Life Members chung Posted September 14, 2012 Life Members Report Share Posted September 14, 2012 Hi All, 3 ferries Gourock - Dunoon Colinvtrive - Rhubadich Rothesay - Wemyss Bay Given the fact that most folks will be racing in Rothesay this Sunday, I thought it would be good idea to do this run & that we can catch the start of the race & cheer on the Joansin! Propose early start 8.30am clubroom Miller Street Cycle track via BOW, Kilmacolm to Port Glasgow, then Greenock & Gourock. 10-10.15am ferry to Dunoon Dunoon to Sandbank then left turn B836 inland over loch Tarzen & Loch Straven climb. Dropping back down after the climb into T-junction then turn left (we usually turn right which takes you round to Struchar) towards Colinvtrive for a short ferry hop over to Rhubodach. From there taking the coast road A886 all the way to Rothesay for a well earn cafe stop. Cheer on the race 2pm start & then ferry back to Wemyss Bay. Choice of route after that, either round the coast via Greenock, Bishopton then to Johnstone (flater option) or head towards Largs & up Haylie for a shorter but hillier way back. All in I guess around 80 miles (depending on return route) but pace will be steady. It is a long day after all, will probably back on the main land (Wemyss Bay) around 3ish. I did this route a few years back, its a great run! Lovely scenery with only one significant climb at Loch Straven, thats all. So, very manageable for everyone. I have also spoken to Stevie of the Paisley Velo Bunch, hopefully they'll be joining us on this run too. So everyone is welcome, the more the merrier. However, please post if you intend to come because if its just me then I'll make alternative arrangements! Cheers Chung Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GraemeB Posted September 14, 2012 Report Share Posted September 14, 2012 Sounds good to me, Chung. Would be good if we could get a few more bodies. Don't have a clue about the route so I hope you know the way!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Life Members chung Posted September 14, 2012 Author Life Members Report Share Posted September 14, 2012 That's great Graham, still early yet so hopefully there'll be more signing up for this. Like I said, spoke to Stevie of PVCC so they might have a few bodies which will swell the numbers up a bit! As for the route, don't worry. It's pretty straight forward (famous last words) See you 8.30am club room then. P.S Here's my number just in case 0790 3356 730 Cheers Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Iain Cowden Posted September 15, 2012 Report Share Posted September 15, 2012 Hi Chung - great idea and a fine route! Mary's visiting her Mum this week-end so won't make it - have a good one! Iain Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stuartm Posted September 15, 2012 Report Share Posted September 15, 2012 Looking forward to a ferry run. Unfortunately it won't be this one - 40 mile commutes this week have left me feeling like I don't want to touch the bike all weekend. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kev habbick Posted September 15, 2012 Report Share Posted September 15, 2012 Hi Chung , are you still doing this run , if so i might join you somwhere... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2023 Subscriptions BoydJohnston Posted September 15, 2012 2023 Subscriptions Report Share Posted September 15, 2012 Great idea, Chung. Sorry I can't be with you. Family visiting this week-end. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Life Members chung Posted September 15, 2012 Author Life Members Report Share Posted September 15, 2012 Hi everyone, The run is on, I'll be at the club room for a 8.30am start! See you! Chung Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Life Members chung Posted September 16, 2012 Author Life Members Report Share Posted September 16, 2012 Here's a wee report on today's run! I'll try and be brief! Got up to find that it had been raining over night & was continuous to do so, but can't really not go as I was the one that posted this run in the first place. So got going at 8am heading towards Johnstone hoping that the folks who signed up saw sense of the situation & wouldn't turn up which would give me a good excuse to head home if no one turned up. I was completely soaked waist down even after only a mile into the journey, this pretty much set the tone for the rest of the day..............don't you just love Scotland! Arrived at the club room to be greeted by 2 eager Wheelers in the form of Graeme & Kev. I could have pretended to not notice them & head home, but they saw me first before I had the chance, damn! Anyway, the 3 of us was joined by Stevie & Ricky of the PVCC. So the 5 of us headed towards Gourock via the track passing Kilmalcolm then Port Glasgow. First mechanical of the day struck Kev who had a rear puncture, which was speedily dealt with which meant we got the 10am ferry to Dunoon with time to spare. However on the way we encountered some dangerous driving by an elder gentleman in a big Merc, who nearly wiped us out. Luck would have it that the said car was heading to Dunoon as well, so a few of the guys had a colourful "discussion" with the said driver responding with the usual lines like - "you shouldn't be riding two abreast" etc! Why can't people just admit to their mistakes & move on. The rain did not stop even when we got over to Dunoon, in fact it got worst at times. Oh well, when you're wet you're wet, can't do much about it apart from keep moving and stay warm. Tackling the climb over Loch Tarzen was challenging at the best of time, it's definitely not fun when it's chucking down. My back wheels kept slipping cause by the cascading water on the surface of the road. I suppose I had it good, poor Ricky's new bikes rear mech hanger snapped off causing him to fall right infront of me half way up the climb. He had no choice but to carry the bike up the rest of the climb & had to turn his steed into a single speed. Gingerly we decent to other side then turn left heading towards Colintraive which I thought was flat, must have been a long time ago when I rode on these road. It was over some of these drags that Ricky's chain snatched again, sh*t. More road side repair meant we could not catch the 12noon ferry over to Rhubodach but instead we got the one 30 minutes later. Luckily the 11 or so miles towards Rothesay was incident free, and we arrived well ahead of the 2.00pm race start. When we got into Rothesay there was no much sign of the Wheelers except for Colin who past us warming up on his deep section carbon rims, this guy means business! By this time we were starving and found our selfs a nice wee cafe to feed our wet & tired bodies. I'm not ashame to admit it I had a 3 course lunch with a side helping of chip & tea to wash it all down. Magic! We soon realised that the race actually started just outside our cafe, soon groups of cyclist started to appear & amass outside waiting for the start. A strong representative by the Yellow & Blue in all the groups, a sight to behold.(looking forward to your race report guys, especially the novice group) After we send the race off & finished our banquet feast, we boarded the 3.10pm ferry back to the mainland. The 45 minutes journey was made to feel a lot shorter with big Tam Gordon's entertaining cycling story about long wheel base van & white van driver, it was hilarious! Our intention was to get the train from Wemyss Bay back to Bishopton given Ricky's bike handicap, but that was short lived as the train had just left as we left the ferry. The ferry was I think 3 minutes late which meant all the ferry passenger had to wait another 50 minutes for the next one.......British public transport.......first class! We weren't going to hang around so decide just to head background the coast via Greenock. (we rode back in the end Graeme) More rain accompanied us as we worked well together to get back. We eventually part company after Bishopton with the sun coming out at last. I got home just after 6, soaking wet & tired but with 97 miles & 3 ferries under my belt. But I had a big cheesy grin when my wife saw me, I was just so glad I went out this morning. Thanks to Kev, Graeme, Stevie & especially Ricky who rode most of the way on 34 x 15 for a great run today! And well done to all the Wheelers in the races! Thanks for reading & see you all next Sunday! Cheers Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Iain Cowden Posted September 17, 2012 Report Share Posted September 17, 2012 Heroic stuff Chung - I'm tired just reading it! Well done to you all. Iain Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GraemeB Posted September 17, 2012 Report Share Posted September 17, 2012 Good report Chung. Can't believe you didn't mention the conversation about the dolphins though...! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Life Members chung Posted September 17, 2012 Author Life Members Report Share Posted September 17, 2012 Graeme, As you know, this is a family friendly website, there are kids who read this (I hope)! So I'll save that for other websites ............. like Paisley Velo's! Hope you got home without too much fuss yesterday! By the way, which way did you go yesterday after Wemyss Bay, via Largs or Greenock? Chung Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GraemeB Posted September 17, 2012 Report Share Posted September 17, 2012 Aye, the run home was incident free with a nice tailwind the whole way. I went via Greenock too, got soaked, and then dried out a bit by the time I made it home. All in all, an exciting day. Certainly better than going to Largs!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kev habbick Posted September 17, 2012 Report Share Posted September 17, 2012 cheers Chung and all the others , and the turnout in rothsey was nothing but impresive..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.