Etape Cymru

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Gruffy

Original Poster:

7,212 posts

258 months

Wednesday 10th September 2014
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Any PHers on the Etape Cymru this weekend? I'm riding with a group of six, staying at the Holiday Inn. If the new jerseys arrive to Gruffy Towers on Friday, as promised, then I may fly the PH flag.

BoRED S2upid

19,644 posts

239 months

Thursday 11th September 2014
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My home event. Not doing it but I know the roads well. Do you need a support car with supplies to follow you? wink watch out for sheep on the hills.

Gruffy

Original Poster:

7,212 posts

258 months

Thursday 11th September 2014
quotequote all
Ta very much. Can I have the spare bike already?

I found out last night our group is in the very first wave at 7:00am. Looking to set the quickest time my knackered legs/knackered Triban will allow me to, though the lowest gear I can access is 39-25 so I suspect I'll be overtaken on most hills.

Weather looks perfect and I'm looking forward to it all the same.

Gruffy

Original Poster:

7,212 posts

258 months

Tuesday 16th September 2014
quotequote all
This was a cracking event. The course was lovely and with single lane passes some of the best bits would be no-go areas for bikes normally. I'd definitely recommend it to others next year.

prand

5,910 posts

195 months

Tuesday 16th September 2014
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Gruffy said:
This was a cracking event. The course was lovely and with single lane passes some of the best bits would be no-go areas for bikes normally. I'd definitely recommend it to others next year.
Congrats, I figure the weather was a contributor to the good experience? It's been great going out on a bike over the last month with the warm sun still around.

So Gruffy, is all this cycling the reason you haven't updated your Chamonix apartment thread? I've been looking out for your to finish work on the place for ages!!

Gruffy

Original Poster:

7,212 posts

258 months

Tuesday 16th September 2014
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No, the main reason was because it hadn't been finished properly and I didn't get a chance to take nice photos before I left. But I did that last week and have just put it up on airbnb so I'll update that thread this evening. Cheers for the reminder.

Gruffy

Original Poster:

7,212 posts

258 months

Tuesday 16th September 2014
quotequote all
The weather was pretty good. A bit nippy while we waited for the delayed start but once we were rolling we quickly warmed up and then the temperature was perfect. I'm not sure I'd have done so well on those descents with a bit of rain in the mix.

prand

5,910 posts

195 months

Tuesday 16th September 2014
quotequote all
Gruffy said:
No, the main reason was because it hadn't been finished properly and I didn't get a chance to take nice photos before I left. But I did that last week and have just put it up on airbnb so I'll update that thread this evening. Cheers for the reminder.
Hooray, many thanks! thumbup Just need Maser Spyder to update his boat thread and I'll be really happy.

Mark83

1,157 posts

200 months

Tuesday 16th September 2014
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Gruffy said:
This was a cracking event. The course was lovely and with single lane passes some of the best bits would be no-go areas for bikes normally. I'd definitely recommend it to others next year.
Might not be closed roads next year... http://road.cc/content/news/130329-wiggle-etape-cy...

Gruffy

Original Poster:

7,212 posts

258 months

Tuesday 16th September 2014
quotequote all
I read that. Feels like NIMBYism from a very small group. I was taken aback at the level of support. I'm sure many were friends and family of the riders but there were also lots of local residents cheering from their front gardens.

That said, I see no harm in them moving the course around a little each year to spread the load. It's more work for the organisers, of course, but would seem to be the right thing to do.

yellowjack

17,065 posts

165 months

Wednesday 17th September 2014
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Someone has misplaced his sense of perspective...

Councillor John Phillips said:
“We have had four years of hell and it is time for a change. People have been made prisoners in their own homes.”

He went on: “The community of Penycae has been affected year on year by the long road closures and quite frankly residents need a break...."
Four years of "hell"??? For 4 days from a possible 1,461 some of the roads in his ward are closed. Even then, the closures are for about 10 HOURS maximum, so that works out at 40 hours, or less than two days, FFS.

What with a major water main replacement, gas pipe works, and various other below ground works near my home, I'll wager I may well have spent more time than that sat waiting at temporary traffic lights just to get in and out of the estate where I live. The residents of Penycae need a break? F**k 'em. I definitely DO need a break, from the seemingly constant disruption to my daily life. That's DAILY as in every f**king single day for at least the past 18 months, because that's the last time anyone around here can remember a day when there wasn't AT LEAST one set of temp traffic lights on local roads. If someone could promise me a road closure of less than 48 hours would be enough to guarantee free flowing roads for the next four years, I'd give them a bloody medal and my blessing to start the works. As an aside, I'd love to see a closed road cycling event near me too, but unfortunately, the scenery isn't attractive enough and the topography isn't sufficiently challenging for the immediate locality to tempt such an event in, more's the pity.

And no one from the DfT or the London Assembly has yet responded to my idea for a 24 hour endurance cycle race/sportive around London, involving a (maximum) 36 hour closure of the anticlockwise (inner) carriageway of the M25 orbital motorway. It's pure genius, as the outer carriageway could remain open, allowing business and domestic journeys to continue, whilst providing a wide and relatively good quality racing surface for the cycle event... biggrin


Oh, and now that the rant is over, congratulations on the ride, Gruffy! I'd be pretty damned chuffed with that kind of average speed over that terrain. It's about all I can manage to match that in the wild hills of Surrey and Hampshire! Shame about the battery issue and the missing 20k though. Silly, silly iPhone. A Garmin would sort that right out, I reckon. wink

Gruffy

Original Poster:

7,212 posts

258 months

Wednesday 17th September 2014
quotequote all
Thanks. I'm very pleased and pleasantly surprised with how it all went.

On the road closures: most of the roads were very minor roads over mountain passes and I'd be surprised if they saw much traffic at all anyway. I remember thinking that it probably wasn't such a difficult thing to close roads like that. Unless you happened to be living off one of them I think it would only have been a very minor inconvenience and easily avoided with a bit of forethought (and they had lots of notice). For the residents that were 'trapped' they provide motorcycle escorts.

It does seem blown out of all proportion but everything is relative, and such is human nature. Here in London that level of 'hell' would be a very welcome change.

snorkel sucker

2,662 posts

202 months

Wednesday 17th September 2014
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I've lived in the area all my life and, trust me when I say, people who live in Penycae have endured much longer than 4 years of hell smile

I have to say though that getting around is still manageable and a few of the roads opened earlier than they were supposed to.

It's usually the terminally narrow minded (and lazy) people who can't stand one day of a few roads being closed, despite it being in the best interests of the local economy.

Webby39

10 posts

126 months

Wednesday 17th September 2014
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This was my second ever long ride, having done the Medio Dragon in June. This was a beautiful ride, and very tough for a novice of eighteen months like me. There was a great reception from the locals, lots of kids out with cow bells etc. all in all a great day, and happy with my 5 hrs 21 mins. Will do again next year and aim for sub 5 hours :-)

Gruffy

Original Poster:

7,212 posts

258 months

Wednesday 17th September 2014
quotequote all
Webby39 said:
This was my second ever long ride, having done the Medio Dragon in June. This was a beautiful ride, and very tough for a novice of eighteen months like me. There was a great reception from the locals, lots of kids out with cow bells etc. all in all a great day, and happy with my 5 hrs 21 mins. Will do again next year and aim for sub 5 hours :-)
That's a good time. I was secretly hoping to be within 5h30 and very surprised to actually finish in 5:02. If I hadn't binned it on the ford I think I'd have made sub-5. If the route is the same then I'm targeting 4h45 next year.