CC Ecosse Ride - West Route

[Col5632]

So far the list is

1.Col5632
2.Fubar (More than likely)
3.Edindave (Depends on date)
4.Fran143 (Looking to make it)
5.Rasmus (Looking to make it)

Would love to do Arran but im not sure how many people are up for it, by all means if most want to do it then ill try to come along, looking for a western to suggest a nice inland route and see where most people would like to go

 

[ACS]

I will have to extend my apologies if the event takes place during late June. I will be practicing my warm weather hydration techniques somewhere in southern Europe.

Althrough I have to admit a ride around Arran sounds very appealing and may be up for a re-run if it ever happens.

 

[Col5632]

I will have to extend my apologies if the event takes place during late June. I will be practicing my warm weather hydration techniques somewhere in southern Europe.

Althrough I have to admit a ride around Arran sounds very appealing and may be up for a re-run if it ever happens.

So how about we make this event in early July? Can more people make it then?

 

[Rasmus]

Some route suggestions exploring the area N, NW, and W of Glasgow:

Crow Rd and Queens View loop from Lenzie rail (75 km, 1000 m elevation, but many variations possible)
Glen Fruin and Rosneath loop from Dumbarton rail (84 km, 1000 m elevation, easily shortened)
Port Glasgow and the NCN75 loop from Glasgow (70 km, 650 m elevation, about half the distance traffic-free)

I'm all for shifting the date to early July if it means a greater turnout can be achieved.

 

[Fubar]

Early July = OK for me, late July = on holibags. Otherwise back to 23 June = still potentially ok. Regards, Mark

 

[Fubar]

Some route suggestions exploring the area N, NW, and W of Glasgow:

Crow Rd and Queens View loop from Lenzie rail (75 km, 1000 m elevation, but many variations possible)
Glen Fruin and Rosneath loop from Dumbarton rail (84 km, 1000 m elevation, easily shortened)
Port Glasgow and the NCN75 loop from Glasgow (70 km, 650 m elevation, about half the distance traffic-free)

I'm all for shifting the date to early July if it means a greater turnout can be achieved.

Like the look of Crow Road and Queens View loop, and Glen Fruin and Rosneath loop - not so sure about the Port Glasgow and NCN75, looks a bit "urban"!

 

[arranandy]

I was round Arran on Saturday. Some really crap bits of road and some really brilliant bits of road. Weather was great (as usual ) and I had a wee cafe stop at the Machrie Bay tearoom. Total cycling time - 3 hrs 17 minutes

 

[Col5632]

Glen Fruin and Rosneath loop looks pretty awesome to do

Think early July is best but it cant be the first weekend as im off to T in the park that weekend

 

[edindave]

I've got a green light for tomorrow so I'm going for the Arran route.
Will be leaving Edinburgh about 0700 for the 0945 sailing from Ardrossan.
Short notice I know, but if anyone would like to come along I've got room in the car for another bike and if anyone else is up for it from the West then I'll see you on the boat!

 

[Col5632]

Very short notice but I hope you enjoy the ride take some pics and let us know how you get on

 

[edindave]

Had a good ride today. Weather was fine, not much wind to speak of, but it was quite chilly at times.
I should have worn the windstopper, not just base layer and jersey. Arm warmers saved the day.

I only did half the route - the north side of the island - so I could get home for tea time.
http://app.strava.com/rides/10088824

The String Road was a killer. You hit it about two miles into the ride so the legs are not warmed up at all. My first Cat 3 climb though so I'm pleased with that!

Road surfaces are pretty crap in places. Not too bad on The String road though. And the descent folowing the climb after Lochranza had been resurfaced so was beautiful!

I only took a couple of photos - can never be bothered to stop when I'm on the bike!
This is beside Lochranza castle.

 

[Telemark]

You did the String Road from the steep side!

We did it from Blackwaterfoot a few years ago, after the biggest ever breakfast at the Lochside B&B - the hardest bit was lugging the breakfast in our stomachs, from memory (and we had overnight panniers, too).

I hadn't realised it was a "Cat3" - what are the rules?

T

 

[edindave]

Thanks T I saw at least half a dozen folk with panniers also tacking the steep side. Respect!

It's a Cat 3 based on the Strava site rating; below is an extract from their FAQ:-
https://strava.zendesk.com/entries/20420292-how-are-strava-climbs-categorized-for-rides

Our categorization is based on the official UCI but with some modification. When a climb is categorized, for Tour de France for example, there is a subjective component to the categorization. If a climb is at the end of the stage it could get a tougher category than if it was earlier in the stage. Our categorization is completely objective, so if a climb is cat 1 it will always be a cat 1 climb. To decide the category of a climb we multiply the length of the climb (in meters) with the grade of the climb in percent. If that number is greater than 8000 then it is a categorized climb. So, for a 4% avg grade climb, it has to be 2km at least to be categorized. Cat 3 = 16000, 2 = 32000, 1 = 64000, HC > 80000.

 

[Col5632]

Had a good ride today. Weather was fine, not much wind to speak of, but it was quite chilly at times.
I should have worn the windstopper, not just base layer and jersey. Arm warmers saved the day.

I only did half the route - the north side of the island - so I could get home for tea time.
http://app.strava.com/rides/10088824

The String Road was a killer. You hit it about two miles into the ride so the legs are not warmed up at all. My first Cat 3 climb though so I'm pleased with that!

Road surfaces are pretty crap in places. Not too bad on The String road though. And the descent folowing the climb after Lochranza had been resurfaced so was beautiful!

I only took a couple of photos - can never be bothered to stop when I'm on the bike!
This is beside Lochranza castle.

Looks awesome We defo need to do this as a forum ride one day

 

[Rasmus]

Any thoughts from the rest of the west coast people regarding routes and dates?