall, make a comment if you'd like to volunteer"
To register for the event visit www.action.org.uk/get_involved/trossachs_ton or call 01505 864334

LEPRA Challenge

Club member Craig Sinclair has ridden the LEPRA Edinburgh to St Andrews cycle ride a few times and thoroughly enjoyed the event. Craig says "This years event is on Saturday 20th June and is always well attended, so if you've not entered why not give it a go"

Details here

Our forum thread here

Sadly it's true

Tink Hastings takes time out from time keeping the Witches' Challenge Sportive at the Clarion Easter Meet.