Ride 12/05/2024 May Rondonee

Today was May’s Randonee, with 11 of us doing the Dunning loop. Weather wise it’s a little bit cooler than yesterday but dry and not much wind. We headed up and over Cleish before descending down to Crook of Deven and heading for Yetts. We would then head through Glendevon before turning right at Gleneagles and towards Dunning for our cafe stop. Just as we got to the top of Glendevon the mist came in and the temperature dropped quite a bit actually, to the point that I got quite cold as we headed for the cafe stop at Dunning. At the cafe stop I had soup, coffee and cake before we continued on. After food we would be heading for Bridge or Earn and then up the fun climb of Wicks O Baiglie, which to be honest I was glad of as I would be able to warm up at this point as I was still a bit cold after the cafe stop. After the climb we headed for Glenfarg and a loop around Loch Leven, by which point the weather had warmed up nicely to the point I would stay warm for the rest of the ride 😁 After Loch Leven the group split into 2 groups, one group heading home via Kelty and the other finishing off the full route of the ride, I was in that second group of 4 doing the full ride. The ride would finish by going to Cleish and up to Knockhill and over Knockhill before descending back down to Dunfermline. So 80 miles clock up today at an avg speed of 16 mph with a good elevation count of 4500 feet.

Ride 11/05/2024

Glorious day to be cycling 🌞😎 24 turned up for the bun, ultimately splitting into 3 groups, I joined the faster first group and headed for the cafe. Full summer kit out today, even had sun cream on 😉 Decent pace to the cafe stop were we sat outside for the first time this year in the heat and sunshine. After the usual food stuffs we headed back via Dollar and Yetts but given it was such a nice day 3 of us decided to get some extra in and took in a loop around Loch Leven before return via Ballingry, Kelty and Kingseat. So today I clocked up 60 miles at just over 18 mph which is good going for a 60 miles ride 😀

Ride 05/05/2024

So 5 of us on the bun run this morning, weather wise it’s overcast but dry, little wind and ok temperatures, to the point I could wear my cycling shorts today 😄 No Ken on the ride today, nor Nick, just me, the 2 Jon/Johns 😉 Bill and Steve Wallace. Usual route today to the cafe stop for Coffee and cake before heading back home again. We were riding a little faster than usual so we got the cafe about 5/10 mins quicker than usual, but not at what I would call breakneck speeds. We had a small head wind going to the cafe stop which would mean a small tail wind heading home but I was surprised at how fast we were cycling when I looked at the stats when I got home. Now I was expecting it to be quicker that normal from Cairneyhill to Dalgety bay since Jon and I were practicing for the 2 up TT in a couple of weeks but to avg 18 mph for the entire 55 miles ride was a surprise. What was shocking was Garmin saying this was a recovery ride! not at this pace Garmin. Admittedly I wasn’t knackered by the time I got home but I wasn’t exactly as “fresh as a Daisy” either. So bit of a funny ride, clocking up 55 miles at an avg speed of 18 mph which is probably one of the fastest Sunday rides I’ve done in a few years. I suppose ironically I do try to treat Sunday as a recovery ride but it’s usually at a slower pace of about 15 mph, maybe I need to ride faster on a Sunday 🤔 😁

Ride 04/05/2024

12 on the bun run this morning and weather wise it was overcast and a little wet to start with. It wasn’t raining as such, just very damp air, a reasonable temperature and little wind. The forecast was for rain so I went prepared in wet gear, which in the end I didn’t need 🙄 Took the usual route today, I wasn’t looking to do any extra, so had the usual beverage and roll at the cafe stop. My legs were still tired from this weeks riding so I wasn’t looking to go hard and try to do some zone 2/3 stuff. So after the cafe stop only 3 of us went down to Dollar and up to Yetts before going over Knockhill, me Colin and Rachael, which was fine as I wasn’t riding hard. So the usual 50 miles clocked up today but at a slower pace of 16 mph avg, with an hour and half in zone 2 and 46 min in zone 3 and what was left in zone 1 😁

Ride 28/04/2024

8 of us on the bun run today and weather wise it was another cold start but it did eventually warm up in the afternoon. Weather wise it was dry, not much wind and mostly overcast, just wish it was a bit warmer in the mornings 🙄 Anyway we decided to do a different route to the usual one and decided to head for the Bannockburn Coffee House, which meant a ride along the coast, over Kincardine Bridge and along past the Pineapple heading for Stirling. At the cafe it was Scrambled Eggs Royal, coffee and cake 🤗🍰☕👍 which went down a treat. Afterwards we headed for the hillfoots and along to Dollar before heading up to Dollarbeg. At this point I split from the group to go over Knockhill whilst they went up Saline before we would all meet up at Redcraigs again. From there on it was the usual route back to Dunfermline and home. So all in all a good days ride clocking up just under 58 miles at a cracking speed to 17.5 mph which is very good for a Sunday ride 😁

Ride 27/04/2024

Another good turn out for the bun run this morning. 24 of us turned up and then split into 3 groups, I was in the first group of about 8 riders. Weather wise it was cold in the morning but it did warm up a little bit by the afternoon but there was also some hail showers around which thankfully I missed altogether but the roads were quite wet 😉 Usual route today to the cafe stop for OJ and scrambled egg roll before heading back home again. Although by this point we were down to just 3 riders for the ride home, we opted to head down to Dollar and up to Yetts before swinging South for Powmill and up and over Knockhill. By this point it was sunny and remained so but I was still well wrapped up given the cold start this morning and grateful so as it barely hit 10 degrees by the time I got back home. So 50 miles clocked up at an avg speed 17 mph, another good Saturdays ride 😀

Ride 21/04/2024

What a wet day to be riding 💦 but there were 8 of us braving it today. It was pouring down but the rain was consistent and persistent for the duration of the ride. So even though I had my wet gear with me in the log run it didn’t stop me from getting wet and a little cold towards the end, especially my hands. Usual route today to the cafe stop for coffee and cake before heading back. Not a fast ride but I did get to my 50 target at an avg speed of 16 mph, but soaked through of course, lets hope for some better weather because so far this year it’s just been shite 😤

Ride 20/04/2024

A lot of people on the bun run this morning which meant we had to split into 3 groups again. Although it was a sunny day it was still cold to begin with barely getting to 10 degrees, so it wasn’t time for shorts just yet 🙂 I was in the first fast group of about 8 riders heading the usual route to the cafe stop for the usual beverages and fuel. After the cafe stop we decided to do some extra, given it’s a nice day it seemed the right thing to do 😉 We headed down to Dollar and then along to Milnathort before doing a loop around Loch Leven and then heading back to Dunfermline via Lochgelly, Cowdenbeath and Kingseat. I was looking to do 65 miles today so I headed right into Dunfermline rather than heading home from Cowdenbeath, before turning around in Dunfermline and heading back home, this gave me my target of 65 miles and a decent pace 17 mph, so all in all a good days ride 😀

Ride 14/04/2024 Galashiels Randonee

So this months Randonee is at Galashiels with 10 of us on the ride. Weather wise it was windy and wet, not the best conditions to do 80 miles in and the road surface was even worse 😣This made for a very hard 40 miles into a block headwind to our cafe stop and the rain showers didn’t help 😒Its got a fair bit of elevation in it too, not steep stuff but draggy stuff that saps your energy, so I was very glad to get to the cafe stop as I was running a bit low on energy at this point. Food wise, the cafe was so busy we had to have the left overs 😅 so it was Quiche with salad and some spare chips going around, but the best bit was the sticky toffee pudding with custard and thank God for that 😍I needed the calories plus my coffee. On the road back we would have the tailwind but OMG we hammered that 😳I was doing all I could to keep up with Alan and Paul, up until the point I got popped out the back, but that was enough to get a shit load of pb’s and a couple of cups 😁 I decided to just go TT mode from there on and kept that until I caught back up with Alan and Paul and just kept to my own pace from there on, which meant getting shot out the back a few times but I wasn’t caring at this point 😄 So 81 miles clocked up at an avg speed of just shy of 18 mph, which is quite impressive given by the time we got the cafe stop my avg was only 15 mph, we really did make up for it in the last 40 miles back home 😎

Ride 13/04/2024

We had a large group of riders today, which meant we had to split into 3 groups heading for the cafe stop. Weather wise it was dry but windy, so it was a strong headwind all the way to the cafe in the fast group I was in. Given how windy it was we managed to get to the cafe at an avg speed of 18 mph 😮to the usual of about 16-17 mph. Usual food at the cafe before we headed back. Things split up here a bit as people were going all different routes home but I was in a group of 8 heading down to Dollar and Yetts before returning home over Knockhill. Of course we did have the benefit of a tail wind at this point so we still kept up a decent pace 😉So 50 miles clocked up today at an avg speed of over 17 mph which is fine with me and tomorrows ride will be the second Randonee of the year down in Galashiels.

Ride 06/04/2024

About 18 on the bun run this morning with decent weather, at least in the morning, dry, little wind and not cold, things would change later one when the storm starts to pick up. We split into 2 groups, with me in the first, faster group, heading for the usual cafe stop. It had rained the night before so the roads were wet but it wasn’t raining anymore. This did present some issues with the route we take and some very large puddles we had to ride through but once past these it was pain sailing. Usual OJ and roll at the cafe stop before he headed back. It was at this point we would start to see (feel) the affects of the storm as we would be riding into a headwind. Thankfully it wasn’t up to full strength just yet but it did make you work for the distance 😉the full 40+ mile and hour winds would hit after I got home, so thankfully I missed those out. No extra mileage today, again because of the forecast strong winds today and as such we took the usual route home over Knockhill and back into Dunfermline. So only 45 miles clocked up but at close to an avg speed of 17 mph and no riding tomorrow as the winds will be 50 mph 😲

Ride 31/03/2024

Well it’s a good day for a ride, sunny, dry, a little bit of wind but not too cold, in fact by the time I finished my ride Garmin said it was 14 degrees 😲😀 There were a few people at the Glen gates this morning but I opted to ride with Ken rather than the wider group, I was looking for an easier ride today 😉 We headed a similar route to the cafe stop but with some slight alterations to skip out some of the hills, so no Knockhill, straight down Saline and down to Dollar before heading to Tillicoultry and back up to Coalsnaughton and the cafes stop for the usual coffee and cake. Again we headed a slightly different route back, skipping out Kincarding and heading for Oakley and into Dunfermline that way. I was looking for 55 miles today so I followed Ken down hill through Fordell before swinging back uphill to Mossmorran and home, thus clocking up 56 miles at an avg speed of 15 mph.