Clifton CC

Vandalism at the Etape Caledonia:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/tay ... 054215.stm

Hoping for no copy-cat attacks around Yorkshire...
tom

What can you say! Dispicable behaviour.

I did this event the first year it ran in 2007 and stopped for the weekend in Pitlochry. The hotel I stayed in had no problem with the roads been closed and simply thought it was a great boost to the economy so who are these minority, because I think it is a minoirty, who simply cant cope with the roads been closed on a Sunday for one day a year for christs sake. Its pathetic. How does London cope with marathon for example?

Jon

Amanda and I did the Etape Caledonia with a group of friends (or husbands in Amandas case). Between 8 of us we had nine punctures. One poor chap we met on route had seven punctures.

Its really hard to understand the thinking behind the minority group who did this. There were an extra 10,000 people in Perthshire as a result of the event. It raised over £200k for MacMillian Care and is estimated to be worth well over £300k for the local economy this weekend alone with many people from all over the world staying for much longer.

On a more positive note the locals we met were all very friendly and mortified that this had happened. Several apologised us as though it were their fault.

It also had the effect of getting some taciturn, race focused cyclists chatting to each other while we waited for the police to reopen the roads. It would have been a great ride on closed roads but for the actions of a few myopic fools.

Things to note: Dont trust that old inner tube you have had in your bag for ages. Super-patches are great... at times though you just dont have enough. People become much more friendly when things go wrong.