Ultracycling

Which Ultra ride is this road on?

Yep. It is pretty much the only road that serves the west coast of Scotland, including most of the islands, so you can imagine that the traffic is pretty heavy. What bugs me is that there are definitely better (safer and more scenic) ways to get around - a ferry to Arran then over to Claonig then up to Oban, for example - surely if you're wanting to showcase the UK's roads then you'd want to avoid the shittiest roads?

It just bugs me that people will run races through areas without really understanding the roads or at least talking to people who do first.

I couldn't imagine going to Wales (for example) and deciding to run a race there, for example. Maybe I'm being a bit defensively local but rider safety has to come first.

Trans Celtic and Trans Alba.

@gillies I'm wondering if we're just "soft" but i remain adamant that area is a hole for cycling. worst part of cycling the WHW as well is the Loch Lomond stretch.

Ok, interesting. Cheers.

Yeah, I've no idea. Worth some feedback to the orgs?

Do Strava heatmaps show much activity on these roads? Perhaps they have done what they can using online tools which is giving a false impression? #devilsadvocaat

I've had a look and it looks quite busy on Strava, so I could see them checking heatmaps, seeing lots of use and thinking it must be ok. #devilsadvocaat

Portraits of the JO riders going up here.

As i said many might find it okay.

Two localishs on here dont...

I'm not racing it so it ultimately doesnt affect me i just want these events to go well with no incidents or moans.

And Far ride magazine is reposting the instagram stories of the riders https://www.instagram.com/farridemag/

i did make a reasonable and polite post on their facebook page (the pan celtic) and they gave me a reasonable and polite reply

Still not very convinced, though. They could have quite easily routed folk down to Garelochead which IMO is a way way nicer and considerably quieter road. They also didn't specify which parts they drove and which parts they cycled...

@LeePaton happy to be considered soft, I don't really mind. In their own words though, rider safety should come first, and I don't feel their route choice reflects this.

@hippy - i agree that heatmaps probably played a part here - which is part of my objection to it all!

i don't know any locals who ride those roads tbh - there's a reason most club runs go either north or south - east is further into Central Belt hell and west takes you out to Loch Lomond.

The fact they've been told might impact on them negatively if there is an incident.

On the flip side I like Jesse's opinion which is - you're in control, if you don't feel comfortable on a road, reroute and notify or wait until it's quieter.

If they took the TCR method of adding a Warning to any 'reported' roads then they've done something but since there's is a fixed route that's a bit trickier, they have to do the reroute themselves.

For what it's worth I rode the Crianlarich to Tarbet stretch twice this year in May and June and although not the nicest it really wasn't that bad. The stretch from Tarbet to Balloch is horrible though!

The Garelochead road is much nicer

Here's an idea...

Free-route race but for every 1000m "extra" (over some kind of baseline or average) riders climb they get a time bonus.

It would fuck fat TTers like me up but it might encourage riders away from flatter, faster, bypass roads and into smaller mountain roads.

It shall henceforth be known as the Make Hippy Hard race rooting methodology.

Working title might need some work...

Hi,

Thanks for allowing me to join the group! I have been a member in the distant past and do follow what’s going on. I’m not the greatest contributor on these things (consider me reprimanded by self and looking to improve!) but follow with interest people’s views, experience and opinions.

So, a lot of you have heard about the PanCeltic Race and that’s great and yes, I am the Race Director. It has been a long-term vision to organise such an event and has been in detailed planning for the last 14 months. We are a four-person team and we are genuinely dedicated to delivering the best possible event that we can. We all work full time and so this has had to be a labour of love for each of us, fitting it in amongst professional and family lives.

We take our responsibilities in organising this race with the upmost importance. For me, the driving factor in doing so is Rider Safety. I would not expect anybody to do anything I wouldn’t do myself. I have to be comfortable and as confident as I can be in any given situation, before I advise someone else to do the same.

Like some of you reading this, I was following Mike Hall when the tragic accident occurred. I was numb for days and couldn’t believe that such a force of nature was gone. Months later, I was starting the TCR and was fortunate enough to speak to Pat (his mum) and spend some moments talking about our losses (I had lost my younger brother). I was riding down the Rhine the following day when news came through about Frank and I’ll never forget the impact that had on me and other riders who I came across that morning. Seeing Mike’s brother, Russell, at the finish in Greece and seeing how he was trying to keep things together despite the enormous loss he was coping with. These things impacted on me and made me appreciate how remarkable Mikes family is and one I hope to aspire to in some ways (I later saw Pat at TINAT and we caught up and it was a humbling experience).

Thank you for the comments and discussion you have had about the PanCeltic. All of it is very constructive for me and does help the team shape and develop the best possible race. Essentially, the PCR is a framework. The Team and I have added our bits and pieces to it and in many ways the rest of it is added to by you guys. Your feedback, your comments, your insights and experiences. If you think we are missing a particular Rule, or the route can be improved, then we want to hear it.

A brief history on the route. It was conceived in my head. Then I looked at maps and started my research of which roads were best suitable, most scenic and above all SAFE. I wanted to incorporate some aspects of the NC500 and we did. We avoided the busier roads and stuck with the more scenic, more quieter sections. I am lucky enough to have two good friends and one expert who know the area very well. One of them, Al, worked and lived all over Scotland for over 10 years. The other friend, Gary, spent his childhood and early adult years growing up, moving around and getting to know Scotland like the back of his hand. The third is Alasdair who has written and published the book Scottish Cycle Routes.
Between them, their advice, feedback and knowledge helped shape the route and we then spent 5 days driving and riding the entire 638 miles. We recorded everything we saw and the notes alone that will form our risk assessment currently stands at 38 pages and is continuously being added to as we learn more. And yes, Strava Heatmaps were also used.

We did ride the section between Tarbet and Luss and despite it being narrower than liked in sections, it was no more different to similar roads and paths where I live in Wales. The riders will be routed on the cycle path (No.40) that runs from Tarbet to Luss and from there staying on the path all the way to the Erskine Bridge. The occasion we rode it, neither myself nor Pete felt at risk. However, despite our experiences, we do appreciate that this is a snapshot of the section and may not represent what the path is like at the majority of times.

@gillies has been generous in reaching out to us on our Facebook page and raising his concern and I’m grateful for that. That discussion can be seen here.

The race is a living, breathing entity, currently in its early stages. It will need nurturing, feeding and developing and that is where I am hoping you guys in the community will play a part. The route is not finalised and will undoubtedly change (hopefully not much 😊) as we go forward. The three things that drive any changes are RIDER SAFETY; Road closures/ Diversions etc and if we happen to miss out on a secret bit of awesome tarmac known only by locals (they have to be truly awesome though 😉).

It will be open for refinement (hopefully not by much) all the way up to a week before the race start. Even after that, depending on the circumstances, it potentially could change (though hopefully by that point ALL possible influencing factors will have been ratified).

Taking on board the suggestions put forward, I am going to look at possibly doing a re-route between Tarbet and Luss/ or Arden via Garelochhead. This will require me to pop up to the area (a 700 mile round trip) to check the road first hand but that's fine with me - Scotland is breath-taking.

I’ll keep you guys updated.

By the way, here are some pics we took of the cycle path. You can see why we found it safe to ride and some of it is the old A82

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appreciate you taking the time and effort to reply here @MattPCR

if you fancy some company on your recce - let me know! I'd be keen for a wee ride out there and I have a wee road that you might be interested in... I'm in Glasgow so not far off.

good first post that. And welcome. I am very much interested in the race and have registered interest. Look forward to hearing more as and when.

Now that's what I'm talking about @gillies!. Discovering the undiscovered!. I need to check that out. Almost as steep as some of the roads we have here in Wales ;).

Ok, great I will definitely drop you a line when I'm heading up to your turf.

Cheers and all the best.

Cheers dude. I know it will be good. I've been working on it long enough!. I'm just gutted that as the organiser, I can't take part myself :(.

Hey, the pleasure is in the giving though :)

What @gillies said... I say the same.

I, like yourself, just want any of these races to be a success and well thought out and through.

Cheers @LeePaton. We are working hard to make sure it hits every button, crosses every T and dots every I :)

Welcome Matt, and thanks for taking the time to share your thoughts and plans.

I wish you every success with the race, it looks like a stunning route and substantial challenge.

Getting an entry in?