GNCC Lake APR - Balfron 18/03/2012

Traditionally the first race of the year for many and so it was for me. The APR (Australian Pursuit Race) is what we used to call back in the day a handicap event with the seeded riders having to make up ground on the groups ahead. This years event had given us in the scratch group a handicap of six minutes on the first bunch of riders, although it felt like a lot longer to me as the varying groups disappeared down the road from the lay by just East of Buchlyvie.

The pre race banter soon disappeared as, in glorious sunshine and with the tailwind start our group settled quickly into it’s work and it was quick with three Dooley’s, Paul Rennie, Martin Lonie and Greg Brown sitting together like a black clad express train followed by Peter Murdoch, Fin Young, Craig Adams and the rest of us hanging in there as the speed hit well over 55kph in places we hurtled towards the Kippen roundabout which was bedecked with more Day-Glo than a Farnesse Vini jersey. Through the turn and having negotiated the twists on the road to Thornhill the crosswind did little to deter the speed and we caught a glimpse of the group ahead, still working well together we hit the first rise into Thornhill. This threw the rhythm of our group for a while until normal service was resumed with Lonie looking strong (and far too tanned for this time of the year!) obviously benefiting from having had a warm weather training camp and regular visits to Manchester’s track league through the winter, his strength began to tell as gaps appeared as he took the front spelling through hard on the rolling roads towards Port of Menteith and the Lake which gives the event it’s name. His luck however was about to change as a loud pop from his rear wheel could only mean that a spoke had given up the ghost and stopped his progress.

The rest of us ploughed on into the headwind and slowly started to pull in the preceding riders. Up and through Port of Menteith and swiftly down to the Rob Roy Roundabout almost onto the back of the group ahead. As ever Flanders Moss didn’t disappoint, it’s always a crosswind up Flanders, always, and it always hurts. With everyone fighting for shelter in the gutter the catch was made just at the bottom of the drag and the line strung out, making progress to the front somewhat impossible. There was an inevitable lull at the top however which meant that the now forty or so strong peleton was a twitchy place to be, so it was time to move up the line. Just as well because Murdoch and Rennie plus a few others had decided it was time to stretch their legs again. A long fast line developed again including Lonie who had fought back to the pack having obviously had some superb service from the boys at Solid Rock Cycles. I had to get towards the front knowing that there would be some pain dished out and a selection on the climb through Killearn and so it turned out. Murdoch again hit the accelerator and I was glad I could slide through the bunch just about maintaining contact by the top.

The fast descent towards Balfron and the finishing circuit beckoned and I again needed to move through towards the front so in true Cancellara style (I wished) I tried to make up some ground on the descent. It was going swimmingly too, until at about 65kph I hit a huge pothole and heard the bang and hiss of a front wheel flat. Thankfully I held it upright and pulled to the side, where I awaited the Solid Rock Cycles service van out popped Mark with a replacement front but even as he ran towards me I knew the game was up, there was no way I was catching that flying group ahead on my own. Wheel in, I gave it a go until the finish line where it was time to face the fact I was going nowhere fast. So abandon I did.

Still it was a fine workout for the first race of the season and a super day’s weather to boot. Thanks to Alan and the team at the Glasgow Nightingale for another top racing day out and congratulations to Gary Maher from Ayr Roads CC who narrowly pipped Craig Adams of GJS Racing to win the sprint with Dominic Hines VC Edinburgh third.

Local Climbs

An ever growing directory of where local climbs are, what they're known as & what they're like. These are all within club run distance. Map with locations coming soon too...

1) Dukes Pass (North)
2) Dukes Pass (South)
3) Crow Road (North) Coming soon....
4) Crow Road (South) Coming soon....
5) Pipe Track (North) Coming soon....
6) Pipe Track (South) Coming soon....
7) Top of the World (Fintry) Coming soon....
8) Top of the World (Kippen) Coming soon....
9) Top of the World (Arnprior) Coming soon....
10) Carron Valley (Fintry to Reservoir) Coming soon....
11) Tak Ma Doon.. Coming soon....
12) Letter Muir.. Coming soon....
13) Braes of Greenock.. Coming soon....

1) Dukes Pass (North)
The famous climb on the North side of the Dukes Pass steps upwards from Loch Achray in the Trossachs, through the Achray Forest and finishes at it's 3rd summit, before descending towards Aberfoyle. It initally climbs steeply from 100m altitude at Loch Achray, then levels off slightly and even descends before climbing again. The gradients get steep again and after a left hand corner and you can see the climb ahead of you to the right hand side of a steep hill. Once over this and past a viewpoint towards Loch Drunkie in the east, the road descends and turs sharply to the left for the tough final kilometre. You hit one more small summit, then the final one, which has some of the steepest gradients. Those last two summits always feel like the hardest parts of the climb, in reality they probably are. As with most Scottish hills, the average gradient doesn't imply this hills hardness, but it's the steeper sections that cause the pain.
 


Length: 4km
Ave Gradient: 3.9% (includes descents)
Max Gradient: 16%
Height Gain: 155m

2) Dukes Pass (South)
An altogether different climb to the north side. This one starts in Aberfoyle and continues steeply, with barely a break until a false flat section. This initial section includes several hairpins and changing gradients, with one section as steep as 20% for a short length. The road winds past the David Marshall Lodge and through the Queen Elizabeth Forest Park, until a final steep section opens up onto the false flat. This is deceptive, as it's still climbing (see profile) and then there's a final push to the top.
Length: 3.9km
Ave Gradient: 5.9%
Max Gradient: 20%
Height Gain: 231m

The 'Sir Chris': The First Look

Our latest club sponsor for 2012, Careth Ltd (a lanscaping, grounds maintenance, fencing & contract cleaning business based near Balfron) invited our chairman & secretary to a visit to the new velodrome being built in Glasgow's east end for the 2014 Commonwealth Games.

The facility is looking incredible already, even though there's no track in there yet, but based on Manchester, Glasgow's Chris Hoy Velodrome looks like it's going to easily surpass the facility which was built for the Manchester Commonwealth Games in 2002. We didn't really know what to expect, what state it would be in or how much we would see, but what we did see was incredible. The project has been huge, it fantastic to have it in Glasgow and the engineering & construction looks like it's very high spec, it looks like a world class sports venue.

When you arrive in the car park, there's a road circuit which skirts the outside, it's only 1km long and has a hairpin at each end, possibly not ideal for elite riders, but certainly will be well used by youth riders and the lower categories. Should teach vital skills and provide a permanent off road training & roacing facility, hopefully clubs and coaches will see it's value.

Approching the venue, the shear scale of the project hits you, this isn't some normal sports or liesure centre, this a major venue for Commonwealth Games, it carries it well.

 We were shown the arena, which will have a 250m banked running track, which can be lowered on hydraulics to provide a flat surface for a variety of different event, makes that a very large & very adaptable space, exactly the legacy it should be.

Moving onto the thing we were here to see, it's going to be very very good. It almost looks finished, you feel yourself imagining the track sitting in there, you can see exactly where it goes. The seating is there, wrapped in plastic, the judges box, windows looking out onto the track from a future gym, the biggest in Glasgow apparently, so you'll be able to spin-bike and get a taste for moving off something static onto the real thing. Round the walls are accoustic blocks, to ensure David Hoy's voice can be heard properly at the track league without any echo's, all still safe in plastic for now. The scale is incredible, a huge window looks out towards Celtic Park, it feels like a very light space.

May is when it's due to be handed over and the SCHÜRMANN brothers get the boards in, these guys have a fair bit of experience, click HERE to see which velodromes they've built already.

What a venue, what a future our riders are going to have, we can't wait until October, this IS the best venue we're ever going to get as cyclists.

2014 Commonwealth Games
Velodrome Info
Glasgow, London, Manchester velodrome deal.

Huge thanks to Keith at Careth for inviting us along.