Mark O

Pinging???? I pinged with aplomb with about 5 miles to ride. Wee ring and baby gears. 5 weeks off the bike feeling like 5 months. Hopefully isome degree of fitness will return soon enough. A little bit further and more vertical metre than planned but all good. Thanks for the company guys.

Paul, Might be too late a start for you however at least 3 bodies leaving Miller street for the coast at 10am on saturday. M

Nae bother Basin Boy, can do 10.00 am this week. Is this good for you Foxy? Andy, I think you'll find I am merely handsome (on a favourable moonless night). No need for flattery!! M

Charlie, I think I might be down south on the 1st. If not I may seek a seat at the 'top' table. Will post up a meeting time for miller st later on this week. Most likely 09.00, with a view to heading for the West ferry and the Clune. 50 ish miles for me. M

Right, I've been off the bike for nearly 5 weeks (2 of which I was on hols to be fair), so I'm guessing I'm incredibly un'bunch'fit. However, I'm intending riding the winter bogs bunch this year - 'cos it suits me time wise. I am in need of motivation and some serious physical endeavour on my part to get myself back in the groove in order to ride at least as far as Largs at a decent pace before Paul McD starts posting for the winter bogs rides. To this end I'm aiming to get out and put some miles in on Saturday mornings to build miles initially and then some pace. Any takers for steady miles, with some intervals/hills as deemed necessary, on the usual autumn/winter routes of a Saturday morning (coffee stops optional). No apologies for me being a little short on endurance and pace being tendered at this time. These will not be killer rides to start with. Happy to meet at Miller Street or anywhere east thereof. M

Will done Billy et al. Sounds like fun......on the way up! Slightly jealous. Should've run up the hill, a la Frome, when it got too hard to pedal. One point though William, your report started out with expansive descriptive detail, but seemed to diminish for each subsequent day, until your prose merely took the form of place names and rider identities. Now that you are a pensioner (nearly) and have more time on your hands I expect a bit more effort on future reports of your cycling adventures as a retiree/older git.

On a plane. To the sun. Cannae wait. WOO HOO!!!!!!!

Some going Ross. Looking forward to the full report in due course. Good luck on the day, hope all goes to plan.

Just like to say WOW! in respect of Katie's performances on the track in Rio. Gold medalist and WR holder (OR too???) Totally deserved her selection. A credit to you Ian, and the rest of the Archibald clan - she's done you proud. Long may we continue to enjoy watching Katie shine at this rarefied level of elite competition.

On holiday guys. No can do.

Possible appearance of the lesser spotted skinny boy on the cards.

Busyish tourist route (Glenfinnan railway viaduct) but nothing outrageous. I'd put it on a par with the Tyndrum to Oban Road but fewer of the larger lorries. If you survived the ride through Glencoe and over Rannoch Moor, which is much busier you'll be fine. Been a wee while since I've been up that way on business so can't comment on the road surface. Got to ask, what you planning and not sharing? M

Nice one m'lud. Well done to you and young Mathew. Your old knees have my deepest sympathies.

Might be a few more sprint and olympic Tris before thinking about those distances, if at all, Charlie. The running is my nadir, it's boring and kills the knees. I don't know if I could do the necessary miles in training without losing my mind. Would need a training partner at the same level as myself in terms of pace and endurance to start with. Looking at the splits of the seasoned tri clubbers clocking 10 - 15 minutes quicker than my time, I was ahead or on par with most of them after the cycling only to see 45-50 min runs being posted in comparison to my hour. Seems that most come from a running background. The swim was actually my strongest section, which is equally surprising and encouraging. On the bike ride I'll have conceded 2 -3 mins due to the lack of aero bars; perhaps even more accounting for the tough wind. On wards and upwards, and no I'm not lost to the world of cycling - potential sewing bee next Tuesday. When's the marathon and how goes the training? M

Sorry Chung, I'll be on holiday overseas. If I can assist beforehand let me know. M

Nice one Ross. Impressive consistent effort throughout. Can't imagine why you'd want to do this just for the sake of doing it. Were you having a wee lie down followed a fish supper in transition? M PS any running tips going?

Paul, Forget small islands in the Firth of Clyde and go large. Work up a plan to have a JWCC crack at the LEJOG record. No idea what the record is but it would keep you out of trouble and there is no way you are going to be able to punctuate LEJOG into your posts. This will save you hours of typing and let you train more. Even if the attempt fails it is a fine ride. M

So, I had dipped my toe into this triathalon malarky in June, with a sprint distance event. This was a benchmark and taster for an olympic distance event (1500m swim, 40k (25mile) bike ride and a 10K run) I had been talked into by Heather. It is now done and here is the report. The scores on the doors are Total gun time 2:40:48 Splits Swim 00:25:34 Ride 01:10:55 Run 01:00:37 Transitions were 2mins+ and 1Min+ respectively. No details as to how I compare within my age category as yet. My time puts me in 137th spot and in the top half of the field.Pretty happy with all of that tbh, given that I had never done a tri of this distance and this was my second attempt at the sport and there were some real proper classy athletes taking part. This seems to be quite a notable event on the Tri calendar, with a big club turnout. So onto thoughts and comments My plan was to swim within myself so as not to be knackered leaving the water and suffer from dead legs. I had a target time of 27-29 mins based on training swims over a 1400 m course. Really please with my time for this element as I didn't push it to hard and there was the usual kicking and punching scrum at the start. I soon got out of that and into fairly clear water, except for one girl who clearly fancied me in my wet suit and fetching cap and kept swimming all over me - bonkers!!! Came out the swim well place and feeling good. Stage 2, the cycle. The aim was to ride at 20mph average in order to keep something in the legs for the run. A time of 1 hr 15 mins or thereabouts was in my mind. The course is a circuit and pancake flat. It is however very exposed!! It was hell. Wind speed was 20mph on the day and the initial 6 miles of the course was arrow straight, head on into that wind. The remainder of the route is a zigzag of lanes which never offered much of a tail wind to compensate for the initial effort, often appearing to double back into the wind. To add insult to injury the last 2 miles or so was back to transition were into the head wind. I spent the whole ride fighting the bike, trying to find an aero position (riding old school I'm afraid) and ride as smoothly as possible, mind full of the run still to come. At one point I did think of the DA boys, if it was windy where I was on a flat course, what had Arran been like???? My Garmin packed up early on and I rode on feel. What seemed to be loads of riders did pass me - all on tt bikes.......and some in a nice chain of 6 enjoying the draft. Sorely tempted to jump that last wheel!!! My time shows I did far better than I intended doing or thought I was going to do. Never have I been so glad to get off a bike and go for a run......or so I thought! Looking back I am more than happy with the time and ave speed (21.2 mph), but I paid for it later. It was a brutal ride due to the wind and it seemed relentless. It was the big talking point of the day. Before saying any more the 10Km run turned out to be 10.7kms. I am therefore claiming a sub 1 hour run and unofficially knocking 4 mins off my overall time. The switch from bike to run is unpleasant. I had worked out that running at Heather's pace for a Km or two lets my legs settle before picking up the pace. Before the middle of July I had never run 10K, ever. At Christmas, I would refuse to run the length of myself!! I still hate running but I was looking for a time of 55 mins based on training runs. Coming off the bike I did feel quite bloated from having dabbled with energy gels - these really don't agree with me! so running at an easier pace was continued until the 4 Km marker and a water stop. Feel more settled I sought to lengthen my stride and up the pace. At 5Km feeling relaxed and going well, Disaster. The cramp sniper bullseyed my right hamstring. Emergency stretching and massage required. My increased effort on the bike due to the windy conditions had come back to extract an untimely revenge. My race for a quick time was done and it was merely a matter of finishing the distance, which if I'm honest was the original goal. I was restricted to my original 'off the bike' pace. Anything more would result in further cramping. Slightly disappointed with my run time but more disappointed at the fact I cramped up. I did nonetheless keep going and finish the run. I didn't exactly sprint over the line but didn't limp over it either. Overall, I'm more than happy with my performance in my initial foray into this world of madness at this distance, particularly as I was doing this more in support of Heather rather than me be uber dilligent with my training and looking to smash it. I had concentrated most of my efforts in training to actually be able to run 10Km and be in a position to get out of the water reasonably fresh. As a result I didn't do anywhere near enough specific cycling training or hard training efforts at my full capacity. I had been relying on the training I did for Spain seeing me through. Definitely room for improvement in this respect Learned a few lessons along the way. Kick and punch back in the swim scrum - take no prisoners. It appears the law doesn't apply and murder by drowning is permissible. Ride your tt bike! Draft at all times if you think you can get away with it. Listen to your body in terms of what it likes/doesn't like in the way of liquids and food. Do more runs at my race pace after a hard bike ride. Being a total skinny is not to one's advantage in this sport. All in all another interesting experience and personal challenge. Could I have done better or gone faster? On the day I doubt it, taking the wind into account. I do think I could shave a whole lot of time off this bench mark. Could I have trained harder for it? No doubt I could have, but that wasn't necessarily the priority or point this time. Will I do more......we'll see. M

Amazing guys. Truly outstanding effort all round. Worthy of an award. There should be a roll of honour in the club rooms noting the SAers and the few, the very few, DAers. I had my doubts it was doable on the day given the windy conditions at the weekend and the small numbers riding. That makes it all the more remarkable. Massive CHAPEAU

Good luck gentlemen. Hope the weather is kind to you.

I might consider this, although the dates might prove tricky as a trip to le Tour is in the mix for next year. Reading Alex's post, La Marmotte is shorter than La Sufrida and offers only a tiny bit more climbing - dunno what the fuss is about. I think this may constitute a retrograde step in my evolutionary path to cycling greatness.

Can't do the 6th. Triathloning (is that a word?) that weekend. Thinking about it, between, a wee cheeky weekend in London the following weekend and proper sunny hols thereafter I'm not free for selection until the middle of September!!!! I doubt I'd be in DA or even SA shape by then. Good luck guys if you do go for it. Paul, I have a wee sneaky feeling that you might need to shelve this til 2017 to have the necessary bodies to do this. Perhaps a focus for the winter boggers miles and aim to leave the last Saturday in the month from March onwards free to go for it at the drop of a hat should the weather be set fair. M

Andy, see Darryl's recent thread elsewhere on the forum. A fair number of physios recommended therein. M PS I hope it is nothing serious and just a mere age related tweak - none of us are geting any younger!!

A massive well done and congratulations to Katie Archibald, daughter of Ian Archibald, on her being named in a 26-strong Team GB cycling team for the Rio Olympics. Nice one Katie, and the best of luck for Rio.

Allan, Firstly welcome to the club. I think it is fair to say your journey to deciding to join a cycling club mirrors that of many in the Wheelers. We've all been down this road and survived. Depending on your level of fitness I recommend a ride with either the 30 milers, the intermediate bunch or the Wednesday evening socials. The guys and girls in these groups will make you most welcome. See how you go with these rides and take it from there. As for group riding, you'll pick the do's, don'ts and how to's up as you go along. Watch, listen and ask questions, even if the questions might seem daft. Those riding with you will keep you right. If there are specific aspects you wish to cover on group riding, or indeed anything else, there are a number of coaches (myself, Billy Mac (Moi on the forum), Tom Hill and a variety of coaches attached to the jets) within the club who would be more than happy to give you advice and guidance. Get yourself along to one the rides and enjoy. Mark