First things first.

If you ever get the chance to do an Etape take it, The experience is fabulous. Yes there are mass cycling events you can enter with similar types of course etc but none will have people out cheering you over the full length of the route. If there's a pilgrimage for cyclists then this has to be it.

Mission Accomplished

• Learn to ride a bike
• Lose weight
• Complete a stage of the Td'F

This was my second weekender after the torture of Fort William during the summer, I say torture but I can't actually remember much, apart from the very nasty climb up to drumochter and some very welcome ice cream and apple pie at dalwhinnie :-/. The destination for this weekender is Braemar with two killer/fun climbs, Glenshee and cairn'o'mount to bag. oh joy.

Day One

When asked to do the report of the recent weekender to Killin for our website I must admit I was tempted to cut and paste the last one I did from a few years back, as lets face it you would think that there are only so many permutations to get there and back, and surely only so many things that can happen on a bike run. But one great thing about cycling and weekenders in particular is the fact you can never tell; just what might happen!

Saturday 11th of October 100 miles

It was put up as a Thistle weekender but as it happens it ended up with only two Thistle riders ( Brian and Ali) and three Wheelers (Dave, Ian, Sheila) saying they were up for it. So it's the usual, meet at the gates at Camperdown, Saturday morning for nine and then head to Edzell and eventually Braemar.

I have been to the Northern French Alps and experienced the pain of the climbs that normally sort out the "Le Grand Boucle". I have been to Spain and suffered the heat and severity of the Pyrenees used in the "Vuelta". And I have visited Majorca several times, covering the Tromantano Mountains used in its early season "Tour". So now with my good friend Nick now residing and working in Holland an opportunity too good to be missed had to be utilized, a holiday to the Ardennes in Belgium to ride the roads used in some of the most famous "Classics".

Weekender? What a great idea! Fort William,

no bother, put my name down, I'll be there was the answer.

Great pass the word round, meet at Camperdown House for 9.00am start saturday.

As it happened it coincided with a photo shoot for the new inspiring club colours of the Wheelers. Nuff said about that!

Brian Petrie had arranged for the transport so we could do away with panniers. Racing bikes of course but not for racing this weekend!

Accommodation was arranged in advance at Brian's Aunt so it was just a matter of getting there.

It can't get any better than this - Full tilt down Glen Tilt. The fabulous Glen Tilt.

Even the early morning start at 8 am, or the fact that both Gary and Ryan were late, or even getting cold standing about couldn't dampen the excited, nervous feeling of tackling this great run.

In total there was four of us on the run -Brian, Ali , Ryan and Gary sadly Robert Muirhead called off with the cold.

Why did we do it? It was all for charity, I don't like to talk about all the charity work I do, but did I tell you it was for charity. I say it was for charity, the six months of planning right down to the last spoke had nothing to do with the fact I couldn't back out! Turned up in my LDV Pilot van a real passion wagon to collect Simon from Sittingbourne. Then headed west to Bath and the posse grew with Neil and Dan on board. West and further west to St. Just at Lands End where we were greeted by the friendly locals "Your late!" and the door slammed in our face.