Etape Caledonia Challenge 17th May 2009
The UK's only mass participation closed road cycling event

Eighty one saddle-sore miles, and nearly 6000 feet of climbing, from Pitlochry to Rannoch Moor, over Scheihallion and back through Highland Perthshire. This rather daunting task means that my training is well under way.  I have set my target time at less than four hours thirty minutes which means averaging over 17.7mph so I will need to be seriously fit and hopefully skinnier! D-Day is 17th May and to see more about the Etape Caledonia Challenge, information, maps and elevation profile go to www.etapecaledonia.co.uk

Why? Two friends, one young, one not so young are following a different regime, sadly not through choice.  They are being supported by some wonderful people and I am proud to be raising funds for Macmillan Cancer Support.  Let's try to really use the power of the internet - pass my email on to a few of your friends and ask them to refer their friends to www.justgiving.com/fraserclyde. A little means a lot so just give as much as you can afford. Please keep watching by bookmarking this page and clicking through to my Flickr page
www.flickr.com/photos/f-r-a-s-e-r/  as I will be doing regular updates as to how the training is going, photos of the glorious Scottish countryside in Spring and, of course, a puff by puff resume of the event.

Donating through Justgiving is quick, easy and totally secure. It’s also the most efficient way to sponsor me: Macmillan Cancer Support gets your money faster and, if you’re a UK taxpayer, Justgiving makes sure 25% in Gift Aid, plus a 3% supplement, are added to your donation.

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Training Updates

Weeks 1 and 2 - mainly short fast rides local  to work (to get the lungs working) with some longer trips out at the weekends.  This was all going well until

Weeks 3, 4 & 5 - came down with some bug which has had me hacking and coughing all day and all night.  This was combined with a general feeling of being unwell so I was unable to do any serious training, apart from a couple of gentle rides to keep the legs going.  Luckily I've still 7 weeks until THE DAY.

Week 6 - back on course with a couple of good rides so far this week.

Week 7 - most of the training was legwork on the ski slopes of Cauterets!

Week 8 - the week has started well with 4 days of fast training runs, one of which was into a strong head wind all the way home - miserable :o(  Got my start number - 996, start time 7.10am.

Week 9 - good start with a 50 mile "saddle endurance" run from Newtonmore to the Ciste car park and back via Insh, in glorious sun with blue skies.  That bit of the road from Glenmore to the Ciste is a lot steeper than it looks.  Planning a ride round part of the route tomorrow, probably Loch Rannoch.  Hope the weather will be as good as today. (NB. The weather was even better)

Week 10 - the start of the week was a struggle with tiredness, probably due to the Ciste climb, but finished the week on the newly loaned bike (old but super light) from Matt in Manchester which gets me down over the handlebars more than the hybrid, doing some climbs up and around Glendevon.  Only three weeks to go :0)

Week 11 - another week of mixed rides around Edinburgh and Livingston in various weather.  Training times much quicker with the road bike.  A short ride from Kinloch Rannoch up Scheihallion was a confidence booster, it was shorter and less steep than I feared.  Today however was not so good, it was meant to be my 65 mile ride but I broke the chain on the steepest bit of the road to the Ciste.  So chain being sorted plus new sprocket to allow a lower gear. 

Week 12 - Ian Baxter ( former Scottish Slalom Champion & bike guru) replaced the chain and gave me a bigger final sprocket which allowed me to stick in a quick 67 miles around the Spey Valley before lunch on Sunday.  This was followed on the Bank Holiday Monday with the reconnaissance of the Queen's View climb which is the first testing element of the "Etape".  I was out of the saddle enough to force me to buy a smaller inner ring on my front chainset (getting the lingo now).  This was tested in gale force winds which threatened to either blow me off the road, or under the wheels of traffic I couldn't hear - but it worked a treat!   Did the long loop of the Etape course on my way North. Started at the Garry Bridge, up Queen's view, Kinloch Rannoch, over, up and down Schiehallion, thru' to Logierait and discovered the sting in the "Etape's" tail. Three short sharp climbs in the last four miles before Pitlochry. Fifty-five miles in three and a half hours in gale force winds and driving rain with 6 degrees celcius - not too bad! Penultimate weekend coming up and I am without my support team who have de-camped to Biarritz to check out the latest cycling techniques. 

Tuesday 19th May First!! ........casualty of the day for the paramedic who tended me! The saga started 5 miles in, on the ascent of the Queens View when my chain broke. There was I, trying to shelter from the rain under a tree and covered in oil as I slowly fought with my chain, when I was rescued by the "Mavic" yellow course car. The french technician jumped out and fixed it in minutes. He was very taciturn, ignoring my attempts to speak french to him - but I wasn't alone as Chemmy Alcott said later that she tried to flirt with him, in french, to no avail, as he repaired her two punctured tyres! Off I went up the climb and my training had obviously paid off as I passed quite a few people with only three or four passing me! On the descent I absolutely flew making up lots of places. Alain Baxter told me afterwards that he finds the same,i.e., that he passes lots of people on the descents and he puts it down to the fact that we are used to going fast downhill due to our ski racing! But it was on the descent that I realised my gear was slipping whilst in the higher gears. Clunk, clunk, clunk - it was very embarrassing! I was forced to say to people as I passed them, "..it's me that's making the noise!" At Tummel Bridge I stopped and had a good look, hoping to be able to make a minor adjustment, but only spotted a broken element! I carried on hoping to spot the course car again and perhaps get a fix. Just before the twenty mile mark I was in moving up, between two groups, on a flat section and came to a small rise for which I came out of the saddle - I don't remember exactly what happened, but I think my gear must have slipped. I remember my foot slipping off the pedal and hitting the tarmac and then I was flying through the air, thinking "oh no!" I landed on my shoulder and ribs (sore!) followed by the most almightly whallop as the back of my helmet hit the tar, then I must have rolled a bit as the grazes are on all sides. The support of fellow competitors was fantastic. Poor things must have thought I was dying, as I was moaning and gasping like a stuck pig, this being being due to the wind being absolutely thumped out of me! (...and a bit of pain!) Even before I had re-gained my breathe a motor cycle marshall was wrapping me in a space blanket and within five minutes a paramedic was asking for my date of birth, and giving me a thorough check. Soon we were "knee-knawing" to Kinloch Rannoch for a further check. The support was really tremendous with everyone being really kind. Of course, elsewhere, my fellow competitors were being thwarted by something more dastardly, those who tried to sabotage the event by spreading carpet tacks over an eight mile section, and attempting to spoil the day for everyone through their protest against closed road events. Fortunately a very worthy cause won out, as Macmillan Cancer Support have raised over £250,000 from competitor sponsorship. Many, many thanks to all of you for your very kind support of me through your very generous donations to Macmillan. .... and yes, next year I will complete it!