18.05.07 - It is only a week now before the Chain Reaction Cycles TransScotland (powered by Merida Bikes) will open its registration at the Rugby Club in Selkirk – the home of the Selkirk round of the Merida Marathon Series. With the Penrith round of the marathon series being completed our focus turns now entirely towards the upcoming TransScotland event. Preparations have been ongoing since we finished last year’s TransWales but they have certainly come to a climax over the last few weeks.

Before we head up to Selkirk we want to give riders and non riders a quick update on what is going to happen over the duration of the event. For that we have put a ‘location plan’ together which will give visitors, support crew and the riders the chance to plan their TransScotland trip.

Locations and stages for TransScotland 2007 (correct at time of distribution – please check website for updates)

Sat 26th May: START/REGISTRATION - Selkirk Rugby Club

Sun 27th May: DAY 1 – Start: Selkirk Rugby Club – Finish: Moffat Rugby Club, Holm Road, Moffat – Length of course: approx. 76km with 2100m of climbing

Mon 28th May: DAY 2 – Start: Moffat Rugby Club – Finish: Drumlanrig Castle – Length of course: approx. 45km with 1150m of climbing – special stage (afternoon) in Drumlanrig Woods

Tues 29th May: DAY 3 – Start: Drumlanrig Castle – Finish: Buittle Place Farm, Castle Douglas – Length of course: approx. 100km with 2000m of climbing

Wed 30th May: DAY 4 – Special stage (morning) in Dalbeattie Forrest – Start (linking stage): Dalbeattie Forest – Finish: Lochhill Farm, New Abbey – Length of course: approx. 59km with 1300m of climbing

Thurs 31st May: DAY 5 – Special stage (morning) in Mabie Forrest – Start (linking stage): Mabie Forrest – Finish: Moffat Rugby Club, Holm Road – Length of course: approx. 64km with 1200m of climbing

Friday 1st May: DAY 6 – Start: Moffat Rugby Club – Finish: Glentress Bike Hub / trail head – Length of course: approx. 65km with 2100m of climbing – special stage (night) in Glentress Forest

Sat 2nd May: DAY 7 – Start: Glentress Bike Hub – Finish: Selkirk Rugby Club – Length of course: approx. 63km with 2300m of climbing

Daily updates:
We are again equipped with a 3G card and will be able to send ‘almost’ live reports from the Chain Reaction Cycles TransScotland. We are aiming at giving you a daily report of the previous day’s events with results and standings and with as many photos as we can send through. Simply go onto the event website mtbtransuk.co.uk and click on the daily reports in the news section on the left hand side of the homepage. Alternatively you can check out the reports on www.bikemagic.com and on www.singletrackworld.co.uk.

Registration, timetable and location:
The registration of the Chain Reaction Cycles TransScotland will be based in the event village at the Selkirk Rugby Club. You can see the exact location here: http://www.streetmap.co.uk/ but it will also signposted from Friday afternoon onwards. For all the GPS users the postcode is TD75AX.



The registration will be open from 12 (noon) pm – 8 pm on Saturday (23rd May 2007). There is NO registration on Sunday morning. If you are delayed for whatever reason please ring us on 07976 586418. Please keep in mind that the registration process is a little bit more time consuming than at the Merida Bikes Marathons so we can only suggest to arrive fairly early to avoid long queues.

We will have the official welcome and the briefing just after 8pm so please make sure you stay around for that. The start of the 1st stage is on Sunday morning at 9am from the event village at the Selkirk Rugby Club.

Shuttle service
Due to the increase in riders from outside the UK we have put together a shuttle service from Edinburgh Airport to Selkirk and back which will run on the 23rd May (pickup from the airport) and on the 3rd (drop at the airport). We already had quite a few riders who want to make use of this service which will be contacted over the next day or so. If you haven’t booked yourself in please send an email to info@mtbtransuk.co.uk.

Goody bag
The event holdall will again be filled with a few bits and pieces and rather importantly with a bottle of The Mix Insect Bloc 100% natural insect repellent kindly donated by the guys from www.insectsolutions.co.uk. They will also join the event at 2-3 location to make sure that nobody runs out of this great repellent.

Sports Nutrition for the weeks Riding
As everybody knows from last year to get through 7 days of riding you need to be well stocked up on and consume plenty of Energy Drinks, Gels and Bars, especially important is the last hour of your ride and the first hour after completing your days riding when your body is ready to be refuelled and restored with carbs and protein for muscle recovery. The products best suited for this are High5’s Protein Recovery Summer Fruits flavour which you can mix with water or High5’s EnergySource 4:1 which can also be used during the ride and makes an excellent and light protein recovery drink immediately after the ride. For during the ride you are advised to drink EnergySource or EnergySource 4:1 and consume one Energy Gel or half an EnergyBar per hour of riding. Don’t let your body go without the fuel it needs to complete this ride as the effects can be very long lasting and will spoil your week – start everyday with at least 1000 calories in your backpack and possibly some spares as well – just in case your or a fellow rider needs it. All of these items can be purchased at www.high5-online.com or if you email with your requirements he will bring your order with him to the start in Selkirk. The High5 mobile shop will once again be travelling with us which means you will be able to stock up everyday.

Scientific study
The guys from the University of Glasgow have joined forces with the Chain Reaction Cycles TransScotland stage challenge and will be conducting a scientific investigation over the duration of the event into the ability of several commercially available ‘sports drinks’ to: maintain hydration, provide energy and aid recovery during prolonged competition. They already managed to get quite a few guinea pigs on board but could do with a handful more. If you are interested and keen to get some free energy stuff and a detailed analysis of your fitness level make sure you get in touch with Dr Andrew Cathcart: , Tel: 0141 3302585.

Last minute preparations
Our website holds lots and lots of information about the upcoming event. Please make sure that you read the requirements page http://mtbtransuk.co.uk/scotland/requirements.php before you come up as well as the FAQ’s page (http://mtbtransuk.co.uk/scotland/faqs.php) as they will answer lots of questions you might still have. Obviously if there are any further questions you might have simply email us on info@mtbtransuk.co.uk or call .

Entries:
We are still getting entries, and there are a few places left. You can still send entry forms and payments to us or if you really keen simply enter on the day at the Rugby Club in Selkirk – please be aware that we don’t have any credit or debit card facilities. If you want to make sure that entries are still available or if you want to check any other details please call 07976 586418 after Wednesday lunchtime. Up to then we are still on the usual +44 (0) 117 9046944 number.

So I believe that is it – hope to see you (rider or non rider) at the beginning of the TransScotland and if that fails then at least at the finishing party on the evening of the 2nd June 2007 at the Selkirk Rugby Club.