Ride 24/12/2022 Xmas Eve

For a Christmas Eve ride there were a lot of us today, 18 or so, and even more surprising was the weather which turned out to be a pleasant day. The reason we had so many today was because we had some of the fast guys with us today. So this resulted in a group split of the fast guys going first and then we went second. I could have gone with the fast guys but I’ve been cycling for nearly 2 weeks non stop now so I decided to have an easy day today Scrambled egg roll and orange juice were the choice of cafe stop food today before heading out again into a day that was turning into a sunny one. When I started this morning it was dark and raining, but this had stopped by the time I got to Dunfermline. As we made our way around the route the clouds cleared and the sun came out, and given the lack of wind and freezing cold temps it turned out to be a good days ride. I followed Ken down to Dalgety Bay, per usual, and then headed back up to Crossgates and home thus clocking up 50 miles and an avg speed of 15 mph.

Ride 20/12/2022

So Nick was looking to do his 100 km Grand Fondo today and invited me along with him since I was on holiday, not one to turn down some extra cycling I joined him along with Ken and Robert Nick was planning to do a loop around the Ochils (my half loop) going over Knockhill up to Glen Deveon and Glan eagles and returning via Braco and Dunblane. Weather wise it was a bit of a mixed bag day, we had some rain here and there, with some headwind and tailwind, thankfully the tailwind was on the way back home. We stopped in Dunblane for our cafe stop where I had some soup, coffee and cake which was about the half way point. It was much needed as I had being doing the headwind leg from Glen Eagles to Dunblane and it had been raining that section so it was nice to get out of the cold and wet and into somewhere warm to refuel. The leg home was fine as we had a tailwind so I followed Ken down to Dalgety Bay and back up to Crossgate to top off 77 miles at 15 mph avg speed for the day.

Ride 18/12/2022

Well after yesterdays fiasco I wasn’t expecting much today, but things didn’t turn out as bad as I thought they would. With the weather doing the freeze at night and thaw during the day the roads were getting pretty bad, especially if they don’t get treated like yesterdays piss take. Today I was expecting to be on my own, but by chance Colin turned up today, so in the end there were 2 of us on the Sunday bun run We decided to take a sensible route to the cafe stop today and avoided the roads I took yesterday, which were impassible, unless on foot. So we used the Oakley road to get to Kennet and then onto Clackmannan before swinging around to Alloa, Fishcross and Coalsnaughton and the cafe stop, basically doing the reverse of the normal Sunday route. This actually made us 30 min earlier that usual to the cafe stop so along with my coffee and cake I had a scrambled egg roll to boot We then continued the reverse route down to Dollar and heading for Powmill, but I wasn’t planning to go over Knockhill. I had no idea what the road would be like and I wanted to avoid the hills just in case. So we went the opposite way and headed for Crook of Devon and onto Kinross, using the main roads since these had been treated and well used by cars. It was then a straight shot South back towards Cowdenbeath and home thus clocking up 50 miles at an avg speed of 15 mph, so a far better day then I was expecting and a lot better than yesterday attempt.

Ride 17/12/2022

Well today was a very dicey day. It snowed yesterday so I was expecting to not to be able to ride, but the snow was mostly cleared by the morning so I was able to get out. Given the conditions I wasn’t expecting much of a turn out, but 6 did eventually turn up. Unfortunately it did freeze through the night so the minor roads were a bit icy, and someone forgot to tell the gritters this, because when we got to Culross the roads were treacherous with black ice, they have been clear these past few days with the far worse frosty freezing cold days. This meant we had to walk from here onwards and at that point we decided to abandon the ride and head for home. We couldn’t go back the way we came, it was too dangerous to ride and we didn’t want to have to walk home, so we opted to ride the main carriageway back to Carineyhill, which I wouldn’t do in normal circumstances, it’s to far a busy road to ride, and a fast one too. But we didn’t really have any other choice and thankfully made it back without incident. I headed back home via Rosyth but decided to miss out Dalgety Bay and the road up Hillend as I didn’t think the cycle path would have been clear of ice. So I took the main road back up to Crossgates and home thus clocking up 31 miles at an avg speed of 14 mph, which was fast enough when your cycling over ice!

Ride 11/12/2022

Another very cold day but at least this time without the sleet and snow, actually it was quite a bright clear day, but of course this made the roads treacherous. Again very few turned up for the ride, only 3 of us today, so we kept to the main roads again. Even these were icy in parts and as such we took it easy going today, especially over knock hill, where sometimes the road can get quite dangerous if not gritted. It was sub zero temperatures when I started the ride this morning and it didn’t get much warmer than 1 degree by the time I got back home again. Coffee and cake as per usual at the cafe stop today, I was glad for the warm up in the cafe, even with 4 layers on my hands and feet were quite cold. Since Ken wasn’t around today I didn’t bother going home via Dalgety Bay and headed straight for Dunfermline and home. So I only clocked up 50 miles today at an avg speed of 14 mph but given the weather conditions I’ll stick with that.

Ride 10/12/2022

Very cold with sleet and snowy day, thankfully not windy, I can do without the wind chill factor, but of course with this weather very few people turned up, ultimately there were only 5 of us. Given the weather conditions, my street was full of snow but the main roads were a bit clearer, we kept of the normal roads we would take and stuck to the main roads as these would be gritted and clear, rather than the normal quieter roads that would not be gritted. It was snowing on my way to the start of the ride and even before we got to the cafe stop we had to deal with some sleet but by the time we got to the cafe it had brightened up and stopped snowing. After the cafe stop we decided to go a different way to Knockhill by sticking to the main roads rather than going via the farm tracks we would normally use. It also started to rain a little bit on our way there but thankfully didn’t come to much, I didn’t have my rain coat with me. By the time we got back to Dunfermline the sun had come out but it was still sub zero temperatures so I headed straight for home and didn’t do anything extra. So I eventually clocked up 50 miles at 15 mph avg speed and tomorrow looks about the same weather wise.

Ride 04/12/2022

Bit of a wet, windy and very cold day(close to zero), so only 5 of us on the bun run today. I was glad to get to the cafe stop to get a bit of warmth and coffee and cake Thankfully it didn’t rain the entire duration, only here and there, but that was enough to chill you to your bones if not wearing proper attire. I had 5 layers on including my rain jacket which didn’t stop my extremities from getting pretty cold, but did keep my core warm. Again I made my way home via Dalgety Bay to get my target of 50+ miles for the day, so I ended up with 55 miles at an avg speed of 15 mph which will do me giving the weather conditions.

Ride 03/12/2022

Another cold but dry day with little wind and a hint of sun here and there. There were about 20 of us today, not a bad turn out for December, so we split into 2 groups and I went with the faster first group to the cafe stop. After the cafe stop I join Ken’s second slower group to follow him down to Dalgety Bay. It’s a reasonable day so I decided I would do some extra miles to get the 100 km for the month whilst the going was good. So I headed for Kingseat and around to Kelty and back home via Cowdenbeath thus clocking up 65 miles at an avg speed of 16 mph.

Ride 27/11/2022

It’s a slightly better day that yesterday weather wise, it was sunny but chilly and less wind that yesterday which was good. There were 12 of us today, which is probably the largest Sunday group I’ve seen this year, outwith the club 100 km and 100 mile Sunday rides. We did the usual route to the cafe stop for coffee and cake and then after I followed Ken down to Dalgety Bay where I was going to do some more extra miles I had reached 140 miles for the week by this morning so I decided I would go for the 200 miles in the week today which meant I needed at least 60 miles, I decided to make it 65 just to make sure. I cycled through Dalgety Bay on towards Aberbour before swinging North back up to Mossmorran and then onto Cowdenbeath and Kelty. I then headed back to Crossgates and home clocking up 66 miles at an avg speed of 16 mph, all in all a good days ride and a good weeks tally of 200 miles

Ride 26/11/2022

A very overcast slightly wet and getting windy towards the end of the ride day, although it wasn’t particularly cold either. So 15 of us on the bun run today split across 2 groups. With the usual cafe stop today I was looking to do a little bit extra, not much, about 55 miles would do. Ken was going the quick way home today (as he was working this afternoon) so I stayed with the group all the way back to Dunfermline but headed down to Dalgety Bay via Crossgates to pick up the extra mileage I was after. I headed back uphill to Mossmorran and then along back to Crossgates and home, thus clocking up the 55 miles I wanted at 16 mph avg speed.

Ride 20/11/2022

After yesterdays discussion on doing 100 km ride today, we decided to do the Packers Lane route which would clock up the 100 km we were looking for. So 8 of us turned up this morning and we headed out towards Kincardine Bride and onto Bannockburn and Stirling. Weather wise it is similar to yesterday, light winds and overcast but s little bit colder that yesterday but not freezing yet We would be stopping at Coffee Bothy for our cafe stop but that would mean we’d ridden 45 miles or so before stopping to eat. By the time we got their I was quite hungry so I had Coke, soup of the day and banoffee pie which went down well. After the cafe stop we headed along the Hill Foots to Dollar before heading up to Saline hill. At this point we split up with some people looking to do the quickest way home but I went all the way to the top of the hill and onto Redgraigs, I needed the miles, by the time I got to Redgraigs I was just over 60 miles, probably just at the 100 km mark. I was feeling good still so I decided I would do some extra mileage and parted from the last of the group to head out on my own, I decided I would go over Knockhill and Cleish to get some elevation and some extra miles. I then headed for Kelty, Cowdenbeath and home, thus clocking up 83 miles and just shy of 16 mph, all in all a good days ride and the weather even held out and didn’t rain

Ride 19/11/2022

15 of us on the bun run today with a mixed bag of weather. It’s been raining silly style for the last few days so the road are wet and flooded in places, but it wasn’t raining whilst riding, at least not until the last 5 miles of my ride anyway. So we split into 2 groups and headed for the usual cafe stop. After the usual scrambled egg roll and orange juice we headed home in some sunshine, kinda of unexpected but nice to have this time of year, and the wind was calm for the ride which was a bonus too. I followed Ken down to Dalgety Bay but wanted to do 65 miles today so once back up to Crossgates I headed for Fife cycle park as I new this would give me the mileage I was after. It was on the way back home from here that it started to rain a bit, not hard, but consistent and not enough to worry me since I was wearing my wet gear for the entire ride, I didn’t trust the weather enough to take it off So 65 miles clocked up at an avg speed of 15 mph which will do me fine as we are doing a 100 Km ride tomorrow as well.