I've signed up for this and I'm apprehensive about how I'll do (only been back cycling since June last year). If you do decide to give it a go and would like some company/mutual support then give me shout.
The Trossachs Ton is a fantastic event, it's my favourite sportive on the calendar by a very long way. You'll love it.
Sadly, I definitely won't be in attendance because of my injury. If I aggravate my knee it will put me right back to square one and I've only recently been able to ride much more than 20 miles before pain becomes a major problem.
I do however have some advice from my own experience of my first century sportive event (another Action Med Res one, the Renfrewshire 100 which goes through
@Brandane's home turf) that should hopefully make it more fun and less painful.
I let the nerves of the occasion get to me and I set off at a pace which was far too high for the route profile, as a result I ended up cracking very quickly indeed and had to painfully limp the remaining 70+ miles home at a massively reduced pace. I ended up wheel-sucking mountain bikers just to get back. I spoke to
@Louch about that event yesterday because yesterday was only the second time I've "met the man with the hammer" on a bike with someone around to witness it.
No matter how tempting it is, don't try to race people. If you can get into a fast group on the long flat out of Stirling and it doesn't cause you to get out of breath then go for it (it's great fun to be part of a chaingang, and groups tend to naturally form on this section because it's an open stretch of land and tends to be a bit headwindy), but don't knacker yourself trying to keep up with other people. Just because you can keep up with them on the flat doesn't mean you should ride out of your comfort zone to do so.
Ride at your own pace and listen to your body, as it's not a sprint, and there are some nasty climbs on the Trossachs Ton route that you will need to conserve energy for (one in particular comes very late in the day and is a tough effort even without tired legs) but for these climbs if you just focus on your breathing and heart rate and climb at a pace that doesn't make you uncomfortable and ignore what everyone else is doing you'll have a great time!
Have fun, I look forward to reading your ride report!
), although it would mean changing my name to match the frame decals...
Really want to do it again but on the form I've had this year, there's no chance.
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& photos, Arran showing itself from its best side...
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for a wee bit of this
and a wee bit of planting potatoes and other stuff at the allotment 
. There should be some rhubarb ready to harvest! 
