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ARRAN


P McDonald
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:banana

Planning an SA attempt this Saturday, departing 7am ferry and wondering if a 5th person wants to join the run - possibly a new candidate for the Hall of Fame or someone wanting to relive their finest hour :) As most will know the challenge is 2hours 45 mins at 20mph average on the coastal circuit which is 'lumpy' and 'interesting'.

Reason I say 5th person is with current guidelines any more would be inappropriate.

The normal return is 11.05am but we have booked the 12.30 in case we miss the boat and the later ones get fully booked. So far we have 4 tickets (you have to book the ferry in advance now), myself, Jan, Andy G and my daughter Laura. Plan is to start and finish as a team and I really appreciate Jan and Andy's support with the pacing strategy, ride at a pace fast enough to complete the challenge but not going for the segment type eyeballs out approach, and hopefully get Laura inducted as first female into the most Glorious Hall of Fame.  

:banana

 

 

 

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22 hours ago, George said:

Not me, apparently. All ferries fully booked apart from last one of day to arran.... 

There is space again on Saturday going over on the 7am but not coming back on the 12:30.

I've been watching availability as looking at possibly going over on Friday or Saturday.

 

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1 hour ago, Jannza said:

There is space again on Saturday going over on the 7am but not coming back on the 12:30.

I've been watching availability as looking at possibly going over on Friday or Saturday.

 

Cheers but don’t fancy swimming back 😉

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Another Single Arran in the bag and the first woman on the hall of fame. Well done Laura 😁

Less than ideal wind conditions with a strong crosswind for much of the west coast but the pacing was spot on and we made it to the ferry with time to spare.

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Another very memorable Arran, in this case it was bigger than childbirth, bigger than wedding day, this was the mighty SA :) for my gal Laura. First female in Hall of Fame so pretty special one. 

I reckon with Jan and Andy we've got the pacing down to a T, this was the smoothest SA I've done, no rush, no stress just an incredibly even paced ride, and thanks to the guys for a fantastic day out and their total commit to the team effort. If she didn't make it abundantly clear, Laura is truly made up and very grateful for this life experience.

The first hour in early morning was truly magical with very little wind and incredible views down to Ailsa Craig.

Roll on the next guided tour of Arran from your dedicated hosts Jan, Andy and me, would be a pleasure to get more inductees through the summer.

#SAforever

#DAonthecardsagain

#maybenextyearthough

 

 

 

 

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So here is the updated Hall of Fame - just waiting for more names to be added to the illustrious list.

I'm just thinking - 2021 will be the 10 year anniversary of the first SA - and also the 5 year anniversary of the first DA, so it would be fitting to get a load of new SA inductees  next year and maybe even another DA if anyone was looking for a stretch target for next summer :)

#SAforever

 

Arran Hall of Fame

 

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Would it be wrong to suggest a Virtual Arran? - A VA if you like. For when the ferries are off, the weather is howlin' or lockdown is reimposed and Paul can't contain himself. 

90.12 km and 853 m of climbing all in 3 hours (Paul, can you confirm the time window). Rules - single, uninterrupted session, publicly verifiable on Zwift activity feed or some other indoor platform. Ergo mode on and set to 100%, where applicable. 

Just think of the possibilities - VA of the month, head to head VAs, all time fastest VA leaderboard.

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Excellent idea Mark. I'm not up to speed on virtual riding at all so wouldn't know where to start ! The vital statistics, according to Strava, are 1024m of climbing and 89km. I reckon the one thing the virtual world might not replicate too well would be the twisting descents with gravel and pot holes which fairly hit the average speed !

Or can you make a VA route straight from the map?

cheers

 

 

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Glad you approve Paul. Dunno about importing a route to Zwift- doubt it very much. Other platforms do allow it. I guess a boffin could work out a watopia route based on distance and ascent details. (I took mine off an unverified website, so I cede to your strava data. 
pot holes, gravel, twists and turns are one thing, 20mph head/tail wind another. Probably evened out by 3 hours of a sweatfest. 

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13 hours ago, Mark O said:

Glad you approve Paul. Dunno about importing a route to Zwift- doubt it very much. Other platforms do allow it. I guess a boffin could work out a watopia route based on distance and ascent details. (I took mine off an unverified website, so I cede to your strava data. 
pot holes, gravel, twists and turns are one thing, 20mph head/tail wind another. Probably evened out by 3 hours of a sweatfest. 

@Mark O @P McDonald Have you looked at RGT? Seemingly like with Zwift but without the power ups. You can upload your own routes, courses, circuits. Never trieD it but I was asked to provide the Paisley Crit course to a group at the start of lockdown

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Hi All

During Lockdown I’ve tried most of the various Apps - Tacxx, BigRingVR, RGT and Zwift. Only RGT allows uploading your own routes. But, for me it was a faff because you need 2 apps running and you need a subscription.

So, rather than trying to replicate Arran, why not choose  a course on Zwift and have a target time/effort  to complete it? For example it could be a group ride with a leader who has calculated that to meet the target we will, say, ride at 3w/kg to keep things in order. Happy to get into it in a couple of weeks. Certainly could be something to consider for the winter.

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4 hours ago, Darryl Gunson said:

Hi All

During Lockdown I’ve tried most of the various Apps - Tacxx, BigRingVR, RGT and Zwift. Only RGT allows uploading your own routes. But, for me it was a faff because you need 2 apps running and you need a subscription.

So, rather than trying to replicate Arran, why not choose  a course on Zwift and have a target time/effort  to complete it? For example it could be a group ride with a leader who has calculated that to meet the target we will, say, ride at 3w/kg to keep things in order. Happy to get into it in a couple of weeks. Certainly could be something to consider for the winter.

Taxc app lets you ride any route you have 

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I'm booked for 07:00 ferry this Tuesday 11th August, and booked to return on the 13:55 sailing.  Think there's still space left so any socially distant company is welcome.  Looks like a northerly wind forecast, so will probably go anticlockwise.  If legs feel good might attempt a solo SA, depends how much energy I've put into cycling to Ardrossan at silly o clock in the morning to catch the ferry since I tend to be late all the time lol.  Should be a nice gentle tailwind down the western coast so looking forward to getting over there.  

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25 minutes ago, Codg1e said:

I'm booked for 07:00 ferry this Tuesday 11th August, and booked to return on the 13:55 sailing.  Think there's still space left so any socially distant company is welcome.  Looks like a northerly wind forecast, so will probably go anticlockwise.  If legs feel good might attempt a solo SA, depends how much energy I've put into cycling to Ardrossan at silly o clock in the morning to catch the ferry since I tend to be late all the time lol.  Should be a nice gentle tailwind down the western coast so looking forward to getting over there.  

Will prob get train back from Ardrossan unless legs still feel good.

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