Highland Fling 1000 from Darlington, - now Friday 29/04/2022

[FifeingEejit]

'feldy should be somepoint on Sunday unless you don't want to sleep/snooze at the centre of the Audax Ecosse universe 

Yeah, probs. I assume you mean the Comrie sleep stop? I'll be making use of all the sleep offerings, hoping that my riding speed is enough to get me to the finish on time.

You reminded me to find my ear plugs...

Yes
And all going well there will be a locationally appropriate stamp in the brevet cards.
I need to remember to text the courier of it at somepoint on Saturday...

[mattc]

Comrie has been much-hyped over the years. It better not disappoint...

[iroiromono]

Nice. Have you decided what you're having yet?
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Hopes are not high. Hoping that White Horse is just the name of the establishment…
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What time are you thinking? I’m arriving at Darlo at 7.30pm this evening.l and staying at central Premier In.   I could come down and join for food.

[hippy]

How long has it been since I've done this? Why does nothing fit on the bike now? Argh!

Bloody battery pack isn't charging either. I think it must've got freaked out by having not been used in the pissing rain for a change.

[Diesel]

Nice. Have you decided what you're having yet?

Hopes are not high. Hoping that White Horse is just the name of the establishment…
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What time are you thinking? I’m arriving at Darlo at 7.30pm this evening.l and staying at central Premier In.   I could come down and join for food.
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Think I’ll be there between 7 and 9 roughly? I’ll be the one looking odd sat there in cycling kit. Don’t know if anyone else will be around

[Deano]

I'll nip up for a pint, Diesel.

[Diesel]

White Horse kitchen closed. No food there tonight. I’m off to the chippy but will call in for a pint later!

[FifeingEejit]

Comrie has been much-hyped over the years. It better not disappoint...

This is on the Scottish tourist trail, aim low...
(actually it's a reasonably pretty wee village with a penchant for getting a bit shaky, also the chip shop does deep fried mars bars, what more can you ask for?)

[mattc]

Comrie has been much-hyped over the years. It better not disappoint...

This is on the Scottish tourist trail, aim low...
(actually it's a reasonably pretty wee village with a penchant for getting a bit shaky, also the chip shop does deep fried mars bars, what more can you ask for?)

I need to swot up on Scotch lingo - thanks for the reminder.

[aidan.f]

Well I'm rather early for the start... Enjoying a napn in the sun behind wessoe hall

[CarlF]

Good luck everyone - wrap up warm!

8° C in Perth when I was out at 8AM this morning - will be colder higher up, we're at sea-level. Met Office forecast for Amulree (in the hills halfway between Aberfeldy and Crieff) has the temperature in single digits all weekend, dropping as low as 2°, which coincides with heavy rain on Saturday evening. Hopefully it will have cleared well before the time you're all passing there, but that rain might well fall as snow on the tops of even the lower hills.

No snow visible on those hills from here today, but still quite a bit on the tops of the highest peaks visible from in town, up past Dunkeld toward Pitlochry / Aberfeldy. I'd be very surprised if there's no snow on the tops of the taller hills around the Comrie - Killin -Aberfeldy section (Ben Vorlich, Ben Chonzie, Ben Lawers, etc.).

[Deano]

51 50 away from Darlo. Next stop, Castle Douglas.

[Graeme]

I have a brandy and a four poster bed. Time for a soak in a huge bath. DNF in style.

[αdαmsκι]

Flatus would be proud of that DNF 😂

[Peter]

I have a brandy and a four poster bed. Time for a soak in a huge bath. DNF in style.

Just over-extended, I hope, Graeme, not an accident?

[Lightning Phil]

I have a brandy and a four poster bed. Time for a soak in a huge bath. DNF in style.

Just over-extended, I hope, Graeme, not an accident?

Cold and wet did him in.

[CarlF]

It's a bit dreich out there but looks like it's clearing.

We're on the way back from an afternoon in Glasgow and just passed four cyclists (one who looked like he was wearing a VC 167 jersey), on the A9 between Dunblane and Greenloaning, where the HF1000 route takes the parallel B-road. That section is a continuation of the M9, 70mph traffic, drivers not expecting bikes, and no hard shoulder to escape onto. They were not being given much space. Will not have been pleasant riding for them, hope they got to the next turnoff OK, and back on the route if indeed they are on the Highland Fling.

[Peter]

I have a brandy and a four poster bed. Time for a soak in a huge bath. DNF in style.

Just over-extended, I hope, Graeme, not an accident?

Cold and wet did him in.

OK, Phil, thanks for that.  He sounds as if he's made a satisfactory decision!

[Deano]

It's a bit dreich out there but looks like it's clearing.

We're on the way back from an afternoon in Glasgow and just passed four cyclists (one who looked like he was wearing a VC 167 jersey), on the A9 between Dunblane and Greenloaning, where the HF1000 route takes the parallel B-road. That section is a continuation of the M9, 70mph traffic, drivers not expecting bikes, and no hard shoulder to escape onto. They were not being given much space. Will not have been pleasant riding for them, hope they got to the next turnoff OK, and back on the route if indeed they are on the Highland Fling.

I know who that'll have been!

[FifeingEejit]

That's an interesting navigational fuck up.

The short cut from Doune road to Cromlix is easy to miss, but the direct route to Braco isn't!

I packed at Otter Ferry....
Ok I decided I was likely to pack at Otter Ferry and fuck is that a long way to bail out from.

I am maybe regretting the decision to continue to Arrochar rather than bail to Dunoon, and certainly deciding to go to Balloch by Loch Lomond (Why did I think the railway went that way) rather than continue to Hellensburgh and chance my luck on a WHL train before that. (IT was 1hr 15m to the next one at Arrochar and Tarbert and there is no heating in the waiting rooms)

Felt great all the way until Cowal, but the brutality of Stronafian followed by the Bealach Maim/Bealachandrain revealed I had no climbing left. Grinding to a halt on what looked like a descent without touching the brakes somewhere near Strauchur further dampended spirits (I'll need to check my wiring and dynamo as I think that was water related) and then climbing Glen Kinglass finished me off, even the descent off the rest into Arroachar didn't help and I didn't bother grabbing a reciept at Arroachar (mistake really I should have eaten)#

I suspect the cold hard night and struggle to find breakfast before the café up the cut didn't help either.

[Deano]

All safely through Comrie (Oggy can tell his own tale if he likes), 37 still on the road. The we(s)t coast took its toll.

[CarlF]

Who says the A9 adventurers were there by mistake? Maybe they were ticking off Veloviewer squares; looks like there are four squares you can get by going that way instead of the official route or over Sherrifmuir, and you know, if you know Deano you've got quite a target to aim for 

[Deano]

Yeah, I wouldn't assume that was accidental...

[FifeingEejit]

If bagging those tiles was part of the route, can get up onto Sherramuir then come down to Blackford, cross the A9 (flat) and use the old road to get into the village, or I think there is a farm track that goes all the way through to Gleann nan h-eaglais. But I need to test that suspicion out. (It's on the map but...)

[Deano]

Just main road bashing, none of them are tilebaggers.