Police appeal for witnesses as new attempt made to sabotage Etape Caledonia

So little traffic on the M74 and A66? Maybe between 3 and 4am...

I rode this fantastic event yesterday and was amazed by the road side support particularly on the 2nd half of the course. The route was not particularly challenging but the roads were great and the views fantastic.

I'm not sure Mr Lowe quite understands that half the point of the event is the type of roads and scenery that it goes through. I rode to the start down the A9 and that was the dullest and most uninspiring part of my day.

Thanks to Road CC and Zipvit for the Schwag giveaway that made it possible for me to take part!

@handlebarcam - now that would be satisfying!
@AV Lowe - please can you let me know of the times when the A74 & A66 is devoid of traffic? I regularly travel these roads and would like a good clear run when using them!!

It's good to see that this is being taken seriously but if there really was a ground swell of local opposition then it wouldn't have been an isolated occurance.

I live in Perthshire and I rode it yesterday.

Judging by the number of locals out supporting, some of whom had set up their own feed stations, I can assure you that there is overwhelming support for the Etape.

I was in aberfeldy a month ago for a training camp and everyone we spoke to was amazingly positive about the etape. AV Lowe might be right about the first year and most people dont like change but I bet the view is now completely the opposite. I think the vast majority realise how many cyclists the publicity of tape brings in that weekend and through out the year. Also no access for one day? If you care so much go away for the weekend or make better plans e.g. Go shopping on saturday.

Makes me want to do this event next year, if only to annoy the inbreeds who did this.

@A V Lowe

I don't know where you get your information from but "thrust on a significant body of the local population" is completely in error. The Anti-Etape protesters are a very small but vocal minority and if you had ever ridden the thing, you would know that at every village the event passes through; there are are an abundance of locals out clapping and cheering on every single cyclist.

The truth is completely at odds with your post and your ignorance precedes you.

Maybe it's time the organisers move the location of the Etape to somewhere else, where the locals appreciate the vast amounts of money spent on hotels, in restaurants, shops, etc for what is a small inconvience. The scenery is fantastic, but there's plenty more of that in Scotland!! If you so miserable you don't like it, try going away for the weekend somewhere, you never know you might even enjoy yourself, but probably not as you type of folk always find something to moan about. Every the cops will find out who did this and hopefully this time there will be some proper court action taken.

Really grateful that this was discovered before the event. Kind of ironic that it was a cyclist not part of the etape that got punctured

I rode the Etape Today. It was the best day on the bike ever. The course was stunning and lined from start to end with cheering locals. All the townsfolk and local businesses embrace it. We're talking about one mental case trying to kill people here so let's not pretend it's a mass voice. Stunning forests, lochs and mountains...or a MOTORWAY???? I think I know which one I'll choose. See you all next year Etape Caledonia riders and supporters... We've got a jewel here and long may it shine! F**K the haters!! My legs hurt but my soul feels great.

I get the impression from the first event that l'Etape Caledonia (Caledonie surely) was very much thrust on a significant body of the local population without any breaking in of a smaller, less ambitious event, in an area with a fairly limited network of roads (a road closure for works might for example add 90 miles to a 10-12 mile journey, as it has for example when the Oban-Fort William road or Bridge of Orchy-Glencoe routes have been so affected.

Ploughing on when local sensitivities are obviously seriously offended suggest that a bit of rethinking is needed to see if small changes might even mitigate the confrontation of the need for access and a closed road - using timber haul roads for local access (at lower speeds but not a total blockade) and looking slightly shifted over for places that half of a dual carriageway or the section of an earlier route might even be a workable option (given the ridiculous over capacity of the M9 A9 and M90 outside the peak commuting times, and at weekends, when a single carriageway is more than sufficient)

For the urban and mass participation events we have examples already of the running events in Glasgow using the M8 - cycling on the M77 and next week the M74, and from recent trips by car it is clear that, aside from the issue of having to manage the traffic using 3 lanes as a 2-way road, there is so little traffic using the M74 that it could easily be operating as a single carriageway for quite substantial periods at weekends. The UK lags miserably behind the US, South America, and many EU cities in not having weekend or once per month closure of these roads for mass public participation events. Ciclovias for all!

A fortnight ago I only saw 6 trucks (and not a single car) heading South between Hamilton and Beattock Summit and in the 50 miles between the A1 and the M6 (A66) just 1 truck and 3 other cars travelling in my direction. If the motorways are this quiet they present a ready made closed road opportunity, where a parallel route HAS to be available to carry non-motorway traffic, and the M74 provides some pretty challenging terrain and exposed windy sections, with the potential to get up to some impressive speeds with plenty of room.