Once again the gang headed out into the unknown , this time to Pitlochry in Scotland for the annual Etape event . There was no need to take any "back up driver" as the event is run on closed roads ,this was also a bonus as our driver for the past two years had now transformed himself into a cyclist !!. We stayed at the Atholl Palace Hotel , a really nice well positioned residence with an old world charm , good food and a late bar .Throughout the day more cyclists arrived and soon the town was full of bikes,power bar sales persons , and people signing on , plus all the cycling regalia and outlets one would expect the day before the big event .We visited the famous "Salmon traps " which turned out to be a large locked concrete hut with a digital counter on the outside ,about as interesting as watching a slug trying to eat a piece of burnt toast.
Sunday morning arrived , weather quite cold , decisions to make , tights or shorts ,winter jacket or rain proofs , we settled for a mixture of both . The 81 miles took us through some very nice countryside ,round the Grampians with a maximum assent to 1,950 meters , the climbs were steady and not to steep ,except for a nasty little one about 6 miles form the finish,this caught a lot of people out , the rapid grinding of cogs ,changing of gears and the bad language had the local lady sheep covering their ears and diving for cover .
We all finished ,no accidents ,then it was back to the hotel for the now well established ritual , shower , drinks , dinner , drinks , talk shite , more drinks ,laugh a lot ,talk even more shite (this time with strangers) even more drink then off to bed absolutely convinced that the wobble legs were as a direct result of the hard cycle . Great week end .The complete list of runners and riders can be viewed on
http://www.etapecaledonia.co.uk/
1 comment:
what about jeromes unplanned visit to the caravan site
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