Etape Caledonia

On Saturday, we had to drive the 130 mile round trip to register for the event as there were no registrations on the day itself. The forecast printed out on the notice board looked bleak and I was wondering what the right kit would be for such a changeable day. I don't mind a bit of rain but if it was going to be as cold as predicted, I would have to be in full on winter wear.

The morning was wet but not too cold so I went for light layers that I could take off if it got warmer. We had a 7.22 start time and although we left Edinburgh at 5.30am, the road into Pitlochry was really congested and we missed our start time by a few minutes. No big problem with that in itself but in my haste to get going, I broke my timing chip on the start line and didn’t have any time to get a replacement. Within a mile, I had dropped Colin! The route isn’t the hilliest you will come across in the sportive calendar so I knew that getting into fast moving groups was going to be the order of the day. In the first 20 miles or so, this wasn’t really happening for me – I just seemed to be going at a quicker pace than most around me and not quite quick enough for those rare few that passed me (I hope this doesn’t sound big headed but I was really amazed by how many I was passing and how rarely I was passed). However after the first feed stop, things started to come together and a bunch started to grow. It was great – speed was high and we flew along. The scenery was wonderful and even though we were really shifting, there was still time to admire the views of the lochs and surrounding greenery. The support around the course was fantastic with loads of cheering crowds and bagpipe players. Things were looking good; my avg speed was well over 18mph and I was feeling really strong. Somewhere before feedstop 2, I noticed that there were huge numbers of people with punctures. They were filling the verges – some with both wheels off trying to repair punctures; some just looked like they’d given up and were sitting on the grass. It was complete carnage! I started wondering what on earth was going on and as I passed by feedstop 2, I heard rumours of tacks on the roads and deliberate sabotage of the event. I kept my eyes on the road and just said silent prayers that I wouldn’t get a puncture. I had enough food on me to make it to the 3rd feedstop, which came at the top of the biggest climb of the day, and very fortunately, I managed to get there puncture free. As I approached the stop, I saw that no one was moving through and marshals were announcing that the ride had been stopped. When it became clear that we weren’t going to be moving on quickly, I stopped my timer. We waited at the top of the climb for about an hour or so; getting more and more cold. The top layer came back on but I was still really shivering by the time we were given the signal to start moving down the hill – a controlled descent with the Police leading the way. Despite the road sweeping that had been going on in the hour long wait, people were soon pulling over with more punctures. The organisers cut about 7 miles off the course in order to miss more of the tacks. Once we were back on the rolling terrain, it was back into fast group riding back to the finish in glorious sunshine. Amazingly, I didn’t puncture at all.

When I filled out Joe’s form about my goals and strategy for the day, I said that it would be acceptable to finish in 6 hours, would be happy with 5hrs 30mins and dream goal would be 5hrs. When I crossed the line my clock showed 4hrs 8 mins. Of course, I spent a further hour stood still on a mountain and they cut 7 miles off the course, but I can safely say that without all of the problems, I would have been comfortably within 5 hours. Unfortunately, getting the chip out of my pocket and dangling it over the start and finish line didn’t work and the organisers have me as a DNF – I’m so annoyed with myself, as I would have loved to compare my time with the other girls on the day.

The atmosphere in the village was great - again, superb support as we crossed the finish line. I saw some enormous great burgers being cooked and I really fancied one. God, I still wish I had got one of those burgers. Shortly afterwards, I got the call from Colin - he hadn't made it to food stop 2. The race had been stopped and he was given the option of getting on a bus or going back to Pitlochry on his bike. He decided to return on his bike. He was bristling on the phone and wasn't in the mood for soaking up the atmosphere at the finish so I met him back at the car. He didn't want a burger either. Damn.

As we were leaving, we saw a bus of cyclists returning to Pitlochry - what a nightmare way to end the day. I just can't believe that someone would do something so ridiculously dangerous - it's lucky that no one was seriously hurt. I hear that someone has been arrested now and will be in court on Wednesday. What an idiot!

Some stats from Garmin:
Summary Data
Total Time (h:m:s) 4:58:41 4:05 pace
Moving Time (h:m:s) 4:03:59 3:20 pace
Distance (mi ) 73.10
Total Avg Speed (mph) 17.6
Moving Speed (mph) 18.0 avg. 38.5 max.
Elevation Gain (ft) +5,806 / -5,802

Avg. Heart Rate 132 bpm Zone 1.0

So if my total time was 4hrs 58 – which includes the long wait for the ride to start again - that puts me 5th for my age group. 12th woman overall. Of course, there will be women further down the list who had punctured and might have done better and there will be women who didn’t get stopped and went straight through (but will probably have done 81 miles rather than 73) so it’s difficult to compare. However, I did ok and I’m chuffed.

I’ve got to go back and make it official next year.

ANOTHER EDIT: I should add that the saddle was ok. However, I was still sore at the end. The leather sagged a lot after 73 miles and so more of me was in contact with it. The Company owner has given me more instructions for getting the tension just right. My sit bones were very comfy though and the saddle position itself is great. So, certainly no worse than previous saddles and scope to improve before the next big ride. One thing I am disappointed with is that when it got a bit damp, welts developed on the surface. The company owner, Tom, says that this is very rare and makes no difference to saddle comfort. They don't look too attractive though. I think I'm going to ask to exchange - £166 is a lot to pay for a saddle and I expect a little more of it when I've paid so much.