Ride 08/11/2026 Nov Randonee – Windygates

9 of us on this months Randonee to Windygates and weather wise it’s pretty much the same as yesterday but no rain 🙂 Todays route would take us through Crossgates, Auchtertool, Kirkcaldy, Buckhaven and into Windygates, which has been quite some time since I’ve been here. We would then go through the Balgonie’s, Thornton, Kinglassie and just before we hit Scotlandwell we would stop at our cafe stop at Lochend Farm shop where I had my usual coffee and cake (Raspberry crumble 😋 ). We would then do a loop around Loch Leven before heading back home via Kelty and Cowdenbeath, thus clocking up 60 miles at an avg speed of 15 mph.

Ride 07/11/2026

10 on the bun run this morning and weather wise it’s not bad, little wind, not cold and for the most part dry, although it was forecast to rain, which it did towards the end of the ride. I joined the first group today doing the normal route down to the cafe stop, and we were lucky with the weather as it stayed dry, but I was still in full wet gear mode in preparation of the impending rain. I had the usual coffee and cake at the cafe stop before we headed back home. Given the conditions today we opted to just do the usual route over Knockhill rather than via Milnathort, and it was as we were going over Knockhill that the rain started. Thankfully not too heavy and I had my rain jacket so I wasn’t soaked by the time I got home. So 47 miles clocked up at an avg speed of 17 mph.

Ride 01/11/2026

12 of us on the bun run this morning and weather wise it was quite good 😊 sunny, little wind and not cold, surprising for November. Anyway, rather than the usual route we did a different one heading for the cafe stop at the Coffee Bothy, which meant we would be skipping out Knockhill and taking a mostly flat route. Having taken a week off cycling for Marcus and the kids, doing an easier route was fine with me, besides it’s been a while since I’ve been to the Coffee Bothy. At the cafe stop I had a bagel with avocado and tomato, coffee and Toffee Sludge cake which was delicious 😋 For our route back home we went via the Pineapple and Airth before crossing the Kincardine bridge and following the coastal route back to Dunfermline. So overall I did 55 miles at an avg speed of 16 mph on what turned out to be a great ride for this time of year 😁

Ride 18/10/2026

9 of us this morning on the Sunday bun run and man it was a cold one to start with 🥶 sunny yes but bloody freezing. We were just doing the usual route today and thankfully it was still dry so no ice to worry about. I did eventually warm up a bit but it took a while, at which point we weren’t too far from our cafe stop. At the cafe stop I had my usual coffee and cake before we headed back home again. So, 50 miles clocked up at an avg speed of 16 mph.

Ride 17/10/2026

Today I was doing another alternative route with some of the guys, again down to Dunning but via a different way than a couple of weeks ago, but still with the cafe stop at Dunning golf club. There was 11 of us doing this today and weather wise it was sunny with little wind but still bloody cold to start with 🥶 I had full winter kit on but for the first hour I was freezing with nippy finders and ears and even with my overshoes on my feet were cold. Anyway thankfully as we got around to Dollar I was starting to warm up a bit and not freeze my arse off. Rather than cycling through Glen Devon like we did last time we would go down Dunning Common hill directly to Dunning and our cafe stop, so it was a bit shorter this way. At the cafe stop I had soup, coffee and cake, and most delicious it was 😁 We would still return the same route as last time, up Glenfarg but take a slight detour via Duncrievie to get back to Milnathort, Kinross and Cowdenbeath before I split from the group to head home. So, 73 miles clocked up at a casual speed of 15 mph 😊

Ride 11/10/2026

12 of us on the Oct Randonee and the first one this year that I haven’t cycled on my own 🤨 Weather wise we lucked out as it was dry, little wind and warm for an October day, but I’m not complaining 😉 Today’s route was the usual California route of my old stomping grounds in Falkirk, which although hilly is a great route IMHO. We started out along the coastal road heading for Kincardine and over the bridge heading for Falkirk. From here we would climb up to Shieldhill and finally California, afterwards it was some lumpy stuff to Torphichen and our cafe stop at Beecraigs Country park. Here I had some lovely lentil soup, coffee and a Kit Kat, a big chunky one 😁 Afterwards we would then head back down to Kirkliston before going over the Forth road bridge and back home again. I did a little bit extra to make the 100 Km for the day but overall I clocked up 63 miles at an avg speed of 15 mph, on what turned out to be a great days ride 👍

Ride 10/10/2026

26 on the bun run today and weather wise, well it might be sunny but it was cold and very windy. I joined the first group of 10 heading into the head wind for the usual cafe stop. It was quite the slog to get there but we made it, so I had coffee and cake for today. With the new winter bike, which is heavier than my summer bike, I was feeling it on the hills but still able to hold a good pace, especially now that we were heading home we had a tail wind to assist us 😁 I didn’t bother with any extra today and stuck to the normal route since I’ll be doing the Randonee tomorrow. So, 48 miles clocked up at an avg speed of 17 mph and after being on holiday this week and already clocking up 163 miles, this was enough for me.

Ride 03/10/2026

I was not doing the usual bun run this morning, I was going to join some of the other guys in doing a longer ride today as the weather could afford it. It was a dry day, with some sunny spell, but a little chilly to start with but not too windy. I was wrapped up in some of my winter gear to start with but not the multi layer cold weather stuff, so I was quite cozy today 😊 There was 10 of us doing a ride into Stirling and back with a cafe stop at the Smiddy. It was the usual route to start with but when we got to Kincardine bridge we crossed over and headed for the Pineapple. It was a flatish route today at a very steady pace, so once past the Pineapple we headed around Cambusbarron and onto the road to Doune. We wouldn’t get as far as Doune before we got to our cafe stop at the Smiddy where I had some smoked salmon and scrambled eggs on toast with coffee and strawberry tart to finish it off 😋 a most delicious meal for a bike ride 😁 After the cafe stop we headed along packers lane back into Stirling before following the road back to Alloa, fishcross and back down to Kincardine and back along the way we had started the day to Dunfermline. All in all a great days ride where I clocked up 75 miles at an avg casual pace of 16 mph 👍

Ride 27/09/2026

Given today’s weather I decided to do a ride on my own and start an hour earlier than the bun run. It was forecast to rain most of the day but it would be dry early in the morning, so I started an hour earlier than normal to make the most of the opportunity. It was a good idea as half my ride was in the dry but the last half was in the rain. So, I was riding with full wet gear to start the ride with this morning and I was doing a very similar route to the normal bun run ride but I would skip out the cafe stop in Stirling Mills cafe. I didn’t see any point in stopping at the cafe wet and get cold only to start riding again after the stop and still be wet and cold. To that end when I got to Dollar instead of cycling for Tillicoultry I headed up Dollarbeg, the old route we used to take, and along to Fishcross that way before continuing back home on the usual roads. By this point the rain was on so by the time I got back home I was still soaked but it was still better to only be half a ride in the rain rather than the full ride in the rain 😉 So, I clocked up 47 miles at an avg speed of 16 mph on a casual ride for the day.

Ride 26/09/2026

Today’s bun run was a little different as I was joining with the second group to do a different route. Weather wise, it’s ok, a little bit of wind, no rain and some sunny spells here and there but a little chilly to start with, so I was wrapped up today. Since I was with the second group the cafe stop would be at Mona’s of Muckhart so although we would start on the same route as per usual we would diverge at Kennet and head for Forestmill instead before dropping down to Dollar and riding up to Pool of Muckhart and our cafe stop. I had coffee and cake before the 6 of us headed for our ultimate route of Stonarchie and Path of Condie. It was nice to be able to get back into the Ochil hills as it’s a great place to cycle, if you like hills 😁 Although not particularly steep or long it was enough to get some efforts in going up the hills before we headed back down into Milnathort. From here it was the usual route back through Kinross, Kelty and Cowdenbeath before getting back home again. It was a great ride to do especially since I wouldn’t be hammering myself to keep up with the group and could do the efforts when I wanted to. So, 65 miles clocked up at and avg speed of 15 mph and a good amount of climbing for the day 😃

Ride 20/09/2026

6 of us on the bun run this morning, although it would be only 3 of us at the end. Weather wise it was sunny and dry but still bloody windy 😕 We decided to do a longer ride today and not the usual bun run route. We would still start the normal way by going over Knockhill (at which point we lost 2 riders), but rather than going down into Dollar we turned north and headed through Glendevon, which you think was a good idea as it should have been crosswinds all the way, didn’t turn out like that. I was leading at this point and heading uphill into a head wind all the way which made it quite the slog. Thankfully once through we would turn right heading towards Auchterarder but not actually enter the town before we swung for Dunning which is where we were going for our Cafe stop, and now we had a roaring tailwind pushing us along making things a lot better 😊 At the cafe stop I had a cheese and pickle toastie, coffee and cake 😋 and it was here we lost our 3 rider, before we headed on towards Bridge of Earn we just the 3 of us and me still leading 😆 Anyway once were were in Bridge of Earn we headed up Glenfarg and along to Milnathort and Kinross before heading all the way back to Cowdenbeath at which point I relinquished the lead and let David lead as we were going a route I hadn’t been through before. We cut through Hill Beath High school which I didn’t know you could do, so some new routes learned, and this took us out on the road to Hill of Beath and which point I knew where I was and it was a short home from this point. So, 67 miles clocked up at an avg speed of 16 mph, which was a good ride but a tiring one as this gave me over 200 miles for the week.

Ride 19/09/2026

21 on the bun run this morning and weather wise it’s very windy indeed 😯 that and along with the rain made for an interesting ride. 10 of us were in the first group riding into that head wind making the ride to the cafe stop hard. In fact by the time we got to the cafe stop there were only 5 of us left, everyone else had pulled off for home. So, I had my usual roll and orange juice at the cafe but at least the ride back would be with a very strong tailwind 😀 But before that I had to warm up, the rain and wind had made me wet and cold by the time I got to the cafe stop and going again afterwards was a struggle. Anyway I decided to just follow the other guys and just go the normal route over Knockhill, which was an even tough ride due to the fact of the cross winds and my winter bike being a lot heavier than my summer one. Suffice to say by the time I got to the top of the hill I was sweating buckets 🥵 and now we were down to 3. Anyway at least it had stayed dry up to this point and would remain so until I got home, at which point the heavens opened up but at least I was inside at that point. So, 47 miles clocked up at an avg speed of 17 mph 🙂