The Flying Scotsman Sportive

We are delighted to announce a brand new event, The Flying Scotsman Sportive with the routes specially chosen by Graeme Obree.  Anyone who has followed Graeme Obree and is familiar with his biography 'The Flying Scotsman" will be aware of the history of 'The Valley' with Galston, Newmills and Darvel prominent  during Graeme's early cycling days.

Graeme knows these roads like the back of his hand and has chosen routes to offer a challenge but also allow riders the opportunity to experience the beauty and relatively quiet roads which all add to the cycling experience. The geography around ‘The Valley’ is such that there is an abundance of rural roads many which rise steeply from the valley floor and cross over the hill tops. Graeme adds, ‘We are really fortunate that in and around Kilmarnock there are miles and miles of quiet roads where you can cycle till your heart is content and hardly ever see a car.  When I cycled over the Old Faithful route recently, once I was off the main road, I came across 3 cars and a tractor in almost 2 hours of cycling – it was not too difficult to keep a count with such a low volume of traffic and that allowed me to really enjoy the cycle without the pressure from traffic.

Graeme has chosen the two routes to provide a challenging sportive event. ‘The climbs and descents are of the short-sharp variety and will offer a stern test to all riders & I would strongly recommend that participants make sure they have appropriate gearing for steep climbs of the 1-2 mile variety.’

There will be 2 routes, Old Faithful a 44 mile route and The Beastie a 78 mile route.

Both routes are difficult with hard climbs and steep descents. All participants will need to be well prepared and bikes will need to be in tip top condition. With good preparation The Flying Scotsman Sportive offers a challenging but beautiful ride over roads Graeme rides often.

A little bit of history served up en route

The routes are laden in history. They both follow part of the Covenanters Trail and both travel right past the front door of a very famous Scot, Sir Alexander Fleming the inventor of Penicillin, who spent his young life in the hills overlooking The Valley. As The Beastie reaches Strathaven it passes the home of another famous Scot, entertainer Sir Harry Lauder before heading into the moors made famous when Hitler’s deputy Rudolph Hess crash landed his Messerschmitt 110 E-1/N in 1941.

The roads also pass Graeme’s primary school and are indeed the roads preferred by the young Flying Scotsman as Graeme escaped from the town to the country on his bike cultivating a passion for cycling that is as resonant and strong now as  it has ever been.

All in all riders are in for a treat provided the appropriate training is put in place and can anticipate an event with Police employed to assist the transition across the A71, comprehensive event signage, marshals on main junctions, first aid support, electronic timing, food stations, mechanical support, a broom wagon....and the chance to ride with The Flying Scotsman on his favourite roads.