Viewing 19 posts - 1 through 19 (of 19 total)
  • Etape Caledonia
  • OmarLittle
    Free Member

    I know it’s not everyones cup of tea however for those that enjoy it then just a heads up that the pre-sale for next years event is now open.

    scotroutes
    Full Member

    Nothing against sportives and I’ve done this one twice but don’t be fooled into thinking your extravagant entrance fee is going to charity.
    http://road.cc/content/blog/71344-etape-caledonia-where-does-money-go

    trail_rat
    Free Member

    and ime the roads round there are more dangerous during the event than in the weeks leading up to and beyond….. i ride there alot from a mates and see 1 or 2 cars for a majority of the route.

    the one year i did the etape i witnessed countless bambis on bikes struggling to stay upright and taking others out at speed.

    tpbiker
    Free Member

    Last comment on that link made me think

    so whats to stop me just rocking up with my bike on the day, riding the route, and just sticking the entrance fee direct in their charity box?

    I guess I wouldn’t get free cake and official timing, but at least the money would go to where I intended it to go to…

    mrblobby
    Free Member

    Some of your money could be used to help Justin Timberlake re-negotiate his record label contract.

    😯

    iainc
    Full Member

    so whats to stop me just rocking up with my bike on the day, riding the route, and just sticking the entrance fee direct in their charity box?

    nothing, and I’ve seen a few folks do this. However it wastes what could be a decent day out riding on quiet roads 🙂

    tpbiker
    Free Member

    I don’t mind the busy roads, I’ve done one before and it was good fun.

    Neither do I object to a company making a profit for its labour (although IMG I make take more issue with).

    My main issue the underhand way this is ‘sold’ to people, so no way they are getting a penny of my cash.

    legend
    Free Member

    having ridden this route outside of the sport-duro, I struggle to understand why anyone would pay. The roads are already quiet, the route is easily navigated, there’s a convenient shop to stop at, and there’s loads of places in Pitlochry to re-fuel before/after

    13thfloormonk
    Full Member

    I struggle to understand why anyone would pay

    Same reason lots of people pay for lots of other sportives, for the chance to ride with lots of other riders and be part of an event.

    Call it ego (it’s rare I get applauded for wheezing up hills at 15kph unless it’s a sportive…) or call it excitement at being surrounded by 100s or 1000s of other riders, either way it’s the biggest difference between a sportive and just riding around by yourself 8)

    davieg
    Free Member

    I am thinking about this as my first proper sportive. I know the area well having grown up in Perth and it is a beautiful location for a ride.

    …but, is it worth it for closed roads that are clogged full of cyclist soup. As legend says, bar the main road to Aberfeldy, some of these roads are pretty quiet anyway and loads of options to create a good route?

    Happy to make a donation and pay for someones time and effort in organising an event (oops, almost said race there), but I suspect there are better and more challenging events out there – Loch Ness, Obree etc

    richardthird
    Full Member

    I did most of that route on holiday, but deviating after Schiehallion down to Kenmore for the fantastic climb south of there on the Loch Fruechie & Amulree road. Then back up to Aberfeldy. Virtually no traffic once past the Queens View.

    trail_rat
    Free Member

    depends wether your riding for the sake of riding or riding for your ego i guess davie.

    I prefer it quiet – call me anti social.

    I prefer to stop and have a news and a food at the cafe… but then i used to often ride out to there from arbroath.

    scotroutes
    Full Member

    Riding as part of the event is great fun. You can get into a decent sized group, find someone similarly paced for a chat or ride it solo enjoying some of the atmosphere and the closed roads. Away from the start line folk tend to spread out pretty quickly. It’s only the way it’s marketed that I object to.

    dragon
    Free Member

    Etape Loch Ness isn’t very challenging as its only 106 km with 900 m of climbing. The only hard bit is the climb out of Fort Augustus. Still it is quite a pleasant ride, which on any other day due to traffic probably wouldn’t be, so for that reason I do think it is worth a look at.

    The other thing about Loch Ness is almost half of it is on big roads, so numpty riding isn’t quite so dangerous, as you can keep a distance.

    legend
    Free Member

    Riding the closed A82 makes more sense to me than the Caledonia.

    The Caledonia route isn’t challenging either. We didn’t realise we’d done the “cat 4” climb and the cat 3 one is just a pleasant place to ride, just a steep kick at the very beginning of it

    iainc
    Full Member

    scotroutes – Member
    Riding as part of the event is great fun. You can get into a decent sized group, find someone similarly paced for a chat or ride it solo enjoying some of the atmosphere and the closed roads. Away from the start line folk tend to spread out pretty quickly. It’s only the way it’s marketed that I object to.

    +1

    I have done it 3 times, but simply cannot justify the cost anymore. Unless you’re local, all the B&B’s are on a min 3 night (fri, sat, sun) deal, even if you only say the Sat night. That, coupled with the entry fee makes it a pricey day out. Have done a few touring weekends with mates in the area and always found the roads quiet, plus you can pick the weekend to suit the weather etc

    davieg
    Free Member

    I am looking forward to riding in a big event with lots of riders, but have to say I’m balking at paying £73 to IMG for the privilege and would prefer more of that fee to be going to charity.

    I am doing the Braveheart ride at the end of the month so looking forward to that. That will sort out my ego 🙂

    Just a shame I double-booked myself against the Fair City Enduro in Perth which is meant to be great.

    imnotverygood
    Full Member

    having ridden this route outside of the sport-duro, I struggle to understand why anyone would pay.

    People pay for the closed roads. No matter how quiet they are you will realise that a bunch of 200 cyclists travelling at 20mph are going to struggle when meeting traffic coming the other way. As the OP says it isn’t everyone’s cup of tea, but I’ve done it a few times and like the novelty of being in such a large bunch while travelling at speeds I couldn’t maintain on my own. It does get pretty hairy at times, but from what I’ve heard of Cat4 racing it can’t be much worse than that. I did the Tour of the Borders this year and I thought that was a better event. More interesting course with tougher climbs and in the groups I was in the standard of riding was higher. (Carnage on the Talla descent notwithstanding). Slightly cheaper too.

    downshep
    Full Member

    Done it a few times with Iain C and echo his sentiments. Charity logos and sales pitches are splattered all over the website and promo material, yet every penny goes to the commercial organiser. That is more than a little deceitful and needs to be widely publicised to alert the unwary. The great irony is that riding ‘open’ roads in this area is actually safer and more peaceful than sharing it while ‘closed’ with 5000 cyclists and few support motorbikes and ambulances.

    Will never do it again.

Viewing 19 posts - 1 through 19 (of 19 total)

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