Back on Mull

Five years after my first visit to Mull we're back to experience the quiet roads and spectacular scenery.

Here are a few shots of the Venge which I decided to take on this trip, probably not the best choice for the wet and windy isle but worth battling the elements for the views!

And here's the route taken, following in that discovered 5 years ago and I just hope it's not another 5 years before I return! 

The Gordon Arms Mountain TT

Set in the Scottish Borders and based at the Gordon Arms Hotel, runs an early season Mountain Time Trial.

As British Cycling events page describes: "The course starts and finishes at the Gordon Arms and you start with a long climb to the Berry Bush then a fast technical descent to the Ettrick Valley. You then have a fast undulating route down the Ettrick Valley to the start of the Swire. This famous borders climb has to be ridden and can often have snow by the side of the road at this time of year, It is followed by a fast descent to Yarrow kirk and finally the homeward run along the Yarrow Valley to the finish".

It was a total coincidence that I was able to combine my new found love of the TT with a chance few nights stopover near Ettrick, en-route to Mull and naturally I just had to do the ride! Missing the official event by 6 months, there was no snow and the warming September sun was kindly doing its thing. I wasn't staying at the Gordon Arms so I had to enter the course at the base of the Cat 3 Swire Climb (should really be the Cote de Swire). It was here that I realised that the 'Mountain' reference in the TT's title was not the understatement that for some reason I had thought! This is a 3km climb at an average 8% gradient with beautiful switchbacks and views to match. Once at the top as per the route description the drop in to Yarrow Kirk is steep and with the previous evening's rain now running off across the shingle covered tarmac, some caution was required. How the riders cope with this back in March with the risk of snow and ice, I can't imagine.

After a stop at the Gordon Arms for a photo, no time for refreshments, I imagine the hustle and bustle here of the official start. On this September morning, there was a noticeable absence of anyone, let alone any other cyclists. From this official start, the 6km Cat4 4% climb to the Berry Bush is no trouble for this Devon cyclist, albeit I have some work to do with a time of 7mi 32s v the KOM 3mi 40s, although I've never claimed to be a speedy hill climber and my position of 2783 / 7078 does place me in the top half of the table, so I'm happy with that.

It managed 2 rides over this route and would definitely do it again at the drop of a hat, although probably not in March!

Bike Fit #3, Bike n.5

Like busses as they say ... you wait 5 years and then 2 bike fits come along in as many weeks! But why so soon, when the Venge fit was such a success just a few weeks ago?

Yes, bike n.5 has been acquired. Having made it known to my cycling buddies that I may be in the market for something more suitable to ride next year's Time Trials, I was pointed to a couple of cycle buy and sell FaceBook pages. Deja Vu the Venge purchase, as what should appear on my screen during a random browse ... a Specialized TT bike. It was not the new Shiv with the eye watering 5 digit price tag but a model I had not previously come across. It was a bike frame called the Transition, and advertised for not only a "come and buy me" price hard to ignore, but more amazingly it was for sale in North Devon and in my size!

25th August 2019 bike n.5

The die was truly cast. Another day trip west was planned and the outcome mirrored that experienced with the Venge almost 4 years ago, I handed over the crisp notes in payment and loaded the bright red, Specialized Transition Pro into the bike transporter!

Being a total TT bike novice, in the extreme, I didn't dare test drive it; to have fallen off would have been very bad form! So, the first thing I had to do .. well after renewing the bar tape, fitting some pedals and changing the saddle .. was to get a proper bike fit and thus back to Tony at Tribe Cycle Solutions I went.

When I had my first ever bike fit, the technician confirmed that on a flexibility scale of 1-10, I was probably close to zero, therefore, getting into a most unnatural superman position, while pedalling at the same time, felt as alien to me as the visitor from Krypton must have been to the people of Smallville!

At least, however, I now know how this craft should be flown and my plan now is to hit the turbo as many week day evenings as possible through the winter in a vain attempt to mould myself into the personified TT superman, I need to be to ride this thing faster than the Venge in next year's events. Oh my!