Ride The North 2024: The 100 Mile Tour of Angus
It finally happened. August 24th rolled around, and it was time to head to Arbroath for my date with destiny. This was the first time I’d ridden 100 miles in one day since I was 16 years old, (over 40 years ago), and although I was confident I could do it, the ‘hundred’ was a milestone I needed to break. I’d like to say a huge ‘THANK YOU’ to those who sponsored me. I haven’t yet closed the JustGiving funding page, (4 September 2024), but to date I have raised £245, which my employer Morrisons will match fund, taking the total to £490 plus Gift Aid.
The Route of the Ride The North Challenge 2024: Tour of Angus 100 Mile Bike Ride
With over 2000 riders taking part, there was a real carnival atmosphere to the day, right from the start, and at every 10-mile checkpoint (which also served as a refuelling point, where you could either just refill your water bottle or go the whole hog and go for sausage rolls, home bakes, the works, depending on what you wanted out of the day. The buzz at the sea front, with riders chatting in groups, some who were along for a fun day out, others who were serious racers out to put in a PB (personal best), and who had obviously taken part in many, many such events. The bikes and the gear reflected the intentions of the participants. There was a great reception every 10 miles, where you could take a comfort break, get your checkpoint card stamped, water bottle filled, and bike serviced if necessary. I found out later getting the checkpoint card stamped was optional and would have kept going for the sake of a better time, but there was something to be said for soaking up the atmosphere at the pitstops. For those wanting to make the event more of a social event more than anything else, there was the opportunity to stop for coffee, sausage rolls, home bakes, and more. In fact, it would probably have been possible to put on more calories than you burned off over the hundred miles. But for those not concerned with time over the distance, it certainly made it an extremely social occasion.
Anyone expecting this to be an easy ride was going to sorely disappointed. First of all, there were howling gales all day. It seemed that every way you turned, the wind had taken a new direction, so you were cycling directly into a headwind, no matter what. There were some absolute stinkers on this route. I did some of my training on the road from Cock Bridge to Tomintoul (the highest village in Scotland) and there were some ascents on this route that seemed every bit as gruelling as anything on that road. One look at an Ordnance Survey map will tell you the two don’t compare (243 m 645m). The difference may be that on this route the ascents are short, sharp shocks to the system, compared to the long, draw out grinds of the Tomintoul road. To my surprise, even some seasoned road bikers decided enough was enough, and opted to push their bikes up the hills. My pride would not allow me to do it, however, and despite having to snake from side to side on some of the worst stretches, I made it without having to get off and walk. I will never consider the rolling Angus countryside as described on VistScotland in the same light again! Not for nothing were parts of this route (most notably the stretches Linrathen to Cortachy, and Menmuir to Edzell) described as the Highway to Hell (probably with an intentional nod to Kirriemuir’s most famous resident, the sadly departed Bon Scott, but more of that in another post).
Mission Accomplished!
The finishing line at the end of the Ride the North Challenge 2024 Tour of Angus 100 Mile Bike Ride.
Never was the long descent to the finish line such a tonic to see. Those black and white chequered flags, at either side of the road and the word FINISH in block capitals was an absolute tonic! With the final stamp on the card a great ride was finally at an end.
As a final thought. For me personally, I’d broken the ‘hundred’ milestone. That was hugely important! Did I get the fantastic time I’d been hoping for? No, I didn’t. However, there were stops ever 10 miles; much of this was over extremely gruelling terrain, there was a howling gale blowing all day, and intermittent rain for much of it. Am I happy with the day? Absolutely! Bring on the next hundred miler!
