Cyclists hit the road for the Three Ferries Sunday riders enjoy their trip to Rothesay
Craig Ritchie
The Paisley Velo cyclists have been out in force for another busy weekend of action as riders took on the Three Ferries route.
The group’s Sunday club saw the majority of the riders take on the challenge, starting with the ferry from Wemyss Bay to Rothesay.
They cycled round Bute, with the Big Ring taking on the infamous Serpentine hill climb, before hopping on the second ferry of the day to Colintraive.
From here, the club’s Middle Ring group cycled past Loch Tarsan to Dunoon.
Meanwhile, the Big Ring decided to take things to another level, literally, by tackling the Bealach An Drain climb, which is dubbed by many as the worst hill climb in Scotland.
The riders reported a difficult climb, but the Paisley Velo Big Ring riders are particularly strong and regularly race in time trials and road races, so this was great training for them.
They too headed round to Dunoon – they were a little weary, but a quick coffee and cake at Hunters Quay and they were on the third ferry of the day over to Gourock before cycling home, via the Clune Brae.
Those riders who cycled doorto-door rather than taking the train managed to complete over 100 miles.
This effort will stand them in good stead for Series B of the Velo time trial championship, which starts on Tuesday. This is run over six weeks, and is decided on the fastest time.
Riders must post a minimum of three times over this period to qualify for the final standings, and Paisley Velo expect the competition will be quite heated.
In other club news, the club’s hill training sessions will be changing to a Thursday to make way for the TT for the next six weeks, and they also have a new ladies group aimed more at beginners, which is getting busier each week.
Next weekend, the cyclists are looking at heading into Ayrshire, and also see the return of the Saturday bunch.
And the club will shortly be announcing details of its annual Hill Climb Championship.