Etape Caledonia

Weather forecast is dire but the 81 mile slog that is the etape is this Sunday – should be goodape

Cycle around Arran – fekkin brilliant

Arran route and elevation profile

Sunday morning and the day breaks just as the weather app told me it would … bright but cold. So a quick dress and a scoffing down of some raw oats and I cycle down to the station to get the train that connects to the ferry to Brodick on the Isle of Arran. Arran is a bit of a mecca for cyclists, walkers, twitchers and climbers. This being a bank holiday it was busier than normal with about 30 bikes on the early ferry crossing over.
Last time I came down here I was very tired and slept most of the way on the train … but this time was bushy tailed and felt that the journey was a tad long. The problem with having only the space in my back pockets for things, so alas no reading material.
Departing the ferry it is a simple case of hang a left and keep the sea on that side of you for a clockwise circuit of the island.
Some cyclists opt for the road straight over the hill to Blackwaterfoot but I opted for the slightly longer route that takes you past Holy Isle.

onwards pushing to the south looking at some menacing clouds on the Kintyre peninsula that never came my way until I got to Blackwaterfoot and caught up with some of those cyclists that had taken the shorter route. The roads on Arran are a mixed affair … some sections including the extra south loop are actually pretty crappy in places.

Up the west coast is great – generally the wind is from the west or SW so this section is pretty quick – cruised up here at close to 30km/h.

The next good place to stop os Lochranza for a pic of the castle / a bite to eat / a trip to distillery or perhaps all 3 …. I did the castle as i wasn’t really hungry despite it being 2pm so started the climb out of Lochranza …. this is a pretty nice climb – I was in my lowest gear for the bottom but then was able to shift up a gear or two as the incline lessened and the two riders in front egged me on to passing mode.
Over the top the section os very rough then suddenly ‘sublime city’ there is brand new tarmac and the loveliest of sweeping descents that is buttery smooth and allows you to really fly … I hit 64.3kmh on this section which was very sweet …. not sure of the incline degrees but probably could only get a tad more next time. Not quite as steep as the one hill I hit in Shetland on the steel pinarello ….
then finally into brodick after 90km and 3h28? (26kmh average so something to aim for on my next attempt.)
I had missed the 2pm ferry so went to Bilsland the outdoor shop and sat down and ate a massive steak pie … the things that become fantastic after burning 2000+ calories (2239 according to Polar and 3000 on the Garmin)
Then the ferry home chatting to a lovely man who at 74 was burning around on his Flying Scot.

Pedal on Parliament Edinburgh

pedal on parliament was amazing. Came across from Glasgow on the train

best kind of luggage

and then joined up with another Brompton rider who showed me a nice way down to Leith on the cycle path (old railway)

Joined up with a feeder ride in Leith

small leith feeder ride

then on to the park where the crowds got bigger and bigger

an hour before the start and already 1000 bikes

then a wait for the off

clogged meadow road

then down the royal mile

clogged pt2

and eventually to parliament where we could barely hear a word of the speeches on a feeble PA … but message to holyrood is strong if a bit silent …

FROM Pedal on Parliament SITE Just wow. When PoP thought of this we wondered if we might get 300 riders out. Then we raised our sights a little and started to hope we’d see a thousand. As we stood at the top of Middle Meadow Walk and saw the bikes come pouring in from all directions we began to think we’d started something big but we didn’t know how big until the head of the ride reached Holyrood while the back was still leaving the Meadows. The police’s conservative estimate was that 2,500 of you were out there pedalling on Parliament and we suspect it might be even more. In fact, we think that more people turned out to ride with us than have even signed the petition, showing the depths of feeling that was out there among people to see safer cycling.

There will be more as we digest all the great photos and videos, blog posts and testimonies that have been pouring in since the moment the ride started to assemble in the Meadows. We’d like to thank you all who turned out – not just for turning out but for being such a great, good natured and patient crowd. We’d like to thank the police for their assistance at a ride that turned out to be up to ten times larger than they were expecting. And, with a few grumpy exceptions we’d like to thank the people of Edinburgh for allowing us to have our moment in the sun – and in many cases, cheering us on.

Please, keep posting your pictures on our Flickr group and adding your stories on the Facebook group, keep tweeting them your videos and blog posts, and keep signing the petition(which will be up for a few weeks yet before we formally lodge it with the Scottish Government. And keep watching this space – we need to keep in contact because, for all the warm words from our politicians at Holyrood today, changing government policy to bring about the real changes needed to make Scotland a cycle friendly country. We’ll let you know what happens next soon, but for now the (exhausted) people who brought you Pedal on Parliament are going to have an early night…

mtb travelogue through Scotland

i love this video – simple narrative story and looks like an adventure …. nicely done guys.

400km 7000D+, Scottish breakfast, sheeps, 3 cowboys and me for a backpacking WeekTravel in Scotland !

Fort Williams to Inverness by Singles & bikepark as the Wolf Track of Laggan,
We arrived the day of the MTB Ben Nevis Tour.

Video Self-produced with a basic 550D and monopode
With the MTB riders of travelingexperience during their Friends backpacking trip in sept / oct 2011
(Nicolas Marchais – Pierre Tsikis – Fabien Leduc – terravtt.com)

Direct edit & shoot by me – Pierre Managed the Gopro captures (endings stuff)

Thx much to Todd from Arms for the music use
Go and listen to them : myspace.com/armsongs
And lukhash.com -”Hi-Land-Coo” for the endings…

Next step, soon In Bretagne so… “stay tuned”
Thx for watch till the bonus )

Pedal on Parliament this saturday – come on and join in

Safer cycling and cities fit for people is an important issue for Scotland. Pedal on Parliament will be gathering cyclists (and anyone who wants to join them) from across the nation to cycle on Holyrood to tell our politicians that cycling matters. In February, up to 2000 cyclists gathered in London to cycle on the Westminster Parliament in support of safer cycling and cities fit for people. On April 28th, to coincide with a follow-up ride in London, Pedal on Parliament will be gathering cyclists from across the nation to cycle on Holyrood to tell our politicians that cycling matters. We’re asking everyone who cycles in Scotland – or who would like to cycle, or would like their families to cycle, but who doesn’t feel safe – to join us for a big ride of our own – and a big picnic. Young and old, keen commuter or weekend pedaller, fit or not – you don’t even need to be on a bike.

You just need to show up and add your voice to help make Scotland safe for cycling. What do we want? We have created an eight point manifesto to help Scotland’s devolved government reach its target of 10% of journeys by bike by 2020, a target which is now also embedded in its low carbon and obesity strategies. The government’s present Cycling Action Plan [CAPS] is far too limited to achieve the target, whilst the proportion of the transport budget allocated to cycling remains wholly inadequate at under 1%. Our manifesto covers: Proper funding for cycling. Design cycling into Scotland’s roads. Slower speeds where people live, work and play Integrate cycling into local transport strategies Improved road traffic law and enforcement Reduce the risk of HGVs to cyclists and pedestrians A strategic and joined-up programme of road user training Improved statistics supporting decision-making and policy

Official Pedal On P site

I am going on my Brompton with other Bromptonites so come on and join in …

http://www.meetup.com/Bromptonites/events/56722072/?a=md1_evn&rv=md1

Selkirk Marathon Coming Up … Are you ready

Next marathon – Selkirk on the 19-20th May 2012

The next round will take us to the other spiritual home of the MTB-Marathon Series – Selkirk in the Scottish borders. But this time the Scottish round is not just earlier in the year but it will also feature the UK Marathon Championships.

 

You can enter Selkirk HERE

MTB riding in Orkney

Despite having my road bike and my MTB up in Orkney i knew that roadie stuff would probably be better … Orkney is not known for it’s mtb trails with no dedicated trails like you find further south like Wolftraxx, dalbeatie, kirroughtree, 7 Staines and Selkirk … still Colin my cousin in law was keen for me to bing the mtb up and go for a ride …. here is the ride on ridewithgps

neither steep or speedy

So on Wednesday we headed west into the dark mass of pissing rain that threatened to ruin the ride … luckily the rain stopped after 20 mins. I put the GoPro HD onto a bar mount to test it out for bigger days as well as wearing the chest harness to see how it would look with mtb’ing. have some video footage I will try put together at some point …. bar i think worked better as I am too over the bars with the chest mount meaning most of the time it looks downwards – not great when with other bikes …. The best position is probably going to be around the seat post so you bike gives you a static reference point for scenery and for rider movement on the bike (as well as a bit protected from mud ….)

at the rocks with a nice view

The ride was fine – lots of fields and climbing over walls to get to the top point ….

Colin got two punctures on the ride – a rare dealing for me having run UST tyres since 2001 at least …. rode to the cairn then back across the mixed shale, slate, crazy paving, cairns, peat and bogs. Only 11km and yet took an hour and a half – but think Colin may have died if it was a very quick ride and i was told not to kill him ….

Nice to be on the Carver Ti96er again it really is a fantastic bike – it felt so squishy and soft after all the miles i have been doing on the road bike ….

Colin triumphant

Orkney and a great ride

Italian Chapel - built by Italian POW during WW2 when helping construct the barrage protection around Scapa Flow

Went for a great ride today through Orkney – last night I mapped this ride out http://ridewithgps.com/routes/1070843 and although it was slightly different it was a great ride. HERE IS THE RIDE  Went east past the airport then swung south narrowly avoiding a massive pissing cloud then down over the barriers to south ronaldsay. Popped in past the Italian chapel http://www.google.co.uk/search?q=italian+chapel&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&hl=en&client=safari which I filmed in years ago … Most of the times I was dodging the rain having forgotten to buy a rain cape for roadie work – there is nothing worse than doing miles wearing an impossible heavy jacket ….

ridewithgps screen

2 hours, 3 piss stops and 54km later got back a bit wet and a bit cold. Still better than nothing … Any ride beats no ride ….

nice walk up a hill

very short up Macbeths hill in Perthshire ….

Dunsinane Hill (/dʌnˈsɪnən/) is near the village of Collace in Perthshire, Scotland. It is mentioned in Shakespeare‘s play Macbeth.

It has the remains of two early forts. This is believed to be the site of a battle where Malcolm Canmore defeated Macbeth in 1054. In reality this was only a limited defeat for Macbeth, who was not fully defeated and killed by Malcolm Canmore until 1057, at Lumphannan near Aberdeen.

The pronunciation called for in Shakespeare’s play has the accent on the first or third syllable, with a long ‘a’. However the correct pronunciation has the accent on the second syllable, with a short ‘a’. The correct spelling of the name is Dunsinnan, Gaelicdùn, ‘fort, hill-fort’, + ‘Sinnan’, perhaps a personal name.

The best access to Dunsinane Hill is from the rear of the Perthshire village of Collace on the Northern side of Dunsinane Hill, between the village and the quarry. There is a small parking area there suitable for 4 or 5 cars from which a clearly defined path leads directly to the summit.

The impressive ramparts are still very obvious, though the interior was much disturbed in the 19th century by antiquarians attracted to the site by its Shakespearean connection. Unfortunately, little of value was learned about the history of the monument from these unscientific excavations.

The girls loved the walk although not as much as the bits of snow …. and the ability to run away from Jolene and Granny and hide in the gorse and heather …..

Can I sneak in a ride …

The eternal question for the family man …

Can I sneak in a ride?

1. Eldest daughter to school at 9am
2. Father in law coming at 10am to take youngest for a couple of days …
3. Jolene down to London on the train at 10:20am
4. Couple of work calls to make ….
5. G>>A>>P
6. pick up daughter from school at 3:10pm

Could this be the GAP I SEEK??

EAT KILBRIDE LOOP - mapped out on http://www.ridewithgps.com

 

Mullaghmore 8th March 2012 Tow in Session Madness

This is amazing .. All that wind and waves came good – although being chased with a wall of water weighing 100′s of tons and taller than my house

Tiree – is this the best place in the UK to kitesurf?

wind and waves in three the UK hotspot

 

maybe kitesurfing in the waves – I can’t believe this forecast – wind and waves look epic … wind might require a 5m kite but still ….. 11.5 METRE SWELL

is this the biggest forecast i have seen?

 

 

Danny MacAskill returns to Edinburgh

Part ad / part profile … fully nice guy.

Profile of street trials rider Danny Macaskill. Using his new Lezyne Engineering tools, Danny Macaskill re-visits his old job, in the workshop of MacDonalds Cycles in Edinburgh Scotland and chats over his rise to success and how life has changed.

Featuring some new street trials content filmed exclusively for Lezyne by Cut Media’s Stu Thomson in the streets of Edinburgh. Danny also takes a mountain bike ride high on to Dumyat in Trossachs hills in Central Scotland and talks over his love for mountain biking.

Off topic – IPHONE’S Siri struggles in Scotland

 

Anyone non-Scottish out there that understands?

 

Sh*t kiteboarders say

not quite as good as the mtb one but still funny

missed out on classics like:

‘wow saw your wipeout ..’

‘did you see my 520 railed landing wrapped…?’

‘I landed so hard my strap broke’

In Scotland ‘Its gusty out there like 18knots gusting 40′

‘you should get a c kite’

‘you shouldn’t be on a c kite’

Small wheels big difference – brompton bikes lands end to John o groats

On brompton bikes no less – please go to site and donate £1 or £100…..
Whats more you can join them in the adventure …. Have a look at their site http://www.smallwheelsbigdifference.org/

When:

Starting at Land’s End on Saturday 16th June, arriving in John O’Groats a fortnight later on 30th June 2012.

———————————————

How:

“Nothing gives the English more pleasure, in a quiet but determined sort of way, than to do things oddly!”

Bill Bryson hadn’t heard of our project when he wrote that but if ever he needs evidence to back up his opinion, he need look no further than our website…

Though traditionally considered better suited to nipping around the road of London and folding neatly alongside your train seat, we think Brompton fold-up bikes are a brilliant way to take us the 1000 miles up the British Isles. Made in England, Bromptons are built to be durable and comfortable, and we’re looking forward to taking ours to pastures new!

Where:

Land’s End to John O’Groats; from the most south-westerly to the most north-easterly points in the British Isles. Almost 1000 miles, it is widely recognised as one of the most challenging long-distance bike rides in Europe. From the rolling hills of Cornwall and Devon, to the stunning views of western Scotland via the speedy flats of the Midlands, the route we have chosen will be as varied and interesting as possible.

June	Start	End	Miles	Difficult
16th	Lands End	Padstow	56	*
17th	Padstow	Barnstaple	77	*
18th	Barnstaple	Weston-S-M	79	*
19th	Weston-S-M	Ross-on-Wye	67
20th	Ross-on-Wye	Shrewsbury	70
21st	Shrewsbury	Liverpool	63
22nd	Liverpool	Lancaster	70
23rd	Lancaster	Keswick	58	*
24th	Keswick	Dumfries	66
25th	Dumfries	Ardrossan	74
26th	Ardrossan	Lochgilphead	56	*
27th	Lochgilphead	Fort William	78	*
28th	Fort William	Inverness	64
29th	Inverness	Brora	63
30th	Brora	John O’Groats	63

Nb/ We continue to optimise the route as we complete more research and consult experienced riders therefore the above is subject to change subtly. Our current plans are included, however, so that anyone interested can work out when/where to join in, and so that experience riders can offer any advice on our chosen path.

Scottish Cyclist protest in Edinburgh

from road.cc

 

Environmental campaigners in Scotland are calling on cyclists to join them this lunchtime in Edinburgh to protest against government cuts in the amount of money available for sustainable travel. The event, organised by Stop Climate Change Scotland, starts at 1pm outside the Scottish Government offices at St Andrew’s House, and has the backing of former Olympic and world champion, Chris Boardman.

Stop Climate Change Scotland says that the country “has shown global leadership by setting the most ambitious emissions reduction targets in the world.

“But,” it adds, “our Climate Change Act can only set a good example if we actually achieve what we’ve committed to do – and that’s under threat, as the Scottish Government has failed to fund its own plans to reduce emissions.”

The coalition, whose members include CTC and Sustrans as well as Edinburgh cycling campaign group Spokes, says that sustainable transport is the area giving rise to most concern, and is calling on as many people as possible to converge on St Andrew’s House on Regent Road, the principle offices of the Scottish Government, at 1pm today to get their point across.

“Whether you’re young or old, use your bike for commuting, shopping, fitness or pleasure, we’d love to see you there. A broad cross-section of people will send a stronger message,” it says.

Quoted on BBC News, Boardman, who won Olympic gold in the individual pursuit at Barcelona in 1992 and went on to wear the Tour de France yellow jersey after prologue victories in 1994, 1997 and 1998, said: “To get people on their bikes, and make sure Scotland plays its part in addressing climate change, there needs to be proper investment in cycling infrastructure.”

Tom Ballantine from Stop Climate Chaos Scotland added: “The decision to cut funding to support low carbon transport measures such as active travel is deeply worrying.

“A number of parliamentary committees have echoed our concerns that the budget and spending review is not aligned with Scotland’s climate change ambitions.

“The government must now step up and fully fund all of the measures set out in its own plans to meet our climate change targets.”
However, the Scottish Government’s Transport Minister Keith Brown told BBC News that it was committed to encouraging people to cycle.

“We’ve spent more than £80m on active and sustainable travel since 2007,” he explained. “We have substantially expanded the cycle networks, for example.

“There is no question that we would like to spend more but we have a 36% cut to our capital budget and we have to live within the resources that we have.”

At the end of December, Mr Brown urged fellow Scots in his New Year Message to switch to sustainable forms of transport in 2012.

However, he was accused of “breathtaking hypocrisy” by Labour’s transport spokeswoman Elaine Murray, who said that Scotland’s active travel budget had been cut from £25.1 million in 2011/12 to £13.9 million in 2014/15,

Graeme OBree this weekend in glasgow or Edinburgh

Graeme Obree 2011

This weekend sees the launch of one of the most eagerly anticipated cycling books for a long time, Graeme Obree’s The Obree Way – a training manual for cyclists. What’s more, the Flying Scotsman will be signing copies in Edinburgh and Glasgow on Saturday and Sunday.

From his background as an outsider who designed and built his own bike, taking on UCI officials in the process, to his battle with depression and more recent return to the public eye with initiatives such as the Graeme Ayrshire Obree Sportive, the 46-year-old has a special place in the affections of the British cycling public.

If you’re familiar with Obree’s story, you’ll know that this isn’t going to follow the sports science route – as the publishers say, “When Chris Boardman used heart rates and power cranks to train for the hour attempts, Obree took to the hills of Scotland, old school.”

Speaking to road.cc earlier this year, he outlined some of the issues tackled in the book: I tell people not to have a training schedule because you can’t tell how the body is going to react to each training session. So I’m promoting the feel factor and seat-of-the-pants training, sensible diets and things like that, instead of laying down a whole training schedule where you’ve got your massage and you’ve got to eat certain things at certain times.

“It’s aimed at people who’ve got jobs and families and social circles, who want to keep those and who have limited time to use, and it will show them how to use that time more effectively, as opposed to lots of training manuals that assume you’ve the same time and resources as though you’re a professional. This manual is aimed at people who have other commitments to deal with.”

The book breaks down training into what are described as “bite size chunks,” cutting through what can often be a mass of confusing and conflicting information to focus on the essential point of helping you focus on improving your performance on your bike.

Chapters headings include The Psychology of Training, The Psychology of preparation, Diet, Bike Set Up, Pedalling Technique, and what is described as “the ground breaking” Obree Breathing Technique.

The training manual, which is promised to ensure that “cycling training will never be the same again,” costs £30 plus postage and can be ordered from http://www.obree.com from Saturday 17 December.

Meanwhile, Obree himself will be attending sessions to sign copies for the book for fans this weekend as follows.

Saturday 17th December 2011

1230 – 1400 The Tri Centre, South Clerk Street Edinburgh EH8 9PP
1430 – 1600 Alpine Bikes, 48 Hamilton Place, Edinburgh EH3 5AX

Sunday 18th December 2011

13.00-16.00 Alpine Bikes, Tiso Glasgow Outdoor Experience, 50 Couper Street, Glasgow G4 0DL

The introduction, reprinted below with the kind permission of Graeme, provides a flavour of what’s in store.

The Obree Way

Introduction

When I joined a cycling club at the age of fifteen I had no idea that I would go on to become a world champion and world hour record holder. At the start I would ride about in jeans and a padded jacket and had no interest in competitive riding, captivated instead, by the thought of the next horizon.

I was fortunate that I landed in a position where I would learn a lot from the start about the two main aspects of cycling – the equipment and the physical demands of the sport. Not having loads of cash to spend meant that I had to be very hands on with old, recycled or damaged equipment but that was an excellent way to learn what you do and do not do in regard to bike set-up. I ended up involved in racing pretty quickly but at the same time undertaking huge rides through the Scottish countryside with experienced riders and that kick-started a learning process that would only continue.

Using a pre- World War 2 track machine and a combination of (then) contemporary training ideas alongside my own ideas I became Scottish Junior champion in 1983. It was an era when the concept of getting in as many miles as possible was being challenged by new ideas about speed work, interval training, strength work etc. In a vacuum of real awareness I found it necessary to employ training methods that I felt worked for me and that survived the process of logical analysis.

In the following years it would become habit for me to question every aspect of bike set-up, riding technique, positioning, nutrition and training. This led to the development of the ski-tuck position in 1986 which I used when attacking the World Hour record on Old Faithful in 1993. Those intervening years were filled with analysis of many other aspects of racing and preparation that cumulatively have a large effect on the efficiency of the cyclist.

For me that meant not only using the tuck position but also employing a lot of additional knowledge, information gained through experience, experiment and in a lot of cases – failure. The day I broke The World Hour Record, I stepped up on a bike that is now famous for being partly constructed out of a piece of a washing machine, Old Faithful, but what people did not see was the pedalling technique that maximised efficiency as well as the breathing control as best as I knew it at that time. Also not seen is the belief in my own ability that did not come naturally from my own personality but from the realisation that without using the power of the mind then it is not possible to achieve optimal performance.

Having dabbled in other sports like speed-skating and triathlon in the eighties and having experimented with alternative training approaches I developed an almost obsessive need to drill into information sources in an effort to determine ‘best practice’. This meant analysing every detail of every system some traditional and some commercial, the commercial systems of course driven by the need to sell products and services. This manifested itself in the form of absorbing as much information as I could from text books and research while at the same time not losing touch with whether something ‘feels right’.

After gaining the World Hour record and winning the Individual Pursuit title in 1993, my tuck position was banned. I had no choice but to use these very same techniques of analysis to maximise the potential of the clip-on ‘tri-bars’ that the other riders had been using all the while. The result was the ‘Superman’ position with my arms stretched straight out in front. I regained my world title using this style and it was copied with great success by other riders but it was banned soon after.

I carried on riding conventionally and using my training knowledge I won the British Time-Trial Championship in 1997 as a point of proving athletic rather than technical advantage. I have raced sporadically over the years with reasonable success and since I do not possess a car I have maintained my interest in cycling performance. Further study allowed me to enhance my breathing technique and pedalling style and I have a body of knowledge that I wish I had possessed much earlier in my cycling career.

What I put forward in this book is in effect my own modus operandi. This is a time of great popularity in the sport of cycling and there can be a bewildering bombardment of advice to trawl through, especially for those new to the sport – and much of this advice being quite contradictory. You may or may not find every piece of advice in this book useful but what I offer up is the totality of my own ways, no more and no less. I have tried to be as objective as possible but where a statement is purely opinion I have tried to make that clear. I hope the advice is of use and can make a difference to readers in some small way.

Another classic wind day for troon

If it keep blowing like this I might have to invest in a 3m kite ….
At the moment I am, however lying in bed with legs raised following a vasectomy …. So less ‘balls out’ for a session as ball wrapped in cotton wool.

a gust 20 knots stronger than average is a bit too blustery – later in week looks nicer.

an epic day kitesurfing

well apart from looping over the kite and slamming into the water at 30mph+ have a bruised cheek today – the only bit of exposed flesh peeking out of my wetsuit hood. Thought i might have broken a rib but just badly winded ….

screen grab from go pro footage - jumping over and across my pal LEO