Ride 17/05/2026 May Randonee

Well it was me, myself and I on the May Randonee again, and weather wise, whoever said it was light wind and rain was in cloud cuckoo land 😠It was windy and absolutely hammered it down to the point even with all my wet gear on I was soaked to the skin after 10 miles. My hands were frozen and numb and it was getting very sketchy to continue in this weather 😳 I abandoned it there and then and headed back to Falkirk, which was, thankfully, still dry and sunny. So I rode around in the wind hoping to dry me off a bit, still frozen, but I didn’t want to drive home soaking wet and ruin my car. After doing 30 miles I was still damp but not friggin soaked still, and it had started to rain by this time in Falkirk to. So, 30 miles clocked up at a pathetic 13 mph, thanks to the wind and rain 😤 Having done this ride last year, on a dry day, it’s a decent ride with some good elevation in it, but I’ll try another day, when it’s drier and warmer.

Ride 16/05/2026

Todays ride was a different one to the norm, I decided to join some of the boys doing a 100 mile ride around Loch Earn. Weather wise it was cold to start with, so I was wrapped up today and thankful for it. It did eventually warm up a bit as the sun came out and the wind was calm, so overall it was actually a good day to do the ride on. 9 of us turned up to do the ride with the route going over Knockhill and through Glendevon to Gleneagles before heading north to Crieff where we had our first cafe stop. A cup of coffee and fried egg roll later we were back on the road heading to Comrie and Loch Earn. It was from about here that I was at the head of the group leading in single file, the road can be busy and it’s a main 50 mph road all the way to Callendar. Thankfully I wasn’t going fast so I could ride all the way to Callendar without stopping or someone else taking a turn. At Callendar we had our second cafe stop, again glad for that I had ridden 70 miles at this point on nothing more than egg roll, breakfast and energy gel, so some good food was required. I had the soup, cake and coke to top me up before we carried on, this time not me leading, I must have clocked up 20 miles in the front by this point 😉 From here we cycled the quieter roads back to Stirling were some of the guys stopped for ice cream, I was feeling fine so I didn’t bother. From here it was the usual roads to Alloa, Clackmannan, Kincardine and the coastal road back to Dunfermline. Basically this was a 4 hours of zone 2 and two hours of zone 1, so it was a very pleasant ride for the day. 115 miles clocked up at an avg speed of just over 16 mph, not too shabby for the first 100 miler of the year 😁

Ride 10/05/2026

13 of us on the bun run this morning and weather wise it was sunny, dry but still cold to start with. Again it was a easy steady pace to the cafe stop for coffee and cake, most of that with a head wind, before we headed back. Now we had a tail wind and the pace picked up a little bit but still easy riding. It did start to warm up a bit but I was glad for the winter layers that I was still wearing. So, 50 miles clocked up and just under 17 mph, not too bad for a easy Sunday ride 🙂

Ride 09/05/2026

3 of us on the early bun run and weather wise we seemed to have skipped spring and summer and gone straight to autumn 😕 It was cold, wet and a little windy this morning, and as much as it wasn’t pouring down, it was spitting all the way around the route which meant by the time I got to the cafe stop I was a bit damp. The usual roll and orange juice were had today before we joined up with one of the other groups to make 9 or us riding back home. The weather was just as bad only this time it was a head wind all the way back. I decided to go over Knockhill today, didn’t see any reason to do more or go further given the circumstance, so just rode a hard pace over the hill before heading back down to Dunfermline and home. So, 55 miles clocked up at an avg speed of 17 mph.

Ride 03/05/2026

6 of us on the bun run this morning and weather wise it’s overcast, damp with possible rain, but most of all cold 😳 I stepped out of the house to start the ride and immediately went back in for warmer clothes. Thankfully it never actually rained but I was glad for the warmer clothes, stayed warm the entire ride, just as well since I wasn’t riding hard. At the cafe stop I had my usual coffee and cake before we continued home. It’s nice to have a really easy ride now and then, I don’t get them often, but this one was a pleasure. So I clocked up 48 miles at an avg speed of 15 mph on a really good recovery ride after an harder week than normal 😊

Ride 02/05/2026

8 of us on the bun run this morning and it was the start of the faster 08:30 ride 🙂 Weather wise it was dry, a little overcast to start with and a little windy but at least we would start with a tailwind. The route to the cafe is also slightly different by adding an additional 5 miles to make sure we don’t get to the cafe before it opens. I was tired from yesterday’s ride so was happy to not lead out this morning, at kept my stints at the front to the necessary. At the cafe stop I had my usual roll and orange juice before deciding to take the longer flatter route home via Milnathort and Kelty, wasn’t really in the mood to go over Knockhill after going up Alp de Zwift yesterday. So by the time I got home I had clocked up 58 miles at an avg speed of over 18 mph.

Ride 25/04/2026

22 of us on the bun run this morning, on a very chilly start to the day. Not too much wind about although we did have a tail wind to start with. I joined the first group of 9 of us heading for the cafe stop. I had my usual roll and orange juice today on the assumption I would be back tomorrow for my coffee and cake, but thats not going to happen now since we are doing a different route tomorrow. Anyhow it was a slightly windy return, still overcast and cold, at least until we hit Knockhill where I got a bit of a warm up 😁 By the time we got back to Dunfermline the sun hard started to come out and the day was starting to warm up. So, 47 miles clocked up at an avg speed of over 17 mph.

Ride 19/04/2026 Galashiels Randonee

So today was the clubs April Randonee in Galashiels and it was me myself and I on the ride 🤨 The weather was fine, a bit overcast in places, sunny spells in others and a steady wind for most of the journey. It’s a bit of a loop ride going west to Innerleithen from the start point at Galashiels, before you turn a southern route down to Eskdalemuir where the cafe stop was, about 45 miles to this point. There’s a decent amount of climbing to get here but since I was on my own I could go my own pace, so it was a Zone 2 day for me 😃 At the cafe I had some coffee and cake before heading back to Galashiels via Selkirk this time, which is a good route since it’s mostly downhill all the way 😁 with a small climb back up to Galashiels towards then end. So, 81 miles clocked up at an avg speed of 17 mph.

Ride 18/04/2026

26 on the bun run this morning on a slightly wet and windy day, and given the weather forecast I was surprised so many turned up. I joined the first group of 8 heading for our cafe stop. Again into a headwind all the way but thankfully the rain never came whilst riding, and we even had a few sunny spots. I had my usual coffee and cake at the cafe stop since I won’t be back tomorrow due to the Randonee in Galashiels. On the way back we went the usual route over Knockhill and even though it was a bit windy I still managed to clock up 47 miles at an avg speed of over 17 mph 😃

21 of us on the bun run this morning and weather wise it was wet and windy to start with, and although it dried up a bit the wind just got stronger and stronger throughout the day. We split into 3 group with me joining the first group of 9 to head for the cafe. At the cafe I had my coffee and cake as again I’m not cycling tomorrow due to the very high winds forecast. On the return leg the wind picked up and we were heading into it over Knockhill. Again I took the shorter route home to try and miss the windy conditions forecast this afternoon, but it did brighten up on the way home with some sunny spells. So 47 miles clocked up at an avg speed of 17 mph, slightly slower than the norm due to the weather and me taking it easy today, the TT race season kicks off next week so I don’t want to go too crazy this week. 🙂

Ride 11/04/2026

Ride 04/04/2026

22 of us on this morning’s bun run and weather wise it was sunny but cold and dry but it was forecast for rain later one in the day. I joined the first group with 9 of us in with a slight head wind to start with but nothing too difficult to ride through. I had my coffee and cake at the cafe stop, due to me not riding tomorrow due to store Dave. On the way back, with a slight tail wind, I opted to go over Knockhill as it’s the shorter route and I wanted to get back home again before the rain hit, and I timed it perfectly as it just started to rain as I was walking in the door at home 😄 So, 47 miles clocked up at an avg speed of 17 mph.

Ride 28/03/2026

20 of us on the bun run this morning and weather wise, it was sunny interval with a little rain and a lots of wind. So I went with the first group straight into a head wind all the way to the cafe stop. Given the wind we actually kept a decent pace, but it was hard work, so at the cafe stop I had coffee and cake to my usual Saturday refuel 😁 After the cafe stop we had a very strong tail wind which made for some first times home. This also meant that when I went over Knockhill I set a PB that was 30 sec faster that before 🤩 I was also rushing a little bit to get home to have time to go to the movies and watch Project Hail Mary. So, 47 miles clocked up at an avg speed of 17 mph.