Round Strathaven 50: Wet roads, and a puncture epidemic
Seven club riders lined up on Sunday past (Aug 16th) for the Round Strathaven 50, one of the club's regular outings and, in many ways, a home fixture. Dougie F, Kevin, Billy, Mark F, John M, Ally D and David Millar all made the trip to what has become a firm favourite on the LRC calendar.
The Round Strathaven 50 sits close to home for us, tracing an anti-clockwise 50-mile loop through South Lanarkshire rather than our usual East and South Ayrshire roads, but the terrain is familiar territory from longer club runs. In some ways it might be regarded as a sister sportive to our own (newer and smaller) ‘Darvelo’ event, organised by club member John McCracken, with some shared roads, similar distances and a similar spirit. This year's route took in loop past Dungavel, through Sandford, Stonehouse and out to the edge of Larkhall before swinging back to Glassford, Chapelton and up to Auldhouse at its most northwesterly point, then circling back into Strathaven.
Scottish heatwave in full force at the start of the RS50.
The weather didn't read the script. After a summer of heatwaves, Sunday brought wet, overcast conditions for the morning and the start of the ride, only drying out later with rain still threatening. The damp roads exposed a fair few deep potholes and patches of loose gravel, making for tricky, technical riding at pace, especially through the first 10-15 miles before the field thinned out after the Sandford feed stop. The second stop at Glassford, around 32 miles in, was very welcome indeed.
But the real story of the day wasn't the climbing or the weather, it was the tyres. The main group of five riders got through six punctures between them, five of which belonged to poor Dougie alone. He'd only had his first puncture on that bike the previous week, after seven years without a single flat, and joked about his rotten timing, only for it to happen five more times in one ride. Here's hoping that's a lifetime's bad luck spent in one go.
“I’m sure if I just hold my finger right here it’ll be fine”
Lesson learned for next year: everyone carries three tubes, half a dozen patches and maybe a spare tyre or two, just to get Dougie round the course.
Punctures and questionable weather aside, it was a great day on the bike with plenty of banter along the way. The Round Strathaven 50 remains superbly organised and stewarded, and continues to grow year on year. Entries typically open in March, with both the 09:30 and 10:30 start slots filling fast, so keep an eye on the WhatsApp group for the heads-up, or sign up directly at roundstrathaven50.org.uk.
L-R, Kevin “Steady” Owens, Billy “The Tractor” Ramsay, John “The Lone Biker” McCracken, Dougie “Bike” Ferguson and David “Mountain Goat” Millar.
Well done to everyone who braved the conditions this year, here's hoping for an even bigger LRC turnout in club colours next time round.
Club member John McCracken aka The Lone Biker on social media also made a great wee video of the day which you can watch below.
