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30 November St. Andrew's day run


AlanT
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12 set off from the club rooms on the posted route as far as Paisley with an unexpected detour through Thornly Park, towing a McGills bus in our wake. Said bus clearly had Mr. Angry at the wheel 'cos he got awfully upset with us in Barrhead. Following couple of punctures we deviated from the posted route at the Blair Tavern, heading for Kilwinning, then picking up the posted route again from there. Three punctures in total put us about 45 minutes behind schedule getting to Largs. Bodies were bailing out as well because of the delays, so 7 headed round the coast.

During the run we were treated to some stunning views across the Ayrshire coast, Arran and millport as well as the Clyde coast.

Overall, 80 miles clocked and 2500 feet of climbing. Truly excellent day out on the bike.

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Great day indeed. My gel overload kicked in so I got a second wind and did a few laps of the industrial estate at home to bring the run up to the century :icon_yes

 

I can only apologise again for:

 

1) Getting caught up in the 'excitement' of the Largs 30 and trying to move out without looking around me AT ALL :oops: :oops: :shock: but thankfully

 Paul and Mark were more switched on than me.

2) Nearly taking Paul out again, I do like you Paul :grin:, when we were heading to the Georgetown. I'll put this down to fatigue and thinking I was the last man!

 

Cheers for the wheels. See you in a couple of weeks :)

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Afraid that, punctures aside, the pace was way too slow again today.

 

It's not down to anyone being unfit, just seems that some folk decide to have a gab at the front instead of pushing on.

 

Were sitting at 17mph when we should be doing 20-22.

 

Managed to get a workout after myself & Mr B eloped together.

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G,

 

It's November man!!!!! Agreed it was a bit sluggish on Lochlibo Road a mostly flat and slightly down hill stretch of road with a tail breeze. 20+ would have been reasonable. 20-22mph the whole time will have you race fit in February, peaked in March and tired in May. Tom was on an unhappy place from Ardrossan to Largs but some pace adjustmemt let him hang onto Largs and he was still with us when he turned for Langbank. From Largs to the Bishy end of the west ferry saw us sit at evens and working well as a group, ideal pace for this time of year.

 

Going to the front and putting a dig in to increase the speed just busts guys, then they sit up when they go to the front. Result is a yoyo pace which defeats the purpose. If you are feeling good that's great! Just be patient and enjoy long steady miles and be on hand to drag us mere mortals around the reliabilities in Feb.

 

I clocked up 100 miles today and got an endurance work out. Exactly what I think I need for lbl. The speed at which I did it at is somewhat secondary right now, within sensible limits. I'll say again I can up the pace quite happily on every incline and give myself a right good work out but I'd be riding by myself most weekends after causing splits and bust groups. Just chill for now and keep your powder dry.

 

M

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Disagree. Pottering along, even for a hundred miles is of no use unless you are training to potter along for a hundred miles.

 

Short sharp all out blasts at the front. Last man standing, you get the drift :)

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Geo,

 

As one of my stable of 2 & 1/2 bikes* does not at present contain a winter steed I am a social pariah who probably should not comment.....but I do have a bit of sympathy for your POV.

 

I'm too big a jessie to turn up at the Renfra' bogs on a Saturday morn without muddies so until I get all Rafa Nadal on your a** and get my finger oot my bahookie I will remain in somewhat of a limbo, so If you want to go out for a bit of a harder effort on a Sunday for the next couple of weeks I would be up for it, better than you getting frustrated**

 

 

* They're funnier than Charlie Sheen and that other guy, maybe I should pitch it to the BBC, or do they only do the bidding of our lords and masters these days?

 

** Disclaimer - not trying to set up another splinter group but just different strokes for different folks I guess.

 

Peace.

 

Davie

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For what its worth i was a bit surprised to see the average speed when i got home - it was about 18mph from the clubrooms. We dont often do much more than that even during the summer. A quick look at my Garmin Connect suggests ive only been on a couple Sunday club runs that have been faster this year - Dunoon via Arrochar in June and Largs last month.

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Iain's post got me thinking.

Today's run is the longest for me since July 20 (the reverse of today's route almost, and done mostly solo). It was the fastest average speed since april 6th (almost the same route, but going right into Irvine) and that was only 0.3mph faster.

Fully accepting that Lochlibo Road should have been faster after Lugton, the rest of it wasn't too shabby in terms of what I have done all year. And we had time today to take in some fantastic views across the Firth of Clyde, so, yes, we could have gone faster. Personally, I just enjoyed going out to play on my bike today.

My view is that we're probably in the right place for this part of the winter.

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What's the right place

IMO Lochibo road towards the west is downhill and generally a fast stretch 22 plus 27 plus if going hard to be fair wasn't out but the pace can drop fairly sharply which like going to fast is wrong

Average on a flat route with little wind should be high

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May as well add my tuppence too.

 

Pace too slow or too inconsistent from Barrhead to the Kilwinning turn off. (Presume that is Lochlibo Road?) I spent a lot of time free wheeling and having to brake (plus didn't like the road surface anyway). Pace seemed fine elsewhere.

 

Absolutely glorious weather. My time constraints had me scunnered so bailed at Saltcoats. Had a great run from Saltcoats to Dalry, then followed Renfrew Bunch route. Not a ripple on the reservoirs. Simply stunning. Face is sore from smiling so much.

 

Glad the majority enjoyed the run up to Largs and beyond. On a day like today (and approx 12 hours before December!) the Firth of Clyde must have been beautiful. Wished I had the time to hang on with the bunch until Largs, but c'est la vie. No roll with fried egg and black pudding at the BB for me, but Sunday roast at my folks sufficed.

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G

I'm going to call you on this one.

First you say bogs bunch is too fast with winter racers and have a dig at the JWCC winter race team,

Then you say club run too slow,

So what is the happy medium, the George D pace run? And what speed will that be or will it depend on how you feel that day,

Last man standing starts Jan 1st on the Irvine Barrhead road approx 1.30pm each Saturday after a 60 mile warm up from Renfrew :)

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Which leads to the question of why that section was slow. The early part was slow because the bunch got split coming out of Barrhead, but what happened after we all joined up again? Why didn't the pace lift? And the second puncture isn't the answer, because that was about 5 miles after we regrouped.

And how does it get sorted?

 

Answers on a postcard.

 

(Light blue touch paper and retire to safe distance)

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I think we should be more concerned with the fact there were no saltires or blue face paint today :( pace was very good from Largs onwards (albeit with a slight tailwind), much more consistent pace with stronger riders taking longer turns & those suffering still managing to contribute at the front.

 

All miles are good miles, and no miles are bad miles ;)

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G

I'm going to call you on this one.

First you say bogs bunch is too fast with winter racers and have a dig at the JWCC winter race team,

Then you say club run too slow,

So what is the happy medium, the George D pace run? And what speed will that be or will it depend on how you feel that day,

Last man standing starts Jan 1st on the Irvine Barrhead road approx 1.30pm each Saturday after a 60 mile warm up from Renfrew :)

 

I didn't say bogs bunch is too fast due to the JWCC winter racers. What I did say is that a couple of the attendees call you guys the JWCC Winter Racers.

 

I believe this is what is known as humour. It wasn't my joke but I found it humorous so I'll go with the humour theory.

 

I'll refrain from any further attempts at humour on this board. It doesn't seem to go down well.

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