Velo men took on coastal journey
Tough climbs test the cyclists
The Paisley Velo Saturday bunch kicked off weekend proceedings, once again opting for the coastal route to Gourock, Inverkip, back through Greenock and along the West Ferry.
It’s a route which is really working well for the group, despite the soaking conditions, they achieved an average of 22mph.
Meanwhile, a smaller group of riders headed south to Dumfries and Galloway to take on the Mennock Pass and the climb to the Radar Hill at Wanlockhead, with one rider insisting it was “the worst climb I’ve ever done”.
Around the same time, Garry Rankin was tackling the Skye Beag Sportive from Portree – a 50 mile loop around the north of the Isle Of Skye. Clearly the hill training is paying off for Rankin has he came in first place with a fantastic time of 02:25:02.
Mark Syme continued to extend his mileage with a trip up Crow Road and down the Tak Ma Doon climbs. Another 80 miles in the bag.
And on Sunday, Sam McGrath competed in the Dooley’s Classic 10 Time Trial clocking up an impressive time of 00:24:13.
Elsewhere, the Paisley Velo club runs headed out to Bridge Of Weir and Largs respectively, with riders taking in the Haylie Brae climb after a café stop.
And the other Sunday runs were planned for Largs for a combined Middle Ring and Big Ring run with the Wee Ring option to turn off at Port Glasgow and up the Clune Hill over though Kilmacolm and into Bridge of Weir for a cafe stop at Bernie’s. The original plan was to cycle through Bishopton and down on to the West Ferry stretch along passed Langbank.
However, there was a notional Time Trial competition along this route so the group decided to stay on the high roads passed Ingliston and out by Gleddoch on a particularly “lumpy” route which brought them out half way up the Clune.
The group consisted of around 14 riders but split up a little due to some being on a tight time schedule or selecting another route to suit their training needs.
Velo were left with four riders from Port Glasgow, namely Mark Hanlon, Terry Nelson, Scott Nelson and Derek McBurnie.
There was a notable head wind all the way from Gourock round the coast road to Largs so this was a tough 13m stretch and at an average speed of 20mph the cafe stop at the Bagel Basket was a very welcome one.
After refuelling, Hanlon and Scott Nelson headed back up the Brisbane Glen over to Greenock and along the coast road, whilst McBurnie and Terry Nelson took the Haylie Brae option and back through Kilburnie and Lochwinnoch along the cycle track and back to base.
This Tuesday, the cyclists are looking forward to Round Three of our Series B Time Trial Championship on the Georgetown Road between Inchinnan and Houston.
The split has now taken place at the 19 minute mark, meaning some fierce competition is on the cards.
The first rider is off at 6.45pm – photographers and spectators are welcome. Send any photos to photos@paisleyvelo.co.uk, and keep an eye on these pages for details of the results.