Etape Loch Ness

When I first signed up for this event, I had not fully appreciated the logistics in actually getting to the start. Yesterday, I returned home having not only completed the event but more astonishingly having covered more than 1,400 miles in 4 days of travelling. I've since been asked if it would not have been more sensible to have flown ... no comment.

I must admit, however, that the scenery on the second day's journey into the Scottish highlands was truly spectacular. Snow topped mountains under a beautiful blue sky provided a stunning backdrop to the epic road trip. I had signed up to do the ride with Mike, a good friend of mine from Yorkshire, although as with myself, he's moved around a bit since then and so we actually met up after day 1 of my travels near Castle Douglas in the south west of Scotland.

Having settled into our lodgings along side the River Ness, just 2 miles from Inverness, our next task was to register for the ride and collect our numbers and timing chip. This was efficiently handled by the Etape crew on the Saturday morning where, in a tented park, they had set up HQ surrounded by sponsors' stores and enticing food outlets. The carnival feeling was starting to build. That afternoon, I took a drive around the route to, in particular, reconnoitre the 5 mile climb out of Fort Augustus, some 35 miles into the 66 mile circuit. It was indeed going to be a challenging one, I'd climbed as tough ones before, but it was good at least to be prepared.

It had been forecast all week that the beautiful weather we'd been having was going to break on Sunday, the day of the ride. From 20mph winds to snow had been on the cards but miraculously as we prepared for our 06:45 am start, the revised outlook was for a clear and wind free morning, with the worst of the earlier forecasted weather set to descend after lunch, by which time we should be home and dry.

Spectacular views followed us around the Loch

We started briskly, having warmed up on the 2 mile run in from the lodge, and having set ourselves a very gentle 5 hour target on our entry forms, found ourselves very much at the back of the field. This, however, had two very positive outcomes, first our start time was later than it should have been, giving us a few more valuable minutes of sleep, and second, we were never to be overtaken!

The route out to Fort Augustus at the bottom of the Loch was relatively flat. It was here that we turned to make our return to the finish at Inverness and commence the 5 mile climb that had the majority of the field dismount. Mike and I weaved our way through the walkers making surprisingly good time up the first phase of the climb. There were 3 elevations to this hill, the first being the longest. It was, however, on the short descent following this first climb, with Mike in my crosshairs ahead of me, I struck a small pothole and one of my water bottles parted company with the bike, spinning to a rest in the centre of the road behind me! Had it been one of my regular bottles, I would have left it where it lay. It was however, one of a set of new bottles recently acquired to match the rather exclusive carbon FFWD wheels I was now running on and thus not one I was prepared to leave behind. To the consternation of the marshals, I dodged descending riders to precariously recover it. Unfortunately, the time lost meant not only was Mike long gone, but so also was any chance of setting an accurate and hopefully good time on the hill climb.

Racing to the top of the hill, attempting to make up for lost time

At the top of the hill the panoramic views were sublime and many, including us, stopped for a picture or two. Mike and I were also called for an impromptu press interview. Before camera and mic we spoke of how we'd got here and what we thought of the event .. so far. In the whirlwind of celebrity interest, the question of where and when this was to be broadcast was never asked, but I like to think we made the local news that night.

The final 30 miles home were lumpy, with short climbs followed by short descents which when ridden well gave us just the momentum to speed up the next climb. Towards the end, I was happy to be able to sit on Mike's wheel and be drafted over the final miles as only the best domestiques can do. This was a terrific ride, not only because of the closed roads, the professionalism of the marshals, the scenery and great company, but also because it proved how riders can pull together and by sharing the load as we did, I was able to achieve new PBs across all distances .. a true lesson in team cycling and something some of my recent rides have lacked .. thanks Mike, I am indebted to you!




I decided against carrying the GoPro on this ride, so the only video record is that of the finishing line provided by the organisers.

Seaton to Exmouth 100 km Etape Loch Ness prep ride

I went for an AVP spin this morning out to Exmouth and back. Weather was fantastic if a little breezy. The route took us through Colyton to Ottery, dropping then down into Newton Poppleford to then join the old railway line cycle path into Exmouth.

After the mandatory coffee and cake stop, we retraced our steps along the seafront and cycle path where we received a healthy sandblasting some would pay good money for. We then headed south of the outward route through Otterton, up Peak Hill to Sidmouth, up Halway Hill to Farway Common and then down Northleigh Hill back into Colyton and on to Seaton via Axmouth ... a good 60+ miles (100 km), setting me up nicely for next week's Etape Loch Ness.

Puncture and a Lost Flock

What an eventful Thursday night ride. After a sunny saunter out of Seaton to Beer, up past the quarry and down into Branscombe, 13 Pedallers .. the Near Naked Man, Barry, Grinch, Bobble, Jolly, Geoff, Handbag, Relay, Derek, Rach, Sarah, Dawn and yours truly - in no particular order .. then took the long climb up to the Donkey Sanctuary where we regrouped to decide on our return route. Actually, Handbag left us before the drop down into Branscombe to join up with the later 7:30 ride, but that would have meant re-sequencing the last sentence and I just hate going back over the same road!

The decision finally made was to cycle via Honiton Golf Club and down hill past 'Pedaller's Bench' through Southleigh and on into Colyton. In a drawn out chaingang be pedalled at speed along the main drag, red lights a flashing as the daylight gave way to dusk. Turning off and bumping our way over a typical austerity tarmac surfaced link road we regrouped at the top of Beech Tree Lane preparing to head over to Farway Common. Just one problem, we were one short; two actually, Grinch had not returned as back marker and reports came in that Geoff, on his third ride with the pedallers had suffered a puncture on the main road.

Derek, gallantly stayed with Rach, Sarah and Dawn while the remainder, determined not to leave a man behind, retraced our steps the mile or so back to the site of the puncture. Here, perhaps all had a hand, one way or another, in advising, supporting, cajoling or actually replacing the tube .. I will say no more but I'm sure there is a joke in there somewhere. By the time we returned to the junction where we'd left Derek and the ladies, they were gone! I had also done that thing I loathe .. yep, riding back over the same piece of road. Having no way to contact the lost flock and darkness descending, we decided to take the shortest route back to Seaton and hoped to meet up back at the Kings Arms.

Back at the pub, the lost flock finally arrived 15 minutes later. They had apparently just moved slowly on to the next junction thinking we'd catch up! Big lesson learned here, we either make sure we exchange mobile numbers or at least follow the agreed route!

AVP Sunday Magical Mystery Ride

22 Pedallers rolled up at Costa Coffee (Sorry G, the Broom Wagon not yet open), for our ‘Magical Mystery' monthly Sunday ride. Dubbed the Mystery ride as we had failed to agree on a ride leader ahead of the ride so it was going to be a bit of mystery as to where we'd end up!

Handbag was adopted as ride leader and the route selected took us out through Musbury, Shute, Dalwood (a road to Stockland I've not ridden before and a highly recommended alternative to the main road climb) and up Stockland Hill to the Royal Oak Farm tea shop, Cotleigh, for coffee and cake served on the lawn under a warm sun.

We returned to Seaton via Northleigh Hill Road, Edgar’s Seat and Colyton, and a couple of us then on to the Broom Wagon for a final coffee and to catch up on Wiggo’s [unsuccessful] attempt to win the Paris Roubaix.

Solo Thursday Evening Ride

Shock horror .. almost a first .. I did a ride last night but not with the Pedallers. The last time I remember doing that was when Andy and I managed to get out early to avoid forecasted heavy showers only to pass the Pedallers coming the other way ascending Quarry Lane! - were we less bothered by rain back then?

Last night was down to a culmination of reasons .. I picked up a stubborn chest cold following my Portland epic and running on what feels like 50% lung capacity is like puffing up a hill in a car without an exhaust pipe; our last few rides have been quick and being constantly spat out the back has my inner chimp in disarray, I need to work on getting my mojo back; and finally, the glorious weather has encouraged me to get in an early evening ride these last few weeks and that feeling of getting home in the light and still having an evening to enjoy is hard to beat. So, my thinking was, if I would be spluttering and riding out back alone anyway, I may as well get out and do an early solo circuit without the pressure of trying to keep up.

I thought it would be a repeat of my last ride and I’d meet Pedallers’ peloton perhaps on my homeward ‘sprint’ along the Axe Estuary straight, alas no, we must have missed by a matter of minutes, as I see all had a good 25+ mile ride out to Hawkchurch via Axmouth, Trinity Hill and back through Axminster, Kilmington and Musbury, and looking at the Strava logs, a bag full of PRs for all too.

I completed a gentle 20 mile circuit which I’ve become quite fond of recently, mainly because of the road quality, both smooth surface so as not to buckle my wheels and wide enough not to have to pull over for cars, and also because I can ride it without thinking of where it is I’m going. Those who know of my poor sense of direction, will know I have a memory of a gold fish when it comes to remembering routes .. nice castle … nice castle .. nice castle ..!

Anyway, having enjoyed beautiful sunshine for the first 15 miles what a surprise greeted me as I hit the Axe Estuary. Thick fog! My bare legs and Garmin also registered a 4 degree drop in temperature. I assume this was just localised sea mist and the Pedallers found themselves climbing into clearer sky as they got up to the heights of Trinity Hill.

Fingers crossed I’ll be back in the fold for next week’s ride, but before that we have the monthly Sunday club ride .. more on that later!




Epilogue:  On the stats front, it was actually quite a good ride: 16.9 mph average and a PB on my Seaton Down Hill climb, taking 14s off my May 2014 record, mainly because I had not realised I was still in the big cog!

From Car to Bike Mechanic

In my youth, bicycles were for children and it was cars which drove my obsession. In the late 1980s, I took this to its nth degree by building and maintaining my own rally car. A weekend did not go by when I was not up to my elbows in grease replacing or upgrading some mechanical part.

Since getting my first company car, some 15 years ago, the opportunities to spend evenings under the bonnet have thankfully long gone, however, my new found interest in cycling has rekindled the mechanic in me and after replacing break callipers, reindexing gears and recently being shown how to replace a cassette and chain, I felt ready to take on a Shimano rear hub rebuild after one of my Mavic wheels developed an alarming crunching sound.

Cross section of the Shimano Rear Hub

Before tackling the project, I sought the advice of my fellow club Pedallers. This varied from, 'can't be done, you're best ditching the wheel', to 'no problem, I've done it many times'. A quick look on YouTube gave definitive video proof that it was possible, and my local cycle shop provided me the bearings, grease and cone spanner to undertake the task .. I was ready to re-emerse myself into the role of mechanic!

Rear Freewheel and Bearings

The instructions received worked a treat, and with the aid of my new tools and a telescopic magnet, I had split the hub and removed the bearings. Within, the cassette / drive side bearings were heavily corroded and concerned that their housing was overly worn and pitted, I acquired a replacement freewheel from Soanes Cycles, luckily - as they did not have one in stock - they were able to source this from a 'spare' wheel with Shimano hub, removing the parts I needed while I waited. It's so great to have a friendly local bike shop to hand when needed.

Re-constucted, my rear hub was now spinning freely and without a crunch to be heard. One lesson learned for next time, however, is to count the bearings. High on this success, I was going to set about  reconditioning my front hub, which while not making a noise, did feel a little grainy. Needing 8 bearings per side, and having 8 new and 8 left over from the good side of the rear hub, I thought, 'perfect, just the right number' ... but check out my above picture, how many bearings do you count?

Yes .. nine! 15 minutes later, the hub was stripped again and an additional bearing added to each side ... funny thing was, it sounded great on the test ride. The mechanic is back!

AVP Easter Saturday Sidmouth Honiton Circuit

Following last week's 100 mile ride to Portland, while I may be feeing quietly confident about the Etape Loch Ness in 3 weeks, I know I can not be complacent and still need to put in the training miles. I was, therefore, out this morning riding with fellow AVPers, Kelly, Chris, Clive and Kevin on one of my favourite 40 mile circuits. This is the one which takes in Sidmouth seafront, the old A30 to Honiton, coffee & cake at the Boston Tea Party, the long climb up to Stockland and the idilic cycle back to the Broom Wagon via Kilmington.

Bikes on Sidmouth seafront

Normally, a ride with Clive would be a full on blast up hill and down dale leaving one spluttering for breath or spat out the back! But with Clive inspired to follow in my wheel tracks and do his own run out to Portland tomorrow, he was happy just to spin his legs and do a traditional JRB ride & coffee stop .. it was refreshing to see this more relaxed side of him, although if anyone showed signs of beating him to the top of a rise, he was still unable to resist taking it to a winning sprint!

3 Wise Men (?) at the Boston Tea Party Coffee Stop

After a couple of frustrating AVP rides, it was good to finally have a group ride where we all worked together ... and while feeling the effects of a slight chest cold, I was pleased with a sub 3.5 hour ride over 45 miles and 3k ft of climb .. we had fun too!