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Scottish Cycling Road Race 11.7.10

The Eddie Morgan Road Race run annually by Perth United Cycling club was held on Sunday 11th July 2010 on 2 laps of the Glen Almond Circuit (46miles). The race is open to 3rd and 4th Cat riders including Ladies, Vet’s and Juniors.

A big thanks to all the helpers on the day from Marshalls and those who put out the event safety signage to commissaires and those who helped with the race convoy vehicles.

First Team Overall was the bicycleworks.com who took the prize by one point over East Kilbride.

Top ten results of the day:

And a few photos…

This month’s Scottish Enterprise Tourism Innovation Brochure featured the award winners for 2009. This included Skinny Tyres (featured on page 4).

• Scottish Enterprise Tourism Innovation in Action Brochure

This weekend saw Skinny Tyres take a short break up in the Isle of Skye for a bit of walking and hiking. We also discovered that it was not wise to cycle in Skye on a fixed wheel as you will spend a lot of time out of the saddle, muscles screaming as you fight to keep the pedals turning up another 15% gradient.

The weather was stunning and the riding great. Loads of newly surfaced roads made it all the more pleasurable.

If you manage to get across to Skye it’s also woth checking out Cafe Arriba, for some great mid/ post ride scran.

Looking forward to the Hands On Events Skye Sportive next week already

Cycling in Highland Perthshire doesn’t get much better than this

What a day the 16th May 2010 was! Judging by the amount of Twitter messages flying around for days after-wards we weren’t the only ones to feel this way.

The build up to the event in the week before saw Skinny Tyres providing skills coaching at Aberfeldy and Glen Lyon Schools. We also attended the ACRE press conference and managed to get ourselves in many newspapers and on the BBC Scotland and STV news programmes in support of the Etape Caledonia. You can visit our Facebook link to add your support to this event.

The day prior to the event was very busy with a journalists ride in the afternoon and lots of publicity work in Pitlochry and at the Big Day cycling festival in Aberfeldy. Pitlochry was buzzing with excitement as thousands of cyclists from around the world gathered for the event. We finished the day having dinner with journalists from the Guardian, Cycling Weekly, News of the World etc.

Up at 5.30am the next day, we headed out for the Etape Caledonia start. Already it was promising to be a cracker of a day weatherwise, although overcast it was warm. The thousands of cyclists lined the main street in Pitlochry with the first group setting off at 7am and it took until 7.45am before all 4500 cyclists had started.

Out on the route the support from locals was fantastic with people cheering from their gardens, pipers playing to spur the riders onwards and groups of children waving flags and rattles. The atmosphere was fantastic and was definitely the best I have ever experienced at a sportive. Strangely, at the previous acre press conference, they highlighted that there were never any spectators at this event. Acre, go and stand in the corner of the classroom and put on the tall pointed hat with the capital “D” on it. The event was a roaring success and showed Highland Perthshire at its finest. What better way to stimulate a local economy.

By mid afternoon, the majority of riders had now finished and the sun was blazing in Highland Perthshire. Hundreds upon hundreds of cyclists filled the cafes and bars and lay on any piece of grass they could find to recount their tales of the day.

Roll on the 2011 Etape Caledonia. We can’t wait.

• You Tube Video

Scotland on Sunday join Skinny Tyres on an Etape Caledonia Training Ride in April 2010

• Read the full supplement online here

On Saturday 20th April 2010, Scotland on Sunday reporter Tom Hunter, joined Skinny Tyres for a ride around Highland Perthshire. This is the article that was published.

There are many things that go through a cyclists mind during an 81-mile ride, and not all of it is relevant to the proceedings.

“Did I switch off the oven before I left?” for instance. “Is that me or the bike making that crunching sound?” or even “Does that old dear in that Honda Jazz we just overtook realise that she’s left her handbag on the roof?”

Right now, however as the road shoots skywards, my chief thought is: “Why didn’t I take up tiddlywinks instead?”

I’m slogging up and over the shoulder of snow capped Schiehallion, the biggest mountain for miles around and the “sting in the middle” of the spectacular Etape Caledonia route. With 45 miles of the course covered and 36 still to go, the road suddenly rises by about 700ft over the next 6 miles. The first 500ft of climbing are dispensed with in the first two miles. Ouch.

Alas, my pitiful lack of training and a physique that speaks of a fondness for fish suppers rather than fitness classes have teamed up to put the brakes on my progress. Everything hurts and my pace has slowed to a crawl. A bumblebee overtakes me, followed moments later by the old dear in the Honda Jazz. I’m sure the view is spectacular, but the sweat streaming down my forehead into my eyes is blinding.

Fortunately, I have a guardian angel by my side. He’s there to match my every pedal stroke, to reassure me that the top is almost in sight, to promise me that “the pain will be worth it for the descent” and to make sure I don’t hurl my bike over a wall and hitch a lift home.

I don’t know his name yet, because I haven’t asked. Because I can’t afford the breath. So let’s call him Wingman, one of a dozen guides dispatched to watch over the bunch by Skinny Tyres cycle tours, organisers of todays ride.

It’s barely even April and, a fortnight earlier, this road had been buried under a snowdrift. Now wingman’s handlebar computer is telling him the temperature is 22C. With the sun splitting the sky and no cooling breeze to speak of, it feels like we’re pedalling through a bonfire, very slowly indeed. I want my mummy.

How different things were three hours earlier, when a merry bunch of high-spirited cyclists rolled out of Pitlochry at the start of the Etape Caledonia Training Ride, one of many breathtaking Highland biking adventures organised by Skinny Tyres.

As its name suggests, this ride is geared towards cyclists who are either preparing for May’s Etape Caledonia or who, like me, missed the boat when it came to registering for the event and merely want to enjoy the course in the company of other cyclists.

Skinny Tyres boss Scot Tares ensures we are all looked after, handing out complementary canvas “musettes” stuffed with energy supplements before we set off from ride HQ, Escape Route Cycles in Pitlochry. Support cars, weighed down with enough bananas and water to feed an army, wait to follow us round the course, as does the squadron of support riders, easy to spot in their turquoise Skinny Tyres attire.

For those of us who have perhaps left it a little late to join the ranks of the professional cycling peleton, this ride is all about sacrificing all-out speed for the chance to soak up some of the best scenery in, well, anywhere. After a gentle start, the first highlight comes after six miles, although we have to work to earn our reward. A lung-bursting climb brings us to Queens View, where Queen Victoria like to gaze along Loch Tummel to the mountains of Glencoe.

Next comes Loch Rannoch, where the mirror-like water shimmers off into the distance. The road along its Northern shore is flat and we’re bowling along at a steady 20mph, raising a cheer from anglers on the shore. This is heaven.

But the jaw-dropping beauty of this part of Perthshire is the last thing on my mind by the time I’ve slogged my way to the top of the Schiehallion painfest. The good news, however, is that Wingmanwas right – it is worth it for the three-mile plunge down the other side. Spirits are restored for the last leg of the loop, along the banks of the Tay via the fantastically- named Appin of Dull, back to the finish in Pitlochry.

My performance might not have the Tour de France selectors beating a path to my door, and I’d be too exhausted to answer it even if they did, but I’m happy with my showing. And I’ve even got a touch of sunburn on the tip of my nose. Result.

Skinny Tyres takes on the Hands On Events Sportive

Saturday 8^th May 2010

“What a day for a bike ride! Not a breath of wind, not a cloud in the sky. Bring on the Bealach Beag”; so went my first Twitter message of the day.

Well I was mistaken about the wind. As the morning progressed, a stiff North-Westerly Atlantic breeze built up. However it was not going to put a dampener on what would be a vintage year for the event.

Held every May in the North West of Scotland, this little gem of an event has built up quite a reputation and following. It was first run in 2006 as a response to the overwhelming popularity of its big brother, the Bealach Mor, which takes place in the same area in September.

At first glance the total distance of 43 miles may seem rather benign compared to its older sibling. Don’t be fooled. Look a little closer and you will see that the teeth of the Bealach Beag are as sharp and its bite is as hard as the longer September event.

The big selling point of the Bealach sportive events is the ascent of the Bealach na Ba; the longest road ascent in the UK – 2053ft (626m) from sea level in just 6mls (10k). Although a real achievement, it is only the beginning of the challenge that lies ahead.

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After a fantastic breakfast of porridge and stewed fruit at “Nanny’s” gift shop in Shieldaig the temptation was to sit back on the shore of Loch Shieldaig and enjoy the views and the sunshine. It was not to be though. Riders gathered together for the start and there was a palpable air of excitement. For many riders, this was their first attempt at the ride and they sought out snippets of information from seasoned Bealach veterans on the hardest parts of the course. The veterans obviously took great glee in recounting tales of derring do and great battles that they had endured with the gradient and the elements.

I had packed my event bag with all kinds of gear in preparation for an assault by the weather; however the one thing I had not packed was sun cream. So to be standing waiting for the sound of bagpipes to signal the start of the event wearing short fingered gloves, sleeves and no leg warmers and already feeling too hot was a rather surreal moment.

The pipes played and the riders started riding through the start gate and registering their electronic timing cards. After only one mile, the road starts to climb through Glen Shieldaig. This two mile ascent is gradual (470ft), but enough to warm the legs up. There then follows a 4 mile descent to Tornapress and a right turn onto the start of the Bealach na Ba. The 6 mile ascent is timed and marshals are waiting at the bottom to swipe your timing card. This year the ascent and descent weren’t closed to traffic, but excellent signage warned motorists of the event and the vast majority were happy to get out and watch a line of 450 cyclists wind their way up into the corrie. I passed one rider who had flat pedals and what looked like steel toe capped work boots. Talk about making life difficult for yourself.

The climb is steady, but noticeably steepens in the third quarter as you get deeper into Corrie na Ba. This is often the straw that breaks the camels back for some riders and is often the point where you will see people getting off and pushing. It’s also at this point as you get deeper into the corrie, that the headwall rises abruptly in front of you and you can look up and see the 6 hairpin bends that lead on up and over the summit. For spectators, this point is stunning as it offers a view directly down to several lines of riders almost directly below you, such is the steepness of the headwall.

Following a brief stop at the summit water feed station to catch your breath and take in the views across to the Isle of Skye, there follows a six mile descent into Applecross Bay. Again the absence of road closures this year did not seem to have an effect and I didn’t see a single vehicle for the whole six miles.

At this point you will have covered 21miles of the course and it is tempting to relax and think you have conquered the beast of the Bealach. You would be mistaken. The battle is only just beginning. The next 23 miles will take in another 3298ft of ascent, the equivalent of another one and a half ascents of the Bealach na Ba. This rollercoaster ride is often made more difficult with the presence of coastal head and cross winds. This year was no exception and groups started to form, but the constant onslaught of climbs ensured that only the most cohesive and evenly matched groups stayed together for any length of time. One minute you would be hurtling down a descent loving every minute of being a cyclist, the next you would be grovelling up the next climb, nose to the handlebar, cursing the twisted mind that built such a road along this coast line.

The relentless run of hills is energy sapping and can be a killer for those who have put everything into the ascent of the Bealach na Ba. Those 23 miles may possibly be the longest of your life. The pain eventually ends, however and as you cross the Aird peninsula and get sight of Loch Shieldaig you know you have not far to go. The climbs are persistent to the end, but the views across to Shieldaig, reinvigorate the legs for one final push and before you know it you are finished and suddenly recounting tales of your own battles… and planning for a return trip.

Photos from the Etape training ride in April are now available

Sorry for the delay in getting these up, but Skinny Tyres has been working in eleventh gear for the last few weeks with weekend trips, schools coaching and the build up to the Etape Caledonia.

Scot was supposed to be flying down to London with Etape organisers IMG for coaching with Max and OB from Hollyoaks. Unfortunately a certain Icelandic eruption put paid to that.

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We’ll be in Pitlochry on Saturday 15th at Escape Route and also at the Big Day Cycling Festival in Aberfeldy. We also hope to be out on our bikes around 4pm on the 15th.

Despite a serious lack of training we have also decided to ride this years Etape, so look out for the Skinny Tyres jerseys and let us sit on your wheel for a bit.

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