Hi, I’m Shamsh and this is my story…

Or, how within 2 years of joining Stourbug I found myself on a ‘monster’ of a bike ride…

I’ve certainly enjoyed some local cycling with Stourbug since joining the club, and have been increasing the distances I’m riding and I’ve also made some new good friends.

What I hadn’t envisaged when I joined the club was that within 2 years I’d be taking on a big cycle challenge in Scotland involving some tough climbs and typical Loch Ness weather; that came courtesy of my ‘kind’ family… “Dad likes cycling, for his birthday present let’s enrol him in The Etape Loch Ness, he’ll enjoy that!”

In case you’re not familiar with this challenge its Scotland’s finest and most subscribed Sportive. The ride starts and ends in Inverness and in 2026 attracted 6600 riders. It’s a closed road event covering 65 miles circling Loch Ness; roads are closed from the start at 6.30am for 5 hours 40 minutes with an expected ride time of 5 hours at an average 13mph, so no pressure then!

It’s an early start, but luckily on the day it wasn’t too cold with only a brief shower and the riders were sent off in waves every 30 seconds with the fastest at the front. There’s an early drag, but the ride starts quite social with most riders happy to have a brief chat as they passed others or were passed.

There’s quite a mixture of riders – some in groups with disciplined behaviour and accompanied calls and hand signals, whilst others are more ‘casual’. Also, the range of bikes is broad, some shiny and expensive stuff, but also some rusty older bikes and I particularly admired one mature grey-bearded gentleman riding a vintage Raleigh with Dutch handle bars and classic Sturmey-Archer gears, along with a rack and panniers to suit. The finishing touch being the cavalry twill trousers, leather brogues and tweed jacket; respect was due to him as he was moving at a very reasonable pace.

There were lovely views of Loch Ness, and the local villages really embrace the ride with lots of pavement support including cheering and bells and whistles to encourage the riders.

The event overall was superbly organised with lots of help and guidance and the support stations were incredible with multiple food choices from pies and cakes to energy bars and sweets, plus lots of supportive volunteers smiling and encouraging us all.

What makes this ride a proper challenge is the mid-point climb which features a nearly 5 mile continuous ascent up to the Glendoe summit. The gradient averages about 4.7% but it’s the sudden, brutal ramps of 12% and above which really make your legs burn.

I do confess (along with others) to taking the opportunity to walk for a few minutes when I reached a few of the more gruelling sections. My road bike doesn’t have the advantage of low ratio climbing gears and my 16 week training plan didn’t get me through the very worse inclines. However, I made it to the peak and was inspired to hear the Single Piper doing his thing with the bagpipes. After a few moments of self-praise at the summit the pleasure of a long steep downhill section awaited. That’s the fun part of cycling this ride with 20 miles of fast paced undulating road with riders now well spread out creating clear roads and not too many sharp bends.

The home straight was the best part for me with the final support station, the pumping music and lots of local supporters, with the final mile being in full view of the crowds waiting at the finish line. The atmosphere was quite inspiring and we all made a final effort to cross the finish line in style.

This was my first Sportive and I’m really glad I took it on. I managed to complete the course within the road-closure window and I certainly broke quite a few of my own personal records. It made all the preparation that I’d done during the colder winter period leading up to the event more than worthwhile.

I’m now thinking about 2027…