Strength in numbers

If the stats below are anything to go by, it would be worth pulling up a chair to watch the live showing of Strength in Numbers this Thursday at 12noon PST, 8pm GMT, 9pm CET

26.7…The average number of days of work required to produce each minute of the film.

726…The amount of days that the crew spent in the field during the production of Strength in Numbers.

395…It took the post-production team 395 days to complete the editing of the movie.

427…The number of days that local volunteers gave up of their time to help with the shooting of Strength in Numbers.

Stay upright

etapé déjà vu

cyclesguff are recovering from a pretty wild and windy Etapé Caledonia, so this post will be brief. Last years write up finished with:

'Good stuff; stunning scenery, great course, organisation and support from local people out lining the route.

Not so good; group riding on the road not very organised and lack of shared workload frustrating. Some riders used all of the road instead of staying to the left and moving out to overtake.'

The frustration of riders not willing to share the workload was even worse this year, ho hum...

Here's a few pics that don't show 3000+ plus riders on a start line

The owner didn't want to speak, he was more interested in buying a nice malt from Robertson's

A Honda RC30 always deserves a pic, this one just happened to be taking a breather in Pitlochry

 Stay upright

do stickers make you go faster?

Of late, Guffbike has been neglected. The poor wee soul has been slowly oxidizing and loosing precious pressure from the cracked tyres. Not to fear, and as you can see in the pics, a few go faster tweaks have arrived. The decision over which tyres to fit is still ongoing. Does team cyclesguff go for Animal ASM, Primo Comet, Maxxis Miracles, Hookworms or Schwable Kojaks? A recent discussion with none other than Graeme Obree suggests that Kojaks are the best for reducing rolling resistance. Plenty of tea will have been consumed by the time the decision is made. Once the new rubber is fitted to the hoops, a few more runs will have to be logged in order to make the most of an invite to ride a major event this July in the Cairngorms.

The kind invite come from Andy Donald, an old friend and former work colleague from back in the day. Andy will no doubt remember the days when the Aberdonian youth popped into Alpine bikes and asked 'got ony stuckurs?'

Andy and his crew have been running a media collective filming and documenting extreme and gravity sports in the UK. He's also the man behind the newly formed British Isles Gravity Bike Association - BIGBA 

The aims:

Supporting & Promoting Gravity Bike Racing/Riding in the British Isles.

Raising Awareness of Gravity Bikes as a Sport.

Advance the Sport by Establishing and Organising Gravity Racing Events.

Give Help and Advice to Individuals, Groups and Organisations on all aspects of Construction, Racing/Riding & Safety Equipment in Order to Enjoy Gravity Biking in a Safe and Controlled Environment. 

Stay upright and if you have suggestions for tyres, please drop me a line.....

Just because...

It would be rude not to. Queen's view through the Oakleys

Many happy returns

An early start time was set, the forecast was for for blue skies, a moderate north easterly wind and Routemaster General had set a challenge of riding on favourite sections of roads. Now, it just so happens that those favourite sections of roads for the cyclesguff bunch include some pretty tough hills. 

Thanks to the North wind, the view looking out over the Campsies this morning provided a stunning sight with an incredibly clear blue sky. The wind had also brought some snow along for the ride. A quick recap and rush back to the kit drawer was required. Thankfully, the roads where mostly dry, but that wind was bitter. 

The ascent of the Crow Rd provided views out over snow capped mountains and as we climbed higher and hit the snow line, the temperature dropped. It was a special morning and the views just kept on coming. Being out early, with the countryside unfolding in front, in good company and a route that would see us return to wonderful ribbons of tarmac was a great start to the cyclesguff 1st birthday ride. Time to celebrate, cyclesguff turned 1 today!

Routemaster General had provided a birthday surprise with a new ascent to Sheriffmuir. With the memory of Amstel Gold in his legs, he had selected a ramp leaving Logie Kirk. This has to be one of the steepest ascents in the area, the inside of one hairpin in particular, looks like a wall that teenagers would sit on and hurl cheek at cyclists losing the battle against gravity. The route turned off before Sherrifmuir and then plummeted down to Dunblane.  A 'bit and bit' blast to Doune, past Deanston distillery (it couldn't be a celebration ride without passing a distillery) on to Thornhill and a well earned and very long lunch at Berits & Brown in Kippen, the dill and carrot soup was fab. 

hint and a challenge?

There was a plan to head out to the Duke's Pass, Gartmore and Drymen, sadly, time was against us, but at least the revised route would see us pass another distillery. This time Glengoyne and it looked splendid under a snow capped Dumgoyne Hill. A fitting end to a great day in the saddle and a wee tipple has just been poured.

Stay upright and thanks for visiting cyclesguff over the past year

Cycle Loopy

 

It easy to get in the habit of riding the same routes over and over without really thinking. Accordingly there is a supreme pleasure when with a little effort and imagination you chose to take a new turn just to see what's there. So it is with this looping run that heads for a cyclesguff staple of Gleniffer braes but with added deviantion. With minimal if circular tweaking we arrive at multiple and varied climbs rolling in the sinuous hills and valleys that head towards the coast. Having discovered these delights so close to hand we were not for leaving until we had skirted up and down each side skateboard pipe style. Proof it it were needed in the stats of 950m climbing in just 40 miles/64km the route includes a killer climb recently featured by John McKendrick A Cyclist's Guide to Hillclimbs on Scottish Lowlwand Roads and a number of chevrons on the OS maps and makes for a testing ride that rarely settles on flat.

uppies

uppies doonies

doonies uppies

you get the picture

Just because...

Bonnie bikes on the bonnie banks