THIS TOPIC IS WHERE THE "CONTINENTAL BREAKFAST" RUN, STARTING EVERY SATURDAY 9AM FROM LEGGART TERRACE, IS ADVERTISED.
PLEASE GO TO LAST PAGE FOR MOST RECENT NEWS ABOUT THE RUN.
Here is the first post, started on 25 januray 2009. The "philosophy" of this ride has not changed much since then. Attendence has increased on a regular basis. I'll continue recording the stories of this ride as it goes. Please join us. Laurent 5 may 09___________________________________________

As announced by Sandy in his last email note 25 Jan 2009 (I quote:)

Quote:

Do you want to train with the Men's Road Team? All members welcome - Leggart Terrace 9am on Saturday 31 January for a 2h 30m ride. Expected to be a sustained group ride on the small ring, on a strict "no-one-gets-dropped" basis, fairly fast changes at the front, working group technique and velocity. This will be a regular Saturday meeting. Further detail on the club forum - Only registered users can see links on this forum! Register or Login on forum! Last Saturday because the roads were checked very icy it was decided not to ride for safety reasons

I am please to revive the Leggart Terrace run on saturday mornings.
The run is meant to be a training run for road racers or aspiring road racers, particularly adapted to newcomers, young riders, "cat 4" riders and those who want a quality ride for performance but have limited time available or are not into long distances. Triathletes are welcome, as any other members. Those on a come-back (like me) will like this run.
Expect durations of between 2 and 3 hours. Loops between the Aberdeen-Stonehaven and Banchory magic triangle as to never get far from the base and get protected from trafic. The idea is not to mimic a road race at all, but to workout on the qualities required for a road race, and specificaly the ones that you'll never develop in an individual ride.
This is why the focus will be on group technique, getting sheltered and "economical" in a bunch, staying together, making efficient changes at the front.

I will regularly seek advice from our profesional coach to make those rides a success. Please express interest, let me know your intentions, and make it this saturday !

Recently signed up to get the deeside email and saw this link for the leggart club run and thought it sounded good fun.

I am a bit of a cycling novice and only really took it up a couple of years back and have done a couple of sportives, duathlons and a sprint triathlon. However, I haven't done any road racing.

Saturday morning sounds great fun and a chance to up my game - so long as you don't mind a newbee tagging along. Wanted to make sure I wouldn't be imposing before just turning up.

andyc, yes you are very welcome. The run is just perfect for you. You will get a chance to talk with other riders / how to best approach racing this year. Laurent

Just want to check where exactly is the meeting place for the Saturday rides. I'm not very familiar with that side of Aberdeen - is the meeting place on Leggart Terrace pretty obvious?

Not sure if I'll be able to make this Saturday but I am definitely keen on future rides.

Is it a must that the bikes have mudguards or are you not too bothered? A number of years back I used to go out with a group in Glasgow and in winter they wouldn't let you ride in the group if you didn't have mudguards.

Bit late to sign up but just arrived back in Aberdeen tonight and noticed this post. Sounds like a great idea and looking out the window at the weather, will be preferable to a solo ride and fun to get out with a group. See you there!

I started a detailed post. It was too long, I lost it when hitting the preview and feel very for you now...there was a lot in it about the great time we had. Here it is in a short version as fast as I can...

Sat 31 Jan 2009 ride
Windy conditions but fairly warm, no rain, ideal for group riding in the wind. The group was feeling well, so we decided to add an extra loop of 1h to make it a 3:30 ride. This was exceptional and should not discourage anyone to join us in the future! Pace was steady but sustained on low gear for 2hours. Last 1h30 was on easy pace. We stayed together all long. In summary, a great endurance ride. Looking fwd to the next one.

Next weeks
Sat 7th Feb
I won't be there to animate. The road race team has a cycling week-end instead, an APR at Garlogie is planned. But feel free to pop in at Leggart Terrace 9am as I know some members have decided to meet there. You won't be left on your own.

Sat 14th Feb
I'll be back. More news on this space a few days before the ride.

Mark
Looking fwd to seeing you soon.

andykula
Details of meeting point in a separate post, to which one can refer in the future. It's easy to find: enter Leggart, ride 300 yards, find the Jerseys.

andyc
It was good riding with you. I hope you enjoyed the fast changes, front wind on Netherley's road as much as I did. When is your first race ? (Seriously, you should give it a go, at least APRs, you will do well)

All
Any member is welcome. Do not be afraid of the run being advertised for the "Road Racing Team", it was just a "marketing" trick from Sandy !
The most important is to make Leggart Terrace Sat 9am a meeting point. Road racers do not train at race pace (the race is for that !!), this makes the run suitable to any member reasonably fit.
Have a great week.

Leggart Terrace Meeting Point

Click this link for a google map (the meeting point is not exactly on the A of google but from there, you will see the Jerseys!)

Only registered users can see links on this forum! Register or Login on forum!

Starting from the A90/ Bridge of Dee big roundabout, the meeting point is 300 yards into Leggart Terrace, to the left.
Meet on the lay-by, just after the last terraced house, on the south (left) hand side.

Went out on the Leggart Tce run on saturday morning past with Laurent, John and Dick (cheers guys). It was my first session out with Deeside crew and I must admit I was a touch on the nervy side. To my pleasant surprise I had nothing to fear....

After a short warm up we were soon enjoying Laurents direction on some smooth (and some not so smooth - all mine) changes on the front as we flew over the slug road and then back round towards Banchory. From here it was taking it easy out to Strachan and then back into Aberdeen via the slug road again. Unfortunatly, I suffered an early season bonk on one of the final climbs but Laurant patiently waited for the newbee to catch up.

All in all a great morning run. Friendly bunch, excellent training pace, lead by someone who knows what they are doing and all on brilliant traffic free aberdeenshire roads.

I heartily recommend this to any newcomers to the road racing world (and it would be great to have some novice company).

andyc
Glad you enjoyed. See you soon.

I checked the Banchory-Devenick area this morning, it is not safe to road cycling. A mountain bike would be OK on the tarmac, but roads have narrowed to single lane trafic due to accumulated snow on the sides, and it is not safe to ride as a group. Only a cautious individual on a MTB could go safely. I phoned the organiser of the Roughstuff ride in Banchory: it's cancelled for same reason. I phoned the cross-country ski center in the mountains and track is not ready due to too much snow.
But, encouraging, the met office predicts cloudy saturday morning and mild temps of a few degrees C with no early frost.
If you are desperate to get an endurance ride (as I am), I can suggest two options. Either go on your MTB individualy on (tarmac) roads you know well; or join me tomorrow 9am at the old railway bridge (new modern cycling track bridge) , bottom of Holburn Street (Gray street junction) with your MOUNTAIN BIKE for a off-road circuit to Hazelhead. Via the cycling track to Cults, it's garanteed no cars. With patches of snow expected that should be fun.
All members welcome. You must come with a MTB and not be afraid of playing in the snow with it, on uncertain tracks that I have not checked !

Sat 21 Feb 09 - Programme

This week's run required a bit of co-ordination with the road race team week-end activities at Garlogie, so I talked to the organiser. We decided on the following best compromise as to satisfy most members

Meeting 8:45am at Leggart Terrace for a 9:00am start. Please be on time.
An hour and a half group ride to Garlogie. Small roads. Quiet pace. Ideal ride for newcomers or those starting their season here. No one to get dropped. Please set a low pace and try to work on your "fuel economy skills" as to get to Garlogie as little tired as possible.
Arrive Garlogie 10:30am. Group will split in 2
- Racers to take part in a 40 mile APR, the first event of the training week-end. We'll be waited for, let's be on time.
- Members who want or need to take it easy can get back to Aberdeen via counteswells (Max 2h30 total). But those who want to put extra miles can possibly discuss the opportunity to ride a few laps with racers - to be discussed on location.

I hope saturday's activities are an opportunity for racers to put some miles before racing season (first race for some of us is next week-end). And a chance for newcomers to get an easy ride of reasonable duration with experienced riders. Please click pm and tell me you are joining !

Last minute weather forecast
Rather than bothering you with what to do and not to do in a bunch... I update this post with the friday evening GOOD news:
Mild weather, sunny spells, occasional rain, SW wind turning W which can help us get back to town !

Laurent, thanks so much for this morning, I thoroughly enjoyed it. Hope I didn't slow everyone up too much and I totally understood that you had to leave us to get to Garlogie in time. We got a bit lost and didn't make it to Garlogie, by the time T and I reached Drumoak, we were done in and didn't have it in our legs to get to Garlogie. Hope you weren't hanging around waiting for us!
I will definately be there again on a Saturday morning, I learned alot this morning and it's so good to have other people to ride with.
Thanks for organising it.

you guys should just head out the south deeside road rather than going up that hill, to head up such a steep hill with differant degrees of ability will make those that arn't so stromg go into the red well before warming up.

Is there anyone comming out to 'play' tomorrow???

Ali, I tend to agree with you about the hill. Personally I would have preferred more time to warm up, but I can also understand why Laurent was keen to get off of the South Deeside Road asap. It is a bit of a nightmare with cars treating it like a race track.
That said, I definately need the climbing practice!
Can't come out to play tomorrow because, a, I used up all my credits with my husband this morning and, b, I don't think my legs will have recovered from today by then!

Last saturday (21 feb)
We were a group of four. We left Leggart Terrace a bit later than 9am, but I still managed to get on time at Garlogie around 10:40 for the start of my APR. It was a great saturday morning, weather even better than expected with little or not wind. I am glad Liz enjoyed. Liz, M. and T. are welcome to join again next saturday.
Ali: I usually turn left to the steep hill to be on safer and more enjoyable roads when you ride two at the front, compared to S Deeside Rd. That takes priority.

Next saturday 28 feb 09
All members are welcome at Leggart Terrace 9am, for a 2 to 3 hours run. Programme will be discussed before start, depending on attendence and everyone's expectations. Just pop-in.
If you let me know you are coming it's even better, but you don't have too.

Who is the run for ?
For everyone. I talked to Sandy yesterday. It can be somehow difficult to make cyclists of different experience and level of prepration ride together. We agreed that the way to do is to always meet a the same place same time every week. If attendence is good at Leggart on saturday mornings, we can form groups of homogeneous level. For this, as many of you must join the ride regularly. I am here to make sure no one is left behind. I can ride with beginners if necessary and I do my extra miles after.