Alan McLean

Via Erskine or bishy A8?

Robbie is very kindly putting in an order. Please see under Announcements in Members section.

Well I like cycling but Galeb, you really, really like cycling. Chapeau. All jerseys to you.

Thanks for encouraging words Michael. We had been victims of popularity with enormous single groups of mixed ability in the warm weather and some senior guys kindly took a lead and split it.

Also thanks to those who helped look after new rider Mark whom I met in Renfrew 10 minutes earlier. He got round ok in group 1 first time but would never have lasted full bunch. Great to see new faces.

Erskine safer👍 and it does add a couple of spicy small rises for anyone expecting an easy tow to Bishopton. I will miss old A8 section and expect it will become a racetrack for toxic car driving.

I love the uncontrolled variable.😀 Thanks to Iain and Paul for sticking their heads above the parapet. Amazing how much difference a tiny drop in speed made, that extra 35secs along westferry. Several people in Group 1 told me that they were just on their limit but were delighted to stay on rather than getting dropped. Paul, Make it two minutes to be sporting.

Thanks to Iain and Paul for leading on this. I will ambush as usual with extra spice of being unsure which group I am joining! Looking forward to post-event Strava flyby analysis overload.

Thank you Iain. I was second through Langbank roundabout, on the outside and took it very steady to avoid snapping the elastic which is what ALWAYS happens there (and every other roundabout). You can guess how I was rewarded for trying to keep the bunch together after the roundabout. As I accelerated, three or four riders burst past me in a bunch sprint like I was getting in their way and it took a few minutes to settle back into two lines. Total mess. Some people need to chill, work in a bunch, and follow a wheel after corners even if it is not going full gas. Please don't dump your mates who are probably still easing on the roundabout, hoping an HGV is not coming into their lane. If I want you to come through on a steady ride I will flick you through, I don't want people charging past. By all means smash past me on the Clune or in the final 300m but this was not the case. Then there was a wee spill just past my house which I thought was a final message so I went home early. Maybe bunch is too big. Cue usual suggestion for two bunches. If others commit to this then I will join the second bunch next week.

Waiting for the bunch. Some big clouds around. Could be repeat of last week's drenching

1000 ft of climbing in quick morning session between downpours. I was delighted to meet Mul for company and coffee.

If wet and horrible on Sunday I will be repeating Finlaystone Road aka Gunpowder from 0930 as part of my campaign to regain fitness for my glorious return to cx. Hard intervals. I will be riding to power rather like Chris Froome. Don't laugh. I will be there for about one hour. Coffee after in kilmacolm, leaving big wet patches on the seats. PM me if desperate enough to join.

Oooh yes. I am liking the discreet just in-shot Assos stripe too.

yellow jersey but chances are looking slim for me with all this new young talent coming through

Stuart, I've PM'd you. It would be great if someone took this on

chapeau to anyone who got out today. I prefer December when at least you know it's going to be miserable.

They DO have sky. We could convene to catch the Tdf highlights on the 8pm programme. Has to be earned first. (Yes I will regret writing that).

Ian, I have reconsidered. I suspect it will be an enormous bunch on night of the year so you might as well smash it from k0 cos it will split anyway!

More importantly it looks like it'll be a hot belter tonight. Ice vest ready!

Yes it is a problem. The wee rises in Erskine in the new route are hard for some and split the bunch very early. Thanks to the faster guys for easing up for five minutes going into bishy to allow stragglers to regroup. I'll take the blame for asking for a slight slackening in pace. After that it was pretty much business as usual. Still quite a hard run. Could we neutralise say going under the motorway at Erskine to give the riders a minute or two to regroup? After that it's the full Alaphilippe! You'll only lose two minutes and it would be good to keep bunch together for a bit longer. (Or we could just smash it.)

Max stair pitch is 42% under Building Standards. Welsh hill is not far off that. (I am only idly posting while watching stage 17 TDf on Eurosport for footage of Luke Rowe punching Tony Martin, who said sportsmanship was dead?)

For steepest 20m try the Lawmarnock Stinger. Prob 25%. I’d have to walk if it was 50m longer. On strava. The BoW boys love it.

Definition is very tight, has to be surfaced with housing etc, not just a country lane. But 35%+ is totally insane anyway, Ellison might be 20% at very steepest. I only know that because I have to walk on anything 25%+.