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35mm Land Cruiser Plus, though it's the Alfine 8 (on a Genesis DayOne) that will make this, my first, 100 miler a decent test 🤞
Doubt I'll be the 1st to Cramond!
Does anyone cycle out to Port Carlisle (say 12 miles from Bitts Park) first to make it a sort of C2C?
I'll be starting from my mates house in Beaumont, four miles west, rivers well tidal there, hadn't thought about it but I suppose it could be a C2C. On 35mm gravelkings, i'll be leaving a wee bit early to compensate!
Yup, we are planning on making it a C2C .
Train to Carlisle Friday night ,then head down Sat morning (Maryport) for a bit of an explore along the coast.
Back up to the start and choose a group to get out of town with.
trains booked.
leeds to carlisle saturday afternoon, with time for a pint
and Auld Reekie to leeds mid morning sunday....... time for a spoons fry up.
so if you see a bloke who is the least cyclist looking bloke ever........ say hello.
I'll look out for you Tony. I plan to hit the road at 7pm, assuming my bike is unloaded by then.
@fasthaggis Ah, that's a fuller C2C and an extra 30ish miles which is probably a step to far for me. Enjoy.
@ton think there's going to be a few of us 'least looking cyclist's
I'll be on 28mm tubeless tyres at 65psi. The roads are definitely a bit bobbly and rough, especially between the Crook Inn and Edinburgh bypass - the bit where you're feeling tired. So some cushioning will be welcome.
The River Eden (?) that you cross between Carlisle and Gretna is tidal a fair bit inland, so I've always thought of it as a C2C...or enough of one to claim it!
Update eshot hopefully coming before the weekend, but basically we're all prepped and ready to go. Just been in touch with Stewart Brewing today to get everyone's sunrise free beer for the sea front 👍
The River Eden (?) that you cross between Carlisle and Gretna
You cross the Eden about two mins after you leave Bitts Park. The one you cross nearer Gretna (by Longtown) is the Esk 😊
👍
According to the OS, Neither the Eden nor Esk are tidal at the point the route crosses them, but the Sark is tidal up to the point that you cross it just before Gretna.
Have fun.
I can't be arsed.
In my head its good fun but then i remember from crook inn to leadburn... With a big sign that basically says "home is closer than the finish" i don't think i would stick it this year.
Did my last "prep" ride for RttS today, covering 161km in 6h43m (moving time). It's a while since I cycled that far so I was happy to feel OK at the end. That makes me feel less anxious about making Cramond in time for the sunrise. I won't be able to set off until after 19:30 though, so I guess I'd best not hang around the rave too long 🤣
Someone was asking whether I'd be using my Varia light/radar; I had it on all day, plugged into a USB powerbank and it ran fine. When I got home it's still showing as fully charged. That was in Day Flash mode but I reckon I'll switch to Night Flash at some point during the RttS ride.
I reckon you'll be fine. I set off at 7 last year and hit Cramond at bang on 2am, with stops in Moffat and at the Crook Inn. I'm aiming for a better time this year, ie not arriving too early and being tempted to head home to my bed and missing the free beer and the actual sunrise.
My train back to Leeds isn't until 11.30 Sunday so I think I will be taking the leisurely approach.
Think I best set off about 6pm and hope to catch the sunrise at Cramond 🤞
Is it OK to kip on Cramond beach?
My train from Edinburgh isn't until ~1pm on Sunday, so current thinking is take a sleeping bag, bike lock, etc .. maybe even a bivvie bag.. .. not that I've ever slept in one.
@scotroutes in the end I went for the mirror option rather than the Varia. Will see how much I use 🤷♂️
My train last year was mid-morning, I wasn't the only one dozing in Waverley waiting rooms. Wished I'd taken a better lock with me, though, paranoia hampered my sleeping.
If you want a nicer spin up to Waverley than just hacking up the roads, head along the coast from Cramond towards Granton and Leith and pick up the old railway line near Ocean Terminal. It's a nice spin up from there and it brings you out just between Murrayfield and Haymarket.
Cheers, I’ll have a look at that route.
Is it OK to kip on Cramond beach?
I think you will find it a bit difficult to bivi on the beach. Sunday morning is likely to be very busy with kids, dog walkers et al & I wouldn’t have thought it would be easy to find a quiet spot.
If the tide is out you could head for Cramond Island. 😉
There's a few folk have bivvied on the beach before, or slept on the wooden benches, before heading off riding back to Newcastle or Carlisle. You might get a couple of hours. Dog walkers will be out and about 8ish, Cramond is still deserted at about 7ish when the riders have left the kirk hall and everyone has headed home. It's got a bit of a flash mob feel - 2-5am lots of cyclists kicking about, 7am, no sign that it ever happened.
Last eshot from us coming tomorrow and weather hopefully looking OK at the moment 🙏🤞
Lots of folk seem to have a second brekkie (after the kirk hall) at the Waverley Wetherspoons before hitting the train home too.
^ 👍
lol, i set off for a ride this morning on the gravel bike, which i was gonna ride.
changed gear, chain went over largest sprocket, and wedged between cassette and spokes.
tried to remove it, chain snapped and also bent dropout.
touring bike now prepped and ready.
Similarly, had to build an unholy gravel/commuter frankenbike but it might actually be alright on the night. Look out for a black Hoy Shizuoka with stupidly fat tyres.
Come and say hello tomorrow folks - look forward to meeting you 👍
Look out for the inappropriately dressed chap on the eliptigo.
That's my younger brother Alan whose doing it again this year . He's aiming for 5pm departure as he missed the sunrise last year by 30mins
What a great fun and well organised event, I thoroughly enjoyed it.
Well done @fatmax and the whole team.
Thanks to Fraser at Cramond Scouts for the last minute flag that there was a space for my bike and myself back to Carlisle instead of loitering in Edinburgh for an extra 7hrs.
@fasthaggis for the idea to start in Maryport, made it a nice 135 miles.
Brilliant event. Shout out to the piper who played despite the midges. Brilliant atmosphere at the Crook Inn. Saw one poor chap go down with a pot-hole induced puncture just before the descent into Penicuik. Beer at the end was much appreciated. 135 miles? Go on then.
@ton @fasthaggis @scotroutes - brilliant to see you all 😁
Currently sat I Edinburgh train station trying not to look like a sleeping tramp.
Fantastic event...... serious contender for my fave ever.
And all the fellas off here who said hello...... Nice to meet you all.
Missed the badges at the start, arrived (way) too early to wait out for sunrise and got *screamed at by a car full of coked up ****ers on the road into Moffat - and had an absolute blast.
What a brilliant, stupid, fun event done just for the hell of it - hats off to the organisers, I couldn't recommend it highl enough. A great way to tick off a first century. Shall dig out the details of the charity and bung them a few quid because we totally the chance to do so on the route (perhaps some kind soul that knows could stick a link in below?)
(*Shamefully it very (very) nearly culminated in a stand-off after I'd had enough of being abused from the passenger and back windows and reacted (my bad, I do know better) They were absolutely out to start a fight with *somebody* on a bike. Until they finally arrived into the town and, presumably realised that there was ~1000 other people on bikes waiting before about turning and scuttling off again. It was glorious. What a bunch of absolute d*ckheads.)
chap on the eliptigo.
Passed him in Penicuik in good spirits.
Got back to County Durham around 8am this morning (sister-in-law kindly drove us back) after completing this with my brother. First time for him and second for me after doing it last year. Such a great event, nice market on in Moffat this year, many thanks to everyone who organised. And if your interested here is a link (sorry if its already been posted) to a podcast with Gary and Fraser
Had a great ride, loved the atmosphere (except for said nutters yelling from the car at moffat).
Donated a crank bolt to a guy who lost his, was amazed by the guy who rode without a saddle(!) and tbh i had a bit of a mare between the crook and leadburn - the road surface was "interesting" to say the least! Perked up by penicuik though, and the run through town was a hoot. And I arrived two hours before sunrise 🤦 so plenty of time for coffee and rolls.
Great to meet you and Gary again,with a ton/scotroutes bonus 👍😊
Timed it perfect for the sunrise this year,so I can now erase 2022 from my memories.
As always,an excellent night out #steelisreal 😉
I ditched the idea of Silloth as it was my son's first 100,so we went down to Bowness on Sands, touched the sea,then back up to Carlise on cycle route 72 (which is a lovely road). He still clocked 135 mls all in💪🙃
It must be a thing about Moffat, we got passed by two 'kids' on motos (125s with L plates) ,one with feet up on the bars and the other doing a superman along the seat 🫤🤣🙃
First of all, a massive thanks to Fraser and Gary for “organising” this event. I know they claim little credit but it really shouldn’t be overlooked. Also, thanks to the various “helpers” en route, the Moffat chippie, the piper, the DJ, Bananaman, the Crook Inn community and the Cramond Kirk lot. Special thanks to the Scouts for taking care of the transport logistics. I can thoroughly recommend it and I’m already making plans to do it again next year, but better!
As usual, nerves had gotten the best of me before the event and I was very anxious about missing the sunrise at 4:28. As luck would have it, I met someone who wanted to swap buses so I ended up on the 15:00 coach to Carlisle and so was ready to leave just after 18:00.
I met up with @fatmax and @fasthaggis for a wee chat but seeing as lots of folk were leaving already, I set off around 18:30.
The A7 out of Carlisle was busy with Amazon vans but turning left at Longtown soon got rid of them and I found myself passing various small groups of participants. There was the obligatory photo stop in Gretna.
The next part of the route runs parallel to the M74, crossing over and under it. There was a bit of a headwind along here, but nothing too strong. A couple of small towns/villages were passed but nothing really notable until Moffat hove into view. There was some sort of street market/party going on that I was almost sucked into but realised the chippie was further along. I got straight in and bought a doner kebab. I’d calculated that this might not be too “heavy” for the Beeftub climb.
As I was eating it, many more cyclists started to stream in and there was soon a sizable queue for food.
The Beeftub climb went in pretty easily, though I’d noticed that I was having to swat off a few midge on the ascent. The flying menace just got worse at the top where the poor piper was already suffering.
The descent towards the Crook Inn was mostly on lovely tarmac and a high speed was possible. I heard the music about the same time as I saw the Inn and pulled in for a cup of tea and a banana.
Bananas, Glow-sticks and Smidge. It could only be Ride to the Sun!
A few folk were milling around but the midge were gathering here too so I grabbed some Smidge and got ready to set off again. It had also got a bit damp in the air so I took the opportunity to put a thin jacket on too.
The section of road that followed was pretty awful. Very rough and many potholes. I reckon a really bad resurfacing job rather than just wear and tear. I had to dial back the speed a bit and switch my lights to High, just so I could see the worst bits. From here there are a few more small villages to pass through and it’s an area I was once very familiar with so I could tick them off as I went. At one point (approaching Leadburn) I saw a runner heading North. I thought that the poor guy must have been very confused by all these cyclists being out at Midnight, but it turned out he’d got the train to Lockerbie earlier in the day and was actually running the 75 miles to Cramond!
Cont
By now, I was seeing fewer and fewer other cyclists and the street lights of Penicuik were a welcome sign of progress. Suddenly being cast back into the dark after the Gowkley Moss roundabout actually came as a bit of a shock, despite having already ridden many miles in the dark. Then it was onto Hillend and the big city. The descent into Morningside felt pretty quick and I started to see more cyclists again - probably bunched up by the traffic lights. The late night folk on Lothian Road were safely navigated and we were soon at Cramond. The only problem being that it was only 1:45 🙂
I dumped the bike in the van, got changed and headed to Cramond Kirk for a bacon roll, tea and a natter with the other early arrivals. Around 3:00 I wandered out and grabbed a beer from the Cycle Law Scotland beer tent.
After celebrating getting to Cramond safely, I lay down on the grassy knoll for some shut eye before the closing speeches and the sunrise.
So - 2025? Yes please. I’ll try to calm my nerves a bit before departure, set off a bit later, and try to enjoy the buzz a bit more.
Suggestions for improving the event? Well, some bike racks would be handy in Moffat and Portaloos at a couple of places. These would involve a cost though and would sort of go against the DIY nature of the event (unless a willing sponsor could be found). The only other thing I can think of would be a checkpoint/gathering point somewhere between Carlisle and Moffat, just to break up that section. I’ve no idea what it would involve or where it would be.
Good write up @scotroutes brought back good memories 😊, thank you.
I'll have to do better at meeting up with you guys in 2025. I was in the Devonshire Walk Car Park whilst some of the bike off loading took place!
Did I say 2025 😀, if so think I'd benefit from something lighter and better geared than .. .. not that it stopped my enjoyment of the event
On the only negative side, I do think the organisers should sort out the traffic lights in Edinburgh, the group I went through the city with must have hit 90% at red!
I mean, the TdF, would never tolerate it😀
My wife keeps asking why I'm smiling .. .. RttS 2024 😊
Apologies, last comments.
Spoke to the guy on the recumbent who can only use his arms several times during and after the he said this was his 4th RttS, .. .. humbling.
The lady outside Kirk Hall who hadn't been able to finish but had been helped out by the support van of another group. Though obviously exhausted she came across as very positive and upbeat 👏
The above seemed to sum up the attitude of all those involved.