River Ness Viewpoint

Etape Loch Ness day, so I am up nice and early and down for breakfast at 5 porridge, there no cooked breakfast at that time of the morning) and off to the start at 5:40.

I'm glad I have full finger gloves as it is quite cool s we start the Etape at 2 minutes past 6. A slow start as the group is quite large. Once out of Inverness, the wide road makes it easy to pass people, and for the really keen to pass me. the ride south is on the A road, west of the Loch and has lovely views. The water is quite still. I try to keep a steady pace, I find myself catching people up on the climbs after they spend loads of energy trying to get down the descents. I prefer a nice constant speed.

The turning point is at Fort Augustus, and once through the we town, we are climbing. So my average speed drops quite a bit. It is a big climb, see Extra 1. Slow on the bottom segment as well as it hits 12% in places. There are respites, false summits and a descent to scrub out a little of the climbing. The final part of the climb comes are a flat section which skirts around a wee lock, a few more bumps, then the sound of the bagpipes. We have climbed from 33, ASL to 395mASL. Once you have past the piper, the route descends quite quickly.

The next part is on slightly rougher roads through the forests which wind their way down the to rejoin the loch side at Foyers. Atone point, there's the sound of heavy, or thrash metal. We pass a mobile disco, just the adrenaline boost the tired legs need. At Dores, we move away from the loch again for the last two bumps we have to get over. the group I am on the back of disintegrates. I pass them all up the  first climb, and use momentum of the descent to get over the last wee climb.

A nice last part of the race on the final descent in to Inverness. I seem to have kept my legs better than most. There is some moisture coming out of the sky, and it feels very cold. the road is a bit damp but the tyres do their job very well, and I sprint the last 300 m over the bridge and in to the home straight.

105.5km, just over 65 miles and 1229m of climbing. 3:42:41. A bit slower than last year, but there were far more people attending the event

The ride can be seen at Relive here.

After coffee, I head back to the hotel for a refreshing shower. I go back to the road bridge for a while to watch, and offer support, to the rides still coming in for a while before heading in to town for lunch.

Back to the hotel for a wee bit before heading down to the River Ness to do the three island Walk again. The main blip shows the new vantage point. There was supposed to be a cantilever part that would offer views from the middle of the river, but Highland Council chickened out of that design. So what you see is a poor halfway (eighthway??) house.

A nice late afternoon lie down between afternoon coffee and dinner.

After dinner I head down to the river to capture Extra 2. The Friar's Bridge has been lit up in the colours of the Ukraine flag.