Ride 12/06/2022 Club Glen Lyon Randonee

Well it’s been 2 weeks since my last ride due to my bike being in for a service, and boy did I feel that today! I started out early as I wanted to get some extra miles in today and the weather for this afternoon was rain along with the already windy day. I decided I would go along to Kelty and up the hill along to Saline before heading back to Dunfermline to meet up with the club run this morning at 10:00. I could tell from the get go that I was going to struggle as my power was down and my heart rate was higher that usual. Once I meet up with the guys we headed out via the usual route only I wasn’t expecting them to go quite so fast. By the time we got to the cafe stop I was averaging over 17 mph which is fast for a Sunday ride, although we did have a tail wind assist but this meant the ride back we would struggle against a head wind. Coffee and cake as per usual and it was back on the road, and again we were still going quite fast even for a head wind. I followed the guys who were heading for Dalgey Bay and by the time I got to the point we would part ways I was still averaging 16.9 mph :-o, suffice to say this was going to take a big hit by the time I started heading up hill back to Crossgates. I was knackered by this point so my speed and power took a nose dive and by the time I got back home my avg speed was down to 16.5 mph. But I had managed to get my 65 miles target so I was happy with that and now it’s time to relax

Ride 12/06/2022 Club Glen Lyon Randonee

Well today was the clubs Glen Lyon Randonee, starting at Aberfeldy and going over Ben Lawers hill and back around to Aberfeldy. It was a real mixed bag of weather today, rain, sun and wind plus a couple of mechanics including me as one of them. The ride started out ok with 11 of us doing the ride today but after about 20 odd miles one of the guys cracked his bike frame and so ended his ride there. We made it to the cafe stop at Killin ok where I had some soup, coffee and cake We then had the big climb of the day up and over Ben Lawers, having never climbed this hill, it was a great climb, up to about 1800 feet high. New tarmac had been laid so the ride was a smooth one up and over but once we hit our next stop, shutters, I was missing 3 gears and wondering why. On investigation it turned out to be a snapped gear cable which left me with only 1 gear after that Thankfully the route was flat all the way back so I was able to make it back to the start. So it was an eventful day with me clocking up 55 miles at an avg speed of 15 mph but still a nice ride to do

Ride 11/06/2022

Given after Thursday brutal ride I wasn’t in the mood to go fast today and given the crazy weather today I wasn’t going to be able to go fast. There were only 8 of us today and given the weather conditions I wasn’t surprised at all. It’s very windy today almost to the point of being dangerous. This would mean we would have a headwind all the way to the cafe stop and a tailwind back home again. It was very hard going to get to the cafe stop, lucky if I was riding at 10 mph at times plus there was a high risk of rain as well and we got a few spits and spots here and there but thankfully it held off. Thankfully it’s a warm day but the wind didn’t make it feel so until we were heading home again. After the cafe stop it was probably the easiest ride back home I’ve ever had Flying along and not having to put much power down makes for a fun ride. I decided I would head towards Kelty to get my 50 miles today so split from the group at Redcraigs. I would have a little bit of headwind again but not enough to bother me so by the time I got home I had clocked up my 50 miles at an avg speed of 15 mph and that will do me.

Ride 05/06/2022 Shotts

Well today was another glorious day to be cycling, it was sunny with a little bit of wind and warm. Rather than doing the usual bun run today we decided yesterday to do a longer different route and thus decided to ride out to Shotts. It’s been years since I’ve ridden out this way and after 4 days of continuous riding, although my legs were a little tired, I was still feeling good for a longer distance ride. We were lucky to have a tail wind most of the way there and we would be riding roads I’ve never cycled down, I’ve only even ridden to Shotts from Falkirk, but this would mean cycling back to Falkirk on our homeward leg. We stopped in Shotts for lunch before heading north to Falkirk. We didn’t have any big climbs but we did have a lot of little climbs which accounts for the nearly 5000 feet of climbing. There were 5 of us doing the ride today so I had some good company today. When we hit Falkirk we heading for the Kelpies for our second stop, basically for coffee and cake and then it would be our normal coastal route from Kincardine back to home. This did mean that we would have a head wind from this point but it wasn’t too strong and I lead most of the way since I was still feeling strong So it was a good days cycling with me clocking up 86 miles at an avg speed of 15 mph.

Ride 04/06/2022

So for today it was just the usual bun run, after yesterdays ride I wasn’t looking to do any more than the usual 50 miles. It even turned out to be a lovely sunny day, a good day to do some extra, but my legs were still a bit tired from yesterday and we are planning to do 100k for tomorrows ride. Given the good weather we had 18 in the group, I would have expected more, but either way we were in 2 groups. So 50 miles clocked up at and average speed of 16 mph.

Ride London 100 2022

I actually forgot to post this mainly because I was away from home and probably more to do with the fact that I failed to complete the ride and was quite pissed off about it >:-( Anyway I had entered the Ride London 100 2022 and was looking forward to it. I had done some training for this, not a lot, but enough to allow me to attempt a 5 hour ride time, fingers crossed. The day started out well enough, we had closed roads for the entire ride and I left London around 08:30, it’s quite strange riding on major 3 lane A roads but also glorious as the roads were clear and flat, well at least of cars My plan for today was to have the hammer down for the entire day, hoping that I could pick up some fast rider trains as this would afford me some easier riding and hopefully not have me tanking all my energy and blowing up. It was a sea of cyclist and I was flying past all of them, thankfully this years route was flat with only 3000 feet of climbing for the entire 100 mile ride. This would prove to be advantageous for me as for the most part I would be cycling this on my own. I struggled to find any riders that were going as fast as me and in the occasions that I did I didn’t have them for very long before they pulled into the next feed station at which point I would lose them and then have to find another train And thats how it would go for the remainder of the ride with me cycling on my own and only able to get onto about 3 trains, suffice to say I was stuffing my face with as much energy as I could as I knew there was no way I would make it to the end of the ride cycling at this pace on my own without it. I was avg 19 mph up until the last feed station at 86 miles where I stopped to get my last little bit of energy before hitting the last little leg and thats where the shit hit the fan Just as I left the feed station there was a large twang sound and I stopped to see what the hell it was. One of my spokes had broken, I was lucky it had happened so close to the feed station as I could walk back to it and see if the mechanics there could save me but it wasn’t to be. The wheel was buckled so much and rubbing against my frame that the mechanic couldn’t straight it enough for me to limp back to London, so ended my Ride London 100 :’-( he didn’t have a spare spoke or wheel. I was so depressed and angry about that one, I had been flying up to that point and my time was on for about 5 hours 15 mins which is epic for me, the fastest 100 ride I’ve ever done in my entire life was an avg of 17 mph, at this point of the ride it was sitting at 19 mph! So I had no choice but to call in the cavalry and get Marcus to pick me up which proved to be a 2 hour nightmare for all concerned due to the road closures Absolutely gutted with this one as there is no guarantee that I can get another shot at this one, I had been trying for 3 year to get a place on this ride, mainly due to covid, but this ride is a ballot and as such I have to be luck to get a position on it again. So 86 miles clock up at an avg speed of 19 mph, something that I may never achieve again

Ride 03/06/2022

So it’s the Jubilee bank holiday and I decided I would cycle around the Pentland Hills, which I haven’t done in years, at least not since I lived in Falkirk. It would be a 85 mile bike ride over nearly 5000 feet of climbing, which I did not know until I got home and looked at the stats :-0. The day started off a bit chilly and overcast, the weather forecast for an overcast morning with some wind but would warm up in the afternoon when the sun came out. So to start with I had cross winds until I hit the A70 at which point I would have some glorious tail wind, unfortunately no one told me about the mist up there I didn’t have my lights on as I wasn’t expecting it, but there it was, thankfully it cleared by the point I hit my first stop. It’s not especially windy but enough to make my life difficult when I would turn east and head into it for Edinburgh, for now I was heading for Carnwath and my first stop of the day. In Carnwath I stopped for coffee and croissant and then headed for Edinburgh into the expected headwind. As much as I was expecting the wind it still caused me to use a lot of energy and by the time I hit Penicuik, my next stop, I was starting to feel the effects of that in my now very tired legs I stopped in Penicuik for some gels and energy bars and then continued on for Edinburgh. I was glad to get into Edinburgh, for most of the ride I was out in the country side, which is nice to ride in but cycling on my own I’m always a bit nervous in doing so if I have a break down in the middle of no where, at least when I’m with the club members I have company and some assistance in such an eventuality. Anyway Edinburgh is a busy as always so I was also glad to get back out again Now back on familiar roads and heading home, I again had my crosswinds but at least the sun was finally starting to make an appearance. The last 5 miles back up to Crossgates was a bit of a slog in my now very tired legs, I had been riding reasonable quick for the day, and I was glad to get back home and have a shower and rest. So 85 miles clocked up at an avg speed of 16 mph over nearly 5000 feet of climbing.

Ride 22/05/2022

Today was a day of 4 seasons weather wise, it was warm, it was sunny, it was windy and it rained as well. 8 of us on the bun run today doing the usual route with mostly a cross wind for the day but with some sections with head and tail winds. Usual coffee and cake for the cafe stop Return leg home, I didn’t bother with doing any extra miles today, and that turned out to be a good thing since it rained for the last 5 miles. I went a slightly different way home, not going right through the city centre but down Aberdour road and then back up to Crossgates thus clocking up 52 miles at a very good pace today, not far off 17 mph avg so pleased with that.

Ride 21/05/2022

It’s a sunny but windy day on the bun run today and there were enough riders out today for 3 groups. I would be doing the normal club run today as I was going to the cinema in the afternoon so I wasn’t going to be doing any extra mileage today. I even forgot to get to 50 miles today in the rush to get to the movies so 49 miles clocked up at 16 mph avg speed.

Ride 15/05/2022

Today was the clubs 100 miles randonnee to St Andrews and after yesterdays slog I was looking for an easy ride So for most of the ride I was either in the group or at the back which suited me fine. We were up against a head wind all the way to St Andrews and it wasn’t as sunny or as warm as yesterday. There were times when I was a bit cold and was glad when we got to our cafe stop at St Andrews where I could warm up a bit. Soup and coffee for lunch today but no cake but I had gels with me so this was fine. After lunch we had a tail wind home which was nice and the sun did show it’s face a couple of times. Todays ride was a lot better than yesterdays, far easier to do, less climbing and sitting in the middle of the group meant I could take it easy 111 miles clocked up today at an avg speed of 15 mph with only 4700 feet of climbing, and thats me completing the double century for the first time back to back

Ride 14/05/2022

Today I was doing the clubs sportive, Tour of the Kingdom black route which is basically 100 miles of cycling over 6000 feet of climbing. This is scheduled to run on the 28th of this month but because I am doing the ride London on the 29th I won’t have time to do this ride when it’s run, so I decided I would be it myself today. It’s a good day to do it on as it’s reasonable warm but there was a headwind to deal with which made this a bit more challenging. I was doing this on my own as everyone else was doing the normal bun run today. So for the first 40 miles or so I would have a tail wind as I was heading along the coast towards Largoward before turning north and heading towards Pitscottie. But this would mean that once in Pitscottie I would turn west into the headwind into Falkland and again heading north towards Auchtermuchty for my lunch stop. I had cycled 55 miles by the time I got to the cafe for lunch and I was quite hungry as fighting the head wind and climbing a lot of hills takes it out of you. I was taking my time today as I would be doing the club 100 mile ride to St Andrews tomorrow but even at this pace it was still hard going. After lunch I headed towards Newburgh and Abernethy before heading south again over another big climb into Strathmiglo. Again another turn to west into the headwind towards Kinross by which time I was getting quite tired and I hadn’t hit my biggest climb yet. Once past Kinross I headed south again and this time I would be going over Cleish my biggest climb of the day, they save the big stuff for always last Anyway once I was over this, slowly, I would be heading for Kelty and then back home clocking up 100 miles and over 6100 feet of climbing. I also forgot to connect my power meter for a little bit and my heart rate monitor cut out as well for a bit, but on a none windy day this would be a good ride as I was riding in placed I’ve never heard of before or have even ridden in. So 100 miles clocked up at 15 mph avg speed.

Ride 08/05/2022

7 of us on the bun run today and what a better weather day it is, warm with a little sunshine and no wind After yesterdays ride I was looking to do about 65 miles today so I followed the group to the cafe stop and then after than once we hit Kincardine bridge I went my separate way. Rather than heading back home the normal route via the coast I would cross over the river and head for Linlithgow. I could go a bit faster here as I made my way towards Kirkliston and then headed north to cross the river again via the Forth road bridge. I then headed for Dalgety bay and up the hill back home clocking up 66 miles at 16 mph.